How to Sell More ; 7 Proven Business Marketing & Sales Strategies
7. Advertise and expand the reach of your business:
Advertisement being a Selling & Distribution Overhead Cost is the manufacturing account and a Commercial expense in the Income Statement is a business marketing strategy or tactic, business use to inform or give public notice on their business entity, it's products and service. By paying to promote their servers, brand or product, to a target audience (customer). The promotional messages are called advertisements, or ads.
This strategy is so influencial for a business that In the period between 1919 -2007 the US being the world richest country for more than a century and half had 2.2% of its Gross Domestic Product to be Advertising sector. These only shows the impact this strategy has not only in the business revenue, but also in the Nation's economy.
You have heard of Coca cola (the world biggest and richest food manufacturing company before PepsiCo). We Coca-Cola aunched an advertising campaign in 2011, know as Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke" Campaign, which Cocoa Cola executives aiming to increase brand awareness and sales among young adults. Which have been and is still the biggest consumers of thier products. Coca-Cola through Social Media marketing and Influencer Marketing increased thier sales by 7% among young adults, this 7% increase led to a 12% increase in brand awareness and the campaign generated 1.8 million social media posts, with the hashtag #ShareACoke being used over 1.5 million times. Although, there isn't a notably sales or profit margin Coca-Cola was able to improve sales and reduce marketing cost making it more cost effectient.
Another notable example is one of Google; Google as you know it is the biggest Search Engine in the world accounting for over +1 Billion searches a day, Google Promoted it's Products through YouTube videos and Google Ads. In 2010 Google launched the "Year in Search" campaign, which they used in showcasing their company's search capabilities and highlighting thier brand values.
Through this campaign Google was able to increase its users by 15%, this led to more than 70% of its users giving positive views of the company and its products. Through Video Marketing of emotional Story telling in YouTube, Google's campaign was able to generate over 10 million views on YouTube and over 1 million social media posts in other Social Media platform's.
No matter how great your product is, people won’t buy if they don’t know about it. Effective advertising ensures you reach potential customers and stay ahead of competitors. So I suggest applying this Marketing Strategy to your business. All you have to do is pay a Radio station, Television Station, Newspaper company, Printing press or Social Media Influencer to advertise your business, it's products and services this would be used in educating your customers about the features of your products and how to use it.
6. Build a Strong Work Culture: Motivate your employees:
A book am reading written by Dale Carnegie (How to win and Influence People), shows that showing appreciation for the labour and efforts of your employees will directly improve sales and boost revenue, In the books the author gave notable instances in the the US in the 1930s one notable story is about Charles Schwab, a steel magnate. Schwab boosted productivity in his factory by simply writing "19" on the floor next to a worker's machine, acknowledging his exceptional work.
This small act of recognition motivated the worker to produce more, and Schwab continued to use this tactic to boost morale and productivity. This example shows how showing appreciation for employees' efforts can directly impact sales and revenue."
To better under this concept and how it will become a good and useful strategy in your business i will further explain it.
"Working culture" refers to the shared or common beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours exhibited in the workplace by the employees, employers and other workers, essentially shaping how employees interact with each other, their managers, and the company as a whole, influencing their overall working experience and productive performance. As I said earlier it will directly improve sales and revenue if appreciated.
For many Young enterprenuers, they wouldn't actually value this as a sales strategy, but its actually is a business strategy. Encouraging employees and supporting thier individual needs would help to improve thier working experience. If you wish to build a strong working culture, First portray the ways you want your employees to be; and secondly Care for thier needs this will motivate them to work well.
There are several Motivational theory in Management of employees, but the most used and most know is Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs; in this theory Maslow categoriezed employees needs to 5 categories (physiological need, safety need, need of belonginess, self esteem and self achtalization) and If they were motivated or assisted to achieve their needs - it will be about thier optimum performance.
A Research conducted by Hawthorne another Management Scientist, observed that if employees have an awareness that they are been observed they are more productive in thier activity and more efficient in thier working activity. To get he best out of your employees to better market your products, motivate them and also observe thier work. "As a satisfied employees is a more productive employee".
As i had earlier mentioned the book (How to win and Influence People) it's 2nd principle was to show appreciation to people and think of things in both thier perspective and yours. It would help to build a more long lasting relationship with people. And this principle is what we are going to talk about.
People want to feel valued and loved, since you are dealing with people and not animals it is important to appprciate them for even the smallest purchase they made, this would make them feel important and they would keep coming to buy in Cash and Credit.
How It Increases Sales;
✔ Loyal customers return and to buy more.
✔ Happy customers refer others, bringing new sales.
✔ Improves your brand reputation and trust.
Ways to Show Appreciation:
✔ Offer discounts to repeat buyers.
✔ Send thank-you emails or messages.
✔ Provide loyalty programs with exclusive deals
A research conducted by helpscout.com shows that buinesses can grow revenues between 4% and 8% above their market when prioritizing better customer service experiences.
For better understanding of this strategy refer to; How to build a stellar long lasting customer relationship.The preceding strategy is a means by which ordinary individuals use in earning commissions from your business by promoting it.
4. Conduct an Affiliate Programme;
Affiliate marketing is a way businesses use in promoting thier products, services and thier brand by paying commissions to people who can refer people to thier business mostly through internet links. This is a major way in which many people earn money online. They can promote your brand and it's products through by creating contents like reviews, vlogs, and blog posts that include affiliate links. When someone clicks on your link and buys the product, they would earn a commission. This is a perfect way to make your business more know.
Businesses us this to boost sales from the traffic generate by their affiliates to their product pages, where shoppers are likely to buy a product or pay you to render your services. This strategy is mostly used by E-commerce companies and many have generated large revenues form thier own Affiliate Programmes. And one notable is Amazon. This company as earned a lot from it's programme, as at least a 10,000 plus people Affiliate for them in each country world wide on least average. This has significantly helped Amazon sell more and make bigger revenus, so I recommend making an affiliate programme to become a more established brand in your industry.
How Start an Affiliate programme?
To start an Affiliate programme for your business, you should first: identify their target niche, set clear commission rates and payout structures, choose suitable affiliate marketing software, create an affiliate agreement outlining terms and conditions, actively recruit relevant affiliates, provide promotional materials, and consistently track and measure affiliate performance to optimize results; essentially focusing on finding the right partners to promote your products and establishing a system to track and reward successful referrals.
If you will see into adherence to this Programme in your business, People would help you get customers and in return you will help them earn money through commissions on thier referrals and sales.
3. Make a Consignment Store;
What is a Consignment Store?
A consignment store is a shop that sells second-hand items on behalf of the original owner, who receives a percentage of the selling price. In other words, businesses entrust and hand over some of thier goods to shop owners to help them sell, in return they will pay the shop owners a percentage of the items Selling Price (Cost + Profit). Consignment stores have become a stable way for marketing products thanks to its affordability and sustainable experience, you will be shaping the business marketing if you conisgn.
Although this stores are mostly used in selling already used items, they are still used in selling unused items too. Thier are several consignment boxes especially in East Asia that can help you market your products, as that region holds a large percentage of the world's population.
First used, in the period between the late 18th century to the late 19th century, although thir isn't any clearly data to when it started to be used, but it is believed to have started during this period. Then during the Industrial revolution Tailors would redesign and refahion new clothes from old clothes, as clothes were hardly thrown away. But the history of consignment shopping began with the Christian ministry the Salvation Army looking to fund their outreach programs know as the "salvage brigade" in 1897, in thier stores residents would sell used clothes and, in return, receive food and lodging. This made reselling more commonplace around America at that time.
As of now Consignment Stores have become reputable businesses for many people, into the 21st century. To expand your sales using this strategy contact a Consignment Store owner and with a contract agreement outline, how much they would be paid per the sale they made on your product and how much you will get. This is how an average Consignment account would look like (ruff sketch);
2. Selling using Hire Purchase (HP)
Ever wondered about a situation, where you wanted to buy more and sell more but you don't have the complete funds for the purchase and you don't want to borrow from the bank. What would be the best thing to do. Yes;
✔ Pay half or a percentage of the item you wish to buy.
✔ Take the product.
✔ Sell it and pay the rest either periodically or at once.
From the instance I just gave, it you will better understood that as a business owner your business must sell in Credit, if it actually wants to live for a long time, as many people & businesses in thesame situation as I had just outinlined would also wish to buy on credit and make periodic installments later.
Hire purchase (HP) is a selling or financing option, where a business entity allows buyers to take ownership (although not complete) of a product after first making a deposit and have promised to make periodic installments over time to pay for the item.
How does hire purchase work?
✓ The customer signs a Hire Purchase HP consumer or industrial agreement
✓ The buyer makes an initial deposit.
✓ The buyer makes monthly payments until the total purchase price is paid.
✓ The buyer becomes the owner of the time after making complete payment.
This strategy i tell you must try applying to your business although there are risk and expenses that are to be incurred while using this strategy, that's why companies and business make what is called "Provision for bad or doubtful debt" Incase of the death or disappearance of the customer. And finally I bring you to the end of the list;
1. Extend your business Create a branch;
If your business is thriving in one location, consider expanding to new areas. This increases your customer base and strengthens your brand presence in other locations. This business strategy would help your business reach a market of new customers that are in demand of your product or services, this will help to increase your brand visibility and improve your revenue streams.
Things to Consider Before Expanding:
(i) Market research: Ensure demand exists in the new location.
(ii) Financial planning: Expansion requires capital investment.
(iii) Operational capacity: Can you handle the increased workload?
If you could apply all or even one of this 7 listed strategies your business would be able to sell more and make more revenue. If you are interested in making a Consignment, Hire Purchase and Branch account please reach out to me through a Contact Form, Thank you.
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