To calculate the average check, we divide the revenue by the number of checks. Knowing the average check, you can identify high and low seasons and understand if your advertising is effective. In this article, we looked at what you can do to increase the average check.
- What is the Average Check and Why Calculate It?
- How Do I Increase the Average Check?
- Inform Your Customers About Services and New Promotions
- Offer Bundles
- Suggest Related Products and Services
- Start a Customer Loyalty Program
- Give Your Customers Free Gifts
- Keep Your Staff Trained and Motivated
What is the Average Check and Why Calculate It?
The average check shows how much each customer spends on average. To calculate the average check for a given period, you need to divide the total of all customer purchases by the number of customers. You can calculate the average check for lunch or dinner, a specific day of the week, a month, or a year.
Besides, the average check is an indicator of how well your business is doing. If it's fairly high, you are doing everything right! A low average check may be a sign that you need to change something.
The average check provides many other useful insights:
- It provides information about solvency and customer loyalty. Having a picture of your target audience is important for the success of your business. Using the average check, you can draw a portrait of your average customer by analyzing what exactly they buy and how much they spend.
- It provides valuable information about the competence of salespeople. Are they really doing their best to sell more for you?
- You can learn about the efficiency of stores or outlets. The average check shows which stores are doing well and which are lagging behind. Also, using the average check, you can determine when the influx of customers begins and when the high and low seasons start for your business.
- A rising average check is an indicator that your new marketing strategies are working. If you expand your assortment, run a promotion or have a sale, the average receipt should increase. If it stays the same or even drops, something has gone wrong with your marketing decisions.
- It helps you build a loyalty program. The average check tells you how much your customers are buying without additional incentives, and at what amount it's time to introduce discounts and bonuses.
How Do I Increase the Average Check?
Marketing experts name upselling and cross-selling as two main principles for increasing the average check.
In upselling, you offer the customer a more expensive or higher-quality version of a product they have been looking for. In this case, when selecting a product or service, the customer is offered to abandon his original decision in favor of buying a more expensive product.
Cross-selling means offering the customer to buy the main product and related items at the time of purchase. For example, gadgets are always offered with accessories such as protective cases, screen protectors, extended warranties, etc. A good waiter in a café will offer additional toppings for pizza or ice cream.
Whether you run a restaurant, beauty salon, auto repair store, or online cosmetics shop, these principles can help increase your business's average receipt. In an offline business, it requires impeccable staff performance. Invest in thorough training in sales techniques and make sure your staff knows the product line perfectly. For online sales, it is important to include blocks for “Similar Products” or “Buy Together” on the website.
Now let us find out what X ways there are in practice to increase the average check.
Inform Your Customers About Services and New Promotions
Make sure the list of services you provide is complete and up-to-date on all websites where customers search for you. This can be your website, maps, business directories, referral services, social networks, etc.
In addition, it is important that you regularly post about your promotions. Do this on all available online and offline resources as well. For example, information about offline promotions and services can be posted at the front desk or in the waiting area. You can also post information about promotions on your Nicelocal card.
Offer Bundles
Bundles are product packages that consist of a popular item and something that goes with it. For example, they are often used by clothing stores. The customer puts a pair of jeans in the cart, and the website suggests which belt and shirt can be added to create a finished outfit. The customer does not have to waste time figuring out what to pair the new garment with.
Pre-made packages increase both the average receipt and customer loyalty. You have taken care of the customer's convenience, and they have bought more and are satisfied. In addition, buyers love pre-made solutions because they save time and contribute to a balanced purchase.
Bundles can be used by any type of business. If you run a restaurant, offer a three-course meal or a family dinner at a convenient price. Along with the shampoo, the customer can buy a balm and a mask depending on the type of hair. If you sell camping equipment, a sleeping bag or folding chair goes well with the tent. To attract attention to packages, you can give them a small discount.
Suggest Related Products and Services
This is a simple method, but many entrepreneurs underestimate it. If the customer has already come to you for a basic service, you should offer them something else from your list.
If a group of friends comes to your restaurant, offer them an additional appetizer for everyone or larger drinks. The customer who comes in for a haircut or color will certainly appreciate an extra scalp wash or hair products. When a patient comes in for a doctor's appointment and needs exams, your customer will save time by having them done at the same clinic.
Offering related products and services can also be part of the promotion that can attract new customers.
Start a Customer Loyalty Program
One of the most effective ways to increase the average receipt is to use a loyalty program. It has a lot of benefits:
- It helps make the customer a follower of the brand and motivates them to buy. Let us say a person buys $60 worth of goods and is $10 short of earning 100 bonuses. Ten dollars spent on something inexpensive like a pair of socks or a face mask in exchange for extra bonus points is a good deal for the customer.
- It's a great way to build a base of customers who visit you regularly.
- It helps you consider the customer's preferences and sell more. This is your chance to offer a product not just because others have bought it, but because that customer is surely interested in it.
The main tips to keep in mind are:
- Build a system of tiers. For example, the more often a customer comes to you, the higher their personal discount.
- Analyze the program after it is launched. It's important to understand how the loyalty program affects your sales. Change it if the results are worse than they could be.
- Test different models. For example, you can offer a loyalty program with cashback to a younger audience. The more mature and conservative customers will be happy with traditional discounts. But until you test it, you will not know what your target audience likes best.
Give Your Customers Free Gifts…
To make them spend more. Let us say you receive a gift with a purchase of $30 or more, and your customer has spent $27. Chances are, he'll want to round up the purchase amount and receive the gift.
It's better to let customers know about this promotion in advance, such as on social media. This way, they can consciously opt for additional benefits to reach the right amount and receive a gift. This method also works on site.
In the online store, the discount can be replaced by free shipping. To do this, add the shipping cost to the minimum order value. Let us say you want your average check to reach $50, then offer your customers free shipping on purchases of $60 or more.
Keep Your Staff Trained and Motivated
Well-motivated and competent employees greatly increase the average check. Consultants and waiters need to know their product assortment well and be able to navigate it quickly. They also should know how to offer the customer a more expensive or related product and suggest additional services. Make sure you provide regular training and online webinars for your staff.
It makes sense to implement a flexible system of incentives for employees. In many companies, salespeople and consultants receive a bonus not only for total sales but also for how many additional products and services they were able to sell.
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