Part I of finding the perfect location detailed your first step; identifying and profiling your customer.
In this part, we’ll discuss finding potential locations near your customer. You want to make it easy for them to patronize you. If they are likely to shop over lunch or on the way home from work you should consider locating near their work. If they are likely to shop with you after dinner, you should consider locating near their home. If your business involves their free time, you might want to locate near their entertainment options. You know this because you have a profile of your most likely customer(s).
At this point, you might consider engaging the services of a commercial realtor familiar with the area. An experienced realtor can save you time by only showing you properties that are within the demographics that define your specific customer. Remember, the majority of your customers will come from 1 – 3 miles of your location, with a small percentage coming from 5 miles.
Whether you engage professional help, or hit the sidewalks yourself, when you find a location, the first thing you want to do is confirm the demographics. Check them closely. Do the demographics of the area population match the people your profiles identified? If not, move on.
Can the location be seen from the street? If so, you will want to know what the traffic patterns are for the area. How many cars drive past the location? Is there a traffic light nearby? Are people driving past the location at 30 – 40 miles per hour or at 50 – 60 mph? (The faster the traffic moves on the street, the less likely it is that they will see you, or stop.) Does the location have easy access from the street? Is there sufficient parking?
If the location cannot be seen from the street, you will want to know how much foot traffic is in the area. If the location is not visible from the street and there is no foot traffic, you might want to take a pass because your marketing budget just doubled. Why? Because you are effectively hidden from view and the only way they will know you are there is through your marketing efforts. You will have to pull them to your business.
If the location is in a strip mall, how many vacancies are there? Is the location you are looking at the only one available or are there other empty spaces? What was in the space prior? Why did the business close? How long has the space been vacant? The answers will give you hints on how the location may perform.
Is there an anchor? Will the anchor draw your potential customer? What other stores have potentially the same customer that you have identified? Spend some time at the location and watch the traffic. Do people drive or walk there? When they get there, do they visit one store or several?
What time of day is the center busy; morning, afternoon, before dinner or after dinner? Let’s say you plan to sell donuts and coffee, from 5AM to 9AM, to morning commuters. When you visit your potential location during that time, you find that there are no cars in the parking lot. Further, you find that the other stores in the area don’t open until 9AM, and the traffic on the street drives by at 50+ mph. Move on. The hardest thing to do is to change people’s behavior. If they are not stopping now, it will cost you BIG bucks to change their behavior and get them to stop in the future.
If the location has passed all checks up to this point, next, you want to talk to the area merchants. Is their business increasing, staying flat, or decreasing? Do their customers come from the surrounding residential area or the surrounding businesses? How do they advertise? Which advertising vehicles work best for them? Small business owners are usually happy to give advice to new business owners, so don’t be shy and ask plenty of questions.
A good location, it is more than just affordable rent. Keep the above things in mind and you are well on your way to selecting a great location. Good luck and happy hunting.
Dispatches From The Front 