All companies go through difficult times where sales are reduced, whether due to internal problems or the general state of the economy, you must be prepared to receive this decrease in sales. Today on the Palma de Web blog we bring you the 7 ideas that Meredith Wood recommends to face the decline and turn it into an opportunity for growth.
As the author states, in her article for the Open Forum, with a little creativity and planning, you can prepare your project to face any situation successfully.
1. Add complementary products and services:
Think about what kind of products or services could improve your customer experience. No matter what your product is, don't see it as your only source of income. Think further, how can you use your facilities to generate more income? Your knowledge of the market?
2. Design a loyalty program:
Puedes usar programas sofisticados, o simplemente una base de datos en excel. Lo importante es medir el comportamiento de tus clientes y recompensarlos por sus compras, visitas, o lealtad a la marca. Idealmente agregarás incentivos por referir clientes, de esta forma aumentarás las posibilidades de tener una base de clientes creciendo todas las temporadas.
You can use sophisticated programs, or just an excel database. What is important is to measure the behavior of your customers and reward them for their purchases, visits, or loyalty to the brand. Ideally you will add incentives for referring clients, that way you'll increase the chances of having a client base growing every season.
3. Launch surprise promotions:
Ofertas inesperadas son una manera de atraer clientes en momentos complicados. Entre más inesperadas y secretas sean, mayor será el incentivo a tus clientes a visitarlas. Puedes aprovechar tus redes sociales, página web, o números de contacto para lanzarla.
Unexpected offers are a way to attract customers in difficult times. The more unexpected and secret they are, the greater the incentive for your clients to visit them. You can take advantage of your social networks, website, or contact numbers to launch it.
4. Organize events:
Do you want more visits to your store? Host a party! Seek inspiration to have ideas on how to make a memorable event, and hopefully scaled and repeatable. An event at your store is a great opportunity to showcase new products, hand out samples, and offer demonstrations of your products. Invite media, and leaders of your industry or the interest of your clients. Celebrate anniversaries or special dates. Consider making alliances with other brands that complement your value offer well, they can double the results and pay half the costs.
5. Speed up marketing:
Low-traffic times are opportunities to get more out of your advertising efforts. There is the importance of saving in times of prosperity to spend in difficult times. Increase the budget, promote discounts, grow your marketing list. Move your brand.
Likewise, continue with the most economical efforts, such as asking for recommendations and testimonials of your products, rewarding customers for sharing your brand on social networks and for taking photos with your products.
6. Find a very specific niche or market:
Take advantage of this moment to analyze the behavior of your target market. Separate your customers into more specific groups, seeking to find sub-groups that maintain interaction with your brand and level of purchases throughout the year, regardless of seasons.
7. Launch an online store:
The world is increasingly pointing towards online sales. Opening a new sales channel, via an online store, can connect with customers outside the reach of your physical store, encouraging sales at all times. Likewise, unlike other options, it is a low-cost and very fast deployment alternative. At Palma de Web we take care of launching your warehouse in just one week.
Evaluate which of the ideas best suits your needs, which ones you can implement now and which ones in the future. Create an action plan, the success of dealing with difficult times is based on planning ahead.
Hugs,
Juan Felipe Castillo M.
