What kinds of advertising are worth pursuing for a retail store? We recently opened (downtown of a medium city) and put up a billboard in the suburbs to let people know we exist, and it’s along an extremely busy commuter route, but only 3 customers have mentioned it (in our first three weeks we’ve probably had around 2,000-3,000 people visit). We sent out 1200 postcards to our prime demographic with a free gift if you bring it in, but only 3 were brought in.
The vast majority found us through the media, because basically every magazine and paper in our state covered our opening, or through word-of-mouth or social media. We have a robust social media presence that has been very successful. Which is great, but we’re still trying to figure out what traditional methods of advertising work for retail.
Do expensive billboards really work? Many people might see them but not tell us they saw it in the store. Many might come in later during the holiday season after having already seen it (it’s up for two months, until Christmas). Do the postcards work if only 3/1200 were brought back? Should we put ads in local magazines and such? What traditional strategies are effective for retail, especially if you’re downtown and want to reach the suburbs?
$60,000, Capital One, opened before we started running as a business. I assume they base it on your personal credit since they ask for your SSN.