Advice for Boosting a FLGS

[SteveC]

What my FLGS (Pegasus Games in Madison) is get involved with the kids, both the high schoolers and even those in middle school. They have events every week that target and bring them into the store for cardgames. The "sealed deck + booster" events are huge sales events.

It's a fantastic idea, since parents essentially can get some babysitting for the price of a deck, two boosters and a little money for snacks.

You need to run a VERY "family friendly" shop to make this happen, and also have great and patient employees (which they also have). We roleplay there every Sunday, and they have a whole room dedicated to Pokemon leagues. As much product as our group buys, they would never stay open without the kids. If your friend has the patience for it, I'd strongly recommend seeing if you can partner with a local school or two.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Whatever snacks you may or may not offer, or if you allow others to bring food in, I hope its not too greasy, messy or pungent.

I mean, I like a buttered, grilled kipper, strong cheeses or ramekins of Mediterranean garlic spread every once in a while, but for some reason, not everyone feels as I do.

Apparently, the lingering scent of fish, garlic or cheese bugs some people.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Whatever snacks you may or may not offer, or if you allow others to bring food in, I hope its not too greasy, messy or pungent.

I mean, I like a buttered, grilled kipper, strong cheeses or ramekins of Mediterranean garlic spread every once in a while, but for some reason, not everyone feels as I do.

Apparently, the lingering scent of fish, garlic or cheese bugs some people.

I can smell it from here

 

[TheAuldGrump]

As mentioned - Magic. Maybe an alternate or general card game night as well.

Pathfinder Society as well as Encounters. Both 4e and Pathfinder are doing well, make room for both.

Mordheim campaign - allowing non GW miniatures. (A very good way to promote miniatures.)

The Auld Grump

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Whatever snacks you may or may not offer, or if you allow others to bring food in, I hope its not too greasy, messy or pungent.

Oh Man! Last year we were playing a boardgame in the borrowing room at Gen-Con when someone bust out their homemade dinner a table or two over.

The steamed broccoli was so depth-of-hell horrendously stinky that we were alternating between throwing up a bit in our mouths and laughing our butts off.

DS

 

[AeroDm]

My interpretation of a lot of the recommendations for boosting a gaming store is that people are aching for a community and the FLGS has the potential to be the hub of that community. Sometimes you do that by hosting events, sometimes you do that by making people feel like members (i.e. discounts), and sometimes you do that just by being so damn friendly that people literally want to be your friend.

That is probably solid advice for any small business and is easier said that done. Keep a vigilant eye towards your clientele and tailor your business to their needs.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If the local laws, the game store's lease or facilities in some way preclude offering snacks in store, you can always try to work a deal with one of the nearby eateries. (Tough, yes, but worth a try.)

 

[Mallus]

Apparently, the lingering scent of fish, garlic or cheese bugs some people.

Do you really want those kind of people as your customers? Philistines!

(hmmm, this may explain why I'm not a small business owner...)

Anyhow, I'm just going to echo what other people have already said. Run a variety of events (board games, card games, and RPG's) for a variety of age groups (kids, all-ages, possibly a few older teen/adult-only). Try to position the shop as a place to game as much as it is a retail outlet.

W/r/t snacks: try to partner with other local businesses around, get coffee from the best coffee shop in town, pastries from a beloved bakery (here in Philadelphia that would La Colombe and Metropolitan, respectively), etc.

And for god's sake, if the store is set up to encourage people to linger there, offer w-fi and make it free. Not having it, or worse, having wifi but trying to charge for it in this day and age makes a business look cheap and out of touch.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And for god's sake, if the store is set up to encourage people to linger there, offer w-fi and make it free. Not having it, or worse, having wifi but trying to charge for it in this day and age makes a business look cheap and out of touch.

I'll echo this somewhat.

I prefer my wi-fi free, but have been in many places where it is charged for (certain stadiums) or nonexistent.

Someplace like the stadium, you're a captive audience, so...

In a service industry/retail space, wi-fi should be free or nonexistent, because part of what you're trying to do is get people to stay in the store, and charging for it will be seen as nickel & dining your customers.

And here's the thing: offering something like this could be a doorway into partnering with other local merchants. Example: your lease prevents you from serving food in your store. But you're right next to Tony's Pizza & Subs. Neither of you has wifi.

While you can't offer food in your store, and Tony's customers won't all be gamers, unfailing a powerful enough wifi system in your store big enough to cover Tony's place would be a benefit to him. Possibly big enough for you to get Tony to offer a discount to anyone showing a recent (1 week old or less) receipt from your store.

He gets customers who hang out a little longer- just enough to order that extra canoli- plus a steady stream of customers from you. You get customers who are loyal because, among other things, they get a discount they can't get any other way than buying stuff in your store. Aaaand they're hanging out in your store as well...browsing & shopping.

Does it work? Yes- try going to some of the outlet malls, and you'll see partnerships like this popping up. "Shop here, get a discount there."

One of the big success stories of this partnership style was between the Dallas Mavericks and Taco Bell. While organizations like the Texas Rangers do things like let you get a free bottle of Ozarka if your Dot wins the Dot race at the game, the Mavs took it further. They offered ticketholders a free burrito at Taco Bell whenever the Mavs scored 100 points. While Ozarka giveaways boosted sales at participating vendors, post-100pt Mavs games cause sales to spike hard at Taco Bell. What started off as a one-time thing has become a partnership restaurant chains bid on. (I think Chili's has the gig right now.)