Small Business BC

Resources for Entrepreneurs to Start and Grow Successful Businesses

  • Resources
        • Topic
        • Starting a Business
        • Growing a Business
        • Business Planning
        • Import and Export
        • Market Research
        • Growing Online
        • Accessibility Resources
        • Communities
        • Black-owned
        • Indigenous-owned
        • Women-owned
        • LGBTQIA2S+ owned
        • Checklists
        • Getting Started
        • Marketing and Sales
        • Evaluate a Business Idea
        • Market Research
        • View All
        • More Resources
        • Articles
        • FAQs
        • BC Marketplace
        • Bookstore
        • Export Navigator
        • COVID-19
  • Education
        • Upcoming Live Webinars
          • Going Digital Series: Payment Solutions for Your Business
          • Start and Grow Your Business on Amazon Series
          • Market Research 1: Finding Business Data and Insights
          • Market Research for Your Business Package
          • Start Smart 1: Basics of Starting a Business
          • Starting a Business: Start Smart Package
        • View All
        • On-Demand E-Learning
        • Export Essentials
        • Choosing the Right Business Structure
        • WorkSafeBC
        • Learn More
        • SmartMove
  • Advisory
        • Business Services
        • Import and Export
        • Market Research
        • Business Planning
        • Business Growth
        • Business Registration
        • Corporate Search
        • Talk to An Expert
        • Accountant
        • Business Broker
        • Lawyer
        • Technology Operations Expert
        • Website Expert
        • WorkSafe BC Expert
  • Grants
        • Canada Digital Adoption Program
        • Program Overview
        • Grow Your Business Online Grant
        • E-commerce Advisors
        • Workplace Accessibility Grant
        • Grant Overview
        • Submit Your Application
        • Application Requirements
        • More Grant Resources
        • Business Benefits Finder
        • Granted Consulting
  • Awards
        • Winners
        • How it Works
        • Finalists
        • About
        • Categories
        • Sponsors
  • About
        • About SBBC
        • Our Mission and Values
        • Our Team
        • Our Board
        • Work With Us
        • Careers at SBBC
        • Advertising
        • Room Rentals
        • Become an Advisor
        • Become a Speaker
        • Contact Us Phone: 604-775-5525
          Toll Free in BC: 1-800-667-2272
          Email: [email protected]
  • Account
  • Cart
EN FR
  • Account
  • Wishlist
  • Cart 0
Veuillez sélectionner la façon dont vous souhaitez voir nos options de langue française

Accédez la page d'accueil dédiée aux ressources en française de SBBC

Sélectionner

Utilisez notre outil de traduction pour le site entier

Sélectionner

7 Tips for Increasing Sales

Developing a world class product or service is just the first step in a successful business. Your ability to drum up sales is just as important. Consumers are savvier than ever and, with the internet at their fingertips, are completely spoiled for choice. The hard sell may have once been effective, but in our connected era, it just doesn’t cut it anymore. Marketing your product and increasing your sales presents a puzzle for every entrepreneur. The good news is, there’s never been more ways to make it work. Below, we’ve corralled 7 easy to implement tips for increasing sales and improve your bottom line.

Define Your Target Market

If your answer to the question “Who am I trying to sell my product to?” is “Everyone”, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. The above answer is the most common mistake new entrepreneurs make.
Successfully pitching to the right target audience allows you to efficiently market and ensure the best bang for your buck on marketing spend. Paint a picture of who your ideal customer is. You might even find it helpful to create two or three personas that represent your ideal customers and write down their possible wants, needs, personalities, and interests to help you clearly identify the type of market you are trying to reach. This exercise will allow you to really nail how you are advertising, and where to allocate your budget.

Establish Your Competitive Advantage

There are two important questions to ask yourself at this point – What do you offer customers that nobody else does? And, why should they buy from you? Really think about your product and what it does that no other product or service can do. Put this information front and centre of your marketing effort. In marketing terms, this is your product’s unique selling point, and it’s the secret sauce that will convince potential customers to buy your product.

Content Marketing for Increasing Sales

Earlier, we mentioned how the ‘hard sell’ has fallen out of favour. Content Marketing is one of the main ways it has been replaced. It involves the creation and sharing of content such as articles, blogs, videos and social media that don’t explicitly promote a brand. Instead, they organically stimulate interest by starting a conversation with potential customers. If you have an online store, consider also having a blog. Regularly updating this blog will see your website feature higher in Google search rankings.

The Power of Social Media

Content Marketing goes together with social media marketing. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram help customers discover the content you are producing. It’s important to vary your output. Encourage your customers to share photos of them using your product and re-post the images on your accounts. This user-generated content can be a powerful marketing tool and your community will appreciate the recognition and exposure.

Email Marketing

Another way to spread your content and market your products is through email marketing. A recent survey found 63% of marketers describing email marketing as “very important” to their business. A well-structured marketing email offers higher conversion rates (when compared to other forms of marketing) and is relatively inexpensive. Don’t fall into the trap of just sending newsletters. Instead, mix things up. Newsletters are fine every month or so but should represent just one aspect of your email strategy, alongside special offers, one-off emails with a call to action, surveys and events.

Follow Up

Harnessing technology to increase sales is fantastic, but don’t forget the classics. Employing the human touch and following up with customers is a sure-fire way to create a positive feeling around your brand. Sure, those customers have already purchased. The power of following up is that it will encourage those same customers to recommend you to their social group. This can, in turn, feed into online discussions on Facebook groups. All it takes is one simple phone call on your behalf. It’s a cheap and powerful way to increase sales.

Re-Targeting

If you’re running an online store, you’ve probably noticed the low number of first-time visitors that convert to sales. Retargeting is a cookie-based technology that can help you reach users who visited your site but didn’t make a purchase. It serves them ads for items they’ve already viewed, can send them follow up emails that remind them of items they’ve left in their virtual shopping carts, and is demonstrably proven to increase conversion for a modest ad spend.

Here to Help

No matter what stage of business, or what problem you face, Small Business BC offers a range of seminars and one-on-one advisory sessions to suit any business.

View More Articles

Share this Story

Related Articles:

  • What’s Happening in May 2018 at Small Business BC
  • What’s Happening in August 2018 at Small Business BC?
  • How Small Businesses Can Work Together for Better Results
Advertisement

About Small Business BC

When you find yourself asking "How do I...?" Give us a call. We'd be happy to help.

Advertisement
  • Note: you can withdraw your consent at any time - for more information see our Privacy Policy or Contact Us for more details.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

We respectfully acknowledge our place of work is within the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/sel̓ílwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and that we serve the Peoples of the many Nations throughout British Columbia.

Stop by

Small Business BC
550-555 W. 12th Ave
Vancouver, BC V5Z 3X7
Canada

Say hello

Phone: 604-775-5525
Toll Free in B.C.: 1-800-667-2272
TTY (Teletypewriter): 1-800-457-8466
Fax: 604-775-5520
Email: askus@smallbusinessbc.ca

We're Open

Office open to the public

Monday – Wednesday, Friday
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Thursday
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday
Closed

Additional Links

  • About Us
  • Press Releases
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • Media Files
  • French Language Compliance
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Cancellation Policy
  • Contact Us

With Support by

Government of B.C. Logo Canada Government Logo
© 2022 Small Business BC