The pandemic has affected businesses big or small in various ways. But one aspect that has affected everyone, regardless of industry or size, is loss of sales. Business sales have been down for non-essentials.
While the most obvious way to increase sales remains increasing the number of customers, it’s not the only way. Here are few ideas to consider.
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1. Increase the number of customers
Businesses can focus on attracting more of their target consumers by using unique and topical marketing strategies.
For instance, CRED invests heavily in in mass television features like the Indian Premier League.
Nykaa, an Indian beauty brand, focuses on content marketing and YouTube. Their YouTube channel doesn’t focus on selling products, but instead focuses on consumable content that attracts people most likely to buy their products.
Nykaa also tries to capitalize on beauty and makeup trends and collaborates extensively with social media influencers to increase their number of customers.
The key to more customers is to solve a problem for them. Nykaa helps women look and feel good.
However, attracting new customers can be expensive. For instance CRED spent INR 180.30 crore on marketing.
Related: Free ways to attract more customers
2. Increase the average order value
A more cost-effective way to increase business sales may be to increase the average order size or order value.
What is Average Order Size?
Average Order Size is the average amount spent on every order placed in your business within a specific period of time.
In simple terms, Average Order Size = Total Revenue/Total Number of orders.
By increasing the order value, a business is able to squeeze more sales out of people who are already spending on their business.
Four strategies to increase Average Order Size are:
Upselling
In an upsell, customers are paying more than they originally intended. So to convince them to do the same, businesses offer discounts, freebies and coupons, as well as limited-time deals.
Upselling is asking the customer to choose a more expensive subscription or an upgraded version of your product or service.
A useful technique is to use a comparison table to show the distinct advantages of the more expensive product.
It is important to find a balance, as the consumer may not buy anything if the upsell is too expensive.
Amazon India uses the consumer’s purchase history to find the perfect product to offer as an upsell. Similarly, if you have repeat customers and can track their past purchases, upsell accordingly.
Cross-selling
Another way to increase Average Order Size is to offer related items.
In every fast food, restaurant before you check out, they always ask if you want a side with your order.
That is a technique used to cross-sell related products.
The best time to cross-sell is when the customer has added items to their cart. For instance, if a customer is buying a torch, you can offer batteries that would be required for the torch to work.
Ensure that the complimentary products are not more than 10-15% of the main product’s cost.
Another way to cross-sell is by showcasing what other customers who purchased that product viewed. This might require hiring a web developer to implement but is worth the effort and expense as it can increase business sales.
Having a threshold for FREE shipping
Another good way to increase the Average Order Size is to have a minimum threshold for free shipping and constantly reminding your customers of the same.
If your minimum threshold increases from INR 500 to INR 1000, customers automatically have an incentive to shop more.
Free shipping is popular with shoppers the world over.
If a website widget constantly reminded them of the fact that they are just INR 200 or INR 300 away from free shipping, this would help your business increase Average Order Size.
Offer priority or quick delivery at a price
Apart from FREE delivery, another way to increase Average Order Size is to offer priority delivery at a cost!
If people want next-day delivery or same-day delivery, you can charge a fee for the same (like Amazon does to non-Prime members).
Thus you can appeal to last-minute shoppers as well as gain the trust of consumers who are looking for items for important events and increase their Average Order Size.
3. Start a loyalty program
Apart from increasing Average Order Size, another way to increase business sales is to focus on returning customers. You have already convinced these people of the value of your product or service.
By offering a special offer or discount, businesses can get the contact details of regular customers and email bring them back again and again. This way the business will be able to market to a “heavy user” instead of targeting all customers.
You can learn how to start a loyalty program here.
The more customized you are in your marketing approach, the more ROI (return on investment) you will get!
Cross-sell and upsell on email to all loyalty members
Once a customer has signed up to your loyalty program, use email to upsell and cross-sell related products.
There is a possibility they need to buy complementary products or upgraded versions of the product or service after the initial trial period.
Offering past consumers free trials and upgrades is also a great way to keep them engaged with your business and brand.
Use these tips to increase your business sales
In conclusion, the key to business sales remains analysing all the data that is available to your business. The more data, you have the more targeted you can be in your approach towards consumers.
It is important to not just focus on gaining new customers but also increasing the amount each spends on your business.
You can also reward past customers, so they have an incentive to shop again with your business. The tools and techniques mentioned above will help you build your business and make bank!
Which technique would you be using to increase your business sales?
