As a business owner, you probably found out in a hurry just how much truth there is in the adage, “Success is 90% preparation and 10% perspiration.” As much as you want success to just fall into your lap, it’s not that simple — especially when it comes to introducing a new product to your customers. When you’re hoping to increase the sales of a new product, nothing is more important than creating and implementing a well-thought-out sales strategy to help move that needle. And it all begins and ends with your customers.

Whether you just launched a new product or you’re thinking you may want to, a rule of thumb is to remember that customers are your lifeline. They are the ones shopping — so logically speaking, they ultimately drive the sales. So, how are you going to communicate to those customers to let them know you have a new product they will not only want — but will convince themselves they can’t live without?

Just as you wouldn’t plan a cross-country trip without figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B, creating an effective sales plan is key to increasing your sales and making the business goals you’re hoping to achieve. So check out the following sales tips and techniques you can start putting into action right now.

1. Hire and Effectively Train Employees

Today’s consumers are not just looking for great products, but their expectations for a great customer experience with retailers have increased considerably. And since you are likely competing with other retailers, the customer experience you offer must not only be great, but exceptional. Making all this happen starts with hiring and effectively training the right employees who can deliver that experience.

If you are a business with brick-and-mortar locations, hiring salespeople who are both passionate and knowledgeable about the products you sell is a must. For instance, any furniture, appliance, and electronics retailers require salespeople that know the ins and outs of a particular model, its features, related products and industry standards.

It’s also important to interview and hire those who can easily engage with customers and make the selling process seamless — from first contact to closing the sale and beyond. Employee training plays a big part in making this strategy a success. We’re not talking about giving them a handbook and putting them on the sales floor ; proper, thorough and continuous employee training will yield a return on investment in the form of increased sales and happier, repeat customers.

2. Set Short-Term and Long-Term Sales Targets

Launching a new product is an exciting achievement as a business owner. However, keep in mind that while generating buzz about something new will get people in the door at first, consumers’ attention are constantly being pulled in different directions (especially by your competitors), and your product’s “newness” may wear off faster than you realize. That’s why establishing challenging yet reachable sales targets is key to ensuring the excitement lasts beyond just the first few days of launch.

Creating a sales target can help you monitor sales week over week (or month over month, etc.), determine whether you were under or over your goal after a given period, and provide insight as to which sales tactics worked and which need tweaking. Actionable, clear revenue goals also give your salespeople something tangible to track and work toward — great motivators to keep the sales momentum going. To make it fun for employees, consider creative ways to empower or incentivize your sales teams (e.g., with rewards) to push themselves even harder!

3. Leverage In-store Visuals

Think about it: How are your customers going to know about your newly launched product if you don’t bring attention to it? Promoting your product does mean spending some money, but the investment you put into marketing will more than pay itself off in the sales that occur as a result of your efforts.

If you are a retailer with a store location, display your new product front and center, right when customers enter your store. Draw more attention to it throughout the store with multidimensional displays, eye-drawing visual elements and other signage. If you are a retailer with an e-commerce website, redesign your website’s homepage so that your new product is clearly being promoted.

4. Start Spreading the News

It’s important to communicate with existing, new and potential customers about the recent launch of a new product outside of your store or website as well. You want them to get excited and be in the know! Luckily these days, there are a multitude of marketing and media channels that you can leverage to get the job done for you:

• Social media marketing across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and/or LinkedIn is a great tactic to promote your new product and share its features and benefits. Now that 77% of Americans own, surf and shop on a smartphone, there’s never been a better time to show up on your customer’s screen.1

• One channel that continues to climb in popularity because of its efficiency is email! Learn more about the benefits of email marketing and why we highly recommend businesses use this channel to their advantage. 

• Don’t overlook the power of SMS communications. Again, people are connected to their phones on a daily, hourly, even minute-by-minute basis. In fact, 96% of all text messages worldwide are opened and read within two minutes.2 Reach customers where they are at through text messages that promote your new product and encourage them to check it out online or in the store!

• Given all this, there’s no better marketing for your product than positive word of mouth. Once again, here is where customer experience goes a long way to work in your favor. When you combine an enticing promotion with a great customer experience, consumers can’t help but spread the word among their family, friends and social media outlets.

5. Offer Enticing Promotions

Discounts, promotions, deals — we don’t have to tell you how much customers love them. So use them to your advantage!

It seems like a no-brainer, but it bears repeating: Promotions have been proven to be a great tactic for generating excitement for and driving sales of a new product. Limited-time offers give customers the incentive to get the product while it’s at a lower price point­­. Furthermore, a well-advertised promotion (see Tip #3 above) can often help attract more customers — including those who may not necessarily be in your target market.

6. Use Acima’s Leasing Solutions

It’s just a fact of life in the retail world that you will encounter customers who love your new product, but for one reason or another they won’t choose to shop at your store. Maybe they are strapped for the cash they’d need. Maybe they don’t have access to credit. 

Do you just let these customers go? You shouldn’t, because there will be plenty of them. And thanks to Acima, you don’t have to. Make use of Acima’s alternative to financing and offer these customers flexible, affordable leasing solutions — thereby eliminating the financial barrier that sits between these customers and your product. This approach helps to build new sales, increase traffic, and satisfy more customers.

Now you not only have a new product, but you have a pathway for this group of customers to be able to enjoy it affordably. You can’t provide a much better customer experience than that! You don’t even have to wait to launch a new product to start offering our lease-to-own* solutions in your store — become an Acima merchant now, start increasing your sales and bolster your chances for repeat business.