Hey friends. Lets just dive right in.
Are you making any of these five offers? If so they just might be costing you sales. You be the judge.
1. “Download Our App!”
If a customer or prospect visits your online store and you push her to download your app, you may be killing your sales opportunities.
Many times these offers are seen as annoying and if they persist, can drive away your customers. So, invest in your app strategy wisely and do not force them to download in order to shop from your site. Instead, make sure your site has a responsive design and looks nice in tablet environments.
And if you must push the app download, make sure you have very compelling benefits for using the app. Remember, you want sales and conversions!
2. “Buy this Unrelated Product! “
It’s no secret that suggested items can be great sales tools. I mean, who doesn’t want to be reminded to buy staples when they’ve selected a stapler or the matching earrings to a beautiful necklace. Heck, I can even see suggesting a tooth brush with my purchase of sugar cookies. But many times, store operators throw out random and often inappropriate items as a suggested upsell.
Don’t do this. Instead, pair your products and upsells so it gives the customer exactly what they need. Think white wine and Provolone cheese, not popcorn and oven mitts. You’re sales will rise!
3. “Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter and Pinterest!”
I love social media, really I do. But if you haven’t worked out your own email newsletter, follow up customer emails or email offers that drive repeat purchases for your current customers I want you to think really hard about how much energy you put into those social media efforts.
Now, this is a serious note. Social media is absolutely important and I do recommend it. It’s just gotta be worked, cultivated and nurtured to be worthwhile. So if it comes down to only one offer – either liking you on Facebook (and you’re not working your Facebook account) or signup to your promotional email – I’m going to recommend email hands down.
And if you’re email offers are compelling, you’ll find your customer will join. Plus, I think you’ll find more business can be done via email promotions.
(By the way, signup to our newsletter now!)
4. “Tell Your Friend!”
Whether you are asking for your products or store to be shared via Facebook or an email, be cautious!
Word of mouth is pure gold, all marketers know this. However most store owners put the tools on their site but don’t actually have sharable content. The problem here is not the offer; it’s the diluting of the value of your site by coming off as asking for your cheap content to be shared.
The truth is, great deals, great products, and great content gets shared. So, if you offer these tools, work hard to provide something worth sharing.
5. “Leave a Review”
Reviews are huge! Social proof is a huge confidence builder and is one of the most influential forces in driving purchase. In fact, complete strangers tend to trust the reviews of other complete strangers more than they do the product information provided by the manufacturer or retailer.
So why is this likely to be refused? Don’t I need reviews?
Absolutely you do, but most retailers ask for reviews before the purchase, not after the purchase. In fact, many customers who would be raving fans never get asked to come back and review after they have the product. Don’t make this mistake. Work your follow up emails to encourage reviews after receipt of their orders.
Putting it in Action
Look over this list and ask yourself if you’ve just put the tools in place or if you have actually thought about them like one of your customers. This little exercise can impact your sales immediately.
Take advantage of loyalty rewards tools to incentivize sharing activities, reviews, and social media actions. Offer points and rewards for their engagement.
Work to improve your product images, descriptions and website content. Use language that resonates with your customers and use blogs to get closer to your customers. All these things will move you closer to being interesting and unique. When you’re unique, you’re shareable!
And remember, related products and suggested products need to be thought out and seen as valuable to your customers. When they are, you’ll see it in your orders.
Happy selling friends.
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photo credit: najeebkhan2009 via photopin cc