1. Concentrate on leads rather than sales.
Content marketing, in combination with efficient online forms and clever email automation follow-up, is crucial to a company's success.
2. Rather than selling products, offer solutions.
Unless you work for Starbucks or Adidas, people aren't seeking for your brand; they're looking for a solution to a problem or a specific type of product.
Don't list all of your product's advantages. Concentrate on the solutions. Explain to the buyer how or why your product can help them in basic, uncomplicated words.
Conduct market research to create a profile of your target customer. How does your product or service, as well as its delivery and price point, solve problems and make people's lives easier or more enjoyable?
3. Make sure your pricing is always optimized.
For example, lowering pricing does not always result in increased sales (though it will definitely squeeze margins). If you represent yourself as a premium brand, your customers are unlikely to be value-driven in the first place, and decreasing costs could damage your reputation.
There are techniques to optimize your pricing without cutting rates if you are a premium brand. Offer the quality-conscious buyer a "unique" perk that your competitors don't or can't match. If you're in the value-driven market, though, don't assume that lowering pricing would result in a loss. Low prices can help you quickly attract a large number of new clients who will likely buy additional things in your store and return.
4. Hire people who will interact with customers in a friendly manner.
Yes, it may seem self-evident, but it is crucial! People are more inclined to buy a product if they like the salesperson who is helping them, whether consciously or unconsciously.
While the personality of the employee has no influence on the pricing, neither does the ability of your product to meet their needs.
Be picky about who you hire, and make sure they're genuinely happy, friendly, and outgoing. Ensure that your training program educates them to maintain a consistent polite demeanor that puts clients at ease and makes them feel important.
5. Keep your doors open even longer.
Assume you're a physical store that's experiencing a rush of consumers as closing time approaches... Why don't you shut down an hour later?
While this may generate employee dissatisfaction, the problem can be solved by becoming creative with rosters. Keep track of consumer traffic throughout the day and week to determine your busiest times and staff accordingly.
To offset the greater costs and longer working hours caused by your extended opening hours, you might also reduce manpower during slower periods.
It's a win-win situation!
6. Don't make customers look for a phone number in the phone book.
Even in this digital age, some clients prefer to contact you via phone over email or Facebook. While many internet businesses with small margins avoid having manned phone lines, it's worth giving clients the option of speaking with your company over the phone.
'Live chat' bots are also a low-cost solution to provide real-time communication.
7. Give something away for free (or very little)
Why not provide a voucher with your delighted customers' purchases that they can use to get discounts on your products and services? If they already like what you do, they'll adore you even more after this.
It's beneficial to your health because:
It ensures that customers will return to your store. People despise squandering freebies!
They may purchase additional things when they return to your business to redeem their voucher. If your company does business online, the gift could be timed to coincide with a particular offer.
What's more, guess what? Customers who have gotten vouchers or freebies are likely to spread the word, so you may benefit from some favorable social media buzz.
8. Give back to your community
Local firms, in comparison to global chains, can undoubtedly connect with their distinct communities with far greater authority.
A neighborhood retailer, hair salon, or gardening company can support a child's sports team while also providing great discounts to OAPs.
Some movie theaters provide special "sensory" screenings where parents can bring their autistic children (who would otherwise be overwhelmed by busy, noisy venues) to watch a film in a calm, stress-free environment.
Whatever you decide to do to help your community, make sure it is authentic to your brand's offering and business history.
9. Make good use of social media.
Social media is a terrific way to create a strong relationship with clients - just remember what the word "social" means! On Twitter, soulless corporate shop-talk won't cut it.
When writing updates or blogs, try to offer your brand some personality. Of course, this has its own set of risks. However, if you get it right, the rewards can be enormous.
Create a tone of voice that complements your brand identity. Attempt to educate, assist, entertain, or amuse.
Most crucially, given the negative public relations implications, don't patronize, try too hard to be amusing, or tweet after a few drinks!
10. Take control of your niche
It's sometimes preferable to be a jack of all trades than a master of none. Multiple revenue streams do, admittedly, diversify your risk by allowing others to pick up the slack if one fails.
Consumers, on the other hand, frequently equate ‘specialists' with higher-quality products or services than generalists. With good reason: experts usually devote all of their resources to perfecting a single product or service.
So, what should you focus on? To express the obvious, it should be something you are really good at.
You may also choose something with rising or recession-proof demand, that is resistant to technological change, that gives you a competitive advantage over your competitors, or that fills a clear vacuum in your local market.
Whatever you do, own it.
11. Maintain a humble attitude
Never be satisfied with your company's performance. You may always improve — and you must improve!
Don't get me wrong: what's the point of it all if you don't get a little smug gratification now and then? Take satisfaction in the successful launch of a game-changing product or favorable client feedback. But don't let your consumers listen to you harping on about it all the time!
You might be a revolutionary innovation today, but tomorrow you might be a complacent market leader with an outdated business strategy.
As a result, attempt to maintain a humble demeanor while continually striving to grow. Seek inspiration from other business owners, books, and seminars. You become vulnerable to usurpation the moment you believe your goal has been completed.
There are a variety of strategies to improve your business, and not all of them are difficult!
