☆☆State of Affairs☆☆

Hey guys and gals,

I know it's been a while since I posted, but things are finally starting to get off the ground. After months of struggling to survive, we are now close to breaking even. I figure by the end of March, we should finally be able to pay all the bills, and maybe have a little extra for some food. I must say, though that it has been really stressful, but alas I talk to much.

Anyway, we are trying to figure out how to get people to hang out more in the store. See the idea, is to create a place where people can come hang out and play games without feeling like they are being pressured. The thought is that if people are happy hanging out, then when they want a game, they will already know where to go for their game.

So what are your thoughts? Do you like the idea of having a place where it is not an issue to hang out and play games, and maybe meet some other cool people? Tell us what you think.

Well, till next time.

Love Ya❣❣❣

☆Megan☆

Hey guys and gals,

I know it's been a while since I posted, but things are finally starting to get off the ground. After months of struggling to survive, we are now close to breaking even. I figure by the end of March, we should finally be able to pay all the bills, and maybe have a little extra for some food. I must say, though that it has been really stressful, but alas I talk to much.

Anyway, we are trying to figure out how to get people to hang out more in the store. See the idea, is to create a place where people can come hang out and play games without feeling like they are being pressured. The thought is that if people are happy hanging out, then when they want a game, they will already know where to go for their game.

So what are your thoughts? Do you like the idea of having a place where it is not an issue to hang out and play games, and maybe meet some other cool people? Tell us what you think.

Well, till next time.

Love Ya❣❣❣

☆Megan☆

I know a lot of video game stores try this or things like it. There's one in my city that holds Super Mario Bros. speed runs and Street Fighter tourneys regularly.

I don't know how well it works for them, I'm guessing it must for somebody. The key I imagine is finding what sort of events target customer wants. That will probably depend on who lives nearby to your store.

I think you'd be better off doing events than just having people hang out all the time, which may actually scare other customers off, if they feel like a part of the store is "claimed". There are reasons why all the demo units at gamestop etc make you stand up, and one is to prevent people from hanging out for too long. You want your customers to be able to circulate freely through the store. If you encouraged people to hang out, I'd be afraid you'd turn into a daycare for kids who don't spend much and may have issues at home.

what I'd suggest is talking to other store owners (maybe in other cities so they won't view as a competitor) and swap ideas. They may have other ones you haven't thought of, and they can probably tell you what might happen if you try certain ideas.

also this may seem like a a crazy idea, but I suggest you sell snacks and consider making popcorn (or cookies or something with a pleasant odor) to give away. People spend more when they smell things they like and if you are going to have people hang out in the store you might as give them something to buy while they are there. Impulse sales at the cash wrap can add meaningful money to your bottom line. You don't see many video game stores do this, which can be something that you can use to differentiate yourselves from the corporate stores.

Lastly I googled your store and got nothing. I see that you have a google profile, but I see no mention of a website (you won't be highly ranked in google without one) I'd suggest getting a better web presence. It's cheap to do and frankly it's expected in today's market. You'd be surprised at how many more people just might find your store, just by being easier to fin on the web.

good luck!

@Slag: My local game store does a couple of the things you mentioned, like selling snacks and holding events and tournaments.

As for hanging out, while I'm buying or looking at games I might stay and talk to them for a little while but I've never gone there with the sole intent of hanging out.

Just stick a plate of steaming pizza rolls outside. That'll bring in all the nerds.

Places to sit and free wi-fi would probably get people, along with selling some snacks/drinks. But i'm not sure how much that wi-fi would cost you.

@Slag said:

I think you'd be better off doing events than just having people hang out all the time, which may actually scare other customers off, if they feel like a part of the store is "claimed". There are reasons why all the demo units at gamestop etc make you stand up, and one is to prevent people from hanging out for too long. You want your customers to be able to circulate freely through the store. If you encouraged people to hang out, I'd be afraid you'd turn into a daycare for kids who don't spend much and may have issues at home.

I didn't actually think about this. The Gamestop in my area used to have chairs sitting in front of their demo units. Certainly they weren't very large chairs, but they were chairs nonetheless and you could sit in them. And you know what? When we were nearby, I would go in there and play demos for an hour or two with no intent of doing anything else.

If you wanted to do something like this, you could do something like a gaming themed club or bar.

Meanwhile, if you really want to hold tournaments and stuff, I would suggest three things:

1) Organize them only on weekends. Friday or Saturday should be the best days

2) Use popular games. Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of War, games of that ilk. Games that will bring people in.

3) Don't let some people sit there all night. If a bunch of people show up and want to play your game, then find some way to get people to move.

The tournament idea is great but it might be best if you find a way to set up several different groups of Xboxes and PS3's for it, with different games every week. For instance, if you were to play Battlefield 3, have 24 connected Xboxes in one spot, 24 in another, etc., so that many people can play at once.