Unique Ways to Increase Small Business Sales

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Steve Thompson

March 15, 2022

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Marketing

What's fun about managing an independent company is you can never run out of unique ways to increase small business sales. On the one hand, it's wise to become deeply informed about your market's evolution. Innovation can shake things up in a market. Mixing traditional and unconventional business elements is an effective way to get people's attention. Here are creative ways to maximize small business sales.

1. Study Advertising History

Advertising

On your journey to discover unique ways to increase small business sales, it helps to review the history of how advertising affects consumer psychology. This study begins with Edward Bernays, the nephew of psychoanalysis founder Sigmund Freud. Bernays is considered the "father of public relations."

Bernays' marketing philosophy was that a seller must do more than create excitement about a product. You must give the buyer reasons to justify buying it. Learning about the psychoanalytic theory of consumer behavior may inspire you to orchestrate new ways to sell.

2. Adopt Value-based Branding

Sales usually don't just happen by accident. Branding can persuade consumers to buy new products, but purchasing decisions are often based on prior experience or knowledge involving the product. Consider what values your offerings embrace and how to express them in your marketing, packaging, and public relations.

At the heart of modern consumers, sales are value-based branding, which integrates cultural values, feelings, and morals into products and campaigns. Apple had become the world's most popular brand when its co-founder Steve Jobs died in 2011. The company's logo is simply an apple without text, yet it's widely recognized and understood. The brand became associated with unique and innovative design, making its users feel special about being on the cutting edge of technology.

3. Monitor Consumer Behavior

Besides word of mouth, the best way to improve lead generation is to conduct market research and give customers what they seek. Many customers want to share their feedback on products and services, so take advantage of it by asking them for their opinions. You can collect their feedback in numerous ways online, such as through email, surveys, and contests.

Listening to your target market is essential because it allows you to refine your campaigns. Customer feedback can help you realize areas where you are missing market opportunities. The key to disrupting a market is often simply the result of finding and filling overlooked market holes that existed all along.

4. Personalize Customer Service

Customer Service

Excellent customer service leads to memorable customer experiences, primarily through personalized communication. These days many consumers use the internet to create relationships with brands. People search for brands they can trust to avoid disappointment and wasted expenses. The more interaction that occurs - whether it's online or in-person - the more consumers become familiar with your brand. Email gives you great opportunities to personalize your marketing for each customer based on the marketing segment they occupy.

5. Experiment with Visual Storytelling

Visual storytelling is powerful, especially in videos. It's tremendously advantageous for a brand to tell its story in a brief, captivating video. It allows you to give product demonstrations, company tours, and deeper information about your brand entertainingly. It also does something that lengthy text alone can't do: it provides an easy stream of information for users to digest while relaxing. One reason YouTube is so famous for marketing is that people remember more what they see than what they read. Watching video is simply an easier way to absorb content effortlessly.

Marketing videos don't have to be expensive Hollywood-like productions. They simply need to provide eye-catching visuals with an exciting soundtrack. The visuals can be anything from beautiful scenery to a representative talking at your establishment. Storytelling is a crucial part of the package, as visuals draw the viewer in while storytelling gives them content to think about.

6. Create Niche Package Deals

Selling a package can be done in countless ways. You need core elements the customer expects, then sprinkle in extra surprises for enhancement. It gives you plenty of freedom and creativity to design a niche offering that consumers can't find elsewhere. Creating unique packages is an excellent way to work with business partners and engage in cross-promotion, culminating in penetrating new markets.

A package deal lets you be more expressive about your brand's values. It allows you to break away from traditional marketing and color your brand with pleasant surprises. Presenting a package gives the consumer more to think about, which deepens their brand awareness.

7. Post Surprising Stories on Social Media

Instagram Stories

Social media is where you can have a little more fun than in tightly-refined ad campaigns. It allows you to express a wide range of ideas that don't necessarily relate directly to your business. You can post a colorful picture with an unusual story, and it becomes part of your brand experience for your followers. The key with social media is to mix up the content so that it's never predictable and always fresh. One of social media's greatest strengths is it allows you to showcase your brand as multi-dimensional.

8. Develop Curious Rebuttals to Objections

After a while, it becomes evident to many sales professionals why people object to a product. Objections are often based on pricing, previous unpleasant experiences, or lack of interest. Some people just don't want to be pressured into buying anything from a salesperson. But "no" doesn't always mean prospects have zero interest, as they may just be in a hurry to move on at that moment.

A valuable strategy for a chance at reversing rejection is to develop sensible rebuttals that address the prospect's concerns but provide a new insight they might not have considered. Agreeable rebuttals may stimulate curiosity to the point of keeping the conversation going. This technique can turn a cold lead into a warmer lead and even conversion.

9. Adopt a Customer Loyalty Program

Loyalty Program Card

Loyal customers are hard to beat, so consider rewarding them for their patronage by designing a loyalty program. The door is wide open to experiment with freebies, discounts, and other rewards for supporting your brand. Consider giving out promo items that display your logos, such as hats, shirts, and calendars. Another idea is to offer exclusive memberships for your most active followers, giving them access to items unavailable to the general public.

Another significant advantage to loyalty programs is they allow you to segment your market into two main tiers: loyal customers and new prospects. You'll be able to separate your marketing campaigns accordingly so that candidates get more simplified messages while supporters get more in-depth messages.

10. Deliver More Than You Promise

In business, it's always better to super-serve than to under-serve. The difference is as extreme as happiness versus doubt. Since the customer experience is crucial for keeping people coming back, maximizing value for the buyer should be a clear priority. Giving people more than they expect might even trigger word-of-mouth promotion with friends. You don't have to promote every product feature in your ad campaigns or engagement with customers. Leaving room for mystery helps stimulate interest in the product.

Conclusion

Giving your small business customers something free or memorable can spark further sales. Other ways to increase sales revolve around customer service, customer feedback, and connecting with customer values. It also helps to audit your marketing content. For deeper information on unique ways to increase small business sales, subscribe to our emarketing newsletter.

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