Today’s customers value experiences as much as (if not more than) things. Therefore, they’re buying based on how you make them feel, not just on what you have to offer. This experience-over-things mentality has contributed to the rise of the pop-up, specifically the pop-up’s popularity with brands, event marketers and experience creators.
For brands that are investing in pop-up stores, it’s important to know and measure the pop-up shop’s success. Now, with resources like GoGoGuest, a Storefront partner, brands, agencies and event marketers are able to effectively measure the success of pop-up stores using physical retail detail and insights. Here’s how:
2. Keep track of foot traffic engagement by day and time of day
The ultimate measure of pop-up success is foot traffic conversion to the venue or physical retail experience space. Brands drive traffic to their pop-ups organically through content, influencer marketers and by buying ads and re-targeting from different channels including Instagram, Facebook and Google.
With GoGoGuest, brands can measure ad and social media conversion at the physical retail level through:
Conversion using WiFi guest amenity combined with sensor technology
Conversion using a branded iPad device usually driven by raffles and special prizes
Understanding dwell time
Visual customer journey flow
“With GoGoGuest, we were able to determine that our guests spent an average of 45 minutes per visit. That’s an amazing understanding of our audience’s behavior, for our first This is Dogville pop up experience and our sponsors,” says George Nguyen, Founder of the recent This is Dogville pop-up store, powered by Storefront.
This is Dogville, a “pup-up” experience in New York City which was well-received by the media, was powered by GoGoGuest, and generated an average of 1,689 nearby impressions per day while seeing an average of 45 minute dwell time per guest. For Dogville and their brand sponsors, knowing the face-to-face time each brand received while hanging out with their best furry friend is a huge reason the agency wants to deliver this same pop-up experience to the LA and San Francisco markets. (Learn more about Dogville’s next pop up experience in LA and San Francisco!)
2. Capture Customer Data (With Permission)
While Instagram ‘likes’ are great for your brand’s online awareness, getting to know your fans in a face-to-face environment like a pop up experience or event is better.
To adequately capture your customer’s data in your pop-up store, here are some best practices:
Make it a friendly and welcoming experience. Branded WiFi captive portals, waiver or check-in forms can be more than just a check-box for your guest before entering the experience
Let them know why you’re asking for information
Pro tip: Reward them for letting you in. Boost a consumer’s eagerness to share their information by rewarding them with chances to win a discount on their first product purchase or next event ticket
Pro tip: Digital is great, but make sure you have visual cues and emphatic reminders scattered around the experience
For Grey Advertising, the team behind the Canon Portals SoHo pop-up store powered by Storefront, “the ability to make our waiver and check-in process far more fun for guests during New York City and LA #CanonPortals experiences was invaluable”.
3. Get Immediate Guest Activation
Reminding your guest why you’re in their inbox is a great first step to establishing your brand’s relationship with a new customer or potential customer. Your “Welcome” or “Hello” email when sent minutes after a customer signs up is guaranteed to steer your brand away from the SPAM box.
At GoGoGuest, 8 out of 10 people expect a Welcome email. Welcome Emails have an average open rate of 51.5%. For your pop up experience, this communication could be a subscription confirmation, or a confirmation to a raffle entry. The welcome email you send sets the foundation for the rest of your communications with a new customer. Your welcome message is the one broadcast everyone will see, which means the impression it leaves will compound over time!
4. Use a Pop Up WiFi Service
One unexpected challenge when creating a pop up experience is the lack of WiFi available at a short-term retail venue. This becomes a challenge when WiFi is an essential part of your infrastructure to process purchases, provide a guest amenity or run back-office production needs including music streaming, video streaming, cameras and sensors. “A holiday pop up store in Soho was possible thanks to GoGoGuest plug and play wifi service,” says Dana Rodio, the Marketing Director at Dylan’s Candy Bar, who recently used Storefront to book its short-term space.
Questions to ask before renting your pop up experience or short-term retail space:
Is WiFi available in the space?
Test the speeds for download and upload bandwidth
Be transparent about how many devices are expected to connect, uses and duration of connectivity. This is critical information for any provider to ensure that the performance of your WiFi is reliable and fast.
Learn how data and insights with solid pop up WiFi infrastructure is useful for your pop up experience, event or short-term retail shop. Chat with GoGoGuest, a Storefront partner.