Retail sales boosting when in slump

If you are a retailer, it’s inevitable that sales will slump. Whether it’s due to forces beyond control like the city tearing up the street in from of your store or seasonal sales dip or a decline in foot traffic, all retailers will experience a slump in sales at some point. The following are a few simple ways you and your staff can improve your retail sales when this happens.

You need to create your own holiday - Most retailers only celebrate the national holidays like July 7th, Easter, Christmas or Eid Al-Fitr for that matter.

Why wait for the big holidays? Create a holiday of your own. Consider fun things that your store does or sells and the customers who shop with you and then make a holiday around it. For example, celebrate Nyama Choma Day etc. This can be granted for the mere connection that shoes and Nyama Choma are both made from cows, right? Hence making an event out of it and surely draw a lot of people out of the event.

Advertise more - Just when you may think it’s time to cut back the marketing shillings, you should probably be advertising more. It is wise to increase marketing efforts during slower sales periods because there is more competition and fewer consumer monies. Consider newspaper ads, magazines, specialty publications and other forms of marketing. One great way to do this is to use remnant advertising. These are spaces in the paper that are “holes” for the local newspaper, contact Mwananchi publications and the like.

You simply create a branding advert that the newspaper can drop in at its discretion and you can definitely drive a ton of traffic out of that advert. Most importantly the advert has to be much of a sales motivator as it should for a branding play.

Generate a buzz - Whenever anything noteworthy happens within your business, send a press release to the media. The idea is to grab any free coverage possible. Get involved with community events. Consider hosting classes, meetings or other networking events in your retail store. Use a unique promotional event to generate a buzz about your business.

Examine your pricing strategy - When purchasing and pricing products, be sure you’ve considered the cost of goods and that your retail shop is able to make a profit at that price point. Your product price should be competitive, but still profitable. Ultimately, the right price is the price the customer is willing to pay for the product.

Design store for sales - Take advantage of cross-merchandising strategies and impulse sale opportunities. Use lighting techniques and creative displays to attract customers. Play videos for product education, customer entertainment and any other up-sell or promotional tie-in. involve all of the senses in your visual merchandising. Remember, an energetic store is a magnet to clients!!

Connect with the customer - Excellent customer service is the key to increasing sales. Listen to your customer to understand their needs and wants.

Then educate him/her about the products. Finally, let the customer know you appreciate their business. Offer value-added services and products. Create a mailing list by asking for contact information from each customer. Remember, the customer is looking for an experience and not just a product.

Be social - The easiest, most cost effective thing you can do is social media. Make sure that you have a steady stream of activity online. Customers who see a flurry of activity from you and then periods of silence know you are only online because sales are down. Use social media to position yourself as the place to shop and buy. Good Luck!!!

Manage your money - This may seem like an obvious step, but as retail operators we can become too involved in the little details of our business that we lose track of our financials.

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