Does your business have a Facebook page?

Social media is all about exposure to as many people as possible, and Facebook cannot be ignored if you want to grow and retain customers. Set up a page for your shop and encourage your customers to visit it.

Make sure all of your Facebook friends are aware of your shop page. The goal here is to get as many followers as possible. Also have a link from your store’s website to the Facebook page.

We use Facebook almost every day to inform customers of happenings at our shop, from stock deliveries to special offers, and it works. The nice thing about it is that when someone follows you, they want to be kept informed about your shop. So while you might have far less followers on Facebook than Twitter for instance, they are more likely to buy from you.

Don’t forget to follow your customers as well. This not just a courtesy – it can also give you a greater insight into who they are and how their lives work.

To see how we connect with our customers, take a look at the Lambs Larder page here: Facebook.com/LambsLarder

This advice is taken from the e-book ‘So, you want to run a convenience store?’ by Peter Lamb. It is available for free download here.