How to increase sales in a retail store. Technology to increase sales

Meanwhile, there are hundreds of ways that, without requiring special investments, help to bring more customers. Described below TOP 5 best methods to increase sales. This is the foundation that any entrepreneur can build on.

Building a customer base is one of the best things an entrepreneur can do for their company. At the same time, it is necessary to lead not only already established buyers, but also those who just “came to see”.

One of the best ways to get contacts of a potential customer in retail is to invite him to fill out a questionnaire and issue a discount card, a discount on the first purchase, or a gift in return.

How, using the customer base? You can attract customers with promotions and special offers. One option is to select a specific segment of customers and prepare gifts for them.

When a person comes for a souvenir, the manager should try to make sure that he leaves not only with a gift, but also buys something in the store. Naturally, promotions and gifts should be of interest and be useful - this is the only way they can attract new customers and increase sales.

Calls to the buyer after the purchase

Gifts for clients still require certain investments. And how to increase profits without investing money at all? Show customer care. This method helps to increase customer loyalty.

The bottom line is simple- after purchasing a product or service, the manager calls the buyer and asks if everything is in order: does the washing machine work well, did you manage to set up the laptop, did the goods arrive on time, do you need any additional consultation, etc.

Let the client know that you are always ready to help him and eliminate all the shortcomings, if any.. Will the person be pleased that they are worried about him? Of course! And for sure next time he will again use the services of such a caring company.

Give the customer more than they expect

Trade in Russia, as well as the service sector, is still below average. Try to remember where you were last surprised by impeccable service.

In our country, customers are already happy that they were not nasty in a store or company office. Such seemingly elementary things as high speed of service, polite communication with the client and respect for him, already exceed the expectations of a person and become a reason for repeat purchase.

Therefore, if you think about it, first of all, establish a service. Selling goods with a high level of service will be much easier. Unexpected surprises are also great. which were not announced.

For example, stores that sell cosmetics and perfumes often give away mini-versions of products to customers. The client will be pleasantly surprised by a handwritten thank you card, a discount card for the next order, a small box of chocolates or some kind of souvenir.

The method works well both in the service sector and in the retail trade. People often speak warmly about such surprises and tell their friends about them, create posts on social media. networks. As a result, word of mouth is triggered and, in addition to one loyal client, the company receives hundreds, if not thousands, of new customers.

The effectiveness of the method can be shown by the example of a company providing services in the music business. After the buyer purchased a certain package of services, he was offered to repost on Facebook, and in return they were given products with a total value of $100.

For five days, information with the services of the company received 250 reposts. This helped close 34 deals totaling over $2,000.

How to boost sales with promotions

Promotions are an effective method to help push people to buy.. The main rule is to conduct them regularly.

Look at corporations like M.Video, L'Etoile, Lenta - people know that you can almost always buy something on sale there, and therefore they go there.

Another important condition is your spec. the offer must be of real benefit to the consumer. For example, retailers often offer to buy two items and get the third one for free. This is especially true for clothing stores.

And in networks selling household appliances, they attract customers with promotions like "exchange an old TV for a new one."

Killer USP

A unique selling proposition (USP) is what sets a company apart from thousands of competitors.. “Always sober movers!”, “We will deliver pizza within 30 minutes or pay for the order ourselves”, “If you find a product cheaper, we will refund the difference” - these are examples of effective USPs that “shot” at the time.

Now such proposals are quite common, so entrepreneurs constantly need to come up with something new.

How to increase sales with USP by 345%?

How effective a USP can be can be seen in the Australian pillow company Tontine. The company was the first in the world to indicate the expiration date on pillows.

Each product began to be stamped with a date, after which it is better to replace the pillow with a new one. At the same time, the company launched advertising on television.

Thus, the company hoped to increase profits by a third, but the effect exceeded all expectations. Unusual idea helped increase sales by 345%.

Using the methods listed above, a company can increase sales volumes without major investments. All these rules work and are successfully applied by both small enterprises and global giants.

However, it is worth remembering that anyone choosing what is best for your firm.

04May

Hello! In this article, we will talk about ways to increase retail sales.

Today you will learn:

• What are the characteristics of retail;
• What are the ways to increase sales in a retail store;
• : step-by-step instruction.

Retail Features

Retail sales - sale of goods by the piece to the final consumer for his personal use. This short definition characterizes retail as well as possible.

Retailers sell goods to the most ordinary consumers, individuals who use it for their own needs. To understand what kind of product the end consumer market needs at the moment, it is necessary to carry out a complete analysis.

However, it should be noted that retail covers almost all areas of business: from consulting services and the food industry to mechanical engineering and construction.

Retail trade requires less capital investment compared to wholesale. This makes entering the market accessible to almost everyone. However, not everyone should jump into retail because of its affordability.

First you need to familiarize yourself with the features of this type of trade in order to understand whether it is right for your company:

1. If you manufacture or purchase goods in large quantities, and you do not have several hundred square meters or a developed distribution system in several geographic regions, then retail is not for you. The end consumer market will not be able to accommodate a very large volume of products. There are exceptions: for example, branded goods. They are bought on the first day they enter the market. Remember the queue on Red Square for brand new apple smartphones. However, this is the exception, not the rule. If your product is not yet very popular, then your offer should match the demand.
2. If you are not ready to spend your money on, then retail is not for you. Emotions play an important role in the retail market, they influence the purchase decision. Brilliant advertising campaign. In addition, retail is characterized by a large number of consumers who buy goods in small batches. And this means that in order to ensure sufficient sales, the company needs to notify a large number of consumers about the product. This can be done through marketing communications. We will definitely talk about them.
3. If you are not sure about the "hardness" of your final price, then retail is not for you. Demand in the end-user market is quite elastic. There are exceptions - these are essential products, such as bread, matches or salt.
4. There is a need for constant marketing research. Otherwise, you will miss the moment when your company's sales began to decline and will not have time to eliminate the negative factors that we will talk about now.

Why sales are declining

There are many factors that can have a negative impact on sales. And sometimes it can be circumstances that we have no control over. These include economic, political, technological, socio-cultural, legal and environmental factors of the external environment.

To determine the strength of the influence of these factors on your business, you need to conduct a PESTEL analysis. In the event that the strength of the influence of these parameters on the market is too great, then it is better not to take risks and refuse to exit. This will save you from financial losses.

But there are negative factors in the occurrence of which the company itself is to blame. We can influence these parameters, so it will be useful to consider each of them in more detail.

Bad store location.

This is the most common mistake new entrepreneurs make. Before or stall, do a little research. Find out where yours is, in what cases your product is purchased. If you answer these two questions, you can save a lot on marketing.

Example. We want an economy format. Our target audience is female students and working women aged 18 to 35. It is not practical to open a salon near the university, as we will cover only female students. It is also unprofitable to choose a sleeping area for opening, since we will cover only one geographical region. But opening a retail outlet near a shopping center near the university and not far from the sleeping area would be a good solution. It will be visited by both of your segments.

Decor.

We opened and decorated the window. But clients do not come to us. What is the reason? Walk up to your point of sale and look at it through the eyes of a consumer. Perhaps it looks unattractive or does not represent your product, and consumers simply do not understand why they should go to you.

When registering an outlet, follow the following rules:

• The showcase should reflect your product, be associated with it;
• Give examples of prices. This attracts consumers, especially if these prices are low. But do not deceive, they must correspond to reality;
• Duplicate information about your promotions on the showcase;
• Use relevant themes for design.

Range.

There can be many options here, let's look at each:

• Insufficient assortment width. Your clients don't come back to you after the first visit. This is one of the signs of this problem. Compare your range with your closest competitors, ask consumers what your outlet is missing. This will allow you to eliminate the problem and attract visitors;
• Too wide range. In this case, the consumer simply cannot choose one product and leaves without buying. One of the marketing agencies conducted an interesting study. First, the client was asked to choose one of three jars of jam of different flavors. The consumer made his choice. The same customer was then asked to choose from 24 different jars of jam. In the second case, the consumer either chose the taste that he chose the first time, or left without buying. The researchers concluded that an assortment containing more than eight items negatively affects sales volumes;
• The assortment does not match the location of the outlet. For example, our nail salon is located next door to the bridal salon. A good solution to increase sales would be to include a wedding manicure in the assortment.

Low quality of service.

The modern consumer is very demanding. He wants to enjoy the process of making a purchase. The boorish behavior of the staff will not save even the highest quality product. , conduct trainings, . A good retail salesperson is 90% successful.

Ways to increase sales in a retail store

In fact, there are only two ways to increase sales - increasing the consumption of products by existing consumers or.

Attraction of new clients

This method can be implemented by poaching customers from competitors or by entering new segments.

In both cases, you will have to turn to marketing tricks. Tools for implementing each of these methods are given in the table. Some methods are generic.

Increasing sales with existing customers

It also has two options for implementation: increase in consumption and increase in sales conversion.

Increasing sales conversion.

Sales Conversion - the ratio of the number of visitors to the store to the number of buyers.

From the definition, we can conclude that the conversion is mainly influenced by the parameters of the outlet itself. Therefore, we will work with them.

• We improve the quality of service. A good seller will be able to sell any product. The bad one will not sell and the best one. There is such a thing as intra-company marketing, which is determined by the company's attitude towards its staff. The better the working conditions, the more sales you will get. Also, don't forget about training and motivation;
• Merchandising. has a direct impact on the sales of your products. There is an arm's length rule in marketing. According to this rule, in 80% of cases, the client takes the goods to which he can reach without much effort. If your product is above or below this zone, then sales will be low;
• Promotions, sales, bonuses. This method will allow you to increase the conversion, but only for the duration of the incentive events.

Increase in consumption.

In this case, all our actions will be aimed at increasing the average check.

You can do this in the following ways:

• Price increase. By increasing the price of your products, you will increase the average purchase amount, but may decrease the conversion rate. So you won't get an increase in sales. To prevent this from happening, remember a simple rule: any price change must be justified. The client must understand that you raised the price for a reason, but because your packaging has changed to a more convenient one (in fact, the price and packaging may not be related to each other).
• Additional services or goods. After your consumer has chosen the main product, offer to complement it with a service or another product. For example, you sold a necklace, offer the buyer a gift box. This add-on will not be a significant expense for the client, but in total will bring you a good additional sales volume in monetary terms.
• Loyalty program. The Loyalty Card will not increase the average check, but it will lead to an increase in the number of purchases by the consumer in your store. There are several types of discount cards: bonus, accumulative, privileged. Each of them has its own tasks, but their common goal is to increase sales.

How does the loyalty program work? For example, we own a grocery store and we have a loyalty card, which is provided free of charge when buying from 1000 rubles. There is another grocery store opposite us, but it does not have its own loyalty program. Customers who have a card of our store will come to us to receive a discount, bonuses or gifts (depending on the type of card). Thus, we "tie" consumers with a card, forcing them to buy only from us, increasing sales.

Step by step guide to increase sales

Each business is unique, but there is a certain sequence of steps that will increase sales for both a furniture store and a consulting company.

Step 1 . We define the specifics of our outlet.

There are a huge number of different forms of retail stores.

They can differ in the following parameters:

• Form of service: self-service, Internet trading, catalog sales, self-service machines and stalls, traditional service, pre-order;
• According to the form of organization: a single outlet, a network, small retail trade, mobile trade;
• By type of goods: food and non-food.

The shape of the store determines the range of problems that can affect the decline in sales. For example, in a clothing retail store, the main reason for the decline in sales may be the low qualification of contact staff, and this is unlikely to be the reason.

Step 2. We are looking for weaknesses.

The main weaknesses of retail stores are:

• Small volumes of a one-time purchase by one client;
• Too high price. Big margin is good. But do not go too far, otherwise you will lose customers;
• Too wide target audience. You want to sell everything to everyone, but it is very difficult to do so. A much more effective solution would be to focus on one segment.

Separately, I would like to highlight the problems of online trading:

• Inconvenient location of active buttons. These include the button "buy", "pay", "place an order" and others. If the client has to look for such a button for a long time, then he will simply leave without buying;
• The site is not adapted for mobile devices. According to statistics, about 40% of sales are made from mobile devices, so displaying a site from a phone should be as convenient, understandable and informative as from a computer;
• Too complicated and long checkout and registration forms. The client does not have enough nerve cells to fill out your questionnaire and place an order. Don't test his patience;
• Insufficient information about the product, low quality photos. The consumer must know what he is buying.

Step 3. We choose methods for solving the problem.

Scroll up and see which method and tool to increase sales can increase sales in your store.

For example, if your customers are shopping for small amounts, then you should use the increase consumption method. Offer additional goods at the checkout, enter a cumulative bonus card.

In trade, the question of increasing sales is absolutely commonplace. No matter how much you sell now, the plan will always be a little higher. Otherwise it's just not the right plan. And most importantly, the answer to the question of how to increase sales has long been found. You just need to be not too lazy to use the best practices and achievements of successful companies.

Sales success formula

On the difficult path to increasing sales, it is important to know the formula for sales success. This formula works for everyone, this formula captures the very essence of sales. If you learn how to use it, then you will get what you want. Here is the formula for sales success:

The Sales Success Formula tells you a few important things:

1. If you want to increase sales, influence such as: traffic, conversion and average check;
2. You must constantly monitor the above indicators. If you do not know your current values ​​of these indicators, this is an alarming signal - you are not in control of the situation;
3. No matter who you are a business owner or a simple seller, these indicators do not depend on the scale, they can simply be called differently;
4. While working on one indicator, monitor and control the others. It often happens that the conversion was increased, but the average check fell and, as a result, did not change.
5. In an established system, these indicators are in balance and it is not so easy to influence them.

The last point is especially important on the way to increase sales. For example, you have a store that sells groceries in a residential area of ​​a microdistrict. The audience of the store is constant, the average check and conversion will not change much. In such a system, without changing the assortment and without attracting new customers, sales cannot be increased much, there is a ceiling for the consumer market. And your task is to decide whether you have reached the ceiling of this market. If yes, then all the standard methods to increase sales will not help you much, you are unlikely to recoup the costs.

What affects the main KPI indicators

So, analyzing the issue of increasing sales, we have already learned 3 main indicators through which you can increase sales. Let's see what affects these indicators.

How to increase traffic

Traffic is the number of visitors to your store i.e. potential buyers. Generally speaking, there are two main ways to influence traffic.

Attract new customers to the store

It is worth noting that there are a lot of ways to express yourself to the consumer. All you need to do is choose the ones that suit you and are the most effective in your sales segment. Here are the main sources of attraction:

• Outdoor advertising and;
• Advertising on the Internet - contextual advertising, targeted advertising, banner advertising;
• SEO - search engine optimization, as well as other free advertising on the Internet;
• SMM - promotion in social networks;
• Customer recommendations (word of mouth);
• Advertising in the media - TV, newspapers, magazines;

By the way, in, and network marketing, you increase incoming traffic solely due to your active actions. This tool is also available for stationary sellers, primarily by working with the existing customer base.

Return customers who have bought before

The return of customers is influenced by such indicators as: the quality of service, the competitiveness of your offer, loyalty systems and bonus cards. Every sane seller works in this direction. In sales to the corporate segment, this is called building a base. A seller with a large base of his customers is very much appreciated. At the same time, not all trade organizations are seriously engaged in collecting contacts of their customers and their further involvement.

A very interesting point is the long-term nature of these events. New customers can be attracted quickly enough, but the cost of attracting events is quite high. And vice versa, creating conditions for customers to return to you again and again is less expensive, but you will not get the effect quickly.

How to increase conversion

Conversion is the percentage of customers who bought to the total number of potential customers (traffic). The number of leads for each type of sale will be different. So for a store, it will be customers who come to the store, for a site it is site traffic, for SMM audience coverage, for contextual advertising, the number of clicks on ads and the number of ad impressions.

First of all, on the internal state of the store (seller, site), the more conditions for purchases are created, the higher the conversion will be. Conversely, the difficulties that the client faces when buying reduce the conversion. Conversion is a hygienic indicator of management professionalism. The main difficulties that reduce the conversion in the store:

• , or rather its absence, for example, the lack of price tags or inconvenient store navigation;
• Queues at the checkouts and other factors that reduce the speed of purchase;

In fact, these points are relevant for other types of sales, for example, for a website:

• Ease of site navigation, intuitive design, mobile version, etc.;
• Unqualified personnel;
• Complicated form filling on the site;
• High prices for goods or non-competitive offer;

In general, as we can see, in order to increase conversion and, as a result, sales, it is necessary to put things in order and train staff. What is generally not so difficult, it is much more difficult to maintain order and the level of knowledge, skills and abilities of your salespeople.

Increasing the average check

The average check is how much money one customer spends in your store. The average check consists of two components - the number of goods in the check and the average purchase price. There are many ways available to you:

• Cross sale (cross sale,) - this is a related product to the main one;
• - this is the sale to the client of a more expensive product;
• - the location of related products next to the main one;
• also increases the number of goods in the check;
• Expansion of the assortment - often the increase in the average bill is hindered by the absence of a particular product or the absence of expensive goods;

What are the clients

An increase in the average check is, first of all, the correct monetization of incoming traffic. Remember that among the customers who come to you there are always loyal people who will buy everything that you offer them. Anyone who has worked in sales will confirm that there are 3 categories of customers:

1. Shopaholics - buy everything in their path. They get true happiness from the buying process, boldly go to communicate with the seller. The main thing is to create a positive attitude for them. They are rare, depending on the scope of sales from 2 to 10% of the total number of customers.
2. Skeptics - are suspicious of any activity of the seller. They like to make their own decisions. With the advent of the Internet, such customers have almost completely moved there, although life still drives them to offline stores. No more than 5% of all clients.
3. Middle class - ordinary customers who need to understand what they pay for. They can show the qualities of both shopaholics and skeptics, it depends on the terms of the sale. The vast majority of clients are like that. If you correctly explain to them that the product meets their needs and is worth the money, then they will buy from you.

Your task as a seller is to create conditions for shopaholics and the middle class to get what they need. Unfortunately, many sellers avoid using methods to increase the average check because they see no reason to scare customers. At the same time, the same seller may puzzle over the question of how to increase sales.

1. Introduce bonuses for the number of meetings for managers above the average.

2. Strengthen the visualization of sales results with the help of chips, buttons, squares, pictures

3. Introduce negotiations for managers once a month.

4. Launch a test drive of your product, service, service, etc. For a few days, a week, a month.

5. Place stickers on your products with information about the special offer.

6. Buy an expensive coffee maker for clients.

7. Post a director's video greeting on the main page of the site.

8. Send memorable postcards to clients.

9. Implement an interactive map in the contacts section.

11. Correspond with clients via WhatsApp.

12. Place a cheerful corporate newspaper in the public domain.

13. Make a beautiful PDF design proposal and use it in business correspondence.

15. Create an original greeting that the client hears during the call.

16. Introduce letter templates for managers for all occasions.

17. Implement cloud CRM.

18. Create a script for successful negotiations and monitor its implementation.

19. Launch 2-3 new marketing campaigns every month.

20. Hire a sales assistant and shift to him the maximum paper work from managers.

21. Monthly reward an employee for the best idea to increase sales.

22. Appoint one of the employees as the head of information about competitors.

23. Launch remote sales without opening an office in all key regions.

24. Take another employee on cold calls.

25. Compare your site to 10 competitors in your industry - maybe it's time to refine it.

26. Make a selling price list.

27. Work out with managers 3 options for presenting your company: in 1 minute, in 10 minutes and in 30 minutes.

28. Convene a strategic sales session with consultants and all executives.

29. Work out a system of guarantees and returns without any conditions for customers.

30. Analyze the sources of information about potential customers.

31. Teach managers to quickly determine what is most important for a client - price, quality, speed of solving a problem, completeness of a solution, reliability.

32. Delegate more authority to managers to provide discounts and bonuses.

33. Find several assortment positions for which it is painless to raise prices.

34. Work on the company's social media presence.

35. Move to an open-space office.

36. Add 3-4 lead generation channels.

37. Order a professional photo session for all employees and place it in the reception area.