Outdoor Marketing: Tactics to Use for Your Physical Store

Some business owners focus too much on promoting their business online. They believe that the best way to win customers is to go digital. Taking your business online will provide you with impressive benefits.

However, you should never neglect other marketing tactics simply because you want to do better for online customers. If you have a physical store, you will need to make efforts to ensure that you also target local customers. Bright and eye-catching neon signs, such as these from Neon Mama, are unique and can be a great way of grabbing attention from passersby thus increasing business.  You have to make sure that you can attract more people and encourage them to visit your store. For you to do this, outdoor marketing tactics can help boost your brand’s popularity.

Outdoor Marketing Tactics

Marketing strategies nowadays are focused on increasing website traffic or making more online sales. However, you should still implement outdoor marketing whenever you can, especially if you have a physical store. Online marketing is beneficial for e-commerce businesses. However, local stores and small business owners still need to include outdoor advertising tactics to boost their brand.

Keep in mind that people are still looking for impressive customer experience from stores. To make sure that you meet their expectations, you need to ensure that people can recognize your brand. One of the best ways to do this is by building an impressive store. You need to ensure that this building stands out so that people can see it. Here are other practical ways to implement effective outdoor marketing strategies:

  • Draw more customers through outdoor signages. Let people know that your store exists by displaying large and noticeable exterior signages. Like digital signs, make sure that these signs can quickly grab anyone’s attention. You can also put up LED signage to make your store visible even during nighttime.
  • Place your ads where people can see it-If you are planning to put up a billboard or any other type of large marketing sign, make sure that you place it correctly. That means you have to ensure that you place it in a spot where there is a lot of foot traffic. This way, more people will notice it.
  • Consider guerilla marketing-This type of marketing is still one of the most effective promotional strategies for businesses. If you want to boost brand awareness, you can try this strategy and place your ad in the right locations. Make sure that it will create a strong and lasting appeal to people who can see it. Also, ensure that it gives out the right message.

You can also consider providing your customers with a parking space so that they don’t need to be in a rush when visiting your store. Make sure that you have reflective thermoplastic road marking paint on your parking lot. Place these markings in other areas outside your store as well. That will help increase road safety for your customers. Aside from this, potential customers will not mind if they stay longer while browsing your products or getting your services. Providing them with a space to park their vehicles can help them assure that their cars will remain safe while they are shopping.

Decorating the outside of the store can be used to great effect, as well. Aside from the seasonal decorations which you’re likely to see a lot of stores putting up, you can really give it a bold and eye-catching look with the help of tools like a Bluetooth tattoo thermal printer. Stenciling the wall with a unique design or logo can make it immediately a lot more attention-worthy on the street.

Top Tips For Your Outdoor Marketing Tactics

Regardless of which outdoor marketing tactics you decide to take advantage of, it can still be somewhat overwhelming. That’s especially true if you’re new to marketing a store or if you’re using multiple strategies.

If you’re not in the position to hire marketing agencies or reputation management companies, then there’s a chance you’ll be doing things yourself. Finding tips and tricks to help simplify the process and maximize results will be more than welcome.

While some things may be specific to the exact marketing strategies, a few can be applied to almost anything. The largest of these are:

  • Consider Location: Many store premises can be relatively difficult to find unless they’re on the main street. Keep this in mind with your marketing strategies. You’ll need to make sure that your potential customers can find you. Even having a mini-map on a billboard or something similar can be worth it.
  • Keep It Simple: With most forms of outdoor marketing, information needs to be absorbed quickly. Keeping your ads simple will make sure that that’s the case. Potential customers can read these faster, which will let them take in the information much better.

To properly make sure that your outdoor marketing tactics succeed, you’ll need to properly plan out your marketing strategies. Having key goals and a way to achieve them will be paramount. Without these, you wouldn’t be able to measure the success of your campaign.

Keeping that in mind, alongside each of the above tips and tricks, will make sure that your outdoor advertising is as effective as possible. In turn, that’ll have a domino effect on your store’s foot traffic, which will eventually increase its sales.

Make sure that you always prioritize your customers whenever you have a new marketing strategy in mind. Also, if you will display advertisements outdoors, make sure that people will notice it immediately. It will also help your business if you can create an excellent and lasting impression by using useful outdoor marketing tools. Let these suggestions help your brand get all the recognition it deserves. Always deliver customers quality through products, services, and advertising tools.

This post is a collaborative effort by St. Louis Dad.

Go Skateboarding Day is June 21st!

Mark your calendars and grab your board because June 21st is Go Skateboarding Day!!! You don’t need to go to a skate park specifically, maybe it’s just a parking lot near your house, or your sidewalk or patio. Just watch out for those pesky no skateboarding signs!

Our little family isn’t the best skateboarders. We try and fail a lot, but ya know what, that’s okay. At least we are trying and just having fun and I think that is what ultimately skateboarding is about. Just having fun, especially with the people you love.

I would list the various skate parks here in the St. Louis area but I have no idea which ones are closed still due to covid-19 or which ones have opened up. So I will leave that up to you to decide on where you are gonna skate. I know the park near us is still closed, so we will be checking out some other spots. Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram to find out where we will be skating and if you are up for it, join us!

A Little Family Camping

With everything going on in the world right now we had to get away for a night. So my wife called around and we got a campsite, packed our bags, loaded up the van and took a drive south.

We typically go camping in larger groups, family, friends, people we barely know… But this would be our first time camping with just us, no extra people, nobody else is responsible for bringing anything extra, we had to make sure we packed it all and had a plan for everything.

I would say we were pretty successful for our first camping trip with just our little family. We even brought our little Pork Chop with us and that pup was amazing as can be! I’ll admit I was a little worried about how he would behave and if we would be needing to hold his leash the entire trip, but nope, he was a very good boy and had the time of his life.

Swimming, smores, and so much fun kept this St. Louis family sane during our little family camping trip. I am still amazed at how well we all worked together in making sure this little trip turned out to be successful. From the small things like saying please and thank you, to playing a few rounds of Mario Party, which I was winning until mom somehow mysteriously glitched the game.

All in all it was a fantastic camping trip that I cannot wait to do again. Sometimes you just need to disconnect to reconnect once in a while to get yourself back to where you need to be. After being on lock down for a several weeks and now the protests, we just needed a break from the real world, and this break delivered a sense of renewed energy in our family. I cannot ask for more, except if we can do it again, maybe for Father’s Day. I guess we will just have to see what the world has planned for us and of course if there are any camp sites available.

St. Louis Aquarium and St. Louis Wheel Re-Opening Today!!!

If you haven’t seen the news then here’s to some good news! The aquarium and the wheel down in Union Station is re-opening today!!!

Of course there are a few guidelines to be aware of when arriving. Check out the press release below!

The Aquarium reopens at 9 a.m. and the St. Louis Wheel reopens at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 8.

CHANGES: Guests will notice a variety of new animals and activities at the reopened St. Louis Aquarium, including “Annie,” a four-year-old Tamandua, or Lesser Anteater. Other new animals include Zebra Sharks and Bonnethead Sharks, one of the smaller Hammerheads.

A new Dive Show will take place three times a day — at 11 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 4 p.m. — in the Shark Canyon exhibit. Guests will be able to ask questions of the Aquarium’s divers who will be wearing special communications masks during the 20-minute shows.

Colorful murals also have been added to wall spaces throughout the Aquarium.

DETAILS: The indoor and outdoor attractions at St. Louis Union Station will reopen on June 8, 2020 after receiving clearance from the City of St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS AQUARIUM: The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station will resume regular hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

New physical distancing protocols will be in place along with enhanced sanitation measures and extensive team member training to ensure the health and safety of guests and workers.
 
The St. Louis Aquarium and other St. Louis Union Station attractions have been closed in accordance with Missouri and St. Louis City COVID-19 regulations. 

Aquarium Ticketing Changes: All guests, including annual pass holders, will be required to reserve timed tickets in advance to keep within City of St. Louis regulations for significantly reduced capacity in the Aquarium.
 
Advance reservations will guarantee guests’ admission on the day of their visit. No tickets will be available for same day visits at the ticket counter and no guests will be admitted to the Aquarium prior to their reservation time. 

Guests who are feeling unwell on the day of their visit can contact the Aquarium and have their tickets exchanged for another date.
 
Aquarium Safety Protocols Added: The health and safety of guests and team members is the highest priority of the St. Louis Aquarium and St. Louis Union Station. Enhanced safety and sanitizing procedures have been enacted for the Aquarium reopening, including:

— All team members will wear masks and guests over the age of 9 are required to wear masks at the direction of the St. Louis City Department of Health. Guests with pre-existing health conditions unable to wear a mask for medical reasons are exempt. Guests may remove or lower their masks when they are able to stay six feet or more away from others or when eating or drinking.

— A one-way flow has been established through the Aquarium to help with social distancing. 

— The Aquarium is maintaining its existing high standards of cleanliness and all high-touch surfaces such as windows, doors, railings, restrooms, and elevators will be cleaned continuously by the Aquarium’s Clean Team. Hard surfaces will be sanitized throughout the attraction, lobby and restrooms continuously. 

— Additional hand sanitizer stations will be found throughout the Aquarium including at the entry, exit and in the restrooms.

–Employees will be screened daily to verify that they do not have fevers or other COVID-19 symptoms. Guests will walk through an infrared scanner at the entrance to verify their temperatures and will take a survey to confirm their health. Those with temperatures of more than 100 degrees will be asked to return on another day.

— Guest services associates will refer guests to signs listing COVID-19 symptoms to verify that everyone in their party is symptom free.

–Floor decals have been added throughout the queue lines and inside the aquarium to help guests maintain six feet of separation from others. At touch pools and interactive areas, guests can step up and enjoy the experience when floor decal spaces are open.

— The Aquarium’s touch pools, Otter Chat and animal presentations will continue to be available along with a new dive show at Shark Canyon. 

— For now, the Fish ID touchscreens, Scavenger Hunt touchscreens, the Train Experience and the Virtual Reality Sandbox are not available due to their high touch nature and the difficulty in maintaining adequate social distancing during their use. 

— No cash payments will be accepted at attractions and restaurants throughout St. Louis Union Station; all major credit cards will be accepted.
 
St. Louis Ropes Course and Mirror Maze: The indoor attractions at Union Station also will reopen on June 8. Queue markers will help guests at the St. Louis Ropes Course and the Mirror Maze maintain their distance from each other to at least six feet. Gloves will be offered to guests and the areas will be continuously sanitized throughout the day.

More Information: Guests will finds an FAQ at www.stlouisaquarium.com and can ask questions by emailing info@stlouisaquarium.com

Follow the St. Louis Aquarium on social media @aquariumstl.

UNION STATION RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL: The Aquarium gift shop and Wheel retail kiosk will be open but will limit the number of guests allowed inside at any time. Guests will be asked to touch only what they intend to purchase. 

No cash payments will be accepted at this time. Plexiglass barriers have been erected to separate guests and team members at Aquarium gift shop checkout counters. 

Restaurants Trainshed and 1894 Cafe also will reopen to the public at reduced capacity and with enhanced sanitizing and health checks for regular hours on June 8. 

Soda Fountain reopened at reduced capacity and with added sanitizing, health checks and social distancing on May 18, 2020. 

THE ST. LOUIS WHEEL: The St. Louis Wheel at Union Station also reopens to the public on Monday, June 8, 2020.

With physical distancing protocols, enhanced sanitizing and extensive team member training in place, the St. Louis Wheel will welcome riders with a resumption of regular hours, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily. 

The Wheel has been closed in accordance with Missouri and St. Louis City COVID-19 regulations. 

Wheel Safety Protocols Added: The health and safety of guests and team members is the highest priority of the St. Louis Wheel and St. Louis Union Station. Enhanced safety and sanitizing procedures have been enacted for the Wheel Park reopening, including:

— Team members will wear masks and guests are encouraged to do the same. 

— Employees will be screened daily to verify that they do not have fevers or other COVID-19 symptoms. 

— Guests will take a survey to confirm their health.

— Signs in the Wheel Park will list COVID-19 symptoms and guests also will be asked to confirm their health statuses in person. 

— Pavement markers will placed to guide guests to stay at least six feet apart to maintain social distancing. 

— Gondola loading and unloading cycles will be spaced to allow physical distancing between guests and between cleaning cycles. 

— The Wheel’s gondolas will be sanitized between groups. Clean Team members will continuously sanitize surfaces on and around the Wheel, in the Wheel Park and at the other attractions. 

— All team members will be required to wash and sanitize their hands frequently. Hand sanitizing stations will be in place throughout the Wheel Park.

UNION STATION’S OUTDOOR ATTRACTIONS: The Mini-Golf course and St. Louis Carousel in the Wheel Park at Union Station also will open for guests on June 8, 2020. 

Golf equipment will be cleaned between guest uses. Signs will be placed to remind guests to continue social distancing. Entry to the golf course will be regulated to keep the appropriate number of players on the course. Golf pencils and scoring pads will be disposable. 

At the Carousel, queue lines are marked to allow for social distancing. Attendants will use visual checks from a distance to ensure safety compliance and verbal instructions will be given from a distance to explain how to properly fasten the seat belt. Chaperones will be required to fasten the lap belts of younger guests and assist them off and on to the carousel animals. Each animal will be thoroughly disinfected after each use and the amount of riders will be limited to allow for proper social distancing and spacing.

The Wheel Park playground will not be open at this time.

Tables in the Wheel Park and chairs surrounding the Union Station Lake will be spaced to allow for proper social distancing. The Lake Fire and Light Show will resume on June 8.

More information is available at www.thestlouiswheel.com.