If you have a small business that sells products direct to customers, you may find yourself focusing on your online sales. Unless what you are selling are strictly digital products like apps or eBooks, you could also be making sales offline, via more traditional methods like having stalls at fairs or markets, or getting retailers to stock your products in store.
Here are some of the ways you can increase your offline sales
Think about Local :
one of the main benefits of selling online is the wider audience you have when you are not limited to only the people who can visit you in person as potential customers. However, this is something of a double edged sword. If you have a small jewelry making business, while when you sell online you can reach potential customers all over the world, so can your competitors. There are thousands of people like you vying for a share of the same market. Locally, you have far less competition, so seek out places where you can sell in person and be the only person there with products like yours. If your products are designed and made by you and your business, then local fairs and craft shows are ideal.
Online Reviews :
83 percent of consumers are of the opinion that online reviews heavily influence their offline purchases. The more positive reviews your brands can boast of, the better. Besides, it is common knowledge that Google favours local listings that have more reviews with higher rankings. While faking reviews or inducing positive ones are definitely frowned upon, a brand can always ask its most loyal customers to promote the brand through reviews. This can be accomplished by maintain a systematic SMS and email database. You can then use an SMS service provider to reach out to your customers.
Make Payment more Flexible :
It may not occur to you when you are selling online, because it all happens behind the scenes, but how people pay for goods affects how likely they are to buy them. You can often boost your rate of offline sales simply by giving the option to pay by credit card, especially if your products are quite expensive. Get a good collections agency merchant account and give a means to pay by debit or credit card wherever you go to sell.
Social Engagement :
You cannot capture conversations surrounding your brand and industry just by setting up an online community. According to a study by Forrester Research, consumers now consume more than 500 billion social brand impressions a year. With such big numbers in the picture, it cannot be emphasised more that monitoring and engaging your customers on social media is necessary to respond to relevant conversations, to make sure you’re driving the consumers to your brand.
Listen and Respond to Customer Reviews and suggestions: Your customers want to know what people are saying about your products and services. 63 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a site that has reviews, and visitors who read the reviews have a 6 percent higher average order value than those who do not. Reviews can improve things like customer confidence, SEO and credibility. Afraid of negative feedback? One study found that negative reviews actually boost client trust by 68 percent if a customer complaint is immediately rectified. By addressing customer concerns, you demonstrate willingness to listen to your audience, which will improve your products and their experiences. A positive review of an exceptional customer experience will motivate shoppers to visit your business in search of the same encounter.
Offline sales can add a lot to your business and also create the most loyal and engaged type of customer, so don’t rule out local or national offline sales when considering your sales strategy!