Your Guide to Becoming the Ultimate Retail Sales Business
Offer Customer Financing
Offering customer financing is great way to boost sales, especially if you sell products that come with a higher price point. Customer financing makes expensive products affordable. There are several types of customer financing options such as “same as cash installment loans”, revolving lines of credit, or instore financing. At Financing Your Way, we have simplified customer finance by offering a variety of resources to make the process turn key, so you can focus on what matters most, running your business. Fifteen years of experience in the retail industry has taught us many valuable lessons, which is why we provide management and staff trainings and customized marketing material including in store signage, customized newsletters, and social media campaigns. We believe in meeting customers where they are, and what better way to do so than by offering flexible payment options.
Diversify Inventory
If sales are slow, it is worthwhile to consider adding new, diverse, or trendy products to your store. In May 2017, many retail businesses added the popularized fidget spinner to their inventory. Often posting signage stating “Fidget Spinner Sold Here” to drive traffic inside their business. New customers came inside for the fidget spinner, but once inside, purchased much more than the inexpensive toy.
Why wait until current inventory levels have depleted to try new things? You can use inventory financing from Financing Your Way to capitalize on product trends like the fidget spinner. Whether your business is in startup or mature phase, we can help you expand and maintain inventory levels.
Use Social Media Marketing
Social media has become a driving force for marketing small businesses. Having a presence on the major social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest can keep you connected with your customers. Don’t feel obligated to use all of these platforms to market your business, choose one or two that you are most familiar with and post consistently. Don’t forget to engage with potential clients by following likeminded users, posting friendly comments and liking photos.
Sell Product Online
As you market online, you will interact with clients who are not near your physical business. While running an E-commerce platform is worthwhile, it can be a time-consuming task, if you’re not up to the challenge but still want to sell products online consider using developed distribution network like Amazon.com. You’ll want to research your competition and price your product appropriately, as well as take advantage of programs like Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA), to offer low cost and speedy shipping to your clients.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO can be overwhelming if you are inexperienced in this complicated arena. Try making it simple by focusing on your local internet presence. Do a simple Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yelp search for your business. Does your company show up on first page? Is the phone number and address correct? Do you have recent and positive reviews? If the answer is no, start there. Many local companies offer low cost local SEO services that will list your business on search engines to improve local visibility.
Now you are on your way to becoming a retail powerhouse! Contact us by phone or email for more advice on how to improve your retail business. We are glad to help!