Beth Herendeen said she was able to find success right away when she moved her business to Old Town from DeWitt in 2020.
And she said people “came out in droves” to support the local businesses in the Lansing neighborhood north of downtown at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I came to Old Town to boost my business because of the community and all the foot traffic,” said Herendeen, owner of Twiggies, an event stylist boutique in Old Town.
But despite that foot traffic, Herendeen said the pandemic meant she had to try new strategies to get customers in her door and make sales, including a heavier use of social media to promote her shop. Herendeen specializes in weddings and parties, offering floral arrangements homemade gifts, antiques and other items for events.
It’s an experience shared by many local retailers, said Laurie Lonsdorf, executive director of the Lansing chapter of the Michigan Small Business Development Center, which offers free consulting to small business owners. Business owners had to get “phenomenally creative” in their marketing ideas during the pandemic.
One of those ideas Lonsdorf said she saw was selling products over Facebook Live. For a lot of retail owners, such a tactic was a “step outside their comfort zone.”
“You might not think of retailers as introverts, but for a person who comes up with this idea and opens up their own shop, they spend a lot of time alone every day,” Lonsdorf said. “So suddenly having to talk to an audience and engage them in a different way is not always easy.”
Sarah Arredondo, owner of Katalyst Art Gallery and Gift Boutique in Old Town, said she credits her virtual marketing for keeping her shop open.
“I started a website and started selling on Facebook Live,” Arredondo said. “And it is the only reason that I’m still here and still in business.”
One of the many things Arredondo said she does is feature an artist every month in her shop. During the pandemic, she continued doing that, but on her website, where customers could also look at her inventory and make online purchases.
“I still feel like we are on a roller coaster, the highs are high and the lows are low,” Arredondo said. “But being able to open the doors again is a really good feeling.”
Pushing customers online, however, also creates risks because there’s so much competition. Lonsdorf said it is impossible to “beat” online shopping, so it’s all about making the customers “feel special” and trying to bring that in-person shopping experience online through exceptional service.
Lonsdorf said that Old Town has become a destination place, one you almost have to experience to believe. And in her own shopping experiences in Old Town, the shop owners always do their best to make each visit an experience.
“You really have to rely on community support to keep things going in tough times,” Herendeen, owner of Twiggies, said. “So be tenacious and put in the hours yourself because the customers do want to see you succeed.”