Bit of advice ... getting interest in mall vendor spaces

Anyone got any tips on drumming up interest in a new shopping mall?

I've made the post and all that ... on the Forum for such things ... but what next.

the old saying "if you build, they will come" does not apply here.

Come up with something new and thats your niche. There are many many malls all over SL.

Actually it IS attached to something very new and very pretty ...

Hence ... ideas sought. I know you're trying to be helpful there but yanno ... constructive is what I am seeking!

what is it you're looking for Cherry? retailers? actual shops or vendor boards? or are you selling your own products and you're looking for buyers?

It would have been helpful to know the type of advice your seeking. If you want us to divulge our business secrets openly in a forum for thousands to read, then your idea is certainly going to be watered down very quickly.

Best advice, get the word of mouth out on your newly created idea, thats your best bet.

Well didn't want to spam across forums ...

Basically looking for vendors interested in running a store in any of the skin/shape/clothes or any av augmentation as the entire theme of the sim is meant to be romance and beauty.

Sorry if I ruffled your feathers Xplorer. Not looking for 'business secrets' just inspiration how I can get the word out there. Assumed my friends here on the forum might have something they'd suggest or even IM me with ... kind of disparaging to get a first reply of 'give it up', no?

hmm well my suggestion would be firstly to identify the type and quality of the sort of clothes you want to feature...IM the designers and see if they're interested in setting up another shop.... you might need to take a hit on the rental income to attract them... and the other side of the coin is to get as many visitors (buyers) as you can. Some people use lucky chairs, free inv givers, sploders etc etc,.... others abhor them. Take your pick... and try to balance the two ... lol!

Good luck with your venture

Cherry - I'm not a shopper, and not a vendor. So take these ideas with a grain of salt

What about holding an event, maybe even with prizes - in the area where the vendors are?

In fact, if you scheduled a regularly-occuring event (like weekly), it might make it more attractive for folks in general because they'll know a crowd will be coming on a regular basis, rather than just some mall somewhere out in space with no traffic.

Just make sure its a genuine social or fun event that folks would want to attend - rather than just something buisness related.

Hope its useful!

No feathers ruffled here.

I reread your question and reread my response and I cannot see "give it up" in their whatsover. I am not upset that your slipping words I did not say into my response.





I just stated a fact with my response. I am sorry that vendors have not seen the value in your product yet, and THAT is what I was trying to impress by advising to advertise your niche.

I hope this clarification helps you better understand what my post was about.

Good Luck.

No problem Xplorer, I'm realise you're being helpful ... maybe a linguistic mismatch!

They've not had chance to see it yet TBH ... we're still making the mall .. for which, prebuilt but who cares, is a nice Rothenburg one.

K guys ...

This ultimately was useful as you've all said pretty much what I was thinking, nice to have confirmation that I am not totally crazy.

Yep Travis, events are going to be upcoming, got the bits and bobs for promotion ... so it's time to go shill my monkey-faced behind!

I'm lucky to have had some great experience running events and some great people around so ... wish me luck!

You got it!

Word of mouth works very well, Go and talk to vendors, and Ask them if they are considering Expanding. I Must stress TALK to them, Face to face. Spams will likely be Ignored, Show an interest in their products and be prepared to show Them an environment that will act as a suitable Frame for their Art. This also gives you a Chance to Tailor your Mall to a specific look, or target a specific Clientele. Since your mall is New i would ALSO consider offering them a Deal on the First Month's rent. You Are new, and They would be Assisting You in Making your property a success. For my own Shopping area, I've Selected Four or five Vendors I definately Want, so I've given them Stalls rent Free. Four out of Forty, I really won't lose any money.

Angel

I think the Rothenburg style malls are pretty nice. I always walk around and check out the stores when I find myself in one.

Great Bree! Come on over.

I was thinking of doing that TBH Angelique, I have a couple of people in mind whose products I really love and who I have had great dealings with in the past. Thanks for your support tho ... those of you who know me know I rarely shut up for long so talking is NO problem!

Make sure that it isn't just "attached". Most vendors quickly learn to avoid malls which are simply placed next to another attractive build. The location might have traffic, but the traffic isn't to the mall, so it doesn't result in sales.

Thanks Yumi ... myself and partner have been debating this one. The mall is on the opposite side of the sim from Chocolat itself, with the central 4096 area providing the music venue stage and open water. The TP will be on the mall side but hopefully all pretty things will encourage a little wandering about

In fact if anything I am more concerned that Chocolat itself won't get the traffic if it all goes to the mall!

cherry do you have slurl?

Nina, thank you precious, I forgot about SLurl - got one for the venue made but not for the Mall ... ty ty ty!

Hi Cherry

I have a small mall in the grounds of our club, which initially comprised of 6 units. I posted an ad on here, and within a couple of days I had my first tennant.

After a couple more days a couple more tennants moved in (i think it's a "chicken and egg" situation - people don't like to move into an empty mall, but once there are a couple of tennent in, it's more appealing).

Since then, we've been pretty much fully let - to the extent, I added a couple more stores in the last couple of weeks. Again, these were let very quickly.

The best advice I can give is patience. Don't expect it to fill up overnight, but also make the area attractive to general visitors. That way you give the store owners "passing trade".

We have been lucky enough to have become quict a busy place within a short period of time, with a lot of regualr visitors. We also have a very small "churn" rate of tennants, so it's a good indication that the stores are working for them - in fact the very first tennant who moved in is still with us.

Make sure you are easily accessible for your tennants, and respond to IM's quickly. My tennants know now that even when i'm offline, if they IM me, it gets forwarded to email and i'll log in as soon as I get it to assist them.

Also, it's probably best to finish the construction before selling rather than sell "off plan" - that way the potential tennant can actually see what they are getting.

As for secrets, there aren't any reallly - You could try incentives for early tennants, but it's probably not necessary - as long as you get a good stream of visitors to the area, just patience and good customer service should do the trick

Gomez

Thanks for all your input guys - we have vendor one already so ... yay!

Gomez, so true re service. I'm a Customer Service Manager rl, and although there are too many scammers and idiots around there's still the basic main core of good honest people in SL and I can only think of one person in all my time who simply didn't cut the mustard. Compairing that to 18 months rl ... I only wish rl had as good a grasp on customer service

cherry im not inworld atm, but yesterday i did a search on 'chocolat' and found one place. unfortunately the tp dropped me in a deep creek and fly was disabled. is that your place?

An empty mall is not very appealing to shoppers or vendors. I suggest using the Apez commissioned vendor system to set up vendors selling other peoples products in at many of the empty vendor stalls, you may sell some products earning a commission and it will make the mall more attractive to visitors as well as potential sellers who may want to rent space.

Yes most of my products are available thru the Apez system.

It shouldn't be - the neighbour is no fly, we're def not so sounds like something very screwy going on there. Thanks for letting me know Nina - the TP should have dropped you straight into the house at Chocolat itself - sounds like there's been a rollback on the island or something.

Thanks again Nina - it was all messed up, have sorted it out now ...