How to Boost Retail Sales: Expert Advice

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Sales are one of the foundations of a successful business, no matter what it does. Even if the most necessary products for the population are manufactured, they still need to be sold. And as part of the article, we will look at how to increase sales in retail.

General information

The question of how to increase sales in the retail trade of clothing, furniture, food, flowers, small gizmos, in a crisis and without it, is of interest to a fairly large number of people. If we talk about a single implementation, then the effectiveness here largely depends on specific people. But for an effective sales strategy, you cannot rely only on bright personalities among sellers. When choosing a support system, one of three options is usually chosen:

1. Employ experienced and talented people.
2. Engaged in the production of products that are in demand, while stimulating their consumption.
3. A holistic sales system is being introduced.

All these options have a right to exist. The first two are also well known to everyone involved in sales. With the third one there may be certain problems. So let's give it a little more attention.

Third option

Its advantage is:

1. Independence from sales staff.
2. Create your own sales training system.
3. Customer focus and ease of use of the service.

Thanks to this approach, you can quickly get the necessary data. Let's say we have a furniture store owner. He thinks about increasing the efficiency of the store. That is, he is interested in how to increase sales in furniture retail. The introduction of such a system will make it possible to more quickly process goods, orders and carry out their receipt by buyers. And high service is always pleasant, so it will win in the future.

What can hinder sales growth

Before we get to the point of optimization, let's take a look at the errors. So, one should strive to avoid:

• inconsistent sales;
• poor supplier communication system;
• focus on one client (his departure is fraught with problems);
• insufficient sales motivation;
• absence or underdevelopment of a system of communication with customers who are dissatisfied with the products, as well as unwillingness in this case to change something in production.

So, for a better result, you should strive:

1. Provide a quality customer relationship system.
2. Focus on a full-fledged sales system, not one-timeactivities.
3. Products, packaging and advertising must meet customer needs.
4. It is necessary to ensure the clarity of work for the sales department.

What to do in a crisis: general recommendations

Let's assume that sad times have come. How to increase retail sales in a crisis in this case? Use the following tips:

1. You should call old customers. It is highly desirable to track the frequency of purchases (which can be helped by automated sales systems) and remind customers about yourself under any convenient pretext: the appearance of new items, modernization, setting special prices, participation in an exhibition, and so on.
2. You should gain a foothold in the World Wide Web. If you already have a website but it's useless, make it work.
3. Place ads in unexpected places where it will create a positive effect. True, in this case, you should be smart about the implementation and placement.
4. Intensify interaction with partners and suppliers of the company.
5. Attend themed events like trade shows, seminars, and industry conferences.
6. Declare your willingness to cooperate with each potential partner.
7. Practice rational sales proposals.
8. Run promotions.

Of course, such advice is suitable in cases where the same furniture, clothes, cosmetics and other products are sold, which are bought no more than once a quarter. And whatdo if you are interested in how to increase sales in food retail?

Specific approach

These are quite complex options in terms of implementation, but they also deserve to be considered. So, let's say you need to increase the level of food sales:

1. First of all, you should take a look at companies that offer goods delivery services. It is quite possible that the supplier sells food products quite expensively and you can find companies on the market with a more pleasant pricing policy. In this case, it will be possible to reduce the sale price.
2. You should experiment with listing items and see what gets taken together most often.
3. You should pay considerable attention to the identified patterns and try to turn them to your advantage.

Out of the box ideas

Most attention in this case should be given to the following approaches:

1. Sensitivity to trends. Consider an example. When winter ends, the demand for rolled metal products for houses, sheds, fences, and so on increases. For additional effect, loy alty programs, mutual advertising, gifts and recommendations can be used.
2. Exactly the same, but better. The essence of this approach is that there is a choice of goods that are similar in value. In such cases, the highest quality is chosen. Using such a "background" can serve you well.
3. More expensive means better. Many people think that the larger the productworth it, the better it is. And this is often true. In other cases, they simply profit from it.
4. Symbiotic partnership. Consider where is the best place to place a retail outlet? Here are a couple of combinations: a pharmacy and a grocery store, or auto parts and bicycles. Related industries and related products can be of great help in increasing sales.

And if you are interested in how to increase sales in the retail trade of flowers or other fast-food items, then the latter option will be literally ideal for growth. If you think about it, you can find a good place almost anywhere.

Automated sales systems

This is a popular way to organize, customize and improve customer experience when it's done in multiple steps. Let's say we have an online clothing store. Can its performance be improved? How to increase sales in retail clothing in times of crisis and hard times?

Automated sales system will help with this! With its help, you can facilitate the establishment of contact, the clarification of requirements and requests, the formulation of requests, their processing and execution, including delivery. Also, an automated sales system helps in after-sales service and subsequent interactions. There are many benefits and useful features they have to offer.

Building a sales system

A lively mind, market sensibility and acumen provide ample opportunities. But to improve performance, it is necessary to attend to the construction of a sales system. It will allow you to understand the structure of goods sold in the picture of the overall assortment and analyze intermediate results.

Using an automated sales system as the basis will significantly streamline the available information. In addition, it will be easier to build relationships with customers, from his first call to the issuance of an invoice. The ability to make accompanying notes also helps a lot. In addition, they may have various add-ons such as the ability to send instant messages or emails.

Various tools to increase sales

Let's consider a case where something is being retailed via the World Wide Web. Only we will pay attention not to sites, but to social networks. These are quite popular sites where a large number of people are located, and all of them are potential buyers.

According to a fairly large number of people, having a company representative who is engaged in maintaining feedback through social networks increases the number of sales in the amount of a third of the existing turnover. You should not neglect various pleasant bonuses and souvenirs that can please customers with their availability. It may also be an offer to make an additional purchase along with the product.

Consider the following case: a person buys a computer, and heoffer a router or even give it for free. You should only adhere to the rule that an additional service should not cost more than the main purchase. You can also use the establishment of a certain purchase threshold.

It should be noted that in this case there is no specific interaction model and you can work here within the framework of your imagination. The general gist is something like this:

1. When the value of purchases exceeds a certain amount, the buyer will receive a gift, a raffle coupon or free shipping. Although, maybe something else.
2. When you buy two items, the third one is free.

Custom Models

In general, the list of different ways can be continued for a very long time. Yes, and it would be useful to try to turn on your imagination and come up with something new that will help increase sales. Finally, you can remember this:

1. Payment of change in goods. This technique can not be called widespread, but it is still quite interesting. So, when the buyer pays for the goods, he receives change not in money, but in some small things. For example - chewing gum, sweets or matches.
2. Colorful price tags. This technique is used in cases where it is necessary to draw attention to a particular product and show that it is special. For example, that a food product will soon spoil, and therefore it is sold at a discount.
3. Time-limited price. It has a strong motivating effect on buyers, literally forcing them to buy a product at a given time.moment.
4. Possibility of return. There is a pretty neat trick here. There is a law that requires you to accept a return if an item is returned 14 days after it was purchased. You can play extra on this. It is enough to offer customers that if they do not like the product, they can return it after 14 days.
5. Hints on price tags. In addition to the cost, in this case it is useful to post information about what is taken together in this particular product.

Conclusion

It is impossible to say exactly how effective these measures will be. Here much depends on the practical implementation and many different aspects. But there is no doubt that the result will be. The main thing is to build a strategy. No need to put everything in a heap and pile one on the second. In which case, you can always use one first, and then something else. In addition, various special moments can be timed to coincide with dates such as the New Year, the summer season, etc.

But in pursuit of the number of sales, do not forget about the minimum required price. For the client, of course, is a valuable person, but it is not worth working at a loss. Therefore, it is necessary to look for the golden mean. And if one person leaves, you should not be sad, but you need to concentrate on the rest of the people who are in the status of a potential client.