The Virtual Business Owner’s Guide to Surviving a Sales Slump
Every business owner will experience a slump at one time or another. First, you put in the hard work to market your products and make your sales process easy and convenient. Then, you gradually see the fruits of your online business marketing efforts. But just when you finally hit your sales goal, everything comes to a standstill. Some days, you’re barely even reaching your target.
Don’t panic; you’re just going through a sales slump.
Sure, nobody wants their sales to drop, but the good news is that you can snap out of it. Check out the virtual business owner’s guide to surviving a sales slump:
Dig into your analytics data.
Every sales channel offers some sort of analytics data to give virtual business owners an overview of their sales performance. If you’re neglecting to check on these reports regularly, it’s time to roll your sleeves up and study the figures.
Make sure you figure out the following issues when you dig into analytical reports:
- What is the rate of abandoned carts in my online shop?
- In what part of the shopping process do customers leave?
- How diverse, effective, and secure are the customer’s payment options?
- What is my return policy?
- How did my visitors and customers find my store?
Figuring out the answers to these questions can help you identify and tweak underlying issues in your marketing or sales processes.
Bundle up your best-selling products with accessories.
Take a leaf out of the Amazon marketplace book. When you search for the best-selling products on Amazon, you’ll find that these items are usually bundled up with accessories.
Whether you’re selling in Amazon or other sales channels, you can apply the same technique. Besides increasing your sales revenues, bundling best-selling products with other items moves stocks and helps customers make better shopping plans.
Revamp your visual advertising.
From the backdrop to the lighting and angle, the way you present your products can either stir up or dampen a customer’s interest.
Scroll through the photos in your blog, Instagram, and other social networks. Are the products displayed in a plain, boring fashion? Or are they presented in a clear but enticing way? You can also liven up product instructions by converting the textual directions into infographics.
Assess and regroup your eCommerce support team.
Whatever their task is, make sure that each player in your team contributes into giving every customer the best experience. Your content writer VA (virtual assistant) should provide clear product descriptions and engaging blog articles. Your website developer must ensure that your site loads quickly and smoothly across different devices. The shopping process must also be straightforward and fast.
From answering customer inquiries to sending follow-up emails, your eCommerce support team must consistently be reliable, friendly, and knowledgeable. Building a trustworthy team also means unloading some responsibilities off your shoulders so you can focus on more pressing tasks that only you can do.
A sales slump would inevitably come in every business. Luckily, you can snap out of it if you follow this virtual owner’s guide to surviving a sales slump.
