How To Strategically Increase Sales

We all want to sell more, don’t we. More sales equals increased revenue giving us more cash in our pocket, and more to reinvest in the business. But sales can be elusive, selling can be hard. In this post I want to look at the strategic ways your business can increase sales.

Enter a new market – develop a product for a new segment of your market. You’ll be selling to people that wouldn’t usually buy from you.

Market development – encourage your market to use your product in different ways. Philadelphia have been trying to convince me I can make a mean carbonara using their soft cheese. I’m not buying it, but I bet some consumers are and I bet they’re selling more as a result.

Product development – upgrade existing products, create add ons. Encourage buyers to spend a little bit more on their next purchase and to buy accessories. Apple do this particularly well, most Apple consumers now buy covers for iPads and iPhones, extra chargers etc.

Market expansion – Increase how often your customers use your products and services. The salon I go to encourages clients to get their hair cut every six weeks, do people really need their hair cut that often or is it good business to make people believe that they need things more than they do (this may seem quite negative but the reality is that getting your hair cut makes you feel great and so the customer will still receive benefits). You can also work on turning people who don’t currently purchase your products and services into loyal customers, expanding your market.

Market penetration – Use price and other tactics to discourage competition. Buy your competitors, a fairly aggressive approach usually seen amongst much larger businesses. Convert your competitor’s customers by offering them better value or service.

Those are the strategic ways you can increase your sales. Which strategy would work best in your business at the moment?