Effective Ways to Boost Your Micro Market Sales

With advancements in technology, change in the generation and more such factors coming into play, traditional vending machines have been replaced with micro markets in a lot of places, including malls, workplaces, retail stores and more. This popularity is due to the fact that a micro market allows one to stock up on more product varieties in a setting that allows you to touch and feel the offerings. Moreover, these also allow you to stock up on healthier items, promoting a fit lifestyle.

However, it is important to note that a micro market is an investment. Therefore, despite its evident marketability, there is a constant need to take efforts in order to ensure an appropriate ROI. This is where micro market promotions and such become important in order to boost an operator’s sales. If fact, as per research, micro market promotions have resulted in a 10% increase in sales for certain operators in the past. Hence, it is a tried and tested formula.

Listed below are some methods that can provide a major boost to your micro market sales.

1. Reward-based Marketing –
   A potent way to ensure more sales for your micro market is through rewards. Offering returns on a consumer’s purchase will encourage them to buy the products. Some of the ways in which this reward-based marketing can be implemented are:
   1. Point Reward System : Through this method, you allow consumers to gain points on the purchase they make. Accumulation of a predetermined number of points further allows them to get certain pre-decided items from the micro market for free. This motivates consumers to shop more and keeps them coming back. Sometimes, a card is issued under the consumer’s name through which they can redeem points.
   2. Loyalty Programmes: Loyalty programmes, as the name suggests, are used to increase consumer loyalty. These allow consumers to avail huge discounts on freebies depending on the value or amount of their purchase. The more the sale amount, the more discounts a consumer is eligible to. Such programmes thereby augment consumer loyalty towards your micro market and help retain customers. In offices, these can lead to more employees preferring micro markets rather than a cafeteria.
   3. External Incentives: A lot of times, external rewards such as coupons to a nearby shop or eatery, tickets to travel destinations, plays, movies and more, exciting freebies like a new vehicle, vouchers and so on can be offered to customers. Buyers can participate to win by signing up to the offer. This will cultivate major excitement for customers, consequently stimulating sales.
   4. Rebates: Cashbacks and rebates work like a consumer magnet. Additionally, these can be provided on selected products that you wish to sell more.
2. Seasonal or Festival-based Discounts – There are certain products that are more popular or are majorly available during certain seasons or around certain festivals. Offerings discounts and offers on these can attract more buyers towards your micro market. For example, during scorching summers, some discounts can be offered on soft drinks, juices and such. Other than that, during the months leading up to Christmas, treats like candy canes, plum cakes, cookies and more can be provided. During fall, apple cinnamon-flavoured products can be offered. These initiatives will provide value to customers and send leads down the conversion funnel with ease.
3. Combo Offers – Things are best when they come in bundles. This is the whole point behind combos. Not only do these provide a value addition to consumers, they can help pair up a low selling item with a high selling one and give it a major push. For example, if sandwiches are low selling in your area, you can offer a combo comprising of the item along with chips and soft drink for a lesser price. This will help increase the volume of sales.
4. Providing Free Samples – Sometimes when you introduce a new product, providing free samples can help greatly. It will help familiarise people with the product and make them want to invest in it a second time. These free samples will also help you grasp the consumer’s reaction in relation to the offering. Besides, providing free samples also helps you to clear off overstocked products.
5. Advertising Your Promotions – An important part of micro market promotions is advertising your offers. Without such marketing it is impossible to attract consumers to the market. For this very reason, making an advertising plan that covers the places where you want to display your promotions is necessary. Some of the most effective ways are through emails, SMS, digital signage and mico market banners. One thing to remember is that all your advertising efforts related to micro markets will be digital.
6. Goal-based Promotions – Defining your goals before drafting a promotion strategy will help you get through to the target audience and increase sales effortlessly. If your goal is to clear off overstocked items you might want to offer discounts on those products. On the other hand, if your objective is to retain employees in the office during break hours, providing combo offers, rebates, discounts or introducing a loyalty/ reward scheme might help. In addition, if you want to encourage socialising at the workplace, time-based promotions such as happy hours are fruitful. These will help assure that people gather in the breakroom during these particular hours. Apart from this, when trying to promote a healthier culture , providing offers on healthy and fresh products will assist in achieving the objective. This will also prevent spoilage. Promotions also help create excitement at the office and increase motivation levels of the staff with day-based offers such as sandwich mondays and such which allow you to buy the particular product at discounted prices.
7. Custom Plans – Smart micro markets allow you to store and analyse consumer data such as their addresses, preferences, contact details and so on. Observing these trends will assist you in deciding on promotions depending on items that are more popular at a particular location. This will help devise a more lucrative marketing plan that can guarantee more sales.
8. Collaborating with Manufacturers – When you collaborate with manufacturers in order to provide offers and discounts, it adds an increased trust factor to your promotions. This also helps with cross promotions, attracting the manufacturers loyal customers towards your micro market. Such collabs are also more cost effective as the manufacturer will contribute a percentage to the promotion plan.
9. Stocking Up on High-selling Items – Another effective way to ensure higher sales for your micro market is stocking up more high selling items. This is in fact a sure shot strategy for attracting consumers and converting them in order to ensure profits.

All the above pointers when followed help assure higher gains through your micro markets. You can choose to implement certain promotion plans that drive you closer to your objective.

Looking for micro markets in Australia? Smart Vending Machines provide well stocked ones with the healthiest offerings.

For more information, drop us a call today.