Our Pop-Up Was A Success, Now What?

Posted on February 26, 2020 by CBSF
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Our Pop-Up Was A Success, Now What?

Posted on February 26, 2020 by CBSF
 

Don’t lose out on the momentum your pop-up generated, build upon it!

Once your brand has hosted a successful pop-up, it’s time to take advantage of the buzz the event generated and drive your retail business forward. And, while what you do next will depend on a number of factors (like the resources you have on-hand and your overall long-term goals), below we’re sharing some of the best things you can do to build on the hype from your successful pop-up event, today.

Start by promoting your pop-up after the event is over

The best way to continue reaching the customers who visited your pop-up is to ride the wave of momentum that follows it by using social media. This is the best time to share pictures, videos and recaps through platforms like Instagram and Facebook, sharing the success of the pop-up and showing people how great of an event it was. It’s also an effective way of keeping the event front-of-mind for those who showed up and promoting your brand to those who couldn’t. 

The key is to keep in contact with the customers who were aware of your pop-up so you don’t miss out on any post-event sale opportunities. 

For example, if you have any post-pop-up product promotions that you’re offering in-store, posting about them on social media can help drive traffic to your store; you can also send out an exclusive post-pop-up discount through your newsletter. 

And, if you want to engage customers even further, create a custom hashtag or two that audiences can use when tagging any photos or social content from your pop-up to generate lasting conversations around your event – you can use these hashtags for any future events, too. 

Consider opening a flagship store

Your pop-up event was the perfect opportunity to try new things, like demoing a new product, testing out an in-store experience or partnering with other local retailers to showcase limited-time collaborations. 

But that also means you’ll have gauged how those new approaches performed and, based on the success of the event, you may be in a prime spot to open a new flagship store where you can implement those new experiences for a wider audience. 

If you approach your pop-up as a way of testing the retail market for its acceptance of your product or to determine if a particular location can support it, then it can be an excellent barometer of the success of a flagship brick-and-mortar store. 

The beauty of a pop-up store is that they allow you to put your in-store experience in front of different audiences across your city, and this exposure can help you narrow down the particular location that is most likely to do well with a flagship.  

Create your next in-store experience

Now that your pop-up store has given you insight into what works and what doesn’t for your customers, you can focus on creating a new experience in your existing retail locations that make your stores a destination customers flock to. 

For example, if your pop-up featured your store’s new sports equipment and allowed customers to demo items like hockey sticks and rollerblades on a makeshift rink, you could have a product test hub installed in your store or a virtual screen where customers can test products on virtual rinks or golf greens. Restaurants can do the same, where they can take unusual dining experiences from a pop-up and host them in their physical locations certain days or times of the month.

The point is to take an iterative approach to continue testing what will drive traffic to your stores following the success you experienced from your pop-up. 

Target an untapped customer demographic

If your pop-up brought in a customer demographic you weren’t expecting, this is a great opportunity to target a new audience of potential customers you may have never thought of before. So, it could be time to optimize your permanent retail locations to offer products and experiences to more than just one or two customer segments.

To test this, use the purchasing and demographic metrics you have from your pop-up store to determine which products customers purchased most, and what type of customer most frequented your pop-up. This is especially helpful if you hosted your pop-up over a span of days or weeks because you’ll have the data to support testing new initiatives. 

This also helps determine whether your store could use a design refresh, as you’ll be testing how successful purchasing is in-store versus your pop-up. You’ll quickly discover if there are any barriers to purchasing in your store. 

Offer a limited-run product inspired by your pop-up

You can carry on the success of your pop-up store by offering limited-time products inspired by, or only sold at, your pop-up. This not only gives customers a chance to purchase more of the items they found (and loved) at your pop-up, but people who couldn’t attend will have an opportunity to get their hands on those products (and you’ll drive new customers to your physical retail locations). 

If you sell home goods, you could create a candle based on your pop-up, or offer limited-run items in your store that were originally only sold during the event. 

And, if you’re thinking of hosting another pop-up in the near future, creating a product to promote it can be just as effective if you want to build excitement and awareness for a future event! Speaking of….

Host another pop-up

There’s a reason why many retailers host pop-ups after experiencing success with their first one: you create demand, not only for your products but for your brand in general. Some ideas to get you started for your next pop-up include: 

  • Traveling pop-up store – take your products on a tour throughout your state, province or even nationally 
  • Seasonal pop-up store – get creative and host a pop-up store with curated products revolving around a season, like the ever-popular Autumn season! 
  • Rotating pop-up shop – consider renting a storefront throughout the year at a few different locations and use social media to build hype with a ‘where will we be popping up next?’ approach

You can also partner with service that would feature your product as the mainstay of their own pop-up. A personal stylist, for example, could use your fashion line as the focal point for their pop-up where they dress people for free at the pop-up and encourage customers to shop your product range. 

KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM WITH ITERATIVE RETAIL DESIGN

Don’t miss out on the unique opportunity to take your retail space to the next level. Harness real-time design updates that help you drive sales, deliver unforgettable customer experiences and scale your store. At CBSF, our passion is helping retailers succeed with our expert team of retail design professionals. Learn more about our services by contacting us today.