How to get customers to buy more and spend more
Whether you’d like to increase online sales, increase sales in-store or, via email or telephone, there are a few simple things you can do. Don’t forget to monitor your progress on a continual basis. Pick one of the tips we’ve listed below and go with it for a couple of weeks. See if you notice a significant difference in sales. There’s no need to implement them all at once.
Increase your online sales by implementing these few strategies:
1. Focus on fixing problems instead of making money. Yes, you heard me right. When you focus on solving real-life problems, people will be more likely to trust you/your brand and ultimately make a purchase. Make sure that you are engaging in dialogue, answering FAQs and tailoring products to meet needs. Never underestimate the power of providing what your customer wants instead of what you want them to want.
2. Keep style and fashion in mind. If you know the saying ‘keeping up with the jones’, you’ll be on top of this one. People love to purchase products in order to maintain/create a particular image of themselves. This makes them feel more popular, successful, happy, and so on. Think about how your products will make people feel and then sell them based around that particular feeling. This is not just reserved for in-store purchases, you can also increase online sales with this very technique, especially if you send out email campaigns which could be tailored to living a type of lifestyle.
3. Stock complementary products. Apart from an avid interest in digital marketing, I also enjoy crafts. As such, I make regular forays in Hobbycraft. And let me tell you, Hobbycraft are artists at complementary product display. Their coloured wire spools are always right next to pliers, wire cutters and other metal findings. I don’t have to find another shelf or another section. They assume that if I want wire, I may want a pair of pliers. That’s not to say all of their pliers/cutters are stocked in that section with the wires (they do have their own section too), but a couple of them generally find their way in (perhaps the ones that Hobbycraft wants to push?). And of course, the same applies to the quick snack sections in Sainsburys and Tesco. Wherever there are pre-packaged sandwiches, you’ll notice crisps, chocolates and drinks. What are they assuming? That if you’re there for a sandwich, you may well be there for a meal, so why not stock the complementary meal items? If you think this doesn’t increase sales for them, think again.
4. Upsell an existing product – someone has called in to make a telephone purchase for a selection of plastic garden pots. They want to pay on the phone. You have two options. You can either go ahead and take the payment or you can suggest something that’s slightly better – maybe a selection of ceramic pots that cost a little more. They may even thank you for suggesting the option, especially if they didn’t know it was there. Telephone and broadband companies are experts at doing this as well, always trying to upsell a package so that you get either more GBs per month or more minutes per month. Keep in mind – you don’t have to be pushy/unfriendly about it, you can make it a polite suggestion, making sure to extol the benefits of the product you’re pushing.
5. Cross-sell – WH Smith and Argos are experts at this. Whenever you buy a product, they offer you some sort of insurance with it. This happens for me at least, every time, without fail. And WH Smith are great at asking if you want an additional discounted chocolate or gadget at the counter when you’re paying. Even their self-checkouts do it on their own. It’s really disconcerting. When you tap the ‘pay’ button, you have to say ‘no’ to an offer of a Galaxy bar or a Cadbury’s chocolate before you can proceed with your transaction. I wonder how many people accidentally hit the yes, or in a moment of buyer’s remorse (after all, they’ve just bought a bunch of other things), just say what the heck, why not? If you can think of a way to point customers to products they may find relevant or interesting (or just add-ons to what they’ve already selected), you’re sure to increase sales.
6. Offer a package deal – package deals saturate the market. You see them everywhere ‘3 for 2 in Waterstones’, ‘2 for 1’ in Tesco, and of course, Meal Deals where you can get a drink, sandwich and packet of crisps for a discounted price, if you choose special products incorporated into their ‘deal’. Boots Pharmacy does this too. And think about shopping online. Take Argos.co.uk as an example. If you search for a specific digital camera on their site, you won’t just get taken to a page with the digital camera on it, you’ll also get offered a camera case and an SD card. Even better, ‘if you buy all 3 together, you’ll save $XX’ – never mind that they’re asking you to spend money you probably wouldn’t have spent anyway.
And there you have it. Six fail-safe tips on how to get customers to buy more and to spend more money. No matter whether you’re trying to do this via email marketing, online, or in-store, you’re sure to find at least one of these tips useful.
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