How can you sell more?

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Do you know your consumer? Do you know what makes the tick when they walk through your door?

How can you sell more

This article outlines key facts about your consumers buying behaviour and how you can best appeal to them during their shopping experience.

The hard facts on buyer behaviour

Did you know 70 percent of consumer purchase decisions are made in-store?

What’s more interesting, is that even when these customers have decided what category they will be buying from, 28% of shoppers have not decided on a specific brand before they enter the store.

Furthermore, 1 in 10 of these indecisive shoppers will switch brands inside your store.

1 in 3 customers also recall being recommended to a product through a promotion or sampling when they were making this purchase decision.

These statistics emphasise just how important having effective promotional material in-store is for swaying a customers’ purchase decision.


A quick guide to your consumer

Did you know, a person has an attention span of 42 seconds whilst they wait in line?

26% of these consumers look straight ahead at the counter, so how important is the visual range of 1.5 meters to their left and right?

These consumers are nearly twice as likely to buy an item if they are interrupted by 3 or more different pieces of point of sale or advertising material in-store.

Consideration of these consumers habits help in implementing promotional efforts that respond to these consumer trends.

So they are in-store, they have seen the additional promotional material, but they still aren’t interested?

Learn to upsell

People typically have a set repertoire of items they like to purchase through rotation. So how do you increase consumers spend when this customer is ‘set in their ways’?

The five golden rules for upselling

  1. Read your customer’s body language – Are they open to your suggestions or shying away? Understanding body language will determine a positive appeal from an invasive, intrusive one.
  2. Know your product - What are it’s benefits? What makes it useful? Why is it better than an alternative? Explain the product inside and out.
  3. Do them a favour – Trust is an essential component in any buyer/seller relationship. Whether it’s recommending a cheaper product or granting a discount, letting your customer know you prioritise their custom over the money they give you will ensure they keep coming back and are open to your subsequent product suggestions.
  4. Anticipate objections and have answers ready – Customers aren’t always going to be open and receptive to your suggestions. Be ready for rejection and have answers to your customers’ reservations.
  5. Reassure and empathise on a purchase – Post-purchase cognitive dissonance will affect a number of buyers and is the post-purchase period where they question whether the purchase was the right decision. Reinforce and affirm their decision by praising their purchase decision and by supporting and reasserting your claims about the product benefits after the sale has been made.

Knowing your buyer inside and out is crucial to ensuring you best know how to communicate with and appeal to these consumers when they are in your store. Applying the steps above will ensure you are taking appropriate steps towards improving your sales and reinforcing positive and profitable relationships with your customers.