Growing: Encouraging Your Consumers to Buy Even More

Short-terms sales boosts are not rocket science: Drop some coupons, run a hot price, or offer a “Buy 3, Get 1 Free” program. You've run them many times, and they work — for the short term. And if you offer these price deals often enough, you'll compromise your equity. Short term only works for, well, the short term. What are you doing to ensure long-term growth? You need to make your consumers buy a wider variety of your products and buy your products consistently. Essentially, you want them to say,

“Please, may I have some more?”

So how do you encourage your consumers to buy more of your products every day — without deals?

• Make your consumers feel pretty and witty and bright. Personalize and customize your line of products for each consumer. Yes, each. At least make them feel you are doing so. Make them feel unique and special. Take what you know about them, and provide them with customized, comprehensive, valuable information about the products they use and additional products they haven't purchased before. You really don't even need to know that much: If you sell cosmetics, create an online site where your consumer can download her picture and "try out" new looks, as well as different products and colors. Include an interactive quiz with questions about her lifestyle and preferences, and suggest looks to try. Help her design a customized cosmetics kit. If you do it right, you will be her go-to brand for everything cosmetics-related. Same holds for household cleaners, foods, wine — pretty much anything.
• Leave them wanting more. Do what newspapers and magazines have been doing for years: Offer a “subscription,” so your consumers get your products or services every day, week or month. Make your offer irresistible. Send subscriber-only red-hot news alerts, special offers and discounts well ahead of public availability. Periodically "bundle" the products they already buy in their subscription with other products they're likely to love; a "gift with purchase" is the gift that keeps on giving — to both your consumer and your bottom line.
• Everyone's a critic. Invite your consumers — especially your subscribers — to be “official testers,” who test your about-to-be introduced improvement or line extension (or tools or recipes or …), and give you their confidential feedback. Everyone loves to share their opinion — especially if they feel they are being taken seriously. Ask them to share their experiences with your product; include their suggestions on your blog, in your newsletter and/or as part of your advertising; post a video of them doing something interesting with your product on YouTube.
  
  Research shows once people actually say out loud or in writing that they like something, they become even more ardent supporters. And the excitement these testimonials generate will attract others, as well. Your consumers will become your de facto spokespeople and part of your brand. Of course, you'll be their go-to company when they (and their friends) need more/similar/other items.

The best way to grow your business is to encourage your consumers to buy more of your products every day or week or month. Give them customized solutions and new products, make it easy and rewarding for them to buy regularly, and invite them to be your "trusted advisers." Now, that's sure to lift sales long into the future.

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OnPoint Insights Knows How to Encourage Your Consumers to Buy More of Your Products

Patti Cockerham has been helping companies sell more products to their consumers for two decades. Using both traditional and nontraditional methods, she helps her clients ask and answer the right questions, develop and implement targeted plans and processes, and achieve consistent, measureable growth. Through OnPoint Insights, she can help you sell more to your consumers and grow your business.