A discussion about the process, steps and options of starting a new business

You can't sell anything if you don't have someone to sell it to, so it is important to bring people in the door.  Of course advertising is one way to help your customers find you, but what else can you do?

In her article on retail store design, Donna Geary quotes the well known adage, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression".   Make sure you have an appealing storefront.  Put items on display that will make people want to see what else you have to offer, or make them curious enough to come in and ask a question.

Once someone has decided to enter, don't block the door.  I've been in some shops where I almost had to climb over boxes of stock to get where I wanted to go.  Leave a clean open pathway for your customer to walk through.

This last point is just my own feeling, and hasn't been scientifically proven.  People like to touch things, out of natural curiousity.  I know I do.  Why not make it easy for them?  I keep many of my items within easy reach of the customer , and once I see that a person is eyeing something, I invite them to hold it.  This may not be a great idea if your product is too terribly fragile, but you can at least hold it yourself and bring it down for the customer to look at it more closely.

For those of you who are also in the retail business, what strategies have you tried, successfully or not, to bring people on that all-important step through the front door?