Footwear Insight

footwearinsight.com March/April 2019 ~ Footwear Insight • 17 gives stores a chance to talk directly to consumers, and to give those consum- ers a chance to share their networks, too, says Lampen-Crowell. "We used to make newspaper ad and radio ads, and we were just throwing things out there to people and hoping they locked on," he says. "Social media is a person telling another person." Websites and Search Engines If you're looking to bring shoppers through your doors — especially the ones who don't already know you — then making sure you're present in their online searches is critical, stores say. "We use specific ad words and we're very focused on SEO [for our website]. We brought in an outside consultant to help us with that, and it brings eyeballs to our website," Lampen-Crowell says. "We do sell online, but we know that more than 80 percent of the people who are coming onto our website are looking at us there and then coming in online." In support of that, Lampen-Crowell says, they use geotargeting to make sure people searching in their area are seeing their ads. "We're finding those people in our area who are likely to come in," he says. "It's a marketing tool, but you have to get them to the site. You definitely have to have a marketing spend around your website whether you're selling online or not." And don't neglect the power of your email list to speak to your existing cus- tomers. "We're sending out more emails than in the past, and they're more seg- mented," Heidrich says. Each message goes to a distinct group of shoppers, which avoids overwhelming them. "They're really targeted — we're not just blasting everyone," he says. Everything Else Retailers say you really can get almost everybody (assuming you sit in an area with broadband access) online — even the older customers many assume aren't as digitally savvy. But that doesn't mean they're not reinforcing their digital mes- sages with other brand touchpoints, too. Sonya Estes, the owner of Runners Roost in Lakewood, CO, says she and her team have put extra effort this year in connecting with local high school and col- legiate running coaches, and in stocking the spikes and specialty goods they need to be a resource for them. And as older customers who once shopped the store for their kids' track needs come back in looking for comfortable everyday styles, she says she's working with her vendors who make the product that appeals to them like Altra, Brooks and Hoka One One to support outreach efforts to local medi- cal practices with prescription pads and other promotional items. Heidrich says Lamey-Wellehan has continued to insert flyers in the local paper, and some limited radio ads on the local radio station; Fleet Feet Nashville's Adams says last year she worked with another local Fleet Feet franchisee to run a joint ad campaign on NPR. And while she doesn't have any plans to repeat it this year, she's glad she tried it. "I don't have a specific number of people who walked in the door because they heard it, but so many existing customers were like, 'I heard the ad on NPR!,'" she says. "I think it's important to try new things, and to just play with a little bit of the budget. Let yourself be surprised." l Crowdsource will run in every issue of Footwear Insight, and we want to know: What's on your mind? Whether it's hiring and staffing, succession planning, or making sense of social media numbers, we'll be diving into a new topic every issue, and we want to hear from you. Reach out at jbeaudry@formula4media. com or @footwearinsight and let us know what you'd like to Crowdsource. "You definitely have to have a marketing spend around your website whether you're selling online or not." Chris Lampen- Crowell, Gazelle Sports Check out Footwear Insight Extra online at footwearinsightextra.com for more industry news and analysis. Published the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.

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