How can you increase product sales this year?

Target the right audience

Don’t waste time marketing to the wrong audience. Focus your messaging and marketing at those who it will be relevant to. This is particularly important when you are investing in online advertising. Think about where your customers will be searching and appear in those places, rather than have ads on lots of networks or websites. Today, we have the luxury of fantastic targeting opportunities through Google, Instagram Facebook ads where you can focus in on key demographics. For example, if you sell a handmade product you may target your social media content at those who like craft fairs or Etsy. Those who sell baby products can target mums with children of a certain age and who like sites such as Netmums. 

Encourage repeat purchases
When you sell or send out products, why not create an offer for a repeat purchase to inspire the customer to buy from you again? This could simply be a 10% discount, but it shows how much you appreciate their business. Alternatively create a simple loyalty scheme where customers can collect stamps or points from you each time they buy. You can easily print loyalty cards using our business cards and design them in our free software. 

Put customer service at the heart

You should always be focusing on making sure your customers feel engaged and valued. At every stage of the sales process think about what your customers need and want.
If things go wrong be honest and find ways to put things right. Ensure you don’t over promise and then not deliver. Be realistic about delivery times and keep customers informed of progress. 

Ask for Reviews
If you sell online, do you ask for customer reviews when sending out products? If you have put the effort into customer service then they are more likely to be positive.

Make sure you include your social media channels on your business cards and ask for reviews. People are much more likely to buy if they have had a recommendation from a friend, family member or colleague so don’t be afraid to ask.

Use your database effectively

Are you making the most of your database? Do you keep in touch with customers and tell them about new products, special offers and company news? Whilst we aren’t encouraging you to spam your customers, if you can send out timely content that will be useful and valuable to them this can encourage sales. However, in May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulations will be enforced and this will have an impact on how you can communicate with customers and what data you hold about them. Make sure you understand this and adapt policies in your business so you meet these regulations.
 

Re-visit your branding and packaging

When was the last time you stopped to look objectively at your marketing materials? In September 2017, we released our report on the importance of label design. The impact that carefully designed labels can have on purchase intent, brand love, customer loyalty and word of mouth was staggering. The report is free to download and will help you to improve the label designs on both products and the packages you send out. Find out more at Avery Label stories.