How to Make Best Out Of Visual Merchandising

If you run a private business and have your own store, you know how difficult it is to get ahead of your competitors. Whatever it is you're selling, you need to be aggressive and visible on the market. In most cases, quality is not a guarantee you'll make it out there. Luckily, you can maximize your sales with clever use of visual merchandising. Here's how:

1. Start with a plan

Every visual merchandising strategy should start with a clear plan. You need to decide where it's strategically best to place your products. In case you have a wide offer of products (as most businesses do), it would be easier to do it with a planogram. The traditional approach would be to sketch the plan on a piece of paper. If you want something more detailed and challenging, use a planogram software. Whichever the option, it will definitely help you visualize the arrangement of products without having to actually do it. In other words, it saves you a lot of time.

2. Let colors speak for you

The effect of colors on our mood is not a secret, so make them work for you. It doesn't mean that you should go nuts with colors in the store. Take your time when it comes to the choice of colors, as they should create a story for your customers. Research on the psychology behind colors is necessary - after all, it's your customers' emotions you're trying to affect. Also, avoid using the same colors as your neighbor's window - a contrast is what will make you visible. And never use a strong background color ' it will make your products invisible instead of easily noticeable.

3. Window display and exterior

The exterior of your store is as equally important as the outside. It's what will attract the customers to enter your store in the first place. First of all, make sure the arrangement of the products in the window shop is clear and appealing. You already know that colors are important, too. Next, make sure you change the window displays every two months to attract new customers to the shop but also to keep the old ones. Lastly, let them have a more detailed pick into what's inside. You can put up a magazine stand with brochures of your products, along with its features or special prices.

4. Apply the Rule of Three

When you create a display of your products inside the store, it's important to follow the Rule of Three. The Rule of Three has proved to be the most effective way to influence your customers. Your target customers will affect the height, width and best value of three products of your choice that should be grouped together. What you want to achieve is letting your customers make the choice, but make the choice very simple for them. You can also group the products in such a way that it also has a visual effect on the customers. Still this part takes a bit of serious effort and creativity, but it will pay off.

5. Be careful with the lighting

The best strategy here isn't to highlight everything that's in the store. Too much lighting can ruin the whole carefully planned setup. The primary lighting should definitely be strong enough for the customers to see everything clearly, but not too bright. The contrast is the best method - use accent lighting to attract attention to the most important areas/products or the ones that could be overseen. Ambient lighting is also a nice idea if you don't overdo it. The point of different types of lighting is to skillfully guide your customers around to the products that matter most.

Final comment

The visual merchandising strategy will be as effective as you make it be. In other words, it all comes down to you and your careful planning of each step. The visual element is one of the most essential ones when it comes to selling a certain product. Most of us are deeply influenced by what we see, so it's only logical you turn this fact to your advantage and improve your business.