Category: Market

Shopping cart abandonment is a huge problem that leads to lost ecommerce sales.

Shopping cart abandonment is when a prospective customer who starts the process of buying a product or service online, but then drops out before buying.

Shopping cart abandonment can be as high as 80 percent. In one study by Barilliance, shopping cart abandonment rates were 77.24% in 2016 and 78.65% in 2017. That’s over three-quarters of consumers that land in the shopping cart. The rate is over 80 percent among mobile users.

There are many reasons why consumers abandon shopping carts. Unexpected shipping fees, long and confusing process, too many clicks and pages, plus website errors and crashes.

Yet all is not lost if you have a downsell campaign. In fact, a downsell campaign with good sales offers can help you recover these lost revenues and get the consumer back to buy.

A downsell campaign occurs after a prospective customer abandons a shopping cart or order page. It involves a series of emails each with a link to a distinct landing page with a new offer. This new offer fulfills the customer’s needs and wants while lowering their perceived risk. In some cases, it reduces the price of a product or service.

While you can have downsell offers for all types of contacts, they are best to use to convert a lead into a new customer than an established customer. That’s because some customers will take advantage of your strategy, causing you to lose profits.

Here are 9 downsell campaign sales offers you can present to consumers who abandon their shopping cart.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #1: Free Trial Offer

A free trial sales offer lowers perceived risk of buying. It enables the customer to experience the benefits of the product or service. Then when the trial period is over you charge their credit card if they did not previously cancel. The two drawbacks are NOT getting paid in advance and potential loss of sale if the customer cancels. At least you’ve got them back to try it.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #2: Offer Same Product at Same Price Plus Add a Bonus

Adding a bonus to your offer increases the value of the deal. The customer can feel they are getting more from you, so their perceived value is higher. The thing is you can be creative with the types of bonuses you offer. It can involve a complimentary product or service, a consultation, educational product or event.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #3: Offer the Same Product or Service at a Lower Quantity

By offering the same product at a lower quantity, such as size, the customer wins by getting what they want for less cost. You win by earning a customer and lowering the quantity you give for a lower price, so you can earn a profit. This strategy enables you to develop a loyal customer rather than losing them entirely.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #4: Coupon For Next Offer

Offer a coupon for their NEXT purchase if they buy now. For example, if you have an eBook you sell for $30, then offer the contact a 10% off next purchase of any product if they purchase the eBook for $30 now. There is little risk to you because you get full price for the first product sale.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #5: Offer Same Product For Less at Prompt Redemption

You could offer the same product at a lower cost. But with a twist that they must take you up on your offer now or it expires. The customer wins by getting a better deal. You win with a new customer. You’ll gain profits by selling to the customer in the future.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #6: Offer the Same Product With Discount Plus Bonus

Here you give them two things they did not have before. First, they get a discount on the same product. Plus, they receive a free gift. The customer gets a double win. Greater value at a lower price. You win by getting a happy customer who can buy again from you. If your sales offer is a digital product bonus, then there’s no added out of pocket cost after the first creative fee.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #7: Offer a Different Product or Service at a Lower Quantity

You could have a sales offer for a different but less costly product that may satisfy the customer. The customer wins by getting a product at a lower cost. You win by getting the customer.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #8: FREE Shipping

FREE shipping is a cost saver to the customer if you sell a physical product. The cost of shipping is an expense that can offset your tax liability. The upside is you get a customer with potential for future sales and repeat orders. Shipping costs are among the biggest reason for abandoned shopping carts. A sales offer with FREE shipping can get the customer to buy.

Downsell Campaign Strategy #9: Double the Offer Plus a Bonus

This strategy appeals to customers who want greater value, rather than lower price. Not every prospect walks away from an initial offer because the price is higher than what they want to spend. Some prospects have money, but want greater value. Doubling what you sell – or increasing quantity – can boost customer perceived value. When you add a bonus on top, they see they get more than what you offered the first time.

In summary, an abandoned shopping cart is very common in ecommerce. But you can recover some of these lost sales with a compelling sales offer that gets these contacts back to buy.

The South Fulton area of Atlanta is all the buzz with new communities, retailers, and businesses abounding in every corner of the area. It’s no wonder why some of the nation’s largest builders are making their way to the South Fulton area. To say the least, residents are flocking to the southside of Atlanta by the droves, which also makes sense why Pulte Homes’ Princeton Lakes Estate subdivision is Metro Atlanta’s top seller.

Located just a short mile from the new Camp Creek Marketplace off of I-285, Princeton Lakes Estate Subdivision sold over 300 homes in 2006, the highest number sold by any one Atlanta area subdivision. The subdivision is made up of five neighborhoods of a total of 701 homes with different price points starting from the $160s to the $350-400,000 price range. The large community also includes a 2-story clubhouse, Junior Olympic pool, children’s pool, tennis and sports courts, playground, pavilions, and nature trails. Best of all, it’s located within walking distance of the new and bustling Camp Creek Marketplace, Southside Atlanta’s equivalent to Midtown Atlanta’s Atlantic Station. The May 2007 issue of Builder Magazine has ranked Pulte Homes number three among Georgia’s top 100 builders.

Princeton Lakes’ success certainly had helped. The City of Atlanta created the Princeton Lakes Redevelopment Plan and Tax Allocation District, which was used as an incentive to help spur the development of an ambitious live, work and play community in Southwest Atlanta. Of course, its close proximity to the 1.2 million square feet office and retail space of the Camp Creek Marketplace boosted the subdivision’s popularity. Now, residents in this and other new communities in the South Fulton area have major shops just minutes away from their home.

South Fulton county is on fire right now. New businesses, new homes, and new residents bring a breath of fresh air for this once stale community and will help the area prosper and growth as other Atlanta neighborhoods have.

Think of a market stall and many people will think of the traditional slot together steel structure with a large ill-fitting rectangular candy stripe sheet. This type of stall epitomises a rather old fashioned view of markets – poor quality products sold cheaply from a stall made up from a jumble of rusting bars and faded dirty covers.

Markets, however, have undergone a revolution in their image, traders and products offered. As large, “buy it all under one roof” shops, slaughtered the competitiveness of the lower end of the retail spectrum, markets began a serious decline. Couple this with an image of hooky knock off goods and something had to be done if markets were to stand a chance of surviving.

Market operators began to look at a different way of marketing themselves. With a rise in continental markets, the UK was exposed to the smart uniformity of the pop up market stall. Traders from the near continent were bringing a wide variety of food, drink and handicrafts which attracted huge crowds of investigative shoppers who were looking for something different. Shoppers were also attracted by the much more professional approach to presentation that the continental traders had. Their pop up market stalls were quick to erect with smart fitted covers, their traders were equally as smart and professional.

Thus the idea was born to change the way the UK had approached markets for decades. Change didn’t happen overnight and even now there are poorly performing pockets of stubborn traders who fail to understand the full impact that presentation has on shoppers buying decisions. However, change has occurred. There is now a huge number of markets and traders who have thrown out their old style market stalls and replaced them with the pop up market stall.

The main advantages of the pop up market stall are:

• Very quick to erect and dismantle – allows the trader to spend much more time on their “flash” or product display.
• Very easy to store as the majority come in a wheeled carry bag which is no longer than 62″ in length.
• Waterproof covers in a huge colour range, that are fitted to the framework.
• Smart sides with clear PVC to make stalls feel light and airy.
• Huge range of available accessories such as anchoring systems, weights and hanging displays.
• Market Operators can create a uniformity of size and style that was virtually impossible with the traditional style stalls.
• Health and Safety often deems that the traditional stalls are of a higher risk of injury to traders and customers because of falling bars and ill-fitting metal held together with tie wraps and string in the worse case scenarios.

There is no doubt that the manufacture and purchase of pop up market stalls has had a huge impact on the viability and continuing success of many markets. With farmers markets emerging and using pop up market stalls and the call to buy locally sourced and home grown produce, the market place has transformed itself into a 21st century business model.

There are many mind control techniques that are based on specific actions or language patterns. These are popular, because they are easy to try out. Examples of active coercion techniques are putting somebody in a hypnotic trance, using “yes bridges”, pattern interrupts, and so on. It is kind of “talking someone into something”.

However, there is another kind of mind control technique that can be just as effective when it comes to manipulating other people: passive coercion.

Passive coercion doesn’t require you actually doing something – rather, it is about setting up an environment through which your target will have to pass through – and the simple act of passing through this environment will influence his or her behavior.

This might sound rather strange, but it is actually a quite common experience. In fact – whenever you walk into a large shopping mall, you experience it first hand.

The art and science of passive coercion is a multi-billion dollar business. There isn’t a single modern shopping mall in the world that has not been designed with the help of passive coercion specialists. If you want to experience passive coercion in an even more sophisticated environment, visit a Las Vegas casino.

The reason why passive coercion is so effective is partly because it is invisible – we are not aware that this particular environment is very specifically designed to make us perform certain actions, think certain thoughts.

Shopping malls – as well as casinos – have surveillance cameras everywhere. Our usual understanding is that this is simply for security purposes – but these materials are carefully and meticulously analyzed by highly specialized psychologists whose aim is to better understand, and alter consumer behavior. They do this with the help of scent, sounds and light. They create an architecture that influences you to spend more time – and money – in the shopping mall. Even the flooring is designed to create the wished for effect – not just the colors, but also the softness or hardness of the floor has a subtle, but nonetheless very measurable effect on our behavior.

Of course, when you want to influence somebody to do something, you can not spend hundreds of thousands of dollar creating an coercive environment – but being aware of the fact that the environment can either increase or decrease the effectiveness of your persuasive attempts is worthwhile knowledge in and of itself. Because you can thus choose to meet in an environment that will boost your persuasive position.

This is part two of a report on the Golden Rules of Mystery Shopping.

The second five golden rules of mystery shopping are:

– Do not try to remember

– Post the report on time

– Keep receipts

– Log the shop

– Thank the scheduler

Do not try to remember: One big mistake that new mystery shoppers make is to try to remember. They believe they can remember the entire mystery shop until they get home to upload it to the provider. This is doomed to fail. If you forget a clerk’s name or timing the entire mystery shop is ruined.

I personally use a memory system which helps, but even then I process it to my cell phone or note pad as soon as I can (bathroom of establishment, my car etc.)

Post the report in time: One of the saddest things is to do a full mystery shop with all the details and a great commentary and then turn it in to the provider too late to be used. That becomes costly to you and to the mystery shop provider.

Log the shop: Not to be mercenary but this is a business and how do you know if you get paid for all of your shops if you do not keep a log or record of everything you do. Sounds like a no brainer but you might be surprised how many people do not log everything and try to leave it to their memory.

I contract out to about one hundred companies and there is no way that I could ever remember what shops I am owed (and amount of payment and merchandise cost and my gasoline mileage etc).

Thank your scheduler: Email your scheduler after each mystery shop alerting them that you have finished the shop within times and that you have posted the report to them. Also thank them for assigning the mystery shop to you and state that you will be glad to work with them again. It makes the scheduler feel good and you might be surprised how much good will that spreads for you. Schedulers are people and like to work with people that are nice to them.

I spent years trying to study the world monopolists and stupendously rich men to find out the secrets for dominating the marketplace. Then one day, I heard Dr Myles Munroe preach on Genesis 1:28 and I was blown away by the obvious ‘secrets’ for marketplace dominance in that one singular verse. I was stunned when I finally realized that God had actually given the recipes for dominating the marketplace to Adam and Eve all the way back in the garden of Eden!.

In Genesis 1:28 we saw the secrets clearly revealed when God said to the newly created Adam and Eve: “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth”. A careful reading of Genesis 1:28 actually contained the recipes for achieving dominance and monopoly in any business enterprise.

After identifying the surprisingly simple steps, I checked every monopolist and market dominator’s practices against them and found out that they hold true in every industry or calling. Every successful business man who ever achieved total dominance in their market followed these four steps. These four Keys are very simple to understand from the passage. Get these four Keys and you will open the door to marketplace dominance in any industry!

#1:THE FRUITFULNESS KEY- The first commandment of God to Adam and Eve was that they should be FRUITFUL. This is the genesis to marketplace dominance. You must have an original idea. You must create something new (fruitfulness is products coming out of the hard ground to the surface!). You cannot just be a copycat. You must have a definite niche and a fresh approach or new application of a product, idea or thinking. Microsoft. Apple.CNN. Walmart. Pastor Adeboye of RCCG. Kodak. AMAZON. GOOGLE. Ford, UPS etc were all innovators of new ideas or new approach to what is already in place. Look at any industry’s leader. They were fruitful in a way the market cannot deny. They were FRUITFUL in an original way. They were productive in an innovative fashion. Everything starts and ends with an original idea. ‘Fruitfulness’ is the first key to marketplace dominance. The question we should all take time to answer in prayer and fasting is: What is my ‘fruitfulness’? What original idea has God given me? What new approach can I introduce to a crowded market? This is the first key. Without this key, the Kingdompreneur is destined for a life of mediocrity or mere sufficiency. Abundance cannot happen without ‘fruitfulness’

#2 THE MULTIPLICATION KEY- God then told them to MULTIPLY. Multiplication involves replication and mass production of an idea. It involves creating a system that allows the idea to move from one prototype to many copies for consumption. It involves thinking beyond the local or immediate use. It involves the idea being duplicated in different offices, locations and mediums. Until you learn to multiple your ‘fruit’ or idea, you can never dominate the market place. This is the 2nd step to achieving market place dominance. A look at the champions in every industry will confirm this astounding fact. Pastor Adeboye found a way to MULTIPLY the evangelism and church planting ‘fruit’ by creating the Model Parish system that transformed the RCCG church from less than 100 parishes when he became G.O to over 30,000 parishes with more than 12 million followers in less 20 years. Bill Gates took the market away from IBM by finding better ways to multiply operating system. Ford took the automobile industry to another level and ascended to dominance by mass producing automobiles that everybody can buy. Google revolutionized the advertizing industry with its pay-per-click search engine that makes internet advertising accessible by any computer in the world. Amazon took over the book store by globalizing the bookstore and making books available for purchase by everybody all over the world at the same time. You cannot be a dominator or a monopoly until you find a way to mass produce the ‘fruit’.

#3 THE REPLENISHMENT KEY- God directed then that after Adam and Eve has achieved fruitfulness and figured out how to multiply, the next step is to REPLISH. Replenishment involves distribution of the multiplied fruits to the final consumer. To become a dominant force, you must strive to control the system of distribution. A multiplied product is useless. Many great ideas never achieve their potential because the originators could not master and control the source of distribution for the ‘fruits’, product or idea. This is the third inescapable Key for market place dominance for any business person. This key explains why an industry like Nollywood (Nigeria’s much vaunted movie industry) has not yet achieved the world wide breakthrough its potential demands. We have mastered the ‘fruitfulness’ part (we pioneered and mastered theater of low budget films on cheap video cameras. This was so innovative that even Hollywood and bollywood sent people to study the phenomenon. I know because I met some of this stunned investigators from the U.S). We have also mastered the ‘multiplication’ part. You can generally do mass production of any quantity in Nigeria now with less than 30 days delivery time. However, we are non-starters in the area of REPLISHMENT. The distribution system in Nigeria is still largely limited to 3 or 4 major markets in 3 cities, controlled by a few people who have no clue or who have chosen to ignore the new world realities and imperative paradigm for worldwide distribution of content which include theater releases, merchandizing, per-per-view, internet streaming, stores, rentals. Walmart, without producing anything, became the world’s leader by solving the distribution problem in the retail industry. They invested heavily in massive stores located in little towns and villages and then held producers to ransom with their pricing strategy. General Motors and Ford are losing the fight to Honda and Toyota in the market place because while the Japanese companies were busy finding more and more distribution markets in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and even in the U.S with cheaper cars and faster turnarounds, American companies are trapped in their own provincial thinking, rising costs of labor compared to other countries, corporate gluttony and debt which continues to hamper their multiplication and replenishment efforts.

#4. THE SUBJUGATION KEY- The final commandment God gave them for achieving dominance was to subdue the earth. This involves a corporate strategy and alliances that subdues the competitors in the marketplace makes your organization indispensable or a force to be reckoned with in its industry. Even with anti-trust laws in the U.S, Microsoft continues to be the superpower in micro computer software by systematically swallowing up upstarts and disrupting their source of multiplication or replenishment. Bill Gates understood the power of subduing the competition. After dealing with fruitfulness, Multiplication and replenishment key, Gates spent years to cultivate the final key. For years Bill Gates insisted that only his own operating system could be carried on computers that want it. Because of the multiplication and replenishment capabilities of Microsoft, the other companies had no choice. Same strategy, Walmart spent years honing its replenishment skills before utilizing the final key to marketplace monopoly in undercutting every other store in the retail business.

Indeed The ‘rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer’ is actually a biblical statement! The first three keys are absolutely essential before you can apply the fourth key of subduing the marketplace. Once the market is subdued, Dominance becomes automatic. Of course getting to the fourth key is a long way for most of us at this time but we can certainly start working on the first key. We all need that fresh idea and that cutting edge ‘fruitfulness that will launch us on the road to dominion in the marketplace.

Several days ago, the Commerce Department reported that May’s factory orders had increased by a 2.9 percent. This was well covered by ‘the press’, as it was to be a positive influence on ‘the market’ (yes, the quotes are intentional…..you’ll see why). The enthusiasm was understandable – the $394 billion in orders of manufactured goods is the highest level seen since the current calculation method was adopted. Although being skeptical can be wise, the figure was (and is) a clue that the economy is on a solid footing. However, too many times there’s a disconnect between what ‘should’ be the result of a piece of economic data, and what actually occurs. The economy isn’t the market. Investors can’t buy shares in factory orders……they can only buy (or sell) stocks. Regardless of how strong or weak the economy is, one only makes money by buying low and selling high. So with that, we put together a study of some of the economic indicators that are treated as if they affect stocks, but really may not.

Gross Domestic Product

The chart below plots a monthly S&P 500 against a quarterly Gross Domestic Product growth figure. Keep in mind that we’re comparing apples to oranges, at least to a small degree. The S&P index should generally go higher, while the GDP percentage growth rate should stay somewhere in between 0 and 5 percent. In other words, the two won’t move in tandem. What we’re trying to illustrate is the connection between good and bad economic data, and the stock market.

Take a look at the chart first, then read our thoughts immediately below that. By the way, the raw GDP figures are represented by the thin blue line. It’s a little erratic, so to smooth it out, we’ve applied a 4 period (one year) moving average of the quarterly GDP figure – that’s the red line.

S&P 500 (monthly) versus Gross Domestic Product change (quarterly) [http://www.bluegrassportfolio.com/images/070705spvsgdp.gif]

Generally speaking, the GDP figure was a pretty lousy tool, if you were using it to forecast stock market growth. In area 1, we see a major economic contraction in the early 90’s. We saw the S&P 500 pull back by about 50 points during that period, although the dip actually occurred before the GDP news was released. Interestingly, that ‘horrible’ GDP figure led to a full market recovery, and then another 50 point rally before the uptrend was even tested. In area 2, a GDP that topped 6 percent in late 1999/early 2000 was going to usher in the new era of stock gains, right? Wrong! Stocks got crushed a few days later….and kept getting crushed for more than a year. In area 3, the fallout from the bear market meant a negative growth rate by the end of 2001. That could persist for years, right? Wrong again. The market hit a bottom just after that, and we’re well off the lows that occurred in the shadow of that economic contraction.

The point is, just because the media says something doesn’t make it true. It might matter for a few minutes, which is great for short-term trades. But it would be inaccurate to say that it even matters in terms of days, and it certainly can’t matter for long-term charts. If anything, the GDP figure could be used as a contrarian indicator…..at least when it hits its extremes. This is why more and more folks are abandoning traditional logic when it comes to their portfolios. Paying attention solely to charts is not without its flaws, but technical analysis would have gotten you out of the market in early 2000, and back into the market in 2003. The ultimate economic indicator (GDP) would have been well behind the market trend in most cases.

Unemployment

Let’s look at another well covered economic indicator……unemployment. This data is released monthly, instead of quarterly. But like the GDP data, it’s a percentage that will fluctuate (between 3 and 8). Again, we’re not going to look for the market to mirror the unemployment figure. We just want to see if there’s a correlation between employment and the stock market. Like above, the S&P 500 appears above, while the unemployment rate is in blue. Take a look, then read below for our thoughts here.

S&P 500 (monthly) versus Unemployment rate (monthly) [http://www.bluegrassportfolio.com/images/070705spvsunemp.gif]

See anything familiar? Employment was at it strongest in area 2, right before stocks nose-dived. Employment was at its recent worst in area 3, right as the market ended the bear market. I highlighted a high and low unemployment range in area 1, only because neither seemed to affect the market during that period. Like the GDP figure, unemployment data is almost better suited to be a contrarian indicator. There is one thing worth mentioning, though, that is evident with this chart. While the unemployment rates at the ‘extreme’ ends of spectrum was often a sign of a reversals, there is a nice correlation between the direction of the unemployment line and the direction of the market. The two typically move in opposite directions, regardless of what the current unemployment level is. In that sense, logic has at least a small role.

Bottom Line

Maybe you’re wondering why all the chatter about economic data in the first place. The answer is, simply to highlight the reality that the economy isn’t the market. Too many investors assume there’s a certain cause-and-effect relationship between one and the other. There’s a relationship, but it’s usually not the one that seems most reasonable. Hopefully the graphs above have helped make that point. That’s why we focus so much on charts, and are increasingly hesitant to incorporate economic data in the traditional way. Just something to think about the next time you’re tempted to respond to economic news.

If you receive paid market research participant invitations, you may have heard the term ‘accompanied shopping’ to describe a specific kind of research activity you can take part in. In case you were wondering what it meant, there is no great mystery.

Some people say the British high street is in decline, but shops are still where most retail businesses make their biggest sales and profits, even today. In any typical high street or shopping mall you will see similar clusters of shops, such as boutiques, supermarkets or pharmacy-cosmetics outlets… often there are lots of shops in one area selling pretty similar categories of goods to one another.

So, what makes the difference to you as a consumer, when you decide between them whereabouts to go and spend your money? Of course there are a range of factors including price, convenience, and knowing you can get what you want – but with crunched credit and squeezed margins, advertisers and marketers have never been more keen to understand exactly what it is that can motivate you to go in and spend in one shop, whilst passing by the one next door.

Accompanied shopping trips are when a researcher tags along beside you, whilst you try to behave and respond as ‘normally’ as possible on a typical retail experience. Of course the experience is inevitably constructed to some degree, because you will be asked to think about and explain certain actions and activities as you do them – things you probably don’t even think about normally, especially in typical everyday shopping for inexpensive consumer goods.

Because these things are sold in such high volumes however, understanding exactly what makes you decide between one brand and another is of priceless value to marketers. What first caught your eye in that display fixture? What stood out? What did that packaging suggest to you – about the value, quality, attractiveness of the item? The researcher will be discussing and probing as you move around the store, and may also want to interview you in more depth over a coffee before or after, to really get to the heart of what makes you choose in the way that you.

Taking part in an accompanied shop is great fun, because the people normally recruited tend to be those who love to shop anyway! And if you enjoy shopping, then going shopping with someone who is genuinely interested in what you are doing and why and encouraging you to reflect on it and discuss it, never mind actually paying for your time in so doing, is a fantastic experience! Yes, you heard that right, market researchers will pay not just your shopping costs in many cases, but also always pay a reward for your time – typically between £30 and £60 for an accompanied shopping session with interview, lasting for a couple of hours in total.

From being a media-sharing app for selfies and anything visually appealing, Instagram is branching out into the eCommerce field.

It will soon roll out a shopping feature which online retailers and shoppers will find very convenient.

The social giant is pretty much aware that mobile commerce is going to overtake PCs in two years’ time or even earlier, hence it wants to be one of its cornerstones.

What’s nice about Instagram’s new feature is that it could serve as a promotion channel for your products, and even more so for your online store.

As for your potential customers, they will be able to see and explore your products without having to leave Instagram for another site.

How to sell on Instagram

The regular Instagrammers among you will find Instagram’s shopping feature super easy to use.

Now, if you’re not a fan of this visual media sharing app, but looking into it as a potential revenue source, you just need to prepare high-quality photos which highlight your products.

To get started, upload a photo which features up to five products that you’re selling.

When a user clicks on the tap to view products link at the bottom left of the photo, a tag will appear on each of the items, showing the product’s name and price.

Once they click on a tag, they will be taken across to a page that shows the complete description, special features and accessories-if there are any-of a product.

While the customer is there, they may opt to click on the Shop Now link within the product details, which will redirect them to the product on your website where they can purchase it.

Know who buys from you

Instagram recently reported that it has hit 400 million daily active users, many of whom are prospective customers of yours.

Using Instagram’s shopping feature gives you the opportunity to promote your products and double your sales projection.

Aside from increasing your sales, the shopping feature also gives you access to Instagram Insights which provides crucial information that will help improve your marketing strategy.

Instagram Insights records your followers based on their demographic factors; it also shows you which of your posts draw their interest the most.

Most important of all, it lets you see who buys from your store through Instagram’s shopping feature and which of your products have high demand.

Isn’t that something worth exploring for your business?

Are you already an Instagrammer or planning to be one for the sake of selling more?

“Make the HEART of this people fat, and make their EARS heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their EYES, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” Isa 6:10

“For this people’s HEART is waxed gross, and their EARS are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” Mat 13:15

There are three dimensions of marketing: FrontDoor Marketing, BackDoor Marketing, and Supernatural Marketing. Much of what is known and practiced in the marketplace is FrontDoor Marketing! Very little is known of BackDoor Marketing and much less is known of Supernatural Marketing! In marketing generally, the “Eyes,” “Ears,” and “Heart,” of potential customers are the major targets of all marketing efforts!

These three targets hold the key to prosperity and lack for businesses and their products and/or services in the marketplace! If these three important targets of your potential customers are closed against your products and/or services, you and your business will suffer neglect, lack, insignificance, and poverty in the marketplace! Conversely, if these three targets are opened in favour of your products and/or services, you and your business will enjoy unprecedented patronage, abundance, significance, and prosperity!

Satan has a mandate to close the “Eyes,” “Ears,” and “Heart,” of potential customers/clients in the marketplace against your business, products and/or services because you are a Christian doing business in the marketplace! This explains why many Christians struggle with business in the marketplace! Supernatural Marketing seeks to help Christians doing business in the marketplace to overcome this siege of the devil.

Why The Ears, Eyes & Heart Of Your Potential Customer Is So Important!

There are six fundamental reasons why the Ears, Eyes & Heart Of Your Potential Customer Is So Important!

Let’s check them out!

1. VISIBILITY

The first purpose of marketing is “Visibility.” Marketing makes your product or service perceptible or noticeable to the eyes, ears, and mind of your targeted client or customer, depending on the medium you employ. The eyes and ears are gates to the “Mind” of man. The more people see or hear about your product or service, the more it is ingrained into their mind until it is deep-rooted. Because your product or service is a seed at this initial stage of marketing, it soon begins to germinate when your marketing efforts is sustained.

If an organization sustains its marketing effort, before long, it would bear fruit. Take note, human response rate differ according to their personality. The reserved (introverts) ones are laggards, they are naturally inclined to foot-dragging. In contrast, the outgoing ones (extroverts) are naturally inclined to respond first to your marketing effort.

The above reasoning presupposes that if you do not embark on a sustained, focused, and targeted marketing, the public will be oblivious of your product and services and that could translates into eventual stagnation or collapse of your business.

2. AWARENESS

Visibility of your product or service in the mind of your targeted customer over time creates a consciousness or awareness in the “Heart” of your targeted customers when sustained and spirited marketing is the watchword. Remember, conviction takes place in the heart. Until the customer is convinced in his or her heart to accept your product and service, there will not be patronage and repeated buying, which is the goal of every entrepreneur.

When you emphasis the unique value proposition or unique selling point of your product or service long enough through sustained marketing, your target group will understand its usefulness and this is how a market buzz and frenzy is created.

When the public are persuaded in their heart that your product or service is the first and best choice, they’ll respond voluntarily and positively to your organization’s offerings and that is what eventually attract your clients to you, when he or she have “Genuine” need of your product or service.

3. CONVICTION

When your product or service is projected strong enough in the minds of your target customers through sustained marketing; it gets ingrained in their minds! After sometime, because the product or service remains constantly in focus, he begins to believe the benefits of the product or service is real. It won’t take long before he receives a suggestion from his mind to give the product or service a try.

Unconsciously, the customer has accepted the product or service because of the conviction in his mind that the product or service is worth giving it a try. Now, at this point, if the product or service is worth its salt, when the customer gives a try, he is convinced that the product or service is worth it. When the customer makes another effort to patronize the product or service again, he will be hooked because in the mouth of two or three witness, every product is established in the heart of the customer!

4. ACCEPTANCE

The resultant effect of visibility, awareness, and conviction of your product or service by your targeted customers is a positive “Mental attitude” – created by the Holy Spirit – that your product or service is believable, credible, and trustworthy and therefore, the customers accepts it as true and eventually prefers it above other products and services.

The question you want to ask yourself is, when people generally think of using the kind of product or service you are offering on a scale of 1 to 3, where does your offering stand. Instructively, the product or service that occupies the first two rungs of the scale will be more favoured in the order of their standing. It is your responsibility to get your product or service to this position!

Assuming the product you’re offering in the marketplace is a detergent and we have 50 potential customers in your “Coverage area” – and that varies in scope – that wants to buy one each. When they think in their mind of the best and preferred detergent to buy, where does your company’s brand stand in their mind? Where your brand stands in their minds, will be determined by three factors: the quality of your marketing, the quality of your product, and your customer service.

5. BRANDING

Sustained marketing gives your product or service a positive flight that galvanize it above others in your industry. Persistent marketing ingrain your brand permanently in the heart of your target customers. When the image or brand identification is ingrained in the hearts of your targeted customers; after they’ve used your product or service and found it satisfactory, they’d over time become habituated to it, which makes it a first choice in their decision making process.

6. SPREAD

When steps, 1-5 assumes a rhythmic flow in your business efficiency and effectiveness, your products and services will begin to find its way to more home, hands, and families. Over time, your product or service distribution begins to expand and extend over a wide sphere due to visibility, awareness, conviction, acceptance, and branding.

Your customers will begin to do word of mouth publicity of your products and services to friends, neighbours, and family. This is because they are satisfied with your product or service, because they believe that your organization have delivered on its promises!