The days are getting a bit longer and a bit brighter.

Robins are beginning to appear in yards and soon the buzz of lawn mowers will be heard through the neighborhood.It is a time of revival and reawakening. People are coming out of hibernation and are anxious to get outside again after a long winter.It is a good time to take a good look at your business storefront and plan on how to increase foot traffic and interest in your business.Whether you have a service or product based business, these tips can help increase interest in your business.1Take a look at your storefront from the outside in. See what your customers are seeing. Is your business welcoming? Sometimes something as simple as sweeping up the area in front of your store or just putting a welcome mat at the door will do the trick. Add flags or flowers as the weather gets warmer.2Update your window displays often. Get creative with them. Your window display should be your invitation to people passing by. A well-designed window display encourages impulse sales and piques a customer's curiosity. Customers will start to look forward to what is coming next.3 Put on a happy face. Customers choose to shop smaller local businesses over larger franchise chains mainly because of personal customer service. They are your friends and neighbors and they enjoy being greeted with a smile and a sincere "how are you?" A smile, great service and product knowledge and enthusiasm will keep your customers coming back. Make sure this superb customer service is also extended to your employees. Remember happy employees will then treat your customers well in return.4Engage old customers in a new way. Think about ways you can get the attention of your existing customers. This can be done by offering new discount or customer loyalty programs. Make it attention grabbing, something that will renew their interest in your business, as well as attract new customers. Send out emails or e newsletters or social media to promote your discount. Don't let your customers forget about you.5Use location-based tech services to promote your business. Everyone is using Internet searches these days to find businesses which interest them. You can promote your business using mobile apps that target customers within the vicinity of your business. Groupon, Four Square, Living Social and other apps let you post information about your latest offers to consumers within a certain distance of your business.6Host a seminar or a workshop. Both product or service based businesses can get a good deal of foot traffic by educating their customers on how to get the most out of what they are buying. It could be a floral shop offering floral arrangement classes, a craft shop offering knitting classes or informational seminars on insurance or financial planning. Promote your seminar through social media, newsletters or signs in store.Membership in the Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce can help you and your business in many of these ways. We offer a weekly newsletter, Chamber Chatters, which you can promote your business and events and discounts you are offering. You can sponsor or host a seminar or workshop for the Chamber members and public. We are currently developing a membership directory which will be available to the public this spring. We have many opportunities to help you promote your business. For a full list of membership benefits please visit our website tamaqua.net.Our membership drive is currently underway. Membership renewal and invitational packets have been sent out. If you received yours, please take the time to review how the chamber can help your business succeed and consider joining the chamber. We ask that all memberships be completed by April 1, 2016 in order to be included in the directory. If you have any questions or you are interested in joining the chamber, you can contact Vanessa Gerhard at the Tamaqua Chamber office at 570-668-1880.