As an entrepreneur, you already know that sales are an essential ingredient that defines your business’s success. It’s the key factor behind growth and revenue, among other things.
However, in order to generate a steady stream of sales, you need a great sales mechanism in place. Otherwise, everything else you do will simply fall apart.
I know how you can take your sales to the next level. Yes, you’re right. There are countless blogs on the internet full of tips and tricks, claiming how you can multiply sales exponentially. But this blog is not like the others. I’ve got a list of tried and tested strategies to make sure you’re going to see positive results.
Want to find out what they are?
Let’s get started.
Table of content
1. Make sure your store has a Google My Business profile
According to smamarketing.net, 94% of all mobile and tablet search traffic comes from Google. So the easiest way to ensure your brand shows up in search results is to create a GMB profile. A GMB listing is a core element of local SEO as it allows Google to understand business and match it with search queries.
Create a GMB account by providing the following details:
● Name, address, and phone number
● Website URL
● Business category
● Business hours
● Reviews
● Visual content
● A compelling business description
Notice how the following GMB listing communicates to buyers who they are, what they sell, where they are located, their timings, what other customers have to say about the brand, etc. All of these aspects help to influence consumers towards the brand, and eventually a sale.
And while you’re at it, go ahead and get registered on other online business listing platforms like Yelp, Facebook, Foursquare, and Yellow Pages. However, ensure that all the information remains accurate everywhere.
2. Focus on your existing customers
A successful business person understands the importance of getting the most return on their investments. One of the best ways to do that is to focus on customer retention more than customer acquisition.
According to outboundengine, acquiring a new customer can cost up to five times more than retaining an existing one. Studies show that a mere 5% increase in customer retention helps increase profits anywhere between 25% to 95%. More importantly, when selling to a previous customer, there is a 60-70% chance of success, whereas selling to a new customer has only a 5-20% chance of a sale.
Businesses know that the best sales prospects have already transformed into existing customers. They now need to work on getting them to keep coming back. It’s a cost-effective way of increasing sales.
So what does Ring do to bring back its customers into the sales funnel? The company follows up with a post-purchase strategy that reconnects shoppers to the brand after purchase. It thanks them for a purchase and offers additional help so that customers get the most out of their products and services. Ring sends follow-up emails and shares information about product setup and how to avail of all of its features.
3. Use personalization to increase sales
What makes Amazon so famous today? Besides its hard-to-beat offers for same-day delivery or free shipping, Amazon stands at the top of shopping sites because of how it personalizes the shopping experience. One can learn from Amazon how to use personalization to increase sales.
The company invests in understanding consumers and making relevant recommendations. Amazon personalizes experiences through several routes, including the use of real-time user activity data along with previous search and purchase history to suggest the most relevant items. These personalized recommendations have helped to increase sales.
Common Amazon recommendations include:
● People like you bought
● Recommendations for you
● Continue searching for
● Categories you regularly search in
● Inspired by your shopping trends
● Inspired by your wishlists
● Customers who viewed this item also bought
● Frequently bought together
4. Incorporate emerging trends
Consumers have fallen in love with the latest home voice assistant devices. So it only makes sense that voice is taking off among consumers. This means it’s time for businesses to push the trend into their digital marketing plans and take sales to the next level.
Voice technology is still developing, but it has already changed the way people search and interact with brands. Look at how Domino’s Pizza is doing a great job of incorporating the latest technologies to increase online orders. Domino’s Anyware ordering system helps customers order pizza through any app.
So ordering through voice assistants such as Google Home is significantly simplifying the pizza-ordering process and making the process more fun. If you’re in the mood for pizza, ask Google to talk to Domino’s and place your order.
5. Create a loyalty program
Through a loyalty program, businesses present customers with special discounts, offers, and exclusive deals. It’s a way of rewarding customers for making a purchase. However, it also encourages them to continue buying.
When done right, your loyalty program can help improve customer retention and loyalty. Moreover, it can help incentivize customer lifetime value, thereby increasing sales and ROI.
Loyalty programs are very common when it comes to retail stores. CVS, Walgreen, and Target, among numerous others, all have one.
Remember, your loyalty program must be easy to understand and use so that shoppers are happy to shop and come back to your store to redeem the rewards. More importantly, customers should be able to avail their points and benefits from any branch.
6. Create a Referral Reward Program
What could be better than getting a customer to return to your brand and bringing along more customers as well? That is what you can achieve by implementing a referral rewards program.
Simply reward your customer as they tell family and friends about your brand and convert them into customers. To make this strategy more effective, consider rewarding both the referrer and referee. This is exactly what Sprint does by giving both a $50 Prepaid Mastercard.
7. Maintain customer relationships
According to Marketing Wizdom, an average business loses nearly 20% of its customers annually due to the lack of cordial relationships. But you have no excuse to lose this chunk of your consumer base. Multiple platforms can facilitate communications with your customers. You can send text messages, email, call, chat, post information on social media, and what not to build rapport and keep in touch with a customer.
For instance, Sephora sends replenishment emails to prompt their customers to make a repeat purchase based on their previously bought items.
8. Mobile Ordering is here to stay
COVID-19 is upending business norms and fast-tracking brands towards a digital existence. The solution- mobile ordering. It’s allowing them to offer higher quality services while keeping customers safe and healthy.
Consumers select items, place orders, and make payments online. This is helping restaurants, cafes, inventory-based retailers, etc., to operate even during pandemic conditions. In fact, consumers claim this option is more cost-effective, convenient, and enhances customer experience.
Panera Bread is now making this a centerpiece of the company’s growth plans. Rapid pickup service allows customers to order and pay for meals online or through the mobile ordering app, stating a pickup time. Customers find the food ready and waiting.
Some businesses are taking things further. They are adding delivery services to their mix, helping to meet current customer demands. At the end of the day, that is the ideal way to increase sales and revenue.
Final thoughts
Customers are the essential elements of a successful business. But in order to convince a visitor into a paying customer, you need to align your services and offerings with their needs and preferences.
Therefore, many brands are increasing investments in digital technologies in a plight to improve customers’ journeys. And with a clear and effectively-managed data strategy, they can effortlessly take sales to the next level.
AUTHOR BIO
Mary Warner is an enthusiast blogger. Her compelling research and communication capabilities exchange offerings that have value for the reader. Her passion for writing has been an ever-evolving affair. She loves to share her views related to latest trends in marketing, technology, eCommerce, and the like.
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