How to increase sales? 9 ways to effectively increase sales
Learn ways to effectively increase sales of products and services. Learn how to increase the reach of your online store and the popularity of your stationary store.
You run your own online or stationary store? If so, you're probably wondering how to increase sales of your products and services. Depending on your target audience and your business profile, you can use different methods to reach new customers. You can also use ways to increase sales among those consumers who already use your services. Learn effective ways to increase sales!
Increasing sales is the key to a successful store
Poles are buying more and more online every year. In 2019. Making purchases online has already been declared by 62 percent of. Internet users. In comparison, just a year ago, "only" 56 percent were shopping online. Polish Internet users. In addition, due to the increase in the minimum wage in 2019 to PLN 2250 gross (approx. 1673 zloty per hand) and increasing the scope of social benefits has increased the overall consumerism in the country. With another planned increase in the minimum wage in 2020 (to PLN 2,600 gross), we can expect even more interest in shopping – whether stationary or done online.
Not surprisingly, retailers see their opportunity in the current economic situation of Poles. Therefore, they are thinking even more intensely than before about how to take advantage of this situation and how to increase sales of their products. Online and stationary store can function by having their regular circle of satisfied customers, but if you want to really succeed and make real money from your chosen business, you should constantly look for ways to increase your audience. Fortunately, there are several effective methods to increase sales.
How to increase sales in an online store?
The basis for successful online sales is an intuitive and readable website. It should present the products we sell in an inviting way. The landing page should include a highly visible company logo, well-written and positioned headlines and a brief summary of the store's core values. Product photos, on the other hand, should present them in the best possible light. No one will buy a good product if its pictures are unattractive. That's why it's a good idea to increase sales by refreshing the look of your online store and improving its SEO effectiveness. It is worth hiring specialists to study the effectiveness of our website in this regard.
A good idea to increase sales is to advertise on affiliate sites. You can also intensify your online presence by giving your listing to online sales platforms such as Facebook Marketplace, OLX, Allegro and others. A social media presence is not insignificant. Our website should have a profile on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you want to reach a young audience, you can think about apps like TikTok or Snapchat. The more places where we talk about our product or services, the better. Especially since you can buy sponsored ads on most social media platforms.
The last way to increase sales is to cooperate with bloggers and influencers. Such people have a specific audience. If they speak positively about our product or services, we can count on the fact that their fans are more likely to take advantage of our offerings.
In a nutshell, ways to increase online sales are:
1. Refresh or create an effective website – in terms of SEO, user convenience. A favorable presentation of products on the website is essential (encouraging descriptions and photos).
2. Advertising through social media. Presence on various types of sales platforms (Allegro, OLX, Facebook Marketplace…).
3. Cooperation with bloggers and influencers.
How to increase sales in a stationary store?
Proper exposure increases product sales by up to 30 percent (according to a 2016 study by In-Store Media and Nielsen.). The best if the goods are at the customers' eye level. They must also be properly lit – so that the play of shadows emphasizes their attractiveness. If the goods in question are on sale, it is essential to emphasize this in a clear way. This gives the customer the feeling that they can't pass up a good opportunity. In the case of children, the most expensive goods or simply the ones we want to sell should be at the child's eye level. The parent pays for the goods, of course, but the child is our customer. If we tempt the little ones well with a particular toy, we can be sure that in most cases it will lead to a purchase. It is good if our store plays pleasant, inviting music and there is a pleasant smell. This makes customers want to stay in such a place longer, and therefore – they will spend more. At the checkout, it's a good idea to lay out small products that you can buy at the last minute or products that you sell in the so-called "last minute". Umbrella sales. Remember to always recommend them to customers with a smile on your lips, but in a non-intrusive way. It is worthwhile to quickly emphasize the main benefit of the customer from a given purchase.
Increased sales are influenced by promotions and discounts. They don't have to be big, it's enough that somewhere in the store in a prominent place there is information about the sale. This always attracts customers, even if we have reduced prices really slightly. There's a reason why it's a well-known but hardly fair practice for retailers to raise prices before the famous Black Friday, only to then "drastically" lower them. The store then does not lose, and the customer thinks he has done a good deal.
Treating customers individually is also a very important factor. We need to show each customer that they are important to us. This is not equivalent to walking behind him and asking every now and then if we can help him with something. Such action will sooner upset the buyer and encourage him to leave our store. However, if a customer asks us for help, we should give them the most sound advice possible.
Effective ways to increase sales in a stationary store are:
1. Build customer loyalty – offer them free samples, interesting promotions.
2. Proper placement of goods on shelves and displays. Best at eye level of the target customer.
3. Making them feel better served in a particular store than in another competitive place. Individual approach to the customer.
How to increase sales of services?
Selling services is based on different principles than selling products. For an online store, the steps are similar: we must have an effective website and advertise wherever we can. However, here the so-called "online shop" still comes into play. whisper marketing. Therefore, we should care about the quality of our services. Sometimes it's better to serve fewer customers at a higher price than more people at an average rate. Customers who take more time will be more satisfied, so it is possible that they will recommend us to their friends.
Anyway, if you want to increase sales of services, the quality of the services is an absolute must. No one will return to a beautician, hairdresser or mechanic who did his job badly. It's worth setting up a profile for your company on Google Maps and collecting positive feedback on your work there. If there are negative reviews, you need to respond to them prudently and as strongly as possible in the spirit of positive public relations activities. Getting into public arguments with customers (even if they are not right) will only damage our image.
When offering your services, match your approach to the mood of the customer. For example, when visiting a beautician, many customers like to talk, but there are times when they find it annoying to strenuously engage in conversation. So it is worth sensing or asking directly what kind of approach the person expects. Customers will appreciate our efforts.
Ways to increase service sales are:
1. Internet marketing activities and whisper marketing.
2. High quality service.
3. Individual approach to each customer.
Where to sell on the Internet?
The Internet is full of sales platforms. An online store should not be limited to only one platform, because then we are limiting ourselves in the circle of customers. It is most beneficial to have your own dedicated website. You can put it up yourself or pay specialists to do it. However, it is important to keep in mind that in addition to this one-time cost in the range of several hundred to several thousand zlotys, we are also left paying for hosting on a regular basis. That's why it's worth considering a ready-made e-commerce solution, in which you pay a subscription every month or every year, and in return you get a ready-made website template to use and adjust to your needs.
Your own website is just the beginning. Our products should be in as many places as possible – then we are more visible. Places on the Internet that are popular and can be used for online sales are:
And specialized portals, such as:
You need to take into account commissions for sales in specific places and the specifics of the customer base of each platform. Ideally, by advertising our products on the aforementioned portals, we manage to draw customers to our own website. This will certainly help us increase sales.
