Today I compiled a few of my favorite tips for increasing sales in your small business. A few of them came from a great read about consumer purchase decisions, How We Decide.
Enjoy!
1) Invest in displays and decor.
Research has proven 30% of consumers’ purchasing behavior is influenced by the store itself. So even though a person may come into your business knowing what they want, how your store is laid out, designed and decorated influences how much they buy when they are shopping with you. That’s why it’s so important to allocate a portion of your marketing budget to refreshing store displays and keeping things fresh!
2) Make it easier for your clients to buy.
The more ‘unreal’ the form of currency a person uses when purchasing, the more likely they are to increase their spending. We spend more with a credit card than we would spend if we were making the same purchase with a debit card. And we spend more with a debit card than we would if we are paying cash. Encourage credit card payments and even make payment plans available if it helps increase the total investment a client makes with you.
3) Make your products and services less abstract.
A concept Dan and Chip Heath write in detail about in Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. If you’re a financial planner, rather than saying I help you save for retirement, show an image of what retirement looks like for your clients. A home on the beach. Grandkids playing in a large back yard with you. A husband and wife boarding a plane for an exotic vacation. If you’re a photographer rather than saying I create heirloom quality art for your home, show them huge wall portraits hanging over the mantel of giggling children with their happy and healthy parents. You may think it’s clear what you’re asking your clients to invest in and why it’s important, but the more concrete you can make it, the more success you’ll have.
4) Use packages and collections to get what you want.
When consumers can see how much they are saving by investing in a collection versus a la carte purchases, they are more likely to invest. If you prefer to sell collections versus a la carte offerings, be sure you clearly show the savings a client is achieving when they invest in this collection. And only offer collections with a value over your average sale amount so that you’re increasing what you typically would have a customer invest in if they were to buy products separately. Finally, keep in mind the dollar amount of savings is sometimes smaller than the percentage saving, so tout whichever number is largest.
What are your favorite ways to increase your sales in business? Share them with us here!