By Kelley Sloyer
New arrivals are flooding into your store this time of year, and you are putting last season’s merchandise on sale. So what can you do to excite and entice your customers to buy? Implement the following three tips, and enjoy the sound of your cash register ringing.
1. Utilize social media for flash sales
A great way to showcase products you want off your shelves, and persuade your customers to purchase, is to hold a flash sale on your social media channels. A flash sale is similar to a one day special. Take a picture of the item and post it on your social media channels with an enticing message. Communicate the important information about it, and add exclusivity by using words like, “Today only!” or “Hurry, only one day to save” to grab your customers’ attention. Promote any upcoming flash sales via email and instore, and remind your customers to Like or Follow your social channels so they do not miss any of your great specials.
2. Referrals = new customers
According to a survey by WSL Strategic Retail, 69 percent of respondents say that family and friends help them choose what to buy. Knowing this, why not reward your customers for introducing your store to their family and friends? Establish a referral program to give both new and old customers a discount. One referral idea is to give coupons to your customers to share with their friends and family members. Ensure your customers add their name on the coupon, so they receive the credit. Then, when a purchase is made with the coupon, collect it and send a thank you email to your customer with a special discount or coupon.
According to a survey by WSL Strategic Retail, 69 percent of respondents say that family and friends help them choose what to buy. Knowing this, why not reward your customers for introducing your store to their family and friends?
Take your referrals digital and encourage your customers to share your social media channels with their followers. Post or tweet a thank you to your new followers, and then reward them. Explicitly communicate that when you reach 100 new fans, everyone will receive 10 percent off their instore purchase. This is a quick and easy way to get new followers, convert them into customers, and continue to nurture them on social media to become repeat customers.
3. Tap into Pinterest’s Place feature
Pinterest is the fastest growing social channel with 4.5 million followers. If that is not reason enough to get started on the social network, Pinterest’s Place pins are a pretty good one. These pins include extra details like your store’s address and phone number, right on the pin. Get started by adding the Place pin option to a new or existing board. Only add these pins to boards or specific pins of products you actually carry in your store. Boards that work great with Place pins include seasonal boards, gift boards or products below a certain price point. Place pins are powerful because when a potential customer discovers your pin, they can click on the address to bring up their mobile GPS to locate your store. They can also click on your store’s phone number and instantly make a call to check that you have the product in stock. This can easily turn one of your followers into a customer, especially since they know exactly where you are located.
Once you implement these tactics, continue to nurture the relationships you establish. Not only will you increase sales, you will also find and create customers who will return to your store again and again.