Pop-up events can be a great way for businesses to grow profits and reap a myriad of benefits in the process. A pop-up event is a fun and novel retail experience that occurs for a short duration of time at a specific location. These events are both memorable and shareable and can do wonders for your bottom line.
There are less risks associated with pop-ups and they can be a great indicator as to whether you’ll have a successful future in brick and mortar if this is something you’re considering. Businesses that are fully online will be able to speak to their customers in person—a rarity in e-commerce—while existing brick and mortar businesses can test new locations and revenue streams. With the freedom to experiment, there’s no doubt that you can build brand awareness and grow your success with a pop-up shop.
With that in mind, here’s how you can host a successful pop-up shop this year:
Be COVID-19 Safe
The coronavirus forced many retailers to rethink their marketing strategies and shuttered many doors for some brick and mortar locations. Many popular retailers like Macy’s saw retail sales drop as much as 50%. Pop-up shops offer a safe and flexible alternative during trying times and it’s important for you to exemplify those safety benefits in how your pop-up shop operates. You want customers to feel comfortable walking up to your space. Sanitize regularly, make it easy for your visitors to sanitize, offer contactless payments, and make QR codes available.
Pick the Right Space
The location you choose can make or break your success. And of course, your location will depend on your audience. Pop-up shops can be booths in a mall, a mobile vehicle like a truck, a gallery or event space, a tent in a park, and more. But what’s especially important is that you choose a location where you’re most likely to meet your target customers. For example, if you have an energy drink, you might want to be on or near college campuses. If you have a product for children, you’ll want to be in an area where parents frequent, like a city park.
Anytime you start looking into specific locations, always be sure to look into what events are happening on the same day. Check out retailers in the area to ensure you’re not near any major competition; while it’s not necessarily a no-go to be near competitors or big-box retailers, it is an important consideration, as it could take some of your foot traffic away.
Use Promotional Materials
Offer your visitors business gifts that are branded with your company logo. Promotional pens, stickers, patches, and even thoughtful items like branded hand sanitizers will go a long way towards keeping your company at the forefront on consumers’ minds after they’ve stepped away. Many companies, like PopChips, have pop-ups designed solely to give away free products.
These companies are confident enough in their product that they’re willing to give it away because they believe the customer will make another purchase. This can be an effective strategy for companies that are building brand awareness and care less about immediate profits. Additionally, you can encourage people to make a purchase by adding a supplemental gift with each purchase or by offering gifts to customers who change their mind and decide not to make a purchase.
Reach Local Micro Influencers
Influencers can make all the difference to your strategy. Miro influencers are particularly important because studies have shown this influencer niche is more likely to have higher engagement rates with their audience. Furthermore, local influencers can help spread the word in a much more efficient way to bring in more foot traffic from like-minded potential customers. Work with micro influencers to promote your brand and spread the word about your pop-up.
You can find micro influencers on various different influencer marketing platforms, including Scalefluence, Grin, and TapInfluence. Check out different platforms to help determine which has the best escrow structure, reach, and customer service. Though each platform will differ in this area, most have a similar infrastructure in that they’ll allow you to locate microinfluencers in specific areas and hone in on the ones that are best for your brand based on follower count and other important metrics.
Cover photo credit: Yaffa Phillips / Flickr
