The baby and maternity market is rife with a diverse array of products. Just to name a few, there’s maternity wear for expecting mothers, not to mention all of the quickly outgrown clothing for newborns; there are toys and soothing tools for babies at every stage of their growth and nutrition products. While innovation and uniqueness is a great asset for any product or business, building a baby boutique isn’t necessarily about selling a one-of-a-kind product. It’s about building on the strengths of the products you want to sell by engaging your customers. 

Whether your baby boutique is still in its nascent stages or you’re looking to give your boutique a boost in sales, consider some of these customer-focused options.

1. Make your Boutique Locally Relevant
   1. If you are opening a baby boutique, aim for an area where there will likely be a need for baby products. Some place near a hospital, maternity center, or in a residential area with a significant number of young couples is more likely to draw in baby boutique customers than a shopping plaza near a retirement community.
2. Combine Shopping and Entertainment for Shoppertainment
   1. Shoppers enjoy interactive events, where they can walk away with a product and knowledge of how to use it or where the product comes from. To engage customers, consider holding events in your boutique if the space allows for it.
   2. An event could be as simple as an arts and crafts evening where you invite parents to bring their children. Whatever your product is, find a way to integrate it into a fun, informative, or interactive experience.
   3. At the beginning, consider holding one major event a month where you draw in large amounts of people. As you get the hang of it, you can add more major or minor events to your boutiques calendar to keep people coming back for more.
3. Give People a Reason to Go to Your Store
   1. Hold exclusive events, limited and only available items in stores and use online coupons to use 'in-store only' to promote your boutique.
4. Cultivate an Online Presence
   1. If your boutique is an online-only shop, this may be a given, but it’s just as important for brick and mortar stores to have a presence on social media. “Likes,” “shares,” “check-ins,” and online reviews are the new word of mouth, so make sure your presence is known both on and offline.

These ideas are focused on locale and customer engagement, but there are many other ways to build your boutique such as shopper-friendly decor and online advertising. The most important thing to remember when trying to build your boutique is to continue searching for and developing ways to keep your costumers engaged in what you have to offer.

Business tips courtesy of MyTopBusiness.com and Shopify.com.