How to spur off-season sales

The festive season is long gone and as spring begins to turn into summer, sales slowly begin to decrease. So, how do you keep the momentum moving forward in a slow market?

Retailers are constantly looking for new ways to get their customers to spend during the slow seasons to help their bottom line. And slow seasons have the potential to overall negatively affect your business in several ways. Downturns in sales give competitors the chance to move in on your target market and make you less current within your community. Therefore, during a slow season, you should reach out to existing loyal customers, give out great deals to new and existing customers and ramp up your marketing efforts to put your name back on the map.

It is normal for sales to slow after a holiday or high season, so understanding your peak and slow seasons can help you prepare your business better.

It is possible to take advantage of slow seasons because they are a great time to clean up your business and get organised. It is also possible to kick-start your slow season and get those sales back up.

Here are a few smart ideas for using social media to boost your online sales during the slow season.

Keep your social media pages active: Just because business is slow doesn’t mean that your social media activities should go into hibernation mode.

Even if customers aren’t flooding your shop or website, it is better that you keep your social media news feeds active. Publishing a blog on your website can help you stay connected with customers while still promoting your products.

Go mobile: Do you have a mobile site? If not, get one as soon as possible. A huge number of people now access their social media accounts through their phones; in fact, more people use Facebook on the mobile than on their desktop.

Any sales promotion you put on social media will most likely be accessed on a phone, and you don’t want to annoy your customers with a slow, non-mobile friendly site where buying items is a hassle.

Post Pictures: Strange but true: you’re more likely to get a response to something on Facebook when you post an image along with your words. Encourage your fans to like and share your stuff!

Facebook just implemented a new algorithm that will repost a link each time someone comments on it. This means even more exposure for your brand! Any extra “likes” you can get for a status leads to more people seeing it on their friends’ feeds, so be sure to include photos of your products with every promotion you post.

Hashtag: Don’t underestimate the power of a hashtag. Using a variety of general and specific hashtags will allow your business to stand out in any hashtag searches your potential customers are doing. When it comes to increasing sales in an off-season, using relevant hashtag will make your brand more visible to a much larger audience

Announce an online contest: Another effective way to bring customers back into your store and boost sales is to host an online contest. Doing so allows you to invite your best customers to an event where you can showcase your products. For example: Run a contest on Pinterest that rewards everyone, ask followers to pin the one item they most desire from your catalogue page to one of their boards, and pick a winner at random. This is a huge win: not only do you engage your followers but you also spread the word about your products to others who see participating contestants’ boards. Announce freebies online: Giving your customers freebies makes them feel valued and important. It is a great way to give back to them and show how much you appreciate them. You are much more likely to get new customers if you market your freebies online, as well. For instance, “For a limited time only, get a free sample of the product of your choice when you buy two more…” takes your products a long way due to the limited time reference and psychology behind it. Plus, freebies offer your clients an opportunity to try products they haven’t tried before.

Announce flash sales: Flash sales are a great way to drive sales because they create a sense of urgency. Offer a special price for only a short period of time. Announce your intention to have a flash sale in weeks before across your social media sites, but don’t say when it will occur. This will ensure that people will continuously check your feeds to see when it’s taking place. When you hold the flash sale, be prepared for heavy traffic to your site.

By using these easy strategies this year, you can make a significant impact on your sales. These moves will provide the seamless purchasing experience consumers are looking for, and you will have the opportunity to reach a broader range of consumers who just may become your most loyal customers.

Anil Kaul is Co-founder and CEO, Absolutdata Analytics.

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