The holiday season is approaching faster than expected. Do you know what that means as a small business owner? It’s time to ramp up those sales and make the most of the shopping frenzy that comes with the festive period. But, as you might already know, doing that successfully does not happen easily.
Well, fret not! On Friday, November 17th, we had a product workshop where we shared strategies, practical experiences, and Flutterwave tools for small businesses to boost year-end sales like a pro. Let’s recap together.
5 Tips for Boosting Your Year-End Sales
- Personal Connection through Storytelling
When it comes to promoting your business for year-end sales, “Hi everyone, I’m Merchant D, and I have wigs for sale this December” might not grab the attention of your audience as much as “Hi everyone, I’m Merchant D, and I have wigs carefully selected to make December a hit for all your outings.” It’s called storytelling.
“Knowing how to create and tell a compelling origination and conversion story, says Jennifer Jejalaye, AVP SME Business at Flutterwave, that connects with your potential customers is not only key to attracting and sustaining patronage beyond your year-end sales.” You can consider introducing your business in a different way, such as creating video testimonials from satisfied customers.
- Up/Cross Sell Campaigns
Marketing to your existing customers is a goldmine worth exploring. For instance, if Customer X buys perfume oil from you, there is a tendency for them to be interested in buying a diffuser sooner or later. With this knowledge, use the 80/20 rule to prioritize reaching out to your topmost customers who patronize you the most without stressing you.
However, your approach must be beyond making sales to building strong customer relations. Don’t undermine the power of calling or dm’ing your customers to say hello. Such a personal touch can result in a significant conversion rate, give you strong customer relations, and ensure a steady income stream.
- Leverage WhatsApp and do an Online Trade Fair
About 87% of your friends (That’s a guess) are influencers and sales channels you’re not considering. Leverage their WhatsApp statuses and group chats to promote your sales period and reach more people. As an incentive, offer them discounts or other gifts.
Similarly, “collaborating with other vendors who offer services different from yours for online trade fairs can be a game-changer for you during year-end sales. Online Trade fairs are easy and cheaper to run compared to offline ones. With it, you can cross-pollinate your audiences and provide irresistible offers to boost sales,” Jennifer said.
- Manage Objections and Expand Your Audience
“An objection is not a rejection; it is simply a request for more information.” Thank you, Bo Bennett! As a small business owner, constantly manage and turn the non-buying (and sometimes unhappy) customer objections into valuable insights to improve your business and address customers’ concerns. Reach out to and engage them personally to understand why they didn’t purchase or were not happy with a specific action.
In addition, learn to diversify your audience and business channels. If you’ve been catering to a specific audience or focusing on a single channel, consider expanding to new audiences and new channels like the Flutterwave Store. Rotimi Okungbaye, Product Marketing Manager, Flutterwave and host of the workshop described the Flutterwave Store as “an easy-to-use eCommerce platform supporting over 40,000 small businesses to safely and securely sell and receive payment online from all over the world.”
- Use Payment Plans and Run the Ads
Let’s face it: buying anything at this time is not easy. As a small business owner, you must help your customers overcome the hurdles of upfront costs. You can do this by introducing payment plans that break down the cost of your goods and allow customers to pay in installments. Thus making your offers more accessible immediately and increasing your sales in the long run.
Do you remember the saying that it takes (spending) money to make money? It is valid here. With or without payment plans, running ads to reach other potential customers is a proven approach to boosting your sales. Just ensure you use the right tools and hire experts if you need and can afford to.
Practical Experiences for Boosting Your Year-End Sales
Sharing her experience in boosting year-end sales, Oyinkansola Badiru, Owner of Savor dé Hik–an online perfume brand in Lagos, Nigeria, emphasizes the importance of planning early and prioritizing profitability, not just making sales.
“During the festive season, everyone is trying to shop, and all of us are trying to sell. This brings about both opportunities and challenges that small business owners must prepare for properly. I usually start my planning as early as June. I know it is the middle of the year and December seems far but it is something that has worked for me. It helps me create an effective pricing strategy, and give meaningful discounts that boost my year-end sales while maintaining profitability. I also take notes of special opportunities such as trade fairs that I can leverage to boost my sales.”
One of Oyinkansola’s favorite features on the Flutterwave Store is the announcement banner that supports sharing the latest updates, including new sales, in real-time with her customers.
While rounding up the workshop, Rotimi Okungbaye noted that implementing a combination of tips and practical lessons shared above will not only help small businesses boost their year-end sales but also position their businesses for significant sales growth. Luckily for small businesses, different features such as payment links, discounts, sold-out labels, and integration with a reliable delivery company make the Flutterwave Store a comprehensive platform for boosting sales during the festive season and always.