You can get hundreds of calls and not have one come to the store. This would not be good! You must now track how many of those callers visit your store.

From the Phone to the Store

When a person comes into the store you need to get their name, address, and email address. This will tell you whether they were a caller that put down the phone and came into the store, or if they are a walk-in visitor with no prior contact.

Keeping a detailed log on walk-in traffic helps you determine the source of your traffic. For instance you will know how many visitors come in from the following marketing efforts:

Phone calls

Storefront sign

Yellow page ad

Newsletter offer

Newspaper advertisement

Radio advertisement

T.V. advertisement

Referral from a friend

Website visit

Home show visit

Direct mail campaign

Newspaper insert

Flyer

It would be extremely helpful to know which of these marketing efforts are paying off for you. Understanding the source of your traffic will allow you to, perhaps, reallocate your marketing investment into higher response type marketing media. I have known some businesses to stop doing Yellow Pages completely because the numbers told them that it wasnt a good use of the marketing dollar.

Although there are no reliable industry averages for the amount of people that you can get to come into the store from a phone call, if you can convert 50% youre doing pretty well. The idea is to improve your phone call close rate over time.

A few tips on getting people off the phone and into your store:

1. Make them an offer to come in. You might give them a complimentary audiocassette on how to buy a spa. You might have gotten a great deal on a premium that you can give out to those who come to your store (towels, shirts, mugs, movie tickets etc.).

2. Dont unnecessarily give out your prices over the phone. This takes away the number one reason for your prospects to come see you.

3. Ask them to come in by giving them a choice of two times, one in the morning and one in the afternoon or evening.

4. Pique their curiosity by telling them you have something special to show them and that they will be pleasantly surprised when they arrive.