Whether you're selling a product or a service, regardless of the size of your business activity, you're constantly searching for sales growth strategies and increased cash flow,
and this means you're well aware that increased sales don't happen on their own; they are the result of plans and strategies developed by the marketing and sales teams.
In this article, we will provide you with some steps and strategies that have proven effective and have achieved a 250% increase in sales for us and our clients in a short period.
Important Tips Before Diving into Sales Growth Strategies:
Why these tips? To make sure you're doing the right things in the right place, at the right time, and to the right people,
the sales growth strategies we're presenting aren't magic spells. They are a framework you can work on to increaseyour business growth And a proven plan that helps you attract more customers and increase your revenue.
Study Your Target Market Well:
Avoid wasting a lot of money and effort on different marketing activities and only experiencing dismal failures. Failure to study the market was the reason for Starbucks loses $105 million and closing over 70% of its branches in Australia.
Identify the Needs and Interests of Your Target Customers:
Even the strongest sales strategies and most skilled sales person cannot sell a product to a customer who doesn't need it, isn't interested in it, or doesn't have the ability to purchase it.
It's like convincing a blind man to get a driver's license.
Analyze Your Competitors:
Thoroughly studying competitors gives you the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, avoid them, analyze their strengths and weaknesses, And work on creating a stronger competitive advantage. Studying competitors also helps you define your goals more clearly and make the right decisions.
Constantly Update Buyer Personas:
You've certainly developed approximate buyer personas at the beginning of your marketing plan, but customers' personas and buying motivations are constantly changing.
Therefore, you need to constantly update your buyer personas.
These tips are the first step to putting your foot on the right path before implementing any of the sales growth strategies we'll mention.
First Sales Growth Strategy: Increase the Number of Potential Customers
You can increase the number of potential customers through several methods, including:
- increasing marketingcampaigns on various advertising platforms.
- Expanding marketing channels.
- Consistently updating your website or online store content.
- Developing search results and keywords through SEO.
- Encourage referral programs.
Second Sales Growth Strategy: Maintaining Current Customers
Some believe that once the sale is complete, the job of the salesperson is done, but this concept is definitely wrong.
Companies seeking future sales growth understand that selling to current customers is ten times easier than attracting new ones.
Therefore, they continue to communicate with their customers, asking about their satisfaction with the purchased product or service, and how to improve it to meet their future expectations.
But remember: Not every customer deserves your time. Some customers consume your energy and time without yielding any results. Your focus should be on ideal customers who spend a lot and are willing to spend more for the value you provide and speak positively about you.
Third Sales Increase Strategies: Increasing Basket Value:
You can significantly increase your sales by taking some simple steps to increase the basket value, including:
- Selling complementary products to the main product
- Offering gifts and discount vouchers
- Combining multiple products in an irresistible offer
- Offering specific enhancements for the product at a higher price
- Designing loyaltyprograms
Fourth Sales Increase Strategies: Intensifying Offers:
There are various types of promotional offers and discounts that you can integrate into your marketing strategy to increase sales.
Studies have shown that a $10 discount coupon contributes to a 38% increase in sales. It also doubles store traffic and generates more potential customers, enhancing the satisfaction of current customers.
There are many offers that you can apply within a framework that suits your marketing strategy, including:
- Bundled offers (combining multiple products into one offer)
- Pre-discounts (eg, 15% discount on the basket value)
- Variable discounts (increasing discounts with higher quantities)
- Seasonal offers (special offers for specific seasons, such as Black Friday deals)
- Buy-one-get-one-free or buy-two-get-one-free deals.
Fifth Sales Increase Strategy: Retargeting:
Retargeting strategy allows you to display your ads to users who have shown interest in your product or service but haven't completed the purchase for specific reasons.
There are several examples of retargeting strategies, such as:
-
Retargeting website visitors:
Many visitors may arrive at your website, navigate through pages, and leave without completing the desired action. Your ads can remind or incentivize them to complete a specific action.
-
Retargeting current customers:
You likely have many customers who haven't made a purchase in a long time. Email marketing comes into play here. What if you send special offers to their email to encourage them to make a purchase?
-
Retargeting abandoned cart owners:
All stores struggle with abandoned carts and seek to reduce their number. Retargeting abandoned cart owners with special offers and discounts can lead to a significant sales increase.
Retargeting should be a fundamental step in your marketing plan as it greatly contributes to increased sales and converting more potential customers.
Sixth Sales Increase Strategy: Sales Team Training:
Selling today is harder than it used to be due to increased competition and the multitude of choices and alternatives available to customers.
This isn't just my opinion; it's supported by studies and statistics that show 60% of salespeople find the task increasingly challenging over time.
This is where training comes into play to address this issue. A well-trained salesperson can close more deals in a shorter time compared to one still using outdated methods. Investing in training your team in negotiation and persuasion skills, regardless of its cost, is less than the cost of losing customers to competitors.
Improving just one step in the sales process can lead to significant profit increases.
Out-of-the-Box Ideas for Sales Increase:
All these strategies we've mentioned for increasing sales are important for gaining more potential customers, retaining current customers, and achieving growth for your business.
However, there are more strategies that, if executed well, will bring you continuous profit increases, including:
- Focusing on brand image
- Seeing the product through the customer's eyes and thinking like them
- Creating a unique competitive advantage
- Exploring new distribution channels
- Participating in specialized exhibitions
- Sharing your tips and expertise with customers through contentcreation
- Coordinating efforts across all teams in marketing, sales, and operations
- Focusing on the value the product or service provides
- Using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
Always remember that no single strategy achieves good results on its own. You need to work on multiple strategies based on your target market, product, and the nature of competition in the market.
Efforts from both the marketing team and sales team, along with customer service and everyone in the company, must come together for the success of sales increase strategies.