Carolyn Oppenheimer
In this difficult retail economy, a shopping center owner can’t simply assume that the tenants will do enough to generate the customer traffic needed for long-term success.
Certainly, national restaurant and retail chains often have substantial marketing and advertising budgets that can be of tremendous help. It’s no secret that stores and restaurants surrounding major traffic generators benefit from their efforts.
But many retail centers have a mix of everything from mom and pop stores to startups to small chains that don’t have large advertising budgets. So what can a shopping center owner do to supplement the tenants’ efforts and not break the bank in the process?
Here are six things to think about that could help:
1) Realize that marketing dollars will go further in a small town than in a big city, and adjust your planning accordingly. Advertising in small-town newspapers and on the radio costs a fraction of what it costs to get similar exposure in a large city.
With that in mind, think about a highly targeted approach in metro areas, perhaps focusing on a tight radius around the center and considering channels that directly target shoppers that fit a very narrow — but prime — demographic.
2) Events matter, and you don’t have to spend big money to make them a success. Think about events that will bring families to the center, tied to holidays such as Halloween and Christmas.
For Halloween, you can help generate goodwill by simply paying for candy and delivering it to merchants. Create special posters for storefronts. And think about having a “safety fair” with fire trucks and ambulances — these are big hits with the kids.
Of course, having Santa onsite for the Christmas season is an excellent traffic generator. Consider tying in an event such as a radio promotion with a charity like the Toys For Tots program.
3) Direct mail can help raise your center’s visibility. You can simply draw a circle around a map of the center and send a piece of mail to all households within that area, or you can work with a direct-mail specialist to pick households with your desired demographics. A call to action of some sort is critical. Include coupons that offer a special deal from participating retailers, which should be tied to the mailing to entice customers into the stores.
Newspaper ads and billboards can be extremely expensive, but a quality direct mail can cost less than $10,000 while still reaching a substantial audience. And with the growth in Internet advertising, some marketing experts say direct mail is actually more appealing than it once was, because there are fewer other mail pieces competing with yours in the mailbox these days.
4) Consider paying for some advertising for a tenant if the location is struggling. Some marketing help in a tough time can make the difference between a small retailer making it or not. If it’s a quality operation, wouldn’t you rather keep them going rather than have to go through the cost and hassle of finding a new tenant?
Some properties that have challenges may warrant the landlord covering the cost of the marketing. This also allows you to select the best advertising vehicles and message. (That can be of help to small retailers or restaurants that don’t have any experience in advertising.)
5) Make your signage consistent and clean, because drivers need to know who’s in your center. Having strict criteria is essential. Avoid message boards unless you have someone on-site to consistently change the messages. Don’t overcrowd your signs with too many retailer panels, that defeats their purpose.
Don’t lose sight of the basics. Realize that if your center doesn’t have all of its tenants facing the highway, people will forget that some of the stores are even there. So make an extra effort to help them gain more visibility.
6) Consider using social media, but know that it probably won’t be a major customer traffic generator. Facebook can help you develop a devoted online fan base, but stories of social media generating major retail center customer traffic are few and far between.
Also, consider the demographics of your shoppers. If you have a base of urban customers in their 20s and 30s, social media may be well worth the effort. But if your center is in a small town with an older customer base, your time may be best spent on other marketing efforts.
People often like to talk about social media, but after all, time is money. If you are having to constantly worry about updating social media sites or are paying someone to do it, consider if it’s worth it.
Remember that the worst thing is to do social media halfway. After all, what’s worse than a Facebook page where the most recent post is from six months ago?
— Carolyn Oppenheimer is executive vice president of Halpern Enterprises, an Atlanta-based company that owns and operates more than 3.4 million square feet of leasable space in 33 retail properties in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.