‘Tis the season to be savvy
Christmas is approaching, and yes, now is the time. We talked about how to get ready for Christmas, and well, now is the time to put all that we talked about into action.
Christmas is a time for family, bonding, friendship, and… commerce. As a business owner, you ought to be excited about Christmas. Prices will go up and we will all feel the pinch. The advantage for business owners is that we can set ourselves up to benefit from the situation rather than suffer from it. Given the present state of affairs, it’s a bit “tight” for most [if not all] of us. However, you could ease someone’s burden [and get paid] by offering a discount. Dare I say ‘SALE’?! Everybody likes a good sale. We want to buy things for half of the recommended price, but the fact is, the buck must stop somewhere.
As a business owner, do you want to hold on to your standard pricing practices, or would you rather put a smile on someone’s face (or their child’s face)? You could increase your sales volume while reducing markup. That should be just fine, shouldn’t it? Plus, you’ll get more exposure. Look at it this way: you could sell your designer shoes for the N15,000 (with 5000 being our markup) and sell to 50 people who can afford your shoes, OR you could slash the price to N11,000, sell to more people (because people are more likely to buy your top-quality shoes at a bargain), and gain possibly 100 customers.
The fact is: if your shoes live up to expectation (that is, if your product is of the quality which you claim it is, the people that bought your shoes at a bargain are very likely to come back and buy those shoes at full price. Meanwhile, don’t neglect the chance that those shoes could be a gift. Say a newly-wed is trying to impress his father-in-law – who has impeccable taste – with some shoes for Christmas (bad idea, by the way). Then, say he/she can’t afford the shoes at full price, but then, on sale, the shoes are within reach (N15,000 shoes are now N11,000 – GREAT!). They buy the shoes, give them to their father-in-law (who has impeccable taste), he wears them, he loves them, and now, he wants more of your shoes. Do you see how this works?
Don’t be afraid of slashing your prices, in order to get more customers through the door. There is a lot of commerce expected today in England, the U.S.A, and right here at home (Konga, Jumia and DealDey). Don’t let these opportunities pass you by. Re-assess your stock. Find a way to sell at competitive prices. Get your brand out there. It’s Christmas!
Separately, UBS Digital is offering 50% off all of our products. So, if you don’t yet have a website, this is the time to get one. You can get one of our basic websites for as little as N19,000. So, give us a ring. Let’s get you ready for the festive season.
