How to Use Marketing to Boost Slipping Sales

Today, we want to tell you a story about of client of ours named, George. George runs a decent-sized small business and has for a few years, but his sales have started to slip. So we showed him how used marketing to boost his slipping sales. George's business might not be the same as yours, but his challenge was one that we all face. How do we understand our customers enough that we can communicate with them effectively? By communicating effectively, how do we get their attention, keep it, and motive them to do something different? If you're facing marketing challenges, then read on to see what tips we shared with George. If you haven't, consider yourself lucky... because George's was one of the common small business marketing challenges.

George's Story: A Classic Marketing Challenge

George's business model was a bit old school. George produced products that he sold through distributors, and then those distributors sold the products to brick and mortar stores. Yes, this still is the dominant way people buy products. While e-commerce is growing fast, it still only accounts for around 10% of total retail sales. It also varies widely from category to category. George is in health and beauty. This is one of e-commerce's weak spots. In health & beauty, e-commerce sales account for less than 5% of total retail sales. Nevertheless, George was starting to see some negative impact from that shift. His volume was starting to drop off and his marketing needed a booster shot to help the sales. This is a common small business marketing problem. His e-commerce sales were tiny. He's tried to sell through Amazon's marketplace but he's had a hard time breaking through. He has his own e-commerce platform but has struggled to gain traffic and conversions.

How do we understand our customers enough so that we can communicate with them effectively?

So, what exactly did we change in George's marketing to help boost the sales of his company? And how could we achieve that without wasting everyone's time and money?

Spend some time walking in their shoes

George was in a tough spot. He didn't sell much directly to his customers, so how could he reach them? Luckily, he did have some sales through his e-commerce portal. We re-contacted those former customers and offered a nominal fee to participate in a moderated Zoom call. We spent that call discussing their challenges and how George's products helped them meet them. Then, we spent time to understand their motivations. We asked them to take us through their day. We uncovered a lot about how they wanted to feel after using George's products.

After spending time in the customer's shoes, craft a message relevant to what's motivating them

After conducting a few Zoom focus groups, we had a clearer picture of what was motivating George's customers. They wanted to look naturally beautiful. They were motivated by wanting to look their best, but not looking like they tried. We are own worst critics. We see all the flaws because we know they are there. As long as we know they are there, we are self-conscious. When your self-conscious, it's hard to project confidence. And, that's what this was all about, finding the marketing plan that worked

Communicating our message consistently and effectively

Armed with this new information, George was able to upgrade his website, Amazon page, paid digital ads, landing pages, ran social media posts, and more marketing platforms to boost his sales. It was no longer about shades and colors and the like. It was about how to use a combination of his products to look natural, letting the real you shine through. And it was a major hit, helping George in the long run of his career.

We were able to help him execute his plan cost-effectively, and that is the benefit of having a top PPC agency on-board.

How Can You Boost Your Business's Sales with Marketing?

The steps that we took can be used by anyone. It takes time and effort and a little bit of money. However, it is time well spent. Understanding your customer is key to unlocking sales. We hope this case study helps clarify how that might work. At ProStrategix, we know you have concerns.  We're designed to help give you the business support you need so you can focus on doing what you love.  If you would like to learn about how we might be able to help you, please contact us.