Your shop front should ooze your brand. Everything that you are known and recognized for needs to be there. The colors, the scent that might be associated with you, the lines, the font, and even the staff should look the part.
But what are the parts that make up your identity in a store?
Interior
Consider your interior like the show. When someone walks into the store, it should be laid out, lit, and with the right amount of employee interaction. Keeping in mind that in most situations, shopping is a therapeutic or social act, your team needs to decide which parts of your brand support those things.
Interiors of some stores, and where it fits the brand, will have interactive displays, art installments, legacy items, and more. All of these details give shoppers something interesting to take part in.
Signage
Before anyone even gets into the store, they see your signage. And it should be the signage that people are used to seeing on any of your online or social accounts. Your signage needs to be high quality and set the tone for what clients can expect in the rest of the store.
Think about what happens when you walk down any high street – you will see so many signs and instantly recognize the brand. That is what you need to achieve with yours. And perhaps one of the most important things you can do is understand what makes a bad sign before you explore what makes a great one.
And when inside, your logo doesn’t need to be everywhere, but it should be dotted around in the places that make sense.
Advertising
Once a customer has made a purchase, if they need a bag – it is the perfect way to enjoy some advertising. As they carry on with the rest of their shopping, they are carrying around your branding.
Instead of using plain bags, invest in some high-quality bags (recyclable or reusable) with your brand logo on them. Make the most of this type of advertising.
Window Display
Your window display is something you can be known for. Ensure that they are bigger, brighter, and more interesting than the rest in the vicinity – and always branded!
Employees
Many of us have had unfortunate occasions where either we have asked someone in the store if they knew where something is – or have been confused for an employee. This is a big mistake. If customers can confuse a shopper for an employee, it means that the branding and the uniform aren’t on brand enough to be recognized.
Make sure that when the store concept is coming together, the uniform is discussed in-depth because it is integral to the overall cohesiveness.
In totality, your store branding is what helps you stand apart from the other stores along the street, and more specifically, ones that you would be in direct competition with.
A brick-and-mortar store can be one of the most important things in your plan for growth, alongside taking advantage of technological advances: Retail 4.0 to propel growth amongst small businesses in India.