You should make sure you are providing value as many consumers have limited number
of text they can receive during a billing cycle. Some examples of value would be weather reports, special deals, special events, etc….

*This is not a replacement for your main twitter account. This provides a way to text target audiences for free. You may have multiple feeds like this to target specific niches in your audience.

Call to Action:

1 – Create a new Twitter Account with a catchy name that incorporates your name and fulfills a need.

Examples:
RSTDailyTips – RST-RetailShopTalk, These could be daily marketing tips texts.
OspreyRiverFlows, Osprey is a rafting company that wants it’s customers to receive daily texts on river flows
MissionSnowReport, Mission Ridge is a Ski hill that wants to send daily snow reports texts
LemoloDailySpecials, Lemolo is a local cafe that wants to send daily specials texts.

2 – Promote to your targeted audience to Text “Follow (Account Name)” to 40404 to receive your service, ie. Daily Deals, Daily Special, Snow Levels, Coffee of the Day, Tip of the Day, etc…

3 – Start Tweeting systematically on a set schedule.

*They will receive the most recent tweet and all future tweets in text format to their phones when they text to follow you.

Amazon.com gives one of the best opportunities to tweak your buying by showing you other items a consumer has bought in addition to their first.

This is allows you to see if you are hitting the mark. It also allows you to determine which products package well together. If you are selling a music player you would be able to determine which earphones to sell that compliment the product for upselling your customer.

The customer reviews will help you confirm that the product you sell in your niche has high satisfaction with consumers.  Some sites allow you to see this at a glance while others require a little more effort.

I suggest that if you are struggling in a specific category that this type of research will allow you to refine your selection to match what is selling well in the market with the highest customer satisfaction.

Call to Action:

1. Write down your 3 weakest categories within your niche
2. Do a general search on Amazon.com and the biggest online business in your niche for your weakest selling categories
3. Compare the products that show up with what you sell
4. Make a list of your 10 best selling items
5.  Do a search on Amazon.com for each item and look and see what people buy in addition to that item.
6. Compare the results to your inventory and merchandising in your store.
7. Make adjustments or pat yourself on the back.

In a recent FastCompany blog post here is how Martin summed up the results:

We learned that when a person we trust makes a recommendation, we not only follow their advice, but we also convey the trust of the initial communication to others. One leads to the next, and the next, and the next … The message being spread follows a subtle trajectory, but it begins with the belief that the initial source is thoroughly reliable. via: Trust Me: Here’s Why Brands Sell Trust, Subconsciously

There are a number of ways you can apply this knowledge to your business:

1. Ask the most trusted and influential customers to write reviews for your social network publications. (Bribe them with free merchandise that your “reps” provide.)
2. Sponsor local people in your focus. (If you are a hardware store, sponsor a local handyman.)
3.  Have an after hours party highlighting upcoming products and only invite your communities ”influencers.”
4. Align yourself with other trusted merchants and business in your area through joint ventures or cross-promotions.

Marketplace Goes Shopping: A Special Report
by Megan Larson

Our retail culture has really been socialized to look for and expect discounts. This has become such a strong part of some consumers psyche that they will let a discount
influence them to buy a inferior product or a product that they do not really want. Ultimately the consumer becomes disappointing and disillusioned with the product in the market.  They begin to believe that everyone is trying to rip them off with overpriced inferior products. Fortunately this is not the case but rather they are stuck in the cycle that the big retailers and marketing firms have sold them. I believe that specialty retailers have a responsibility to sell the best product within their focus and then educate the consumer on why it is the best and why it is worth the investment to break this cycle.

The most successful retailers I have worked with have been able to train their consumer community to buy higher margin product.  This allows them to make more dollars on less volume but even more importantly gain a high satisfaction rate among their consumers.  With this trust they gain loyalty and repeat business. This strategy allows the retailer to groom a community full of higher quality consumers who understand value over price.

These consumers tend to have more disposable income or they are willing to save for what they want. Either way, this is a consumer you want!

Steps to “train” your consumers:

1. Sell high quality goods that your believe in
2. Be diligent in educating your customer on the quality of your products
3. Become very focused in how you run sales
4. Be creative in how you offer discount goods, like having an after hour sale for your best consumers
5. Offer your sale goods to your email marketing list first with a coupon so that only they know you are having a sale

I was listen to Radiolab’s episode Choice that is packed full of information on what influences the choices we make and pulled a couple of gems that can easily be applied to your selling arsenal.

The first is based on our limited ability to process information. Consumers do not do well with the wrong number of choices or options. The more options we have the more confused we get but if we do not have enough our confidence to choose correctly shoots to the floor. For best results provide only 3 to 4 options to fulfill any specific need.  For example if you sell ski jackets sell only 3 models per gender.

The second influence is to put the product in the possession of the consumer. Encourage them to try on apparel, fiddle with electronics, or read magazines.  If they ask about a product, put it in their hands.  The longer they have the product in their hands the more likely they will buy it.  If you sell shoes get them on their feet and let them walk around.  If you sell vitamins put the bottle in their hands and grab another to read the ingredients to them. You want to have them feel the product is already theirs.

Need more proof that these actions work?  Listen to the episode.

Choice
via Radiolab

I was reminded of the third influence while listening to Freakonomics Radio’s episode What Makes a Donor Donate? This influence we experience all the time when we shop.  It is the removal of risk to buy. This can come in the form of a money back guarantee or warranty. When in the process of selling it is important to remind the consumer there is little to no risk to making a purchase.  Remind them that if they get home and do not like the product or it does not work to it’s specifications that they can bring it back. Some companies like zappos.com have taken this to extremes by allowing returns up to 365 days after purchase and covering the cost of return shipping. Time has shown that the benefits of increased business out way the challenges of managing the returns.

In the episode of Freakonomics Radio the risk donors feel of being hounded for more donations is averted allowing them to release that fear and give freely. Take a listen:

The science of charity, with economist John List

via WNYC Freakonomics Radio

Take action and practice these influences until they become second nature.

3 Actions that Will Influence Your Customers to Buy:

1. Limit the options by providing only 3 options to fulfill a specific need.
2. Have the customer take physical “ownership” of the the product before they purchase.
3. Remove the risk to buy in the mind of the consumer by reassuring them they can bring it back.