HELP: What's missing??

I like the lounge section idea you can have a juice bar with snacks too lol its a good idea I believe. It will also make your place look busy if you have the room to do something like that.

 

Here are some things I wish my LFS did (i'm in a limited market in Delaware)

Sell bulkheads/hard to find plumbing supplies.

Have a large display tank

Stock Marco Rock or some equivalent

Cure your own base rock so you can sell it competitively (not $8/lb)

Stock fish more than once a week or biweekly (stale/dead fish are my biggest turn off)

Send out a flyer or mailing list saying what you got in stock that week

Have an awesome website
-Update this daily saying what you have in stock, let people shop online and pick up in store. I would be on that website all the time.

Offer incentives for frequent buyers.

 

I hope this helps, but this is just a list of what keeps me going back to the same LFS(which i have now been going to for 2 years for saltwater) :

When i ask for X amount of snails, i get a few extra and some shells, when i purchase a coral, ryan ( Incharge of saltwater) he asks me if i want to bag it, Ryan will have special deals every week or two, such as damsels for 2.99 each, frozen food 3$ off etc etc.

some other ideas:

A display tank that you can make offers on certain items.
Have a tank with all sorts of equipment in it to let customers experience how they work/look (for example vortechs, koralia wavemakers, thermometers, ATOs etc etc)
A mural of a reef somewhere

Just throwing stuff around

 

Great idea. There is a store I go to every so often (too far away to go more) that always seems to have the newest products in our hobby, specifically anything new from Ecoxotic. I'm sure there are other products too, but I only go down once in a while (2hr drive one way) when we visit relatives. Their prices are kind of high on some things, but you can guarantee to see me there when I get the chance. It is things like this, being able to see for myself and get a hold of these great new items, that keep me coming back and back again to the same store, even if their livestock prices might be a bit higher (though specializing in sharks/rays doesn't hurt them either ) than most.

 

Great Ideas folks! keep em coming. I really like the bulkhead and plumbing parts idea.

 

Not sure if this is along the lines of what you're looking for, but maybe a touch tank?

 

Not enough room at this location, but that would be very cool!

 

so you're going for more of things that can be sold?

 

Well, yes. That's what I'm looking for. He has a great lounge like setup with a couch and a big screen TV w/ a game system. He has a bar with stools to hang out and talk. So the atmosphere of the shop is really cool. I am looking for what products/livestock/equipment that he could stock that will make the store kinda stand out from the rest.

 

Live food at a good price would be awesome Also knowledgeable staff... around here if we want live food we have to order it or drive over 60 miles & pay crazy high prices