If you’re in retail, ’tis the season for milking the moment for all it’s worth. This is retail make-it-or-break-it time.
Wondering if you’d like to contribute ideas here for holiday selling tactics that make the most of the last days of 2007, a time when people have saved money for purchases and are now ready to turn that money loose.
What spurred me to think about selling tactics for the holiday season was reading this word earlier in the day: "Lagniappe", which is defined at TheFreeDictionary.com as,
1. A small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit.
this note is also included in their definition…
Regional Note: Lagniappe derives from New World Spanish la ñapa, "the gift," and ultimately from Quechua yapay, "to give more." The word came into the rich Creole dialect mixture of New Orleans and there acquired a French spelling. It is still used in the Gulf states, especially southern Louisiana, to denote a little bonus that a friendly shopkeeper might add to a purchase. By extension, it may mean "an extra or unexpected gift or benefit."
Giving a gift with purchase is an old-school selling tactic. But it works. People who know there’s a special something they’ll receive if they buy something are often seduced by this simple "value-add"! ![""]("https://startupnation.com/blog/uploads/10/images.jpg")
But beyond incentive, providing a little something extra also shows that you care about your customer. And it may just influence them down the road when they need to buy something again and weigh you against alternatives.
Even if you’re a service business, say, a consultant, you’ll be well-served to serve up a little extra love to your clients – show them you’re grateful for their 2007 patronage and that you look forward to working with them in ’08.
Other than "Tactic #493: Provide Lagniappe", can you share holiday selling techniques that are sure to generate results?
