When it comes to business, every sale counts. While your marketing and promotional efforts will help you to drive sales, there are some smaller things you might be overlooking that could be turning your customers away.
Take a look at these five things that could be costing you sales.
Poor customer service
Poor customer service is a major turn-off for customers, and many people will avoid businesses if they have experienced bad service from them on a previous occasion.
With  Twitter and Facebook making it an easy way to voice opinions to a mass audience, it doesn’t take long for a bad review to create an impression on others.
Conduct some mystery shopping with those who have contact with customers; you might discover some areas that need improving. Better customer service costs nothing, but it could have great value for your customers by improving their experience.
Limited business hours
Business operation hours can be frustrating for customers. If your business tends to shut around 5 pm, you could be missing out on potential customers who’d prefer to run errands after work or on weekends.
One solution could be to use a call answering service to help your customers get in touch after hours or trialling later opening hours on certain days of the week. Be sure to advertise your after-hours services to ensure customers know they’re available.
Unattractive products
Your products could be very attractive, but if that’s not captured effectively – it could be costing you money. If your products don’t look great on a web page or on shelves, then people will be reluctant to buy them – even if they’re great products.
There are several ways you can make your products look more attractive, including taking better photographs and writing more insightful descriptions. Give some thought to how you present your products and make them standout to help increase your sales.
Lack of social media presence
All businesses can benefit from having a social media presence. From being a useful promotional tool to being a way to engage with your customers, there’s a lot of business to be made by using social media effectively.
Try designing a social media strategy that includes posting regularly and satisfies different objectives or targets. You’ll soon find awareness of your business increasing which could lead to an increase in sales.
A poor store layout
A poor store layout is something that can affect both online stores and retail shops. A store that is laid out poorly makes it difficult for customers to see what’s available, while a lack of natural flow can affect the way they pick up impulse items.
You should try to refresh your store layout regularly to help keep things interesting and offer new experiences for customers. Learn layout secrets of top retail businesses to see how you can improve your own store.
Taking a critical look at your sales performance is crucial to helping you improve it. Think about the points above and take steps to improve your customer experience that will help you to boost your sales.
