If in-person sales are down, focus on making up the difference online. It may not be what you want, but begin where you find the money. Just don’t stop there! Bring your customers home to you.

Medium suggests that up to 60% of all Americans now prefer ordering online as opposed to shopping in person. I know the Amazon drivers are too well acquainted with me, and I need to change that. It’s not that I don’t favor local businesses, it’s just that too often I go to the trouble to get there and find insufficient stock to meet my needs. How do we change that trajectory?

• Add in-person enticements to your online marketing.

• It may be time to give your interior a remodel. It doesn’t have to cost a lot, but give it a different feel.

• Bring in summer’s flower power.

• Host a summer event to draw folks in.

How do we deal with diminishing supplies for shoppers? Limit what you carry. For example, I recently needed to augment my summer wardrobe. I went to a store that almost exclusively carried shorts and tops. They had one small rack of dresses, but 99.9% of everything in the store warranted a look see. The funny thing is, I had never shopped there before and it wasn’t where I was headed. I just saw it and buzzed in on a whim. What a serendipitous jaunt that turned out to be! I afterwards went to the store I had intended to visit and found absolutely nothing that met my needs. It was filled with a whole lot of other too much stuff, which sounded like it had everything, when in reality it had nothing I needed at all.

Bring in a blogger. Visual Therapy posted a great piece entitled 5 Tips for Shopping Summer Sales. Did I read it? You bet I did! When you bring in a blogger and suggest the type of content you want, you generate more interest for your business. Adding a blog to your website is like putting money in the bank, because it accrues interest every single day. Let’s break it down. A blog isn’t meant to sell anything. It’s meant to attract eyes and ears to your brand. You post it on your site and repost it in every group and discussion out there. Those posts live on and on and on. Weeks later they pop up and grab someone’s attention all over again. It’s like a savings account that generates passive income. Blogs are your deposits for future business.

               This summer you have a unique opportunity to turn your business around. Nothing is more vibrant or eye-catching than a hibiscus. Nothing is more refreshing on a sultry summer day than lemonade. And nothing is more irresistible than an event you tailor to Blue Springs shoppers. Do what you must to generate revenue today, but plan for a different July or August. Use summer as your muse and see what happens!