A great example of focusing on YOUR brand. We helped Dr. Lewis Lim (Kirkland, WA) design and build his store using his brand and not focusing on the frame manufacturers.
Visual merchandising is a huge part of selling, give your frames the kind of display they deserve. Don’t fit in with your competition, blow them out of the water! One of the best ways to stand out from other offices is to maximize your use of visual merchandising by creating and fostering your own brand.
Although this post isn’t directly related to our displays, it is related to showcase or “displaying” YOUR brand! In this blog post we will be sharing advice on how to market YOUR brand and business, while bringing in more sales and creating a lasting and positive reputation.
Emphasis on YOUR brand
A lot of times frame companies will provide their distributors with large branded displays to showcase their frames. Think Ray-Ban… their displays are big, bright, and colorful which creates a great showcase for their frames; but as the business owner is that showcasing YOUR brand or theirs? How are your other frames stacking up compared to the frames in the brand specific showcase? The reason we bring this up is to start the discussion around YOUR brand and YOUR business! Of course, it is great to have branded frames like Ray-Ban but give them the same energy and “presentation space” as your other frames. Giving your patients a chance to find the frames that suit them best based on the look and fit rather than the brand name and logo. Frame displays should not distract from the frames, but rather disappear to the customers eye and allow them to focus on the frames.
While this kind of branding is important it’s not the main thing you should focus on. You will always have those patients that will want a specific brand and that’s ok! A great way to provide branding without letting that brand define you is by organizing your frames by brand and each row or panel having a small descriptive sign. Something like a small logo or sign holder at the top of the display works just fine. This gives the patient direction of where to find those frames but does not sway them to a certain brand over the other.
Keeping your advertising and design layout on brand is key to marketing YOUR business as opposed to marketing someone else’s business.
Spread the word
There are many platforms and ways to market your business it is not a one size fits all formula, but to get you started we have shared two successful ideas below.
Social Media Marketing is really booming! Try advertising your business using Facebook or similar social media platform. They even have ways to narrow your target market to only include people in your area, or a certain demographic, and many other categories. The ads are inexpensive compared to many other avenues and you are not locked into a contract. Try advertising for a few months to see if you like it
Google is another great online platform that really makes a big impact! Make sure your website it up to date and has clear and descriptive information about what you do and what sets you apart from your competition. Google has paid ad services (“Ad Words”) that allows you to bid for the top spot on a search results page, and like Facebook you can alter your target market to be a certain geographical location or demographic.
Customer Experience is key
It is a no brainer that treating your customers right is the best business advice we could give! Creating an environment where your patients feel safe and comfortable is key! Clearly label everything, organize their shopping experience, and keep a clean store. You want your brand to be associated with a positive experience, not one that is cluttered or overwhelming. Even it if it is subconscious your patients will appreciate a simple and easy visit.
A happy customer will result in more customers in the future. We are living in the age of constant information overload from online searches, where personal recommendations or 5-star reviews can be the difference between a new customer visiting your clinic or not. There are many different review sites, but Google seems to be the most widely used. Positive reviews are a great way to bring in more customers and improve your search rankings. Remember above when we mentioned Google paid ads? Well another way to bump up your rankings (without paying) is by getting positive reviews. The higher your review ranking the more Google will show your business in the search results. Encourage your customers to write reviews of their experience, the more positive reviews the better. On the flip side, unfortunately a negative review goes a lot farther than a positive review. Make sure your patients feel well taken care of and have the best experience possible.
Again, there are many different avenues and successful ways to market a business. The best thing you can do is market YOUR business and be true to YOUR brand.
