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During an economic halt, most businesses are hoping to sell enough to survive. How could one even hope to sell twice as much as before?
It might be very hard to believe, but there is an opportunity in the crisis, and if you take advantage of it, you could be the next rising star in your industry.
What we cover in this blog:
– The psychology of every sale – online and offline
– How to get the customer’s attention, and how to seal the deal
– The 6 Universal tactics to increase sales during Covid-19 times
Let’s begin by looking at the facts. The current COVID-19 crisis is driving long-term changes in how consumers buy from and interact with brands. According to this Prnewswire report, the time consumers spent online has skyrocketed by 37%. That’s why right now your brand’s online activities are more important than ever.
Before we dive in the specific tactics and tips that can help you double your sales, let’s talk about the underlying factors to every sale, online or offline:
the who, the when and the how.
The WHO?
According to the same Prnewswire report, 69% of respondents said that not all companies were making the effort to customize their online experience. And according to Econsultancy, 74% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement. Clearly, personalization works, but the reason why most brands fail at it is that they are afraid to lose some fans because they suddenly became too niche-specific.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to relate to everyone. The only audience whose opinions you should care about is your buyers. By speaking directly to them, using their language and relating to their interests and desires, you will create a flock of loyal followers who will support you through thick and thin. Once you understand and focus solely on the “WHO”, you will be unstoppable.
The WHEN?
After you know who you’re targeting, think about WHEN they want to buy your products. Perhaps it’s right before they go to sleep and wish their Kindle could hold itself up, or when they are scrolling on Pinterest thinking how much they’d like to spice up their space, or when they are Googling “How to save my passwords safely?”.
Find a way to reach them at that specific moment, OR simulate the feeling by creative campaigns, and watch your sales grow!
The HOW?
Once you understand WHO you are selling to and WHEN is the best time to reach them, only one question is left. This question is perhaps the most difficult to answer because it refers to your approach (including the channels of communication and the message itself). The answers to the first two questions should enable you to determine where your clients are (so you can focus your communication on those digital channels specifically) and what their pain is (so you can relate to them and offer a solution).
The best tip here would be to focus on the two following aspects:
1. How you will get their attention? and
2. How will you seal the deal?
Getting your customer’s attention is related to his or her current issues and expressed desires. Sealing the deal is all about the emotion, the unexpressed desires, and the dreams you will help your customer realize by buying your product.
Now, if you happen to be selling a drain cleaner solution, you might be thinking that your clients simply have no dreamy aspirations when it comes to buying your product. But you would be wrong. Nothing can ruin a day like a clogged drain, and if a solution can be delivered to the customers doorstep in a few hours, they would be ready to pay extra.
They might even tell their mother about it, praising themselves as an agile problem solver who immediately found your solution.
Three things to consider
But let’s not focus too much on ways to not get our hands dirty, because doubling your sales is a dirty job. First, you have to get rid of all the junk in your assumptions about the market right now – like, that no one is buying.
Second, you need to go digging for a better channel of communication because it’s possible the current one you are focusing on is not serving you right.
And last, you need to get in the nitty-gritty details of all your online activities and be brutally honest with yourself: what are you doing wrong here?
Once you get all the dirt out, you can continue with a shiny, brand-new looking brand people will automatically be attracted to. And as a result, start watching your sales grow!
Now that we covered the basics (which you really should be paying more attention to), let’s cover some genius strategies that will help you not only grow your sales but keep customers coming back even after the Covid-19 pandemic.
6 Universal Tactics to increase sales during Covid-19:
1. Adjust your message
Be current and relevant. By addressing the situation, your message will be easier to relate to your customers. By reaching your customers in their current state of mind, you are instantly relatable and more likely to seal the deal.
2. Be bold
Digital Space is swamped with advertisements calling for people’s attention. To capture it, your visual and verbal messages need to be bold. Not to confuse boldness with insensitivity – being bold means being simple yet eye-catching, funny and even, emotional. It means taking a stand, expressing an opinion, and presenting your brand as the cool guy everyone wants to be friends with (or, at least, your customer does).
3. Get more PR
There are many ways to get attention and attract more customers to your brand right now. The digital world has forced brands to increase transparency, and people want to see what brands do and how they do it. Support a cause, speak about your efforts, and do something nice. Old and new customers will take notice.
4. Create urgency
Something that costs 30$ is not the same price in the eyes of the customer as something that “used to cost” 80$ and is now 30$. Some businesses have been built on this tactic. The truth is, sales and deals always increase sales – but your success depends on your tactic. Check out our last blog to find out how to do this the smarter way using messenger marketing.
5. Educate your customers
Every good salesman will tell you: you need to be an expert to get people to trust you. And the best way to present yourself as an expert, and to increase the confidence of your customers in your products, is to educate them. A lot of brands have started tapping into the video format to present their products and processes, as a really good medium to show off details and tell a meaningful story.
6. Collaborations
Collaborating with other brands and individuals, such as celebrities or influencers is nothing new – but this is a good time to try it if you haven’t before. By teaming up with other brands on campaigns and product releases, you pool together the collective audiences and increase your reach. A similar effect is achieved by partnering with celebrities and influencers, who are the audience can also become yours if there are enough commonalities. If you’ve never considered collaborating with brands or influencers before, now is as good a time as any to try it.
Increasing sales during Covid-19 times is not an impossible mission. It’s a similar process to what you’ve already experienced, but with a twist. You have to be agile and ready to adjust your strategy by incorporating more empathy and relatability. Still, the digital waters can be tough to navigate, and you might want to consider getting a professional consultant to guide you through the new frontiers.
For a more detailed list of channel-specific digital tactics, check out our latest blog 10 Digital Marketing Activities You Shouldn’t Forget About During Crisis, and to find out about the global business changes you can expect in the New Normal, download our free guide HERE!
