Some useful sales techniques will help you to increase sales, taking into account customer behavior patterns, general approaches to increasing conversions and increasing other indicators. Here are some tips on the topical issue of “how to sell a product?”
Individual approach, different techniques for different types of customers
A person can be a spender, or thrifty, or something in between, respectively, the approach to these categories should differ. In order to force a thrifty to buy something, you can use some proven sales tactics. Here are some tips for you:
- Change in the form of the price presentation – the price remains the same but is divided smaller amounts which are easier to accept (for example, $100/month versus $1,200/year). Or, payment for services per hour can be replaced by payment for the month. The essence of this is that users do not track their expenses.
- The use of the “All Inclusive” system gives a feeling of security, as the client knows that all services have already been paid for and there will be no unforeseen expenses during the holidays.
Remove all possible obstacles and reduce expectation time.
Buyers do not like and do not want to wait when buying online (especially before the holidays), and that expectation time has a huge impact on the sales process. Therefore, in order for a client to trust you, use some encouraging phrases, for example we guarantee delivery of the order at the appointed time (with an indication of the period)
Surprise your customers!
Amuse them with surprises, and you will win loyalty to your brand and get a huge amount of valuable thankful feedbacks. For example, the website of the online store states that you will receive an order within five days, and you receive it in two days – a pleasant surprise! Or, for example, you will be given an extended warranty on the goods, or an additional opportunity to return if the goods did not fit. With the help of such pleasant surprises, online stores receive positive customer reviews on their website, which is a powerful marketing tool for influencing a buyer.
Pay due attention to order processing.
It is amazing but, many online stores neglect the work with the order of a buyer. Of course, some simple actions are carried out: a manager accepts the order, processes it, issues an invoice, then shipment is made, etc. But if some product is not available, a manager does not offer something in return and does not try to solve the problem in any other way. This passivity badly affects the attraction of new customers and the conversion rate.
Everything is quite simple here. Never deny your customers under any circumstances. Offer analogs, make orders in advance, etc. In any case, it is necessary to indicate the delivery time clearly. Offer related products and additional services.
Many companies sell only goods without any additional services. But often it is the service that contributes to the fact that buyers make a choice in your favor.
For some reason, many companies neglect this opportunity to increase customer loyalty, the attractiveness of products for new customers, as well as profit margins. In fact, selling services is a great way to increase sales. Do not forget about it.
Use all channels of interaction with customers.
Quite often, companies use only part of the possible channels to interact with customers and to find new customers. For example, one work only through their site, others rely on the classic store, or work at exhibitions, or use only SMS-mailing. In fact, they use only those methods that once showed a good result. With this approach, you artificially limit your growth and potential.
Use all the channels that are available to you. Inform your customers about an offer taking place; prices are lowered, new products have appeared and everything that you consider important. Use all methods for this at once. Let it be news on the website, email and SMS distribution, leaflets, announcements on the Internet, meetings, seminars, customer calls, etc. Do not neglect any of the possible channels of information. Thus, you will be able to reach the maximum audience.
Develop a mobile app
If you invest money in the development of a mobile application, your customers will have a more unique experience of interacting with the product. In addition, your app will enjoy the added reputation of the App Store or the Google Play Store. Thus, your business will become more significant in the eyes of customers. But if the budget is not enough, you do not need to spend all the money on the application.
Adjust SEO processes
This is a rather complicated process, but given it enough time and energy, you can significantly increase traffic in the online store. Prepare product and content templates to automate the SEO process on the page (titles, descriptions, alt tags, headings, etc.). Invest in detailed keyword research and the analysis of your site and competitors' sites, set up analytics for all your campaigns, set up sales funnels and goals by categories, create a blog and a forum and do not forget about basic SEO optimization for the mobile version of your site. All this will increase your ranking and attract new customers.
The interface is important to think through to the smallest detail and simplify the registration form and checkout. Focus on the rule – maximum information content with a minimum of clicks. The site should contain detailed information about the exchange and return; there are several channels for feedback, a page with customer reviews and a detailed description of the brand. Everything must be done with quality and without errors.
A complex approach.
In order to achieve good results, it is recommended to address the issue in a comprehensive manner, that is, to work in several directions at once. The most popular and effective measures to increase sales are various promotions and advertising. In addition, do not forget to motivate your employees to increase their sales skills, which makes them work much more efficiently and increase the number of customers.
Promotions to increase sales
There are different types of promotions that have their own characteristics. For effective growth, you can use the following options:
- Discounts. The increase in sales can be obtained by slightly reducing the price of goods. It is better if they are not the most popular, which will help to “kill two birds with one stone.” Please note that a discount of less than 15% will not give significant growth.
- Gifts for the purchase. It is better to use the goods of partners for gifts, but you can also offer some kind of your product at a reduced price.
- Loyalty Cards. Many retailers have discount cards, and that is a good way to get customers loyalty.
- Competitions and draws. Thanks to such events, you can increase company awareness and customer loyalty.
Motivate sellers to increase sales
There are many ways of motivation, which can be divided into intangible and material types. The first group includes congratulations of employees on their birthday, symbolic awards, the use of the honor roll, praise, conditions for career advancement, and so on. In figuring out how to increase sales, it should be noted that motivation requiring financial investments is more effective:
Pay attention to the mailing list.
Ask your visitors to subscribe to the newsletters. Give them an incentive to do this, for example, as a gift for a free online course or e-book that is related to your brand. To increase sales in the online store, create and constantly increase your list of subscribers, sending them new articles, discount coupons, all kinds of promotional products. Do this consistently and unobtrusively, once a week will be enough.
Advertising should contain only high-quality content that is relevant to readers while making sure to provide an easy way for subscribers to unsubscribe if they need to. Discounts, for those who are on the mailing list, can be included in the letter – so they will feel that they have to stay on the mailing list in order to receive exclusive offers.
Use outsourcing.
Outsourcing of business process will allow you to find customers with compelling tactics and strategies faster and more efficiently than your competitors. Then you can spend less time on smaller tasks and focus on larger tasks so you can spend energy on things that will increase sales and grow your business. Marketing outsourcing will allow your brand to approach the problem with a fresh look and a new perspective and will provide an opportunity to increase online store sales thanks to an innovative campaign from an outsider.