How to Attract More Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
Attract More Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
Attract More Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
Sales are the name of the game when it comes to making a profit with your ice cream shop.
If your ice cream shop is experiencing lackluster sales, you will really need to attract new customers to keep your business afloat. What strategies you implement will depend on what you are doing now to gain customers.
Additionally, you may want to analyze what you have already done before and figure out why they aren’t working.
This post will give you some ideas to help you attract more customers to your ice cream shop. If you haven’t yet opened an ice cream shop, it may be a good idea to review our suggestions and see how you can employ them with your overall marketing strategy. Be sure to add them to your ice cream shop business plan too!
How to Attract More Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
1. Make Your Ice Cream Shop a Fun Place To Be
This has to be the first on the list!
There are a lot of benefits to starting an ice cream shop business. Enjoying yourself is one of them. You have to make your ice cream shop a fun, welcoming, and dreamy spot to spend time in! Remember, ice cream brings out the best in us – it makes bad moods disappear, smiles grow, and everything better. Does your ice cream shop do this? If not, let’s figure out why not and change that!
Perhaps you need to add a little music, brighten up the place with a fresh coat of paint, or move fixtures around. Whatever it takes, make your ice cream shop fun!
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
2. Upgrade Your Exterior Signs
Improving or adding your exterior signs that will let your potential customers know that your business is OPEN may improve customer sales. You’d be surprised what a spruced-up sign would do to grab the attention of new patrons. Remember that your signage has to fit your overall concept and branding. Your ice cream shop branding plays a big role in how your customers perceive you. A fun, welcoming, and recognizable brand can entice new customers too!
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
3. Update Your Logo
If you have already been in business for a few years or never really got around to creating a professional logo, consider updating your ice cream shop logo.
Your ice cream shop logo is a part of your branding efforts and makes it easier for your customers to create an emotional connection with your business. Use your updated logo to refresh your website, menu boards, signs, advertisements, and other printable items.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
4. Update or Improve Your Theme
If you have been in business for a while, your overall theme may need improvement or updating. Consider updating your entire theme. This may include new branding, new paint in different colors, new uniforms, and ice cream products. Let your customers know about your change to – through banners, window signage, outdoor signs, website and your social media accounts.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
5. Decorate Your Windows and Displays
Decorating your windows and improving window displays may attract more significant interest in your ice cream shop. Use your windows to highlight new flavors or other products. Make your displays fun, bright, and happy! You want them to be appealing to your target customer, whether it’s kids, adults, tourists, or locals.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
6. Add A-frames Signs to the sidewalk
Place a few A-frame signs on the street corners of where you are located. These can often help guide pedestrians right to your ice cream shop! Invest in additional A-frame signs for your adjacent sidewalk to remind customers that you are open.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
7. Improve your Ice Cream Menu
People like to try new things. For example, shaved ice and frozen yogurt! Adding to your ice cream menu – and promoting your new flavors – can improve sales.
Some patrons love to hear about all the various ice cream options you have available, even if they go back to their chocolate or vanilla. Promote your new products on your windows, use A-frame signs, and promote yourself online too!
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
8. Add Other Products like Smoothies
Adding smoothies can generate new sales, but it can attract new customers – including health-conscious customers. In addition, smoothies are often a high-value markup product and can drive sales and profits.
Consider adding ice cream sandwiches, milkshakes, or bubble teas if your location and concept allow for this. Additionally, you may want to add coffee and turn your ice cream shop into a profitable coffee shop business too!
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
9. Add Outdoor Seating
People love to enjoy comfortable places to sit down and eat their ice cream, drink their smoothies, or any other product you are serving. So placing small tables, umbrellas, chairs, or benches may be enough to get more customers to head your way. This may be a good time to re-arrange your interior seating too.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
10. Serve Coffee With Your Ice Cream
Adding coffee to your menu can improve sales and generate a large swath of customers. Investing in a small espresso machine can all a whole new product line for your customers to enjoy and for you to reap sales from. In addition to starting an ice cream shop, you may just want to open a coffee shop too!
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
11. Provide Ice Cream Samples
Providing those who walk by with delicious samples of ice cream or frozen yogurt can really increase the level of interest in your shop. Even if customers don’t come in immediately to buy ice cream, they will certainly remember you and have positive feelings about your ice cream business.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
12. Improve Your Parking
Accessible parking is among the top things needed for more customers. So ask yourself: can my parking situation be improved?
Parking may or may not be something you can influence. For example, you may talk with the property owner to improve the parking spaces and signs to add convenient parking for visitors. However, you may have to work with the city’s transportation department to see what improvements you can make to the parking situation.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
13. Add or Change Your Lighting
Lighting is one of those things that really matter when it comes to how your customers feel in your shop.
Improving interior and exterior lighting will always be in your best interest. In addition to safety, lighting attracts customers. While you may primarily be responsible for your interior lighting, you may also be able to put lights up on your windows, your doorway, your building, and your surrounding area.
You might need to work with the property owner and even the city to improve lighting around your ice cream shop.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
14. Market to Local Businesses
Hand out flyers and coupons to local businesses that surround your area. Network with neighborhood groups or clubs and invite them to utilize space on slower days of the week.
Attract More Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
15. Provide Loyalty Cards
Having loyalty cards may also improve sales by strengthening your repeat customer stats. For example, loyalty cards often work to generate repeat sales for coffee shop businesses and could be just as effective for your ice cream shop.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
16. Participate in Local Fundraisers
Allow your ice cream business to be utilized for local fundraisers. Not only will this bring goodwill towards your business and strengthen your brand, but it will generate sales. You can partner with local schools, clubs, sports teams, or churches and help them fundraise for their causes.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
17. Improve your Ambiance
You might need to re-visit your general ambiance.
Ask yourself, Is this a place you’d like to stay and enjoy your ice cream? If not, find ways to improve the look and feel of your ice cream shop. You’d be surprised what you can do with a small budget. Perhaps you need a fresh coat of paint in a more appealing color. Maybe you need to update the flooring, seating arrangement, or lighting. Consider adding background music or a television screen.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
18. Add or Improve Interior Seating
If you want people to stay, you need to provide them with a place to sit down comfortably. The addition of comfortable interior seating can make all the difference in getting more people to buy ice cream and stay. In addition, having some patrons stay after their purchase makes your ice cream shop appear to have life and activity. This, in turn, attracts more customers.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
19. Update Your POS system
A robust POS system will help you keep track of your inventory, your employees and process your payments fast. It will also be able to market to your customers via text message or email. For example, your ice cream shop POS system should be able to send coupons or send a message about special days.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
20. Update Your Social Media Accounts
If you happen to be the last person without an Instagram account, get one for your business! Your social media will also drive awareness but provide an opportunity for your customers to share your products. Often, customers will look at your social media accounts – such as Instagram or Facebook before Googling your address or menu.
Attract More Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
21. Host Parties or Events
Suppose you have space, host parties, and events. Make your space available for parties or company events, sports teams, and other organizations. This will drive sales, generate goodwill, and improve your brand awareness.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
22. Add Bike Racks
Something as simple as a bike rack could allow people to park and lock their bikes and enjoy some ice cream. Since many customers may be young students, they will likely get around on a bike, so having a safe and well-lit place to lock up their bike will be helpful.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
23. Improve Your Restroom
Your business restroom says a lot about your business. Having a clean, well-lit toilet can generate a positive feeling about your business and keep customers coming back. The cleanliness of your restroom directly impacts how people feel about your business. The cleaner and more well-maintained it is – the better for sales.
How to Attract Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
24. Improve Your Online Profile & Reviews
You can never control what customers say online about your business. Some customers will leave great reviews, and others will leave stingingly negative reviews even if you did all you could to ensure they had a good experience.
Consider responding to both negative and positive reviews. If you are responding to a negative review, never appear angry or frustrated. Instead, offer your version of the events. If you genuinely messed up, consider apologizing and offering them to come in again for free ice cream.
Attracting More Customers to Your Ice Cream Shop
We’ve listed a variety of ways you can take action to improve your customer numbers.
We will list them below:
- Make your ice cream shop a fun place to be
- Upgrade your exterior signs
- Update your logo
- Update and improve your theme
- Decorate your windows
- Add A-frame signs to the sidewalk
- Improve your ice cream menu
- Add other products like smoothies
- Add outdoor seating
- Serve coffee
- Provide ice cream samples
- Improve your parking
- Add or change your lighting
- Market to local businesses
- Provide loyalty cards
- Participate in local fundraisers
- Improve your ambiance
- Add or improve interior seating
- Update your POS system
- Update your social media account
- Host parties or events
- Improve your restroom
- Improve your online reviews
Start Your Ice Cream Shop Planning
This resource is dedicated to helping you open an ice cream shop business. Here you will find everything you need to start a successful ice cream shop. Learn how to attract customers to your ice cream business and grow sales.
