Retain the customer at all costs

It is unlikely that today there will be at least one expert who is ready in the current conditions to guarantee that one or another approach to sales will be the only true one. But, as you know, “in war, all means are good,” which means that you need to look for your own effective strategies and try any options to strengthen communication with the client.

There is no need to talk about a deferred purchase and wait for a miracle - that is, a quick recovery of buying activity. It is no secret to anyone that the current crisis will be more protracted. It is unlikely that it will be possible to count on keeping sales at the same level, but it is quite possible not to go beyond the lower limit leading to bankruptcy until the situation is rectified.

“The market has changed, but not in volume, although many have already closed companies. Purchasing behavior has changed. If you don't change your business fundamentally now, you are unlikely to survive in the current conditions, ”says Dmitry Potapenko. - Consumer preferences have changed dramatically: today the standard consumer who once bought salmon now buys cod at the salmon price. This is not a physical substitution of one product for another, it is a radical change of the shopping basket. "

Renowned business sales coach, author and developer of best sales methods for key customers, founder of Salecraft, Radmilo Lukic, is sure that most Russian entrepreneurs have a very low CODE - the coefficient of deliberate actions. That is, everyone knows how to sell, but for some reason they don't. “Accident is a trick of God because he prefers to remain anonymous. In a crisis, it is necessary to apply models that greatly simplify the things around you, advises Lukich. - In business, besides the fact that most people want to make money, there must be a strategy. Now she is not too optimistic - "do not die, survive." Answer the question for yourself - what are you ready to do that the competitors are too tough for? What will be your "trick"?

According to Gleb Kashcheev, director of business development at Sendsay, in the current environment it is necessary to focus on retaining an old client, rather than attracting a new one. “Oddly enough, most online stores start creating landing pages, investing in selling advertising, trying to increase conversion at the expense of a new customer ... but as market practice shows, in such situations you can only make money on an old client,” comments Kashcheev.

The client does not have a magic tangle that will show the way to your store, but you do, and you may well "present" it to the client. Today, head-on sales are no longer effective. “The buy and sell scheme does not work, and especially when the word“ buy ”means the product. Now there is a new scheme in which the word "buy" means a client. First, you need to “buy” a client, get his loyalty and only after that sell him your product, ”comments Rinat Khairullin, business coach, creator of the ProdavaiKrasivo.ru portal.

You do not have to start communication with a client with an offer to buy a product, wean sellers who saw a rare client on the doorstep of the store, pounce on him with the question: "Can I help you?" or "Anything to offer you?" The client is not stupid and understands that now they will start to “push” him, without even trying to understand his needs. The correct approach is that, firstly, the client needs to be given a sense of comfort, and, secondly, to make the client begin to trust you.

In two stages

There are 2 stages of sales: "Upselling" or offering a free product or service in exchange for the client's trust and contact information; and directly "sale".

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UPSALE. The first stage is actually buying the client, their loyalty. How do you "buy" a client?

1. Offer the client a free and useful product. Buying involves spending money. And at the outset, you're the one paying. What do you pay with? Anything that will fulfill a specific need and make them YOUR client. But it must be a product the client truly needs, not a stale item. "When you tell businesspeople about a free offer for their clients, the first thing they think of is the loss, the risk of going broke, and who knows what the profit margin will be. But that's not true," says Rinat Khairullin. In the perfume and cosmetics business, this could be a sample of a product—cream or perfume; in the shoe business, an invitation to a closed sale for insiders only. Of course, ideally, the client should give something physical, but you can also offer an equivalent substitute. It's important to remember that everything a person does is for two reasons: to experience pleasure and to avoid pain. That's why it's so important, in the sales process, to first and foremost give the client pleasure, whether it's the purchase process or the product itself.

2. Free service. Instead of a physical product, you can offer a service. Think about what you can offer your customers that's directly related to your product. For example, a free stylist consultation, or help selecting shoes and accessories to match their chosen look. People won't stop getting married, having children, celebrating birthdays, and visiting each other. And on such significant occasions, most people are used to looking their best. Set up a small fitting room (why not?), and install full-length mirrors throughout the store. Let customers try on their outfits in the store and see how they look with the shoes you offer. Provide advice, suggest interesting color schemes and combinations. Train your staff to work with each customer individually.

The value of such a service is that a person, using your recommendations, will see a real result. A similar approach has long been developed by the networks of the perfumery and cosmetic market: you are offered to use the services of a make-up artist or hairdresser in the corner of a particular brand. However, after receiving such a service, as a rule, the buyer is obliged to purchase one item from the assortment of the corner. In the current conditions, it is not worthwhile to impose a purchase - the client may really not be suitable for the lipstick used in the make-up or the tried on shoes. But if your consultants show restraint and a real, not fake interest in the client, you will be able to maintain his loyalty to the brand and the purchase will be made not today, but tomorrow. “There is a good saying,“ Number 1 sounds bad in business ”. If you have only one source of customer acquisition, one sales method and one product, this is very bad, because if something fails, then the whole business will become. You can divide your audience into two parts: offer one for free, the other with a big discount, and then see which method will convert more into main sales, ”says Rinat Khairullin.

3. Reward or guest cards. If you can't find a product or service that's free, offer a rewards card. Is your customer leaving the store without buying anything? A consultant should greet them at the exit, offering to fill out a form and receive a rewards or guest card that will allow them to earn bonuses and discounts.

4. Education. Offer your clients the opportunity to increase their knowledge in the area you specialize in. You can regularly publish an informational brochure and distribute it to customers in store. It could contain practical and practical tips on shoe care, choosing lasts for different foot types, information on new manufacturing technologies, and seasonal trends. This way, you can educate your clients and provide practical recommendations that will be useful and meet their needs.

You can issue such a corporate magazine in electronic form and post it on the page of the company's official website. Send customers a demo version of the publication by e-mail. And bring them to the site to read the full version. You can open stylist consultations on the site or create a virtual fitting room.

SALES. There are many sales methods and principles. It's important to remember that as soon as a customer purchases a product, you can immediately offer them the next purchase option. After purchasing a computer, a person faces the need to install software, connect a printer, scanner, and so on. The salesperson must be prepared to solve all these problems. Look at your product and determine what new needs the customer will have after the purchase, so you can immediately understand how to satisfy the needs that have just emerged.

It is very important to establish a strong seller-buyer relationship here. But, unfortunately, most of the sellers are either cashiers or informants. Some are ready to share information about the product, others are ready to receive money for the product. And in this case, there is no contact between the seller and the client, in fact, there is only contact between the product and the client. You need to lure the client with a personalized approach, emotional, sincere involvement in his problems and needs. There will be no impulse purchases, customers will come to the store for a certain product, experiencing a real need for it. But he can buy this or that product both from you and from a competitor's store. “As great as our product is, it can't just be taken and shoved into a customer. To sell a product to a customer, you can use 2 fundamentally different ways. In the first case, you can act according to the logic of a “Strong OMON officer” and apply “force”: with the help of intrusive advertising or aggressive product promotion, you literally shove the product into the client. But the tactic of a “smart OMON officer” is much more effective, when, before “pushing in,” you study the client, his needs, pack the product so that the client will like it and only then implement it, ”notes Ilya Balakhnin, business coaching , CEO and Managing Partner of New Media & Digital at Paper Planes