Getting people into your store is one thing but converting them from visitors into paying customers is quite another. Just as the volume of traffic to your website is proportional to the potential money that you can make, so too is the footfall of your store proportional to the potential sales you can make in-store.
But maximizing conversions is easier said than done. If it were so simple, everyone would be able to do it, no problem. Below is what you need to know to maximise conversions within your retail outlet.
Get Your Employees Involved
The most important component of any conversion strategy is going to be the salespeople that actually carry it out. If your staff are not on board with your objectives then you are going to be missing your most valuable pieces in the battle for a higher conversion rate. Many of us have experienced working in retail jobs that we are not exactly passionate about. Trying to motivate people who aren’t passionate about their jobs to lay the hard sell on customers is always going to be a difficult proposition. If you want your staff to be effective soldiers in the battle of the higher conversions, then you are going to need to get them on board.
Speak to your staff and make sure that they are actively involved in developing your conversion strategy. If they are the architects of the scheme along with yourself, they will have extra motivation for doing their part to see it succeed.
Think About Your Checkout Process
The nature of the British high street has changed substantially since the advent of the internet. Ever since it became trivial for us to purchase what we wanted online using broadband internet connections, the way that we approach shopping in physical retail outlets has also changed substantially. The expectations have changed on both sides of the counter. Customers now expect a greater level of service and more convenience by default. Your staff, on the other hand, are used to technological solutions that automate most of the transaction for them.
If you have everything set up as it should be then you should be able to provide a swift and effective checkout system that manages to be thorough and comprehensive as well. You need a till set up that you can rely on, otherwise, you are going to have to contend with inaccurate stock and takings records. If you can’t be certain that every item that passes through your till is going to be scanned and recorded properly then how will you ever be able to trust your stock records without frequent audits?
On the other hand, if you choose a reliable card reader and set up your card machine properly, you will make it easy for your customers to pay while also ensuring that your staff are able to serve them as efficiently as possible. We would recommend that you consider this provider. UTP Group has a partnership with Barclays Bank that enables it to offer faster processing and resolution of card transactions when compared to its rivals. It also offers in-house tech support, not some cheap outsourced alternative.
Once your customers know that they can check out quickly and easily in your store, they will be more inclined to impulse buy where they would normally just keep walking.
Use Loss Leaders To Draw Customers In
A loss leader is an item that a retailer puts prominently at the front of their store on offer for such a low price that the retailer either just breaks even or loses money on each sale. But why on earth would you ever want to deliberately set such a thing up? The answer is simple – because it gets more people into your store.
Loss leaders have long been popular with big supermarkets. They regularly use cut-price hardback books to get people through the doors. Selling a hardback book that retails for £20 to customers for just £7 might lose Tesco some money. However, if someone comes in for a cut-price hardback and ends up buying a month’s supply of baked beans then Tesco has made their money back. More importantly, they will bring people into the store who would otherwise have just kept walking.
Your conversion rate is one of the most important metrics for measuring and monitoring the health of your business. Your conversion rate is dependent upon a number of individual factors, from the way that you design your store layout and your product racks to the skills and intuition of your sales staff. If you want to maximize your conversion rate, then you need to adopt a multi-pronged strategy that enhances your conversions on multiple fronts. That means combining comprehensive staff training with a store design that makes it as easy as possible for your customers to give you their money.
