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Posts tagged business apps tips
Holiday Sales are Through the Roof at Smartphone-Friendly Websites
Dec 4th
According to recent data from Branding Brand regarding Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales, about a third of all e-commerce traffic over the holiday came from smartphones. While this may not sound like a lot, the year-over-year gains are what we found most striking.
Smartphone sales are skyrocketing, and are on pace to dominate the market in the very near future. Consider some of the Black Friday increases on smartphone-optimized sites from last year to this year:
• Visits were up 76%
• Views were up 88%
• Average order value was up 22%
• Mobile sales increased 187%
187 percent! The Thanksgiving Day increases were also staggering:
• Visits were up 69%
• Page views were up 103%
• Average order value was up 16%
• Mobile sales were up 258%
258%. We can’t even put an exclamation point on that one. It’s an absurd increase. Mobile device shopping is exploding in popularity, and these numbers show just how drastic the changes are.
Good for mobile sellers, I guess. Why should the average small business owner care?
These data show that it’s more valuable than ever before to offer mobile-optimized sales. With easy-to-implement mobile stores, the profit potential has become much more attractive than in past years. For many small business owners, the idea of offering a mobile store was once a costly proposition that offered little return. Now, the above figures show that generating a significant amount of revenue via the mobile platform has become a lot easier.
There are two forces driving these changes: 1) user behavior and 2) the availability of solutions.
As for user behavior, when only a small segment of the consumer market was shopping via mobile, it simply wasn’t worth it to cater to them. Now, with users flocking to mobile stores and huge volumes of transactions happening on mobile platforms, the critical mass is there. And if trends continue, the majority of online shoppers (or perhaps just “shoppers”) will soon be making purchases via mobile.
As for the availability of solutions, creating and managing a mobile store once required major IT expenditures, took lots of time to implement, and was difficult to maintain and control. Now, there are cost-effective solutions that can be set up and configured in record time, like Bizness Apps!
The mobile sales revolution is definitely here. And if you want to join in the fun before this holiday season is over, we can absolutely help.
5 Tips for Selling to Small Businesses
Sep 14th
Small businesses make an excellent target market. After all, there are millions of them, and they have tremendous needs, especially if they want to grow. While large companies have most of their bases covered, small businesses are often works in progress, with major gaps waiting to be filled by helpful partners, vendors, and service providers. The best part is, if you can help a small business operate more smoothly, efficiently, or cost-effectively, you’ve probably got a customer for life.
So, what are some things to keep in mind when attempting to acquire the elusive “customer for life?” Here are a few of our favorite tips:
1. Offer true value today
While large companies may be willing to make a purchase that won’t yield benefits until a significant amount of time has passed, a small business is much less likely to have any tolerance for such a project. Instead, small businesses often operate on tight margins, and don’t have the capital to weather a long waiting period between making a purchase and seeing the benefits.
For this reason, you need to explain how your offering brings real benefits to customers today. Be specific about the value you’re offering will generate for your customers, and they won’t have to wonder what they get in exchange for their money. They’ll see exactly how today’s expense will very soon lead to returns that far outweigh it.
If they see that, you’ve pretty much got a sale locked down.
2. Make implementation easy
Small business owners are often being pulled in many directions. With a full load of responsibilities and too-little help, the last thing they need is another project or headache. For that reason, when you attempt to sell them your offering, make sure that they understand how you’re going to make the process as smooth as possible.
Let them know that you’ll handle all transition issues, your support people will be available at all times, and that you won’t rest until they’re up and running well. That way, they can relax and rely on your team to handle any difficulties, while they tend to their own heavy task load.
3. Deliver on promises
Selling is great, but upselling is one of the most cost-effective revenue generating forces out there. In order to upsell successfully, your company needs to deliver on its promises. That way, when you want to expand the relationship, your customer will be happy and receptive, and more likely to buy again from you.
4. Follow up
Selling isn’t always a single-meeting process. In fact, most sales are closed over a number of meetings or calls. For this reason, it’s important to follow up with your prospects over time. They may actually be interested in using your services, but might just be busy. Keep yourself top-of-mind by following up regularly. You might also hear more honest objections on second and third attempts, which can help you overcome them and refine your sales pitch for future prospects.
5. Offer flexible payment terms
Small businesses have a wide variety of funding and cash flow structures. If you want to make a sale, it can sometimes be hugely beneficial to offer payment terms that suit your prospect’s needs. A prospect may be dying to make a purchase from you, but if the payment terms don’t work, there’s no way it will happen.
