2 for 1 Post: Purchase Intent and a St. Patrick’s Day Game

0
47

Share on LinkedIn

I have a two-for-one post for you this week. The first one is about the incredible opportunities within your store. The second is one of my most popular in-store games for going green to make more green.

Only two spots remain in my new program, Four Weeks to Becoming a Sales Growth Coach and Leader program starting on March 17th. (The first group sold out; this is a second group I added.) Learn more about the program and reserve your spot here.

Article #1: Opportunities and Purchase Intent

What percentage of your customers walk in to your store to make a purchase? Usually when I ask that questions most people make estimates that are, I believe, over optimistic. Many will report a number around 50%. I then ask if more than 50% of the people who come in ultimately make a purchase? More often than not, the answer is no.

I don’t know what the percentage is for your particular store. It might be 15%, or it could be 75%. The number will vary based on what you sell and whether your store is in a mall, an airport, is freestanding, or in a strip center.

Whatever the number, it’s essential to maximize those customers who come in with purchase intent. You and your staff need to deliver an engaging sales experience that fulfills that customer’s need and desire to make a purchase.

There’s an even bigger opportunity, though, with those who come in with no purchase intent. They are there because of an interest in the products you sell, and/or to re-experience the staff and the store, but they aren’t planning to make a purchase. In most stores, that describes the majority of shoppers.

This is exactly why the customer experience is so fundamental to a store’s success. A well-delivered store experience, where customers are proactively engaged with products in a warm and welcoming environment, can create purchase intent in people who didn’t intend to buy a thing. Let me give you some numbers.

Say 30% of those who come in are planning to make a purchase. That means that seven out of ten people who walk through your doors are NOT looking to make a purchase. They don’t need help, and they don’t need to have any questions answered. They’re just browsing.

Some customers who are “just looking” will sell themselves on something; we’ll say one out of every ten customers. That’s still 60% of shoppers who will not have any purchase intent before or during their store visit.

If your staff can get even better at proactively engaging customers with products, there is an excellent chance they can create purchase intent, and that will result in more sales. If a staff converts even one out of those six customers who didn’t walk in to make a purchase, your sales will go up 25%! You may think that’s high, but cut it in half and sales still go up 12.5%. There is a huge opportunity when you focus on creating purchase intent.

As a leader, your role is to not only help your staff maximize sales opportunities, but also to create that intent. If you work with your team on continuing to elevate the store experience, paying special attention to engaging non-buyers, your sales will go up. It’s in the numbers.

So let me ask, is maximizing opportunities built into your store’s experience? Are you coaching and developing your team so they can create even more purchase intent?

Article #2: St. Patrick’s Day Go For the Green Game

This is probably the most popular contest I’ve ever created. It’s not just fun to play; it also puts extra green in the register. I suggest playing it over the weekend when you have a lot of sales opportunities.

How to play Go For the Green on St. Patrick’s Day

– There are six green targets for the day. You can use our targets or create your own.

– Each target is worth between one and three shamrocks.

– When an employee hits a target, he/she wins the number of shamrocks associated with that target. Employees can hit more than one target at once.

– The employee writes his/her name on each winning shamrock and puts it into the lucky box.

 – Luck of the Irish prizes are awarded at the end of the day by drawing shamrocks from the box. Although there is some luck involved in winning, the more shamrocks an employee puts in the box, the greater his/her chances of winning.

If you’d rather forgo the element of chance simply award the prize or prizes based on the number of shamrocks earned.

Preparation

Complete the St. Patrick’s Day green target sheet.  You can use the one we’ve created here or download an Excel workbook and fill it with in with your target. Post a target sheet in several places where employees will see it throughout their day.

Download, print, copy, and cut out the shamrock sheets.  

Determine the prizes or prizes

Create the lucky box by wrapping an empty box in green paper.  You can also use a hat, or even a plain box.  Place the box on the back counter or right inside the backroom in a visible location.

Place stacks of shamrocks at the register and next to the lucky box.

At the end of the day, count all the extra green!

– Doug

Republished with author's permission from original post.

Doug Fleener
As the former director of retail for Bose Corporation and an independent retailer himself, Doug has the unique experience and ability to help companies of all sizes. Doug is a retail and customer experience consultant, keynote speaker and a recognized expert worldwide.

ADD YOUR COMMENT

Please use comments to add value to the discussion. Maximum one link to an educational blog post or article. We will NOT PUBLISH brief comments like "good post," comments that mainly promote links, or comments with links to companies, products, or services.

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here