We are open and have no clients!

[fashiongirl]

Hello everyone, so happy to find a place where small business owners share experiences and ideas. I really need it!
After having spent months and months setting up and renovating a space for a small designer boutique that carries exclusive evening wear by local designer I am struggling getting people into the store I have (and am still doing online marketing and PPC), outside poster, nice window display, word of mouth.. and so far we only had 3 sales in the last 2 weeks. It is extremely discouraging.
The good thing is that when people do get inside the shop, they always love our items, and a lot of people who are passing by always look at display with a positive feedback on their face. We are on a busy street, which gets a lot of car and public transportation traffic, and we even have free parking right by the store! But for some reason people are just not coming in.

What can we do? thanks so much for any tips!

[krymson]

Did you announce your opening? Did you offer an incentive to come in "Special Opening Day Discounts". Are your prices reasonable? Do you have a logo that catches peoples eyes? Do you have a website where you can sell the same exact items online as well as your physical store front? Does your business have a Facebook and Twitter to hand out special promo codes and coupons to those people that follow?

Ok, enough with 20 questions. When it comes down to it you're doing somethings right but you may be missing other things. New businesses are always going to be slow starting out. They have not built much rapport with the local community. This is why when most business owners start up they should have atleast 6 months of funds to keep themselves floating. What I have mention above I have done for my clients numerous of times and it has always proven beneficial for them. You have to let your potential customers know "Hey, I'm here to serve you with some custom fashion from a LOCAL designer." Then start selling it online and start growing nation wide while also focusing on your physical store front. Come up with a marketing plan that's going to take those window shoppers that you're getting and entices them to come into your store to see what else you've got. Have someone stand outside of your store for a whole weekend passing out "15% off your first purchase" coupons and have them say "Take a look at our great selection of clothing designed by this local designer" This tells them what you're selling and it entices them to see what a local designer is making and they have some motivation to buy stuff with that 15% coupon...

Make a press release to your local radio station, put an ad in the local paper let people know who you are and what your selling and what makes it different than what they sell at walmart... Assert yourself work hard and you will benefit from it... PPC btw to me is a waste of time and money... Some people are hired by other companies to go out and click on those ads just to have the website spend the money for that click...

Take what I've said into consideration. you can always message me if you have any questions.

[huggytree]

sounds like you have a specialty store....were in a recession, so its not going to be easy for you.....everyone has $ for Walmart, but few have $ to spend at a small boutique that carries evening wear by a local designer..........your customer is not the average person....find a way to FIND your customer and let them know you exist...Mass mailings may or may not be the most efficient way to do it.

the busy street is in your favor....is it so busy that people cant see your signs? are your signs too small? maybe you need someone outside the store WAVING the sign to get noticed

either they arent seeing your signs or ,arent interested or they are interested but have no money to spare right now....pick one

sometimes it takes years for a business to turn a profit....2 weeks is just getting going....word of mouth is king, so make sure every customer tells a friend!

[vangogh]

First let me agree with everything already said. From what you've said I'd take it as a positive sign that once in the store people like what you have to offer. If that's the case then the word will at least spread and what you need to do is get people into the store. I'm going to suggest something along the lines Jonathan said about offering an incentive. Discounts are one way. What if you had a big event. Is there something you could give away to one or a few lucky customers? Maybe have a drawing where people need to be present to win and pick a good time where you can fill the store with people for an hour. If possible get some local press to come to the event too. The trick would be making sure to get the word out and offer a good enough prize to ensure people are there.

Have you let all your friends and family know about the store? Maybe they could be the ones who fill the place for the event.

If people are walking by and looking, but not coming in, think about what you could do to get them to come in? You could try different window displays to see if any work better. You could prominently show some kind of discount in the window that attracts people.

You mentioned PPC and online marketing so I take it you have a website. If so add a forum signature with a link back to your site. Get your link out on the web.

You also mentioned that the street is busy for cars. I'm guessing it's not as busy for foot traffic. You might need to have a sign more visible. Do you ever drive by it as part of the traffic? Would you notice your sign if you didn't already know about the store? What could you do to make your sign more visible and quickly let people know what they'll find inside?

And do hang in there. The early days of any business can be slow. It can take time to build up a steady stream of customers.

[fashiongirl]

thank you so much for your replies guys! amazing suggestions from everyone.
Yes we have been offering really great discounts (50% off) all opening week! but only those couple of clients took advantage of it.
As far as sign goes, it is not terribly visible albeit attractive when you look at it. I would say that dresses in our display attract most attention.
All fashion tradeshows are coming up in fall so we can't grab customers that way.
I just don't have any friends who are business owners and am not sure if this is normal for every business or we are not doing something right..

[krymson]

What you're going through is completely normal. As I said before get the word out in your local community, either through newspaper or radio. I've been in business since June of 2011 and I'm only getting MAYBE one project a month but thats because I also work a full time job to supplement my income.

[fashiongirl]

thanks Krymson, but I had to leave my full time job to put full time hours into this business that's why having no income means accumulation of debt for me personally.

Because it is a shop someone has to be there at hours posted, and it would be more expensive to actually hire someone, that's why I work there myself. I am thinking that I will be forced to start doing some evening job just to pay rent and bills. Sigh.

[krymson]

It sucks, i know im a manager at pizza hit for my day job, and i HATE it but i make due cause I have a family to support.

[Steve B]

Did you do any research to determine if there is a large enough market for your product? Your market is going to be incredibly small and the people noticing a sign on the street are probably not going to be the best customer for you anyway. I think you're going to have to get the word out within the "1%" that have enough money for this kind of thing. Those ladies are not taking public transportation for the most part. I think you need to connect with other high end businesses (country clubs, polo clubs, limosine drivers, high end jewelry stores etc.).

[GreaterVisibility]

Build it, and they will come. Or not. Did you do some due diligence before opening? Did you maybe put teasers out there on social media about what you were about to open? Are you making sure to find your demographic and target them at their homes, rather than waiting for them to find you online? It sounds to me like you are waiting for the customers to find you, and maybe you need to go find your customers. Signage, a website, etc. is nice, but only if people are searching for you. So you need to make sure to put yourself in front of them. Maybe you can make your place a destination and build in some cool aspects to the shopping experience instead of just what you have to offer as far as products go. Do something to stand out at the shop, and meet people where they are by doing some advertising in the newspapers, mailers, etc. Maybe get a radio station out. Or give the local news something to talk about and have them preview your store on tv.

Just some ideas.