Advice for Boosting a FLGS

[Retreater]

Without giving too much background, a friend of mine from high school has started a gaming/comic book store in our small/middle sized town. He has solicited my advice about getting gamers to come into the store.

Here are some of the things he is already doing:
1) running Encounters every Wednesday (I am one of two DMs) [30% store discount on WotC products for participants]
2) Pokemon play on Saturday mornings
3) Warhammer 40K league on Saturday evenings [20% store discount on GW products for participants]
4) Warhammer 40K for beginners on Sunday afternoons [30% store discount on WotC products for participants]
5) Facebook page and mass emails
6) In-store board game demonstrations and various specials
7) Participation in Free Comic Day with costumed superheroes and live radio broadcast

Are there other successful marketing or programs that your FLGS's are employing? He's really trying to get my advice to ramp up enthusiasm for the hobby in my town (and to help get his store going).

Thanks.
Retreater

 

[SolitonMan]

Maybe get involved with Friday Night Magic? It'd give participants a reason to show up on a weekly basis.

A local comic shop in the college town where I work gives discounts to students, maybe something similar for the local high schools (and universities) would be of benefit.

I've often speculated on what I might do if I owned a game shop. One thing that's been on my mind and has become more and more possible as tech has improved is live streaming. Your friend could set up a web cam or mobile phone to stream to Ustream or some similar service, and link that to his Facebook account so when the stream is active all his friends would know. It might be pointless, but if the people are having a good time and others can see that, then the others might be enticed to join in.

That's all I've got at the moment...

 

[Neonchameleon]

Off the top of my head the big missing program is Magic the Gathering. And Magic prereleases and launch parties are huge if there's no local competition.

There's also the Privateer Press Warmachine/Hordes series of games that have distributor support. These will probably eat into GW and for a good reason but may attract additional players (IMO the games are better).

Also no Pathfinder?

And how much space does he have to rent out for games and leagues?

 

[Herschel]

Magic, Magic and more Magic. I hate 'em but card games are huge and profitable.

Try to find someone to DM some LFR sessions if he has the space once or maybe twice a month.

Have someone post game schedules at local colleges and high schools.

Try and find a co-op deal with a local restaurant for quick delivery of food. He'll pimp for them and they should give him a cut.

 

[pawsplay]

The local comics store here has a big TV that promos a bunch of board game stuff all do. The videos are pretty cool.

 

[OnlineDM]

I'll echo the Magic suggestion, especially if he can get access to Prereleases. It's a big money maker.

My FLGS is a combination game store / coffee house, and that seems to work pretty well for them. I want to support them, so even if there aren't any gaming products I'm itching to get I'll always try to buy a drink or a snack while I'm there. Some kind of food/drink sales, even if it's just pre-packaged stuff, would probably help to keep the revenue flowing.

 

[AeroDm]

I guess it depends on who the profitable clientele are. Someone mentioned a few weeks ago that their FLGS sells beer and wine and is also a pizza parlor. If the majority of profit comes from adult gamers, giving them an excuse to drop by or linger longer never hurts.

 

[MichaelSomething]

The most important thing is that your friend is a business person who wants to run a successful business that involves games rather then a gamer who wants to get into gaming through business.

Assuming that's not a problem, your friend can always read this RPG.net column about running a FLGS.

 

[Kzach]

One thing NOT to do is charge for table space. No matter how economically justified, it's just a bad business decision that will turn people away.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Put out a free in-house newsletter, even if only one page long, that contains reviews of products, info on upcoming events (both in store and of interest to gamers), and occasional gaming information. Solicit publishers for preview info that the store can include. Give the newsletter away with every purchase......or, as desired, to help generate customer loyalty.

Post a copy of the newsletter for in-store reading.....preferably near a Gamer's Seeking Games Board (which should allow free posting). Feel free to charge for game tables, but make those charges come with "Store Money" (i.e., like Canadian Tire money - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) that is redeemable for stuff purchased in the store. Charge by space, btw, not by number of gamers. Effectively, those who purchase in the store are not charged; those who do not purchase, are.

Instead of deep discounts, the store can offer "Store Money" with every purchase, as a flat % of purchase. Again, see the link above.

Purchase sales space at conventions. If you have an esoteric stock, this is the place you can sell it. But, be careful about which conventions you select. They should be ones you know have a high turnout by table price....ones you yourself have gone to and made purchases at. Make sure to bring flyers with discount coupons for in-store purchases. Get your convention customers to be your real-life customers!

Be handicapped-accessible, even if it isn't mandate by law in your area.

Sell snacks. Get your own fridge to sell Coke & Pepsi products. Do not accept the Coke or Pepsi fridge deal; it seems like a good idea on the surface, but it's a trap. Meanwhile, you can go to Costco (or similar), get soft drinks and snacks at a fair price, and then mark-up according to market value. Even people who don't have the $ to buy the latest boxed set may buy some Doritos while playing.

Never say bad things about any customer, to anyone. Ever. They will find out, and your other customers will wonder what you say about them when they're not around.

Get other local businesses to cross-promote. For example, get coupons from the local pizza joint if folks order pizza to eat in your play area. And then, get a % of pizza sales from that pizza joint. Likewise, when that next big movie is coming out, get the theatre to hand out coupons with their tickets. Offer to supply some draw prizes in return....or go down there on opening night and run the draw yourself.

Be a good neighbour. When you are participating in an event, try to get other local businesses in on it. Don't just have game stuff for Free Role-Playing Game Day -- have a coupon from your local ice cream vendor, a flyer from that same pizza place, and a draw ticket for door prizes you need to be in the store to win. Try to get customers to think of your neighbourhood as a cool place to be; it will mean they spend more time in your area, and, if you send them customers, other local businesses are likely to do the same for you.

Treat people fairly....but don't be afraid to ban people from the store.

Watch out for shoplifters. Spend some time learning about their tricks. Place your cash register near the door, and make sure you have good line-of-sight throughout the store (you may need mirrors). Keep inventory. Check inventory against sales. If some particular thing keeps going missing, consider moving it....and pay a lot more attention to that spot!

Shrink-wrap most products; leaving a single browse copy, if appropriate.

Always think about why someone should visit your store on a given week, and always try to have a reason.



Good luck!


RCFG