Being a small business owner is not a walk in the park. Seeing your business effectively increase sales isn’t also an easy feat. Juggling the tasks of managing customer orders, growing sales, and keeping the business afloat can become overwhelming.
It gets frustrating when multiple efforts and strategies to advertise and grow your business do not always translate into sales. You may have considered closing shop to focus on other things.
I understand those days, and I am here for you. Don’t lose faith. The truth is, there is no formula to instant business success. However, if you follow these proven hacks below, you are guaranteed to start seeing your business take shape.
- IMPROVE YOUR BOOKKEEPING
Cash flow is the lifeline of any business. To know your cash flow position, you need clarity on your business performance; what makes you the most and least money?
The first principle is to track everything! Track how much you make, track how much you spend, and safely store your customer information so you can always contact them to upsell. Proper records/bookkeeping is the bedrock to managing cash flow better.
With a sound bookkeeping system, you will always know how much your business generates and which products and services are responsible for that growth. Furthermore, you can make wise decisions on purchases, pricing, and products to double down on. For example, if your shoes are making you more money than your jewellery, the data shows that you should focus more on your shoes because that is what is driving your overall sales.
Many apps can help you automate your bookkeeping; Dukka is topping the charts for this.
- ACCEPT ANY KIND OF PAYMENT FROM CUSTOMERS
As a business owner, you last want to lose a sale because a customer cannot pay you.
A couple of years ago, customers preferred to pay merchants in cash. The case today is very different. The predominant preferred modes of payment by customers are card and bank transfers. Covid also sped up the adoption of non-cash payments between merchants and their customers.
To maximize your sales, you want to enable your customers to pay you however they want to; cash, card, bank transfer, wallet transfers, etc.
- CREATE A STELLAR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Our world is more connected than ever, thanks to social media. For businesses, this creates stifling competition as consumers now have unimaginable access to options that weren’t privy to their reach. It is beyond just having a great product. A customer will never forget how a business made them feel after a product is used up and tossed in the bin. Personalized and wholesome customer experiences drive up sales in this day and age. A satisfied customer will not only return to buy more but will go on to tell everyone within their network how great your product or service is.
No matter how small your business is, it would be best if you never forgot that customers only patronize those who make their lives easier. If that’s your business, then you’ve hacked it. As a small business owner, you should identify processes that need to be worked on and make necessary improvements. Suppose you commit to improving your internal business processes and serving your customers and prospects (beyond just selling to them). In that case, you will realize that increasing sales was not as difficult as you imagined.
In conclusion, we have learned that however big or small your business is, it needs to run efficiently.
- Tracking sales lets you know which products are top selling so you can double down on them. This also informs you on which customers are contributing the most through purchases.
- Giving customers the ease to pay however they want is a convenient experience.
- How you treat them during and after sales will determine if they become returning customers.
Armed with this knowledge, you are in a better position to increase sales than your peers.
