Local Running Store

Sponsor a 5k on the track. Runners have to predict their time beforehand and are not allowed to wear a watch, or receive split times. Give discounts/gift certificates/awards not to age groups, but to the people that guess the closest.

RunStore wrote:

Run a running store and wanted to see what type of promos or events you, the consumer, would be interested in?

Thanks

Know your target market, hint: it is not here.

Obviously, never the less, trying to generate ideas from fellow runners.

honestly you need to hook up with a charity group like TNT or something along those lines. When they have their initial meeting give a talk about the importance of good running shoes and that you will provide a 15% discount for all participants. I worked in a running store in grad school and the owner did this and we had swarms of customers. They are definitely difficult customers since most have not run a lot and have no idea how a running shoe feels and complain a lot but they were a cash cow!

I agree with the charity runner post. They are a huge cash cow ig you provide a discount that is competitive. No only do they buy shoes but they stock up on all accersories (body glide, gels, water bottles, clothes, etc).

I am not sure where you store is located and what the running community is like. But for some running stores weekly runs can gain a huge following. The Fleet Feet in DC has 20 - 30 runners show up early Sunday morning for group runs and these runners are loyal to Phil the owner.

If your community is in need of additional group runs have a Sunday morning run before your store opens and have it end when the store is about to open. These people will hopefully buy what they need from you. You can also have a Tuesday night track workout. You can provide training guidance to your comunity.

Also have a monthly running related lecture. On what is typically your slowest night, have a guest speaker come in to talk about nutrition etc. Advertise the hell out of it and this will also bring in customers. Most people have no idea about training, eating etc like the letsrun community.

A series of races in the general area that:

- have one race every 3-5 weeks

- have a variety of distances

- have very accurate and fast courses (I don't care about scenery and hate race directors who go out of the way to make a course challenging)

- make the information about the race available well in advance (some of us like to plan ahead).

- make sure the timing and results are accurate and quickly available

- make the awards, and extras in proportion to the size of the race

- try and be consistent from race to race and year to year so people know what to expect

- for longer races make a training plan or coach available to runners who need help preparing for it.

Do these things and I'll be a loyal customer and entry into your races.

I've worked at a running store for the last four years. About 50-70 percent of my customers are people who run casually as part of a fitness routine and couldn't tell Haile Gebrselassie apart from Haile Mengistu, Haile Selassie or Hank Greenberg. The rest are recreational racers and I might get one person in a week (out of about 300 customers, give or take) who can break 20 minutes for 5k.

Reaching out to groups like TNT is great. If they recommend your store as the place to get shoes, they will come in to buy shoes and buy a sports bra, a new outfit and some socks.

Promotions that draw people are coupons or sales. Hand out a coupon at race or something. People love sales, even if the price they pay isn't that low. Also, some sort of gimmicky giveaway is nice (eg free socks with a pair of Adidas shoes)

It all comes down to providng a service and to get the public to believe they should support you rather than saving 5 dollars online. The above are great suggestions. You need to get yourself out in the community and get your community to believe you are the palce to come for running related news, advice, etc.

Good idea, looks like someone already does this...

http://www.lmjs.org/Time_is_on_your_side

That is so true. Most customers of a running store are casual runners and they will buy things up if they are buying things "on sale." By far tis is your target audience. You really need to get the charity runners and if you are in a smaller market that does not have a lot of charity runners maybe you could promote a marathon training program for a marathon in your area or general area. It is a bit hard to dispell advice if we have no clue where you are located.