Improving retail sales. How to increase profits in a grocery store. Ways to increase sales in a retail store

What business owner doesn't dream of increasing sales? Whatever you have - manufacturing plant, service, or online store, you want to sell more. This way you will earn more and there will be opportunities to expand your business. You will be able to increase your staff, open new sales points, new workshops.

In practice, however, not everything is always so rosy. The company may encounter unexpected difficulties. After all, when sales increase, more products need to be produced. As a result, the enterprise simply does not have time to produce enough. Yes, we need to expand, but it takes some time. As a result, they either work in two shifts, or have to refuse orders, or the quality of the goods decreases, since they have to produce a lot of it and quickly.

An online store may face an insufficient amount of goods in stock, and as a result, it needs to increase purchases.

As a result, it turns out that an increase in sales leads to an increase in expenses: salaries, logistics, purchase of raw materials and new equipment. Therefore, if you are focused on increasing sales, you need to be prepared for the possible chaos and changes that any growth entails.

Main factors influencing sales

Three groups of factors influence the growth or decline of sales:

1. External: seasonality, competition, laws, general market dynamics, customer purchasing power.
2. Domestic: advertising, price, product, discounts, promotions, loyalty programs, etc.
3. Personal contribution- this is everything that every sales manager brings: his ability to handle calls, present a product or service.

You cannot influence external factors in any way. It doesn't depend on you what legislation will be passed or whether your customers will be able to buy more. But two other groups of factors depend entirely on you.

This is how you can make a good product that will be in demand.It is in your power to make a thoughtful advertising campaign to attract the attention of even more people to your product. INYou can hire and train sales managers, develop sales scripts that will help them sell even more of your products or services.

To increase sales, you must direct your actions in several directions:

1. increase the volume and quality of advertising;
2. increase the conversion from an interested person to a buyer (for a website these are applications and leads);
3. increase the frequency of purchases by regular customers and the customer’s lifespan;

We will tell you what exactly you can do and what tactics to use.

Important: tactics by themselves will not bear any fruit if they do not become part of a well-thought-out strategy for your promotion in the market, and the development of the company as a whole.

50 ways to increase sales of goods and services

For convenience, we have divided them into several categories.

Marketing

1. Develop a promotion strategy. Very often you can find entrepreneurs who rush between different tools, not knowing which one to use. Develop a clear strategy - what you want to achieve and how it can be done. Then the tools will select themselves.

2. Choose the right advertising channels. Think about where your target audience might live and how you can “hook” them. For example, a small confectionery shop would be suitable outdoor advertising and a well designed sign. An online hardware store can use contextual advertising and SEO.

3. Use content marketing. In 2017, 39% of companies in the world increased investments in this area of ​​​​internet marketing, which proves its effectiveness. Content marketing is work for the future. It does not increase sales immediately, but over time you will notice the effect.

4. Approach SMM wisely. It's not all jokes and cats. Social networks have long turned into a good advertising channel; with their help, you can create demand for new products, find buyers for already known ones, promote your brand and maintain relationships with existing customers.

5. “Catch the Wave”: Stay up to date with the latest trends, events, viral memes and jokes. Especially if you have a young target audience who actively uses social networks. Having successfully played the next event, you can get new fans, who can then become your clients.

6. Use retargeting and remarketing: return to the site those who were interested in a product or service, but for some reason did not complete the purchase or order.

9. Analyze all advertising activities. See which channel brings in the most sales and disable unprofitable ones. This way you will not only be able to focus on what works the most, but also distribute it correctly. advertising budget and avoid unnecessary expenses.

10. Use landing pages and promotional pages for new products and special offers. Such pages have higher conversion rates. It’s easier to promote them, and then you can turn them off as unnecessary. It's easier than adding new pages to the site.

Website

11. Describe in the site header, under the logo, what you do. Usually they put a slogan here, which doesn’t tell new clients anything about you. Write who you are - sausage factory or legal advice.

12. Indicate on the site all possible means of communication with you: telephone number, address, location on the map, address email. Phone number and address can be indicated in the header of the site. Be sure to make a separate page "Contacts».

36. Delegate. On initial stages you will do a lot of things yourself. But you won’t be able to grow your business if you constantly drag everything on yourself. Learn to delegate routine tasks to someone else. In this case, when the question arises of changing the structure of your enterprise, expanding, opening branches, it will be much easier for you.

37. Organize an affiliate network. Connect to the sale of your goods, to attract traffic to the dealers’ website. They will find new channels to sell your products.

38. Open branches in other regions. Gradually expand into new territories. This way you will be able to cover more regions, new markets, and accordingly sales will go up.

48. Offer free services or products that arouse interest and encourage the purchase of a paid product. For example, in the information business, a free webinar is held in order to lure as many people as possible to a paid one.

49. Apply individual approach to every client. Everyone is different, and you can learn your customer's preferences simply by making the right notes in your CRM.

50. Use “expiring discounts”, the size of which decreases over time. This technique “urges” buyers to buy more and quickly.

You can use any one technique from this list, or weave several of them into your marketing strategy and business processes.

Let your sales grow!

The simplest type of business is a retail business. Direct contact with the end customer allows you to make the retail outlet the most attractive place for him. But as practice shows, many people are not focused on those areas that bring profit to the company.

On our projects, we do not often work with retail outlets, since most owners of retail outlets do not think about ways to increase sales. But for many of our wholesale clients, be it furniture, household appliances or outerwear, we are developing a concept for increasing retail sales. Why do wholesalers need this? It’s very simple, when we carry out projects to develop wholesale sales, we base our work on helping retail outlets run their business. That is, the wholesaler not only supplies goods to the client - a retail outlet or a network of retail stores, but also gives recommendations on the development of retail trade.

Communication between wholesale and retail sales:

• 1. Sales at retail increase – sales at wholesalers increase.
• 2. Sales increase with the help of wholesaler recommendations - loyalty increases retail outlet.
• 3. We delve into the specifics of doing business as a retail buyer and understand its potential.
• 4. We understand the retail business - we increase our sales by better meeting demand.

So, let's get back to ways to increase retail sales.

2 main indicators of retail performance:

• Number of customers who reached the store
• Number of customers who made a purchase

First of all, we need to start counting the customers who have reached the store. This is done very simply. A sensor is installed at the entrance that counts incoming and outgoing customers. Of course, there may be errors when the same customer enters several times, but you can close your eyes to these errors. The indicator of the number of customers does not depend on the seller, the interior decoration of the store and the assortment. At least at the first stage of the store's operation.

What determines the number of customers in a store?

• 1.Passable point location
• 2. Signs
• 3. Unique selling proposition(USP)
• 4. Advertising and PR
• 5. Other services

Most stores opened retail space, count on only one of the factors. And most often for cross-country ability. Sometimes a good sign is made, sometimes even a notice “We are open” is hung up. But as Evgeny Chichvarkin said, the effectiveness of a retail outlet depends on 3 things: on the place, on the place and again on the place. Let me disagree with him a little. Much still depends on the specifics of the product. If these are impulse or everyday goods, then most likely the location will matter, but if these are unique goods or services, then the location may not be so important. Let's look at each factor in increasing store traffic in more detail.

How to increase retail store sales?

1. Patency. How to determine it before opening a retail store? It’s very simple, stand at the door of your future store and count the people who passed by you and whose gaze was directed in this direction. This is the total number of potential visitors; for a more accurate portrait, count the gender and age of people, and if you have a portrait of your client, you can understand the potential attendance of the outlet by ordinary passers-by.

2. Sign. We have potential passersby. Now their eyes need to be attracted. A sign is required for this. It should be:

• Noticeable and eye-catching.
• Make it clear what product or service a person will receive at the door.
• Attract with the benefits of shopping in this place (assortment, low prices, high quality etc.)

Unfortunately, in most cases, determining the effectiveness of a particular sign can only be determined empirically.

3. Unique trade offer (USP). It is not always possible to find a passage point and hang a chic sign. But there is one thing that can be done even in the back alley, and which will increase sales in a retail store by at least 30%. To do this, you will have to create a retail outlet, a product or service for which a person will be ready to leave his usual path. And here the USP becomes absolutely indispensable. So, the first thing you need to increase sales in a retail store is to create a unique product or service:

• “Direct supplies of Indian tea, more than 1000 varieties”;
• “European level dry cleaning in 5.5 hours”;
• “More than 150 boiler models + free installation”;
• “The lowest prices in the city for the most delicious belyashi”
• “The first hospital with kind and friendly doctors”;

Difficult? Don't you have such chips? Why do business if you don’t do something unique? Do you have a retail outlet and do you sell well? Give me 15 minutes of communication with you, and I will name at least 3 unique advantages of your outlet, your product or your service, which you may not have thought about. Therefore, tense up and you will easily find them.

4. Advertising and PR. Not everyone can afford spots on local television or billboards on the main streets of the city, and although these methods are gradually reducing their effectiveness, with the right approach they are still effective. We will focus on methods available to everyone. First you need to put yourself in the shoes of the person who needed your product or service. Where will he go to look for her in your city? Will you use the Internet? Will he buy a newspaper? Will he ask his friends? Will he go to the market? IN shopping mall? So it is necessary to set traps in these places. Next are booklets and flyers - perhaps in some cities, especially in Moscow, a hackneyed topic, but in some - quite a working one. Ideally, advertising should be placed along with the information that a potential client of a retail outlet may need. It is unlikely that the client will retain contact information for the air ticket office in your city. But if on back side The flyer will contain useful information, train schedules or addresses of the best catering outlets in the city, then the likelihood of saving your booklet increases significantly. Next we move on to the Internet. Regardless of the development of Internet resources in your city, urgently create a website for your store if it does not already exist. The Internet is the future and those who manage to take a place in the sun in the city will sell the most tomorrow.

5. Other services. For example, you have a cosmetics store in small town. How will he make the whole city know about him? Everything is very simple, invite a stylist for a month and distribute flyers stating that only during this month a free stylist will work in your salon who will select or correct the image of customers. And in a month, many women will be talking about your store, even those who don’t need a stylist and those whose girlfriends have been to this store. Do you sell regular plastic windows? Announce that you are renting a device that measures the thermal conductivity of windows and calculates heat loss. Offer this to the market for free and those who are faced with the need to replace windows will remember your company first. Or offer the market the installation of anti-fly nets on windows for 300 rubles, even if this will be a minus for you, but you will see how many people with nets on windows will come after a while to buy the windows themselves. And if they don’t come, we will teach your craftsmen how to hint to these people about changing the windows.

The main thing to remember is one thing. Increasing retail sales is easy and doesn't require high costs resources. The main thing is to open your eyes and see what others do not. If you wish, we can do this together with you within the framework

10.06.2017 1 617 1 Reading time: 16 min.

Let's continue the topic of increasing sales in business and consider one of the most current issues in this area: how to increase sales in a retail store. After reading this article, you will learn which four areas you should work in to increase retail sales, and what methods you can use to increase sales in each of these areas.

What determines sales volume?

Retail trade is the most common type entrepreneurial activity, which is where most people start. Naturally, each of them always thinks about how to increase sales in the store, but does not always know how to competently approach this issue. Today we will close this gap.

So, in one of the previous articles I wrote that it depends on four components. You can read all the details by following the link, but here I will repeat briefly:

1. Client traffic(the number of potential customers who have/may enter the store).
2. Conversion(conversion of potential buyers into real ones - the number of people who actually make purchases).
3. Average bill(the total amount of a purchase in a store that the average buyer leaves).
4. Repeat sales(transforming one-time customers into store loyalists who will shop there regularly).

Thus, when thinking about how to increase retail sales, it is best to simultaneously work on increasing each of these four indicators. And how this can be achieved will be discussed separately later.

Client traffic

First of all, to increase sales in a retail store, you need to get more people to come there. This can be achieved primarily through two strategies:

1. Focus on branding. Transform the store into a recognizable brand, make people go there simply knowing that “it’s good there”, “they always have the right product”, “there good prices“,” “the service there is excellent,” etc.
2. Focus on individual products. Make people go to the store for certain products or certain group goods because they are the cheapest and/or the highest quality, the most delicious, etc.

The implementation of the first strategy is significantly more expensive (you can read more in the article), but also economic effect You should expect much more from it than from the second option. The second strategy is easier to implement - it is enough, for example, to sell several “hot” products (for example, for grocery store- this is sugar, eggs, flour, cereals, etc.) actually at cost, with a minimal markup. Then people will quickly notice this and will often go into the store for a certain product, but many of them will also buy other products at a more significant markup along the way.

The methods and tools with which these strategies can be implemented are quite well known: these are advertising companies, holding promotions, sales, discounts.

High level of service. Beautiful and polite salespeople, smiles, great attention to each client, competent, professional advice - these are all the things that form in the client the psychological attitude “they treat me so well here, I simply have to buy something.”

Average check

When thinking about how to increase sales in a store, you need to take care not just that visitors make some kind of purchase, but that they make the most expensive purchase possible, thereby increasing the so-called “ average bill" What actions can be taken in this direction?

Attracting customers with cheap goods and selling expensive ones. Good option for those who chose the second option of the sales increase strategy. Roughly speaking, you can set the cheapest prices for flour and sugar in your store, and sell, say, sausages and meat products with a more significant markup.

Selling cheap goods with a large markup. Setting a large markup (100%, 200% or more) on the most cheap goods(chewing gum, coffee bags, lighters, etc.) - good way increase the average check, because these goods are usually bought “at the same time” and at any price.

Cross-selling. To increase the average check, you need to train sellers to competently perform cross-selling. For example, a person who buys a fishing rod can also sell a reel, line, hooks, sinkers, float, bait, bait, fish tank and even a boat.

I wrote more about this area of ​​increasing sales in a retail store in a separate article, so I won’t dwell on it any longer and will move on to the last component.

Repeat sales

And finally, in order to increase retail sales, you need to make sure that as many of your current customers as possible return to the store more than once, and become its adherents, and ideally, they would also recommend it to their relatives, friends, and acquaintances.

How to achieve this? Of course, a lot depends on the specifics and specialization of the store, but all methods come down to personalizing customers: meeting the needs of each customer individually. In everyday life this is known under the expression “individual approach to each client.” Let's look at the most common of these methods.

Personalized communications. When communicating with a visitor, the seller can introduce himself (say his name) and ask what the client’s name is, and then address him by name. This psychologically immediately emphasizes individuality and encourages the desire to return to this store again, because it has individual service.

Identifying personal needs. Again, when communicating with the buyer, the seller must find out exactly what goods he is interested in and for what purposes. Based on this, offer what is presented in the store.

Information about new products, promotions, discounts. To increase repeat sales in a retail store, it makes sense to collect a database of customer contact information (phone numbers, emails, etc.) and send out some new offers that might interest them. A certain number of such customers will be interested in the offer, return to the store and make a new purchase.

Maintaining groups on social networks. Many stores open their own groups or public pages on popular social networks (primarily VKontakte), where they inform subscribers about new products, discounts, promotions, and answer questions. This is also a good way to communicate and expand the number of store followers. Moreover, there you can hold various sweepstakes for subscribers and further expand the target audience.

Personalized infrastructure. Finally, you may want to consider taking an individual approach to different groups clients. For example, if you equip a bike rack at the entrance to a store, this will significantly increase the likelihood that cyclists will visit your store more often than competitors who do not have such a rack.

In this rather lengthy article, I only briefly described how to increase sales in a retail store: I showed you the necessary courses of action and some popular techniques in each of these directions. Of course, you need to experiment, try, introduce something new, analyze and draw conclusions.

I wish you successful development business and a stable increase in sales! Stay tuned: there is a lot of other important and useful information that will come in handy more than once!

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Why do entrepreneurs engage in retail trade? With rare exceptions, such activities pursue one goal - obtaining maximum profit. At the same time, you don’t need to carry out complex calculations to understand: the income of any retail outlet most directly depends on the volume of sales of goods.

It is quite difficult to develop a universal recipe for increasing sales in a retail store: in each specific case, the specifics of the business, the characteristics of the local market and the habits of the audience should be considered. However, there are four ways to get positive result in any situation:

1. Increase the total number of visitors to the outlet. Obviously, the number of buyers will increase proportionally;
2. Increase store conversion. This coefficient allows you to understand how many guests are simply looking at products, and how many are making real purchases;
3. Increase the average check amount. If every customer starts spending in the store more money, the entrepreneur’s profit will increase;
4. Increase the number of repeat sales. If a person has become a regular customer, then advertising is no longer needed to attract him.

Why are sales declining?

Quite often you can hear from beginning entrepreneurs: “We want to increase sales, but we can’t do anything.” Sometimes failures are caused external factors, which the business owner cannot influence - the state of the economy, legislative framework, the mentality of people, the political situation, the level of technology development. But often sales decline for reasons arising from erroneous actions or inaction of the businessman himself:

1. Uncomfortable atmosphere. Buyers may simply not like the atmosphere in the hall - weak flickering lighting, unpleasant odors, cramped aisles;
2. Modest assortment. If a person enters the store for the first time and does not find the right product here, then he is unlikely to return again;
3. Wrong assortment. Perhaps the presented product is not in demand in the area. In a neighborhood populated by pensioners, you can’t sell red caviar;
4. Excessive assortment. If there are more than eight brands for each product item, the client may simply get confused;
5. Incorrect layout. No one likes a store where you have to spend hours wandering between shelves looking for the little things you need;
6. Overpriced. With active competition in trade, even a price increase of 2–5% compared to other points must be justified by something;
7. Bad looking product. There's no point in thinking about how to increase sales in a clothing retail store if all the products are wrinkled or piled up;
8. Poor location hot commodity. If a person, entering the hall, immediately sees everything he needs, then he will not notice other products and will not buy anything else;
9. Incorrect advertising or lack thereof. Don’t think that a store will attract customers just by existing. Any business needs to be promoted;
10. Poor quality of service. The modern consumer respects himself too much to tolerate the arrogant or indifferent attitude of salespeople.

Increasing customer base

It is not without reason that entrepreneurs are looking for a place with maximum traffic to locate a store. The mathematics is simple: if twenty out of a thousand visitors become clients, then two thousand people will already bring forty transactions. There are many ways to attract people to a retail outlet, but all of them, one way or another, come down to advertising. How to increase your sales:

• Determine the portrait of the target consumer;
• Make the store visible to passersby;
• Conduct an advertising campaign;
• Present your business on the Internet.

Determining the target audience

It is difficult to determine if you do not know who exactly the product is intended for. Isolating an interested group of potential clients from the general mass of citizens allows an entrepreneur to:

• Select product required quality and set the right price for it;
• Increase the effectiveness of marketing activities;
• Identify ways to increase customer loyalty;
• Save money on attracting new consumers;
• Develop an offer that meets customer expectations.

Audience segmentation is carried out according to characteristics characteristic of the average image of an ideal client. When sampling, the key ones are:

• Gender and age group;
• Interests, hobbies, hobbies;
• The ways in which the product solves customer problems;
• The emotions that the product evokes in the consumer;
• Reasons why a person chooses this store over another.

Exterior design

By designing the exterior of a retail outlet, an entrepreneur solves two problems: firstly, he helps passers-by understand what exactly is being sold here, and secondly, he makes the establishment stand out from the rest. How to increase sales in your store:

• The outlet cannot be nameless. The name must be sonorous, otherwise how will customers remember it and tell their friends about the store?
• The sign must look perfect. If it is faded or outdated, a new one should be made. The scoreboard must be equipped with backlighting;
• A sign is a tool for attracting the attention of passers-by who do not look up at the signs. It should stand close to the porch;
• If the budget allows, it is worth installing an installation at the entrance - an inflatable figure, a product model. One coffee shop hung colorful birdhouses on a nearby tree;
• It is not necessary to design a bright and colorful showcase. The main condition is that it should stand out against the background of the facades of nearby retail outlets.

Regular advertising

If the store doesn't sell unique product, for which people will travel across the city, then you shouldn’t buy expensive TV spots and strips in glossy magazines. It is better to focus on the main zone of influence of the point, which is determined by walking distance and is a circle with a radius of 1.0–1.3 km. How to increase retail sales using traditional advertising:

• Flyers should be placed in the mailboxes of surrounding homes. To prevent advertising from being thrown away, you need to offer its bearer some kind of bonus;
• Leaflets with short text indicating some benefit for the client can be distributed at intersections or near shopping centers;
• For radio advertising, they create a short and energetic message that motivates the listener to visit the store;
• There are two types of advertisements posted on billboards: the first simply reminds people about the store, and the second informs about some kind of promotion;
• The shortest text is used for banners. The message should be read in seconds, while a person is standing at a traffic light or passing by.

Internet advertising

Of course, regular advertising works well. However, if an entrepreneur wants more, then he must present his business where he is located. target audience. For a store whose clients are not only people of retirement age, this environment is the virtual space. How to increase sales online:

1. The website of a store selling piece goods must contain price lists. At wide range here it is enough to write about promotions and new products, indicate opening hours;
2. Information about the outlet must be indicated on electronic maps, enter into various databases like 2GIS;
3. You can periodically remind people about the store using email newsletters and Viber, WhatsApp, Skype, Telegram applications;
4. Lead the group to social network difficult: here you can encounter negativity. But if you learn how to manage your reputation, this tool will be useful;
5. For a store selling a specific product (wedding dresses, furniture, household appliances), it is worth attracting consumers through contextual advertising.

Increased conversion

Of course, successful advertising can attract a huge audience to a retail outlet. People will start to come into the store in a continuous stream, but if they don’t find anything interesting here or feel unwelcome guests, they will simply leave. Therefore, you need to work to ensure that every visitor feels the desire to make a purchase. There are several ways to increase sales:

• Create comfortable conditions for visitors;
• Train staff in sales techniques;
• Create an assortment that is interesting to the audience;
• Set your store apart from competitors.

Store interior

The visitor will spend more time in trading floor and will acquire more products, if you feel comfortable and confident here. But at the same time, nothing should distract him from the main task - shopping. So how can you increase sales by creating the appropriate environment? You need to do the following:

1. The room should be maintained at a temperature that is pleasant for visitors. This is especially true in winter: warmly dressed people quickly become hot;
2. Stale and musty odors in the store are unacceptable. At the same time, the aromas of coffee, fresh baked goods or vanilla lead to an increase in sales by 20%;
3. Too energetic music makes people fill their baskets faster and leave, while slow music slows them down. You need to look for a middle ground;
4. You should not use cold light lamps in the store, which distort the gamma. In addition, all lighting devices must be in working order;
5. A thoughtful layout will force the guest to walk through the entire store and see more products. To do this, popular products are often laid out at the back of the room;
6. Access to the goods should be limited by fences, counters, and pallets. In cramped aisles, people often interfere with each other's exploration of products.

Personnel training

It is clear that an entrepreneur’s profit directly depends on how quickly and successfully his sellers close deals. However, some businessmen do not understand that an employee will not be able to sell more if he does not know how to do it correctly. Therefore, the issue of personnel training must be taken seriously:

• The appearance and behavior of the employee must correspond to the image of the establishment and the product offered. Men are perceived poorly in lingerie stores;
• The seller should under no circumstances impose himself. Each visiting guest should be given time to familiarize themselves with the assortment;
• The main goal of communicating with a client is to identify his needs, learn about the problem, and then offer an appropriate product;
• Despite the negative attitude of most sellers, scripts should still be implemented. This way, the employee will not forget to tell you about the promotion or offer a new product;
• The employee must perfectly know the presented assortment in order to answer any customer questions regarding the products without hesitation;
• How to increase sales in a retail store of building materials or spare parts? The seller must be able to talk about how to use the product.

It is not surprising that employees at headquarters do not want to try. To motivate them, you need to tie their salary to sales volume. For this use:

• Bonus for fulfilling the plan;
• Individual rewards for achievements;
• Progressive accrual of bonuses in the form of a percentage of sales.

Store assortment

When compiling a store’s assortment, an entrepreneur most often proceeds from a personal understanding of the situation. As a result, shelves often end up with products that are of no interest to the target group at all and only take up space. Therefore, when developing commodity matrix must be based on age social status and income levels of potential clients. Here are some examples of how to increase sales in a grocery retail store:

1. The point must have a product for advertising, showing its price category for citizens. They set a minimum markup on it and promote it as the main one;
2. If there are educational institutions nearby, the emphasis is on products that children love. These are chocolates, chips, carbonated drinks, sweets;
3. Counting on the highest educational institutions, you need to include in the assortment beer and low-alcohol drinks, as well as pies, shawarma, pastries, pasties;
4. Workers of offices and institutions will like ready-to-eat products - packaged coffee and tea, cuttings, confectionery, noodles and porridges;
5. A store located in an elite area should sell healthy food and good semi-finished products that do not require time to prepare;
6. Pensioners, on the contrary, will be interested in budget products - inexpensive milk, eggs, soup sets, regular bread, chicken legs.

Unique Selling Proposition

The product presented in the store may be much better and of higher quality than that of competitors, but this will not help the entrepreneur make a profit if the consumer does not understand his benefit. Therefore, the point needs a unique selling proposition - some interesting feature for the audience that will distinguish the store from the general background. How to increase product sales and attract customers:

• You need to understand what characteristics distinguish the store from its competitors. This could be a special product, a special service, the availability of delivery or returns;
• Often, what can be offered as a USP is not even a product, but the ability of a retail outlet to solve customer problems;
• The average viewing time for an advertisement is ten seconds. This means that the USP should be simple and understandable so that the client has time to understand it;
• A good sentence focuses on something specific and evokes emotion. You also cannot promise something that the store cannot deliver.

Increase in average check amount

When thinking about how to increase sales in a business, it is not enough to simply increase the number of visitors to the store. The number of customers may increase a hundred times, but if each of them buys some little thing, then the efforts invested in attracting them simply will not be worth it. Therefore, it is so important to work to ensure that each person purchases as many goods as possible and leaves more money in the cash register. How to do it:

• Conduct merchandising activities;
• Offer more expensive products;
• Sell ​​cheaper products;
• Sell ​​related products.

Merchandising

Merchandising is the art of laying out a product so that a visitor who was not initially going to buy it becomes interested and thinks about the need to buy. This stimulation of purchasing activity is achieved in many ways:

1. Advertising should be placed not only outside, but also inside the store. Stickers, posters, signs and stands will indicate new products and help the client navigate;
2. Placing impulse items in the checkout area increases sales by 10%. Here you can put chocolates, cigarettes, sweets for children;
3. Products should be laid out taking into account their compatibility. For example, in hardware store brushes and solvents can be placed next to the paints;
4. People often look at the shelves to their right as they walk around the room counterclockwise. Here you should place the goods that give the greatest profit;
5. Products of the same category are located in one place. Even if there is water or juice in the refrigerator, they are duplicated on the shelves in the main department;
6. The most successful shelves are at levels from the chest to the eyes of a person. In some cases, sales for a product located here can be doubled;
7. Large packages and cheap goods are displayed on the lower shelves. People usually look for them purposefully, and therefore find them regardless of location;
8. Products on the top shelves sell poorly. It is better to lay out piece goods on them, which have little effect on the opposite point;
9. The shelves must be filled to capacity with goods. Empties on them are unacceptable: in place of the dropped position, you need to duplicate the neighboring product;
10. Price tags should be clearly readable and facing the buyer. They also cannot cover up the packaging: people often search for a product based on its appearance.

Selling more expensive goods

When making a purchase, each person sets a certain upper price limit for himself: more expensive offers, as a rule, remain outside his area of ​​attention. However, practice shows that the seller can successfully try to convince him if he offers fairly compelling arguments about the benefits of purchasing a product located above the designated price category. A similar sales promotion technique is called Up-Selling. Its meaning is to sell:

• Additional units of the same product;
• Products in larger packaging;
• Extended warranty or service period;
• Additional functions or services;
• More expensive analogues of goods.

Selling cheaper goods

The opposite situation is also possible: the visitor wants an expensive product, for which he does not have enough money. In most cases, he simply turns around and leaves if the seller does not offer him a cheaper analogue at that moment.

This may seem like it's not profitable for the store. But what is better: to sell at least something, or not to sell anything at all? If the shopping experience is positive, then the person will probably return to the outlet more than once and become a regular customer. Finally, Down-Selling is a good opportunity to add to your purchase an accessory that is sold at a huge markup.

However, you should be careful when offering a cheaper product after the client has examined the range and realizes that the prices are too high for him. If you rush to present a simplified analogue, the visitor may think that the seller:

• Doubts his solvency;
• Tries to sell him a cheap, low-quality counterfeit or faulty product;
• Offers a different model because the one initially considered is bad.

Cross selling

Cross-Selling is a technology for increasing the average bill by adding related accessories or options to the order. For example, they offer covers or settings for smartphones, a set of tires for cars, gloves or a handbag for a dress. How you can increase sales:

• It is permissible to offer a related product if the client has already chosen the main one and made a purchasing decision. Doubters may be put off by this;
• Two or three options should be shown. One leaves the buyer no choice, but four or five can confuse him;
• In order to more accurately select a related product, it is necessary to ask the client clarifying questions and find out his needs;
• An additional product cannot be more expensive than the main one. For example, how to increase clothing sales? A tie or belt should be offered with a suit, and not vice versa.

Increasing repeat sales

Why is repeat sales important for an entrepreneur? The fact is that selling something to a client who is already familiar with the store is much cheaper than selling something to a new one: in this case, you don’t need to spend money on advertising. In addition, citizens with a positive shopping experience at a given point feel more confident and have a better idea of ​​what exactly they need. There are several ways to increase sales of services and goods by stimulating repeat business:

• Organize work with the customer base;
• Offer discounts regularly;
• Carry out various promotions;
• Implement a loyalty program.

Working with the client base

Unfortunately, most clients have short memories. If they haven't bought anything from a store for several months, they will probably start exploring all the offers available on the market all over again. However, there is no guarantee that they will not go to competitors. Therefore, consumers should be regularly reminded of the benefits and advantages of working with this particular point. How to increase trade sales:

1. You need to come up with an unobtrusive way to receive client contacts. A person can indicate this data to participate in a promotion, issue a guarantee or discount;
2. Based on the collected database, it is necessary to conduct mailings at least once every couple of months, informing about new products, promotions or discounts;
3. If a person buys an expensive item or equipment, you need to call him after a while and find out whether you managed to connect the equipment, whether there are any comments on its operation;
4. You definitely need to look at the database to see which of the customers have not appeared in the store for a long time. You should contact such people to remind them of yourself and inform them about the promotion;
5. If a store has a group on social networks, it should be used to conduct a dialogue with customers and answer their questions.

Discount system

Most stores operating in the same niche sell approximately the same range of products. Therefore, when choosing a place to buy a specific product, the main criterion for a person is the price. But you need to reduce the price correctly: the result of such an action should be an increase in turnover, compensating for the lost profit. In practice, the following methods of sales promotion are used:

1. Regular discounts are established on any category of goods for up to two weeks. Then they stimulate sales of related products;
2. An interesting idea is to provide a special price to a certain category of customers: for example, students, drivers, pet owners;
3. Here's another option: reducing the price in the evening. For example, after 21:00 all culinary products become cheaper by 20%;
4. A discount “for a friend” can be provided in clothing, shoe, and equipment stores. It is clear that both buyers should receive the product at a reduced price;
5. It is necessary to carry out seasonal sales to get rid of stuck goods. For example, in winter you should give away autumn shoes at a discount;
6. Discounts will help sell a product that is outdated or going out of fashion. In the same supermarkets, goods with expiring dates are sold cheaper;
7. To increase wholesale sales, as a rule, set special prices, which decrease as the order volume increases.

Price and product promotions

Despite its importance, money in any case remains an abstract concept. It is much more pleasant for the client to receive something free of charge, a gift. But here, too, the entrepreneur must think about his own benefit: he should not give out prizes without a good reason. How to increase sales in trade:

1. For a purchase for a specified amount, you can give a souvenir or a product sample. This amount should be 25–30% more than the average check;
2. In supermarkets, to stimulate customers, maybe a daily or weekly lottery with a fairly valuable prize;
3. Can be arranged marketing campaign. For example, the bearer of 20 stickers or checks for a total amount of 5,000 rubles receives a set of knives as a gift;
4. To increase turnover, promotions using the “2+1” or “3+1” schemes work well. If the client takes the specified quantity of goods, then he receives one more piece for free;
5. Products can be combined with each other or with services. For example, when buying trousers, you get a belt as a gift. Or to a washing machine - free connection;
6. When thinking about how to increase product sales, you should conduct a tasting. Customers usually buy not only the product being presented, but also something additional;
7. Stores household appliances and furniture, it is often practiced to provide installment plans for products. True, the price increases by the amount of bank interest.

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Loyalty program

According to the well-known rule, 20% of customers bring 80% of the profit to a retail outlet. These consumers need to be retained, encouraged and encouraged by any means to visit the store more often. As a rule, for this purpose they use a price incentive system expressed in the form of discounts and bonuses:

1. A discount card significantly influences customer loyalty. The amount of the discount may be constant or depend on the amount of purchases for the previous period;
2. When making a purchase, a well-known bonus of 1-2% is credited to the buyer’s membership card, which can be used to pay for future orders;
3. Bonuses and discounts can be given to customers on a specific date - for example, a birthday or some holiday;
4. Merchant gift certificates can also be used as a payment method. Clients often give them to friends and acquaintances;
5. Some stores and banks practice cashback when paying with cards - returning a certain percentage of the purchase amount to the buyer’s account.

Non-standard methods

There are many recommendations on how to increase sales in manufacturing or retail. They are usually followed by the majority trading enterprises, which somewhat reduces the effect of using these techniques. It is quite difficult to stand out against this background: to do this, a businessman has to show creative thinking and look for non-standard ways to stimulate sales. Here are some tricks that work:

• The customer should be provided with service that exceeds their expectations. For example, with a stated delivery time of a week, deliver the order in three days;
• You can increase the convenience of the buyer’s stay in the hall. Some install chairs for visitors, place water coolers, open children's areas;
• Buyers like it if the product can be tried in use. Equipment stores, for example, leave tablets and TVs turned on in their windows;
• The price can be limited by time. If the offer only lasts for a short period of time, it will motivate people to make a purchase. A famous example is Black Friday;
• The possibility of a return is in any case stipulated by law, but with the right emphasis it turns into a bonus;
• A clothing store was giving away free socks in exchange for a questionnaire. The trick here is that getting contacts any other way would cost twice as much;
• To attract the attention of your audience, you can organize a themed sale. One gas station filled up gasoline free of charge for women who arrived in swimsuits;
• For a conscious audience great impression produces charity. You can announce that from each purchase a certain amount will go to help children.

An entrepreneur who owns a retail store one day faces a problem. Sales revenue is falling. Visitors are leaving for competitors. Moreover, staff costs are increasing. In such a situation, irrational use immediately becomes noticeable. consumables. For example, a manager begins to notice that they are purchasing too much office supplies. Action must be taken because increasing sales in a retail store can save the company.

Retail Challenges

Three years after opening, retail management begins to face problems. First of all, this is due to competition. Moreover, in recent years many retail outlets retail sales cannot withstand price wars. Constant monitoring forces us to equalize prices for the main players. Small companies are closing. But first of all, we need to understand why problems occur.

What difficulties will any businessman working in this direction face:

• Revenue is less than expected when .
• Unreasonable marketing expenses.
• Low conversion rate.
• Shortage regular customers.
• Competitors offer more favorable conditions.
• Large general operating costs.
• High taxes.

Ways to increase sales in a retail store

There are methods aimed at increasing sales in a retail store. After all, the ultimate goal of solving problems that arise is to obtain high profits.

Today, problems of reduced conversion, and, as a result, a drop in sales in a retail store, are created by illiterate store employees. Moreover, visitors are faced with rudeness and the inability of sellers to tell about the product useful information. Often the “consultant” is not a consultant at all. There is no point in getting rid of such employees. Moreover, others like them will take their place. A wise leader organizes training programs. To do this, first of all, you should invite professionals in the field.

People must understand that every entry is additional profit for the enterprise as a whole. Moreover, the higher the average check, the larger the bonus. The question about should always be there. The fact is that unmotivated staff are unlikely to try to work. People will agree to receive a fixed share wages, instead of working for an idea.

In order for the staff to work, first of all, people need to be trained. Moreover, sellers need to know that they will be rewarded for their efforts. They need to be motivated to increase sales in the retail store.

Merchandising and Marketing Tricks

First of all, a retail store manager must understand that proper product placement is part of successful trading. Moreover, beauty matters not only in large retail outlets. So, effective method increasing sales - quiet music. Many people have probably noticed that bakery products located inside the store. For what? For example, a man ran in to buy a bun and bought sour cream, milk and cottage cheese. Thus, there must be proper placement of goods. These are clearly aimed at increasing sales in a retail store.

It has long been known that people are motivated to perform certain actions by colors. For example, the color orange makes visitors buy products they don’t need. It is customary to write price tags or terms of promotions on paper of this color. Moreover, color affects the mood of buyers. If the store is decorated in blue and gray colors, it is unlikely that people will want to come here again. Customers need to be in the mood to buy.

Moreover, customers' desire to buy a product is influenced by workplace sellers. They should be in the buyer's field of view. Fragrances also have an impact on people's purchasing power. And not only in grocery stores. A pleasant smell encourages people to make purchases.

In a retail store, first of all, it is necessary to create psychological comfort for the buyer. For successful marketing, you should not spare money on. Today we cannot do without marketers. Moreover, marketing trends change all the time.

This category of product should be in any retail store. For example, an electrical store may have light bulbs or batteries available at the checkout counter. It will be useful for everyone on the farm. This is a minimal increase in sales in a retail store. However, with skillful marketing, you can sell out stale goods. Moreover, the check amount will increase.

Selling expensive goods

Each store has an assortment. Moreover, the same product is presented in different price ranges. There are also several manufacturers. Selling a similar product that is only more expensive will increase sales by 40 percent. For example, a buyer purchased a circuit breaker at a low price. The seller must persuade him to buy an expensive one as well. For what? This is where all the artistry, the ability to communicate and convince the seller come into play. He should tell you that an expensive machine is useful for protecting the main electrical equipment in a house or apartment. The manufacturer of the machine is known all over the world, its quality is the best. However, a cheap one is also needed. It can be used in a garage or outbuilding.

All trading companies They constantly hold promotions. For example, when you buy three light bulbs, the fourth one is free. Or, when purchasing a chandelier for 20,000 rubles, a table lamp as a gift. Moreover, you should always organize price discount campaigns. At this point, the store can earn a month's revenue in three to five days. Some retail stores sell goods below cost. However, prices for other product lines are raised in secret from buyers. A skilled trader will never be at a loss.

Information about promotions should be located in places where visitors go. Potential buyers will see bright price tags and will automatically be drawn to buy the product. Moreover, people like it when they are told that there will be a sale or a cheap product will be delivered, for example, on Monday.

Discount cards

“Purchase goods worth 5,000 rubles and receive a discount card as a gift.” All buyers are accustomed to such information. It's convenient for people. You can always shop at a good discount. For the company, this is a loss of some part of the profit. However, discount card holders will come to this store more often than any other. Gradually the lost income will return. Of course, cards are produced in limited quantities. Some retail outlets issue personalized cards for regular customers. This is also an option. Because buyers are increasingly switching to competitors.

For regular customers must be provided individual programs. Possibly installment sales. On conditions that differ in the direction of lower prices. Often clients bring alternative commercial offers from several sellers. To retain a customer, you need to do everything to ensure that he buys in your store. It is even possible to “go negative”.

In retail trade, one should strive to reduce the cost of running a business. To do this, first of all, you need to look for suppliers offering favorable conditions. Monitoring will allow you to select the best. Depending on the volume, suppliers will give discounts. Due to this, you can align prices with competitors. Setting prices 1-2% lower will attract buyers. Accordingly, sales will increase.

Conclusion

Retail store profitable business. However, an entrepreneur must keep his finger on the pulse. Terms modern market very tough. Therefore, in order to increase sales of a retail store, you need to constantly learn and explore the capabilities of competitors. This is necessary in order to implement the best methods in your business.