Spring Cleaning Mentality – Looking forward to a new opportunities in the second quarter

The first quarter has been weird. Strange weather patterns caused more shut downs and traffic variability than in recent memory. Local, regional, and national trends have people attempting to keep up with rapid changes. Even sports teams on the collegiate or professional levels had some weird ends to their athletic years. April is right around the corner, and let’s focus on putting the strange first quarter behind us and focus on growth in quarter number two.

In this article we are going to focus on some changing elements for April through June, new opportunities for your business, some additions to the community, and some best practices for you and your staff. Let’s dive in:

Elements of Change:

Events and CCA’s- When the City of Emporia’s Common Consumption Area goes into effect, there will be some changes/opportunities for businesses and events. Outdoor seating will become more feasible without the need to “control” areas in the same ways as in the past. Large scale visitor events can accommodate guests with a beverage as they walk around. And, we can add elements to existing activities to encourage additional traffic and spending. Look to the City of Emporia for more information in the near future.

Outdoor engagement- Obviously people are outdoors more now that the weather is nicer. Cleaning around your storefront, adding planters to “frame” your storefront, outdoor seating, attractive windows, appropriate signage, and more can help people “hang out” with your business and improve traffic.

Shifting events- Event locations, days, and usage types will shift this spring and summer. Check out the Emporia Main Street events page (CLICK HERE) and you can plan your strategy to capitalize on visitor traffic. Remember, these events can “stock the pond” but you need a solid strategy to fish for customers.

New Business Opportunities:

Classes to improve productivity and profitability- Emporia Main Street is planning an Artificial Intelligence for Small Business workshop on April 17th, and an Adopt a Garden workshop on April 24th. AI can help small businesses improve productivity and profitability if you know how to use the technology. Adopt a Garden is an important part of an attractive community core, and some newly reaffirmed collaborations with the City of Emporia will allow us to improve this necessary program.

New cross promotional opportunities- Changing events, the CCA, new businesses, and more allow for new cross promotional activities. Think about the local businesses you share customers with. Where do consumers go before and after working with your business? How can you create collaborative opportunities to share promotions and traffic in mutually beneficial ways?

Expansions in smaller “test” concepts- More and more local businesses are utilizing the Fabrication Lab to create small, unique product batches. 3D prints, molds (for chocolate, epoxy, etc.), laser cut items, and other small batch items can be made and tested in the Fabrication Lab inexpensively. If the tests go well, we can help you find other local companies for larger production runs. Create products that you can be the sole local provider for! CLICK HERE to contact the Fab Lab.

Additions to the Community:

New business partners- We have some businesses that weren’t around last spring that can alter consumer dynamics for holidays and events. Reality Check, Middle Ground Books, Midwest Momma, Emporia Myofascial Care, the addition of Simple Simon to the Axe Shedd, and many more can alter how people shop for every day items, for holidays (like Mother’s Day, for example) or other consumer traffic patterns. Make some time to get to know the newbies in the community to determine if you can work on collaborative projects. Other developments like the Hornets Nest, Radius Production, and many more that aren’t quite ready for announcement can help generate positive traffic patterns. New partners can create new opportunities.

Housing opportunities- People that live in the downtown area are more likely to shop in the downtown area. The same basic premise holds true in other parts of the community; if people are in easy walking distance to your business they are more likely to patronize you. So, what are you doing to reach out to people living in close proximity to your business? Some basic postcards, reaching out to property management companies, and specialized outreach through geofencing or other location based outreach can help you develop consistent consumer behavior that includes spending at your business.

Recruiting assistance- This Saturday we had a family looking to move to the area visiting downtown. We chatted for a while, got to know their interests, and introduced them to some unique elements that we thought they would appreciate. That type of personal interaction is critical in recruiting residents, shoppers, and businesses. Economic development folks from around the nation can tell you horror stories about families, potential shoppers, and businesses researching communities through online chats and then quickly discounting a community based on feedback. As more people come to the community with the warmer weather, we have the opportunity to generate more opportunities. Creating positive advocacy is an easy way to more our community forward.

Best Practices:

Cleanups- Remember to walk around your building and keep things clean. Trash at your front door can make people think you don’t care. Trash in the alleyway can “junk up” the town in the mind of the consumer. When you are creating opening and closing check lists, your outdoor cleanup should be on the list.

Partnerships- People don’t magically know your business exists. Getting involved with partners, events, and things outside your four walls are important to reach local customers. When is the last time you got to know the people on your block?

Communication/Advocacy- Internally communicating with staff about what is going on with your community and your business opportunities is a prerequisite for a successful entrepreneurial business. Create paper AND online communication conduits for staff. Make sure people are aware of what’s going on, and how they can help implement your strategy to improve sales and traffic. Make sure everyone is excited to advocate for your business, the area, and the community.

Focus- This is the time of year that some entrepreneurs start getting a serious case of “FOMO” (Fear Of Missing Out) from watching everyone else’s spring break adventures. That, when coupled with graduation induced staffing changes, warmer weather, social agencies pushing for donations, and a billion other things going on in your life can distract you. You need to focus on profitability. What products/services are moving? What do your margins look like? How are you reaching out to your customers to generate more sales/traffic? Businesses need to make money, and a lack of focus can hold you back.

It’s warming up. There are a ton of events on the horizon that will draw people to the community. New developments are getting closer to completion. Now is the time to refocus to generate more opportunities for your business.