Trying to boost business in your retail store? Just when you thought you had run out of things to try, here are four ideas to you can customize to increase sales and get an edge on your competition.

1. Use the silent sales person

Small storeowners can be divided into those that care about in-store signage and those that do not. Poorly designed signage, too many signs, misleading messages, spelling errors, and signs handwritten in black felt-tip marker all likely to send a negative message about your store and product. With the wide availability of desktop publishing programs and affordable high quality inkjet printers, there is no excuse for anything less than professional-looking in-store signage.

Keep in mind the materials you are using, too. Use good quality paper and acrylic holders. Decide what type of signs you need and select the key components for each. Make templates for creating title signs, price tags, product knowledge sheets, signs displaying suggestions for how to use certain products, etc. Once you have a template and are clear on what materials you are using for each type of sign, you can create new signs with less effort, and in less time.

Finally, choose a simple two-or-three color scheme and stick to it throughout the store, and change the signage as often as you like so regular customers don’t get bored. Remember, your silent sales person is always there when the customer needs information.

2. Animate your window display

How often do you change your window display? Once a month? Once a week? Try changing your window display every day. I saw a very successful display that had five or six mannequins facing left and right with a backdrop of a street scene. Every day the mannequins would move a short distance and the backdrop would pan left or right along the ‘street’. Sometimes the mannequins would stop to ‘talk’ to each other as those around them continued on their journey along the window. Although the store was slightly out of my way, I found myself taking a detour to see where the cast of mannequins were going and what they were doing. The bottom line? Your display does not have to be as complicated as the one I saw or even tell a story but use your creativity and imagination to create an illusion of movement.

3. Music sells

In a recent study, French and German music was played on alternate days for two weeks in a UK supermarket. During the two-week period, French and German wines were displayed in-store. Interestingly, statistics showed that playing French music led to higher sales of French wines, whereas playing German music led to higher sales of German wines. Moreover, a customer questionnaire revealed shoppers were unaware of the effects of music on their purchase choices.

What can be garnered from this study? Music can be used to influence shopper’s buying habits indirectly. Can you think of a way to use music to boost sales in your store?

4. Discounted impulse items

This is an old-school idea often overlooked. Store owners know that “Save $15″ is a more powerful message than “20% off” because customers can identify with a dollar amount faster, and that the best time to sell an extra item is when a customer comes to pay. Combine the two and experiment with displaying discounted impulse items near the checkout counter.

Try these tactics in your store and let us know how it goes. We’d love to hear about the results.