Let me start off by explaining, I’m not above or against making offline sales. Far from it. In fact, standing toe to toe with customers and selling them on the benefit and usefulness of your product is a testing ground – one every business owners stand on at some stage.
However, here at Brazen Profit Lab where all about optimising your sales and marketing activities, so you can get more for your time, dime, and creative energy.
If you sell at markets, fairs or festivals, and you’ve ever wondered “how the heck can I drive customers back to my online store, so they can buy from me again?”. In this article I’ll show you some simple clever strategies you can use to leverage the time and expense of attending in person events.
1. Pop your card in the bag already!
This might sound simple, but it’s something so many business owners forget to do. Think about it? If a customer is taking away a product from your stand, it’s just common sense to make sure they know where to find you online. Voila! Here’s my business card. Job done.
2. Give away the farm
Now, before your inner scrooge stands up in protest, I want you to remember that sometimes you need to give a little to gain a lot. With that said, choose one of your best pieces and run a competition on your stand.
Ask visitors to your stand to LIKE your Facebook fan page and leave a message on your wall to be entered into a competition to win your product. It’s important to point out that to get the most traction from these tactics speed is of the essence. When you run this competition, make sure you select your winner that night and get their prize mailed as soon as possible.
Want to really get the maximum leverage from this incentive? Ask your winner to either send you a picture of them using your product or give you a testimonial.
3. If you don’t ask it’s always a no!
I know, I know, you’re shy, and you’ve got better things to be doing than asking potential customers for the email. Except, really you don’t. And you’d understand that if you realised the potential of email marketing to double, triple and ….the sales in your business.! Okay, so now we’re over the resistance – and looking at the bigger picture, here’s what you need to do:
- Have a tablet or a laptop set up with your mailing list open
- Next to your device have a bowl of small treats that people who sign up can help themselves to
- Create a stunning standing graphic that tells new sign-ups what they can look forward to when they join your mailing list
- Pro-tip : Create an autoresponder series for each market you work. This will allow you to communicate with this audience on a very personal level
To learn more about email marketing and list segmentation, check out the BAM mastermind.
4. Make friends and make money
How many times have you come away from a market with a small fortunes’ worth of products you’ve bought from different vendors? Well, that’s exactly what your customer is doing at a market – shopping! But there’s a way to leverage that divided attention…
- Select another vendor to partner with
- They should have a complimentary product to yours
- Bundle your products together and include both businesses cards business in your packaging
- Not only can this tactic drive sales, it will also help introduce you to potential long term collaborators and expose your products to a wider audience
Get to know which vendors work the same markets as you and approach them offline about partnering with each other to grow direct sales, email lists and online sales.
5. This is not a game of where is Wally!
This tip especially applies to you if your social media handles are different from your brand name. Create a banner or graphic that prominently and clearly displays your brand’s social media urls. If you’re on 16 platforms, best keep that to yourself. Let your customers know about the main ones: Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
6. Everyone loves a bargain
While I don’t advocate constant discounting as a smart or sustainable business model, giving new customers a little financial incentive to get them over the finishing line is helpful. This tactic is very low cost and works well in a offline setting for browsers who don’t buy, and customers who do. Here’s what you need to do:
- Create a printed discount voucher code.
- A good way to track where the sale came from is to name your discount code the name of the market.
- Offer a % off the next purchase made online – give the coupon on expiration date, say in 4 weeks.
- Include the voucher inside packaging for paying customers. Also, have them available on your stand alongside your business card (with a notice that the code is only valid for online purchases).
- For an additional social media boost, include the URL of your Facebook page on the coupon and ask them to LIKE your Facebook page.
If you’re excited about testing these tactics at your next in-person event, or you’d like help with refining these strategies and many others (personally), you should check out the BAM mastermind.
Okay, so here’s this week’s challenge:
- I want you to choose two of these tactics to use at your next market, event or fair. Then, I want you to hear your results. I’ll be listening over in the comments.
Still got questions? come by my Facebook page and let me help you.
Wanna 4x the traffic to your online store? Join the 4-week Blog Your Brand Challenge, and I’ll show you how. Click here for details and to register, it’s free. Starts Feb 18th!
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