Small Changes... Big Sales

When it comes to products that solve people’s needs or pain points, one of the major angles is selling something that…

Makes people’s lives easier.

It’s amazing how much people will pay just to make a transaction a little smoother, a little less hassle, and a little less time-consuming.

Extended warranty plans are a classic example.

They’re often quite expensive compared to what they provide, but when offered the option to save the hassle of trying to figure out what to do if something goes wrong with the purchase, many customers will simply agree, no questions asked.

Priority customer support, personalised training programs, mobile payment solutions, and meal delivery services are all further examples.

In every case there are cheaper alternatives, but the perceived benefits of saving time and stress are just too tempting for most customers.

And this phenomenon is only getting stronger.

Why? Because our world is getting more stressful and more complicated every day.

Technology, rather than making our lives easier, has actually added more things we have to learn, read, watch, monitor and respond to.

Our lives are hectic, and anything that simplifies this is like an ice-cold glass of water on a hot summer’s day.

How can we tap into this effect to increase our own sales?

By combining this understanding with Cialdini’s influence principles.

For example…

A supermarket placed a sign by a group of items that said:

Everyday Low Prices!

Even though the prices hadn’t been altered in any way, sales of those items increased by 100%.

This works because of the most fundamental, underlying principle of Influence. The understanding that people, whenever possible, will make decisions instinctively and with little thought.

The customer sees the sign, instinctively assumes that this is a good value product and adds the item to their basket.

They could do some research and see what other supermarkets are charging or ask an assistant how much the price of the product has changed in the last few weeks or months.

But most people won’t do that.

Their brain will say “value” and their hands will reach for the product.

Of course there are unethical ways to accomplish this kind of thing that we’ll want to avoid.

Creating a “Limited Time Offer” when there’s no real time constraint will invoke scarcity, but is deliberately misleading.

There are plenty of ways to use this technique without crossing the line into crooked behaviour.

For example, creating a “Sale” that lasts for seven days will increase sales, but the reduction in price can, if we wish, be fairly small.

In the same way, bundling items together in exchange for a discount will increase sales, even if the eventual saving is fairly low.

As long as we’re transparent about what we’re offering, we can still enjoy the benefits of small changes creating large increases in sales without disrespecting our customers.

Here are a few more for you to consider:

• Transparent Pricing: Clearly display the production and service costs of an item next to the price, allowing people to see how much profit is being made. In practice, most customers won’t know whether our profit margins are especially competitive or not. But the very act of transparency will generate trust that will increase sales.
• Socially Responsible Investing: Wealth funds that focus on ethical businesses and industries are very popular. Most people won’t be worried about investigating every single company on the list and will be happy to trust your judgement. Simply highlighting that this is a socially responsible fund will activate the whirr-click of instinctive action.
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Create initiatives that give back to the community or tackle social and environmental issues. This triggers the “liking” instinct and makes your business one that people are more inclined to purchase from.

All of these examples work on the same basis.

They take one of Cialdini’s influence principles and then attach it to people’s need and desire to make decisions instinctively without having to use up any mental bandwidth.

Think about what your business can offer that uses this strategy in an ethical way.

That’s how small changes produce big sales.

Until next time…

Wishing you health, wealth and a joyful life,

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Swadeck Taher OSK is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and a Chartered Marketer (CIM) running businesses and coaching, consulting, mentoring CEOs and entrepreneurs ranging from startups through family businesses to established top 100 companies in Mauritius. He enjoys sharing the expertise he developed over the last thirty years at senior leadership/directorship level with his clients, business partners and other budding entrepreneurs.

Swadeck is also a GTD Practitioner and a Certified GTD Trainer. He helps others experience what the Productive Experience feels like and how they too can savour stress free productivity.

Sakeenah Co Ltd is the only Certified International Partner of the David Allen Company in Mauritius.

GTD® and Getting Things Done® are registered trademarks of the David Allen Company.

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