It’s not hard to feel overwhelmed with all of the jobs you have running your retail business. Keeping all the balls in the air, whilst still having a life, can be completely exhausting. I have to admit, as much as I love working, I’m pretty lazy when it comes to business. I’m the queen of ousourcing. If I can get someone else do a job that I don’t want to, or can’t do, then I’m all for passing that job onto someone else. It frees up my time, it keeps another person employed and these results are usually better for it. But outsourcing takes money, right. Not always a lot, but it still costs. So increasing your sales and profit is a key factor to be able to free up your time and give you the freedom that you started this business for. And honestly, you’ll only increase those sales and profits, if you’re actively marketing your store. But many retailers are scared of marketing. They see it as an expense they can’t afford. But I’m here to tell you, you can’t afford to NOT advertise. Even if it’s just a small budget, you need to be filling up your sales funnel and encouraging sales. Today I’m going to share with 5 signs that you need help with your marketing

Your sales are down this month/quarter

Pretty obvious, isn’t it. If you’re sales are down, there’s a good chance it’s because you haven’t filled up that customer funnel. Check back and see what your sales were for the same time last year, and look at what you can do differently, to get them back up again.

You’re running google/pinterest/facebook ads but you have no idea if they are actually making you money.

All too often, business owners run advertising campaigns, because….they should, they know they need to spend money on advertising, and they THINK they might be getting some results, so they just continue to pour in money, in the hopes that the sales will come.Truth is, marketing shouldn’t be costing you money. Yes, it’s an investment. Yes, it’s money going out, but if you’re testing and measuring, it should also be bringing you in sales and customers.

You have no idea how many people are on your customer database

You’ve probably heard the saying “the money is in the list”. whether you’re an online store, a bricks and mortar store, or even a market stall holder, your customer database can’t disappear on a whim like your social media pages can. The people who sign up, are generally interested in what you’re selling. These people are GOLD and should be treated like VIP’s/

You have the wrong amount of inventory

Too much inventory, and your profits are being sucked up, sitting on a shelf, rather than in your bank account. Too little, and you’ll be losing sales. If you don’t know how much inventory you have, or whether it’s the right amount, your marketing isn’t going to be working at it’s maximum effectiveness

You haven’t run any ads or sent out a newsletter this month

The easiest way to get sales, is to love your customers, speak to them regularly and to serve up what they’re looking for. How many people are just waiting to hear from you and buy something? If you’re not running ads, then it’s time to start. “build it and they will come” only works in the movies, not in retail. If you’re not marketing, you’re not maximising your sales. I know firsthand, that if I turn off my advertising because I’m having a good month, 30-60 days later, I feel the effects. New customers are nowhere to be found and sales drop. This is because people don’t always buy from us the minute their introduced to our brand. The truth is, it’s actually quite easy to turn these things around. Whether you just need to sit down with a business savvy friend, or with a business mentor, taking the time to regularly analyse the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, is all part of being a business owner. Moving from being a shop keeper to a business owner is hard. Not every campaign will be profitable and it’s easy to feel like you’re draining your funds, but without marketing and advertising, it won’t be long before your sales dry up. If you need personalised help with your marketing and advertising strategy, this month I’ll be opening up some places this month in my 1:1 mentoring program where we focus on increasing your sales and profitability. If you think that sounds like something you need, you can find all the information at salenaknight.com/rockstars Until next week Be profitable Sal