The phrase "increase the average check" is heard in almost every advertisement for Internet marketing courses. But this sales efficiency indicator is also relevant for offline sales.
What is the average check, what does it depend on and, most importantly, how to increase this indicator?
The concept of "average check"
In fact, this is the amount for which a client buys goods or services from you at a time. You can determine the average check for the entire business, or you can determine the average check for a separate group of goods, a branch or a department of the enterprise. Of course, for this you need to organize appropriate financial accounting.
How to calculate
Average check per day = revenue per day / number of checks per day.
You can also calculate the average check per week or month. However, a one-time calculation does not give an understanding of the state of affairs, you need to analyze the dynamics of the average check. By tracking how this indicator changes by month, you will see seasonality and other factors that affect sales.
Why is this indicator needed?
The average check shows the state of affairs of your business. Both by itself and with other indicators, it answers many questions, including:
how solvent your client is;
does your assortment of goods suffice;
does the system and sales managers work harmoniously;
is the promotion you are conducting effective;
the period of high and low sales season;
from what amount it is worth giving discounts or bonuses to clients;
which group of goods or services do clients buy the most.
Increasing the average check
In fact, this requires less investment than, for example, increasing traffic or attracting new customers offline. Here are 5 effective ways to increase your average check:
cross-selling + up-selling;
implementation of a loyalty program;
determining the threshold for free delivery of goods;
formation of sets of goods or services (bundles);
introducing discount coupons for a limited time.
Cross-selling and up-selling
Up-selling is offering the buyer a more expensive, more refined, premium analogue of a product or service. For example, a more modern model, a well-known brand, a new trendy service or a dish made from organic products. This method is appropriate to use if you have an assortment of goods or services with a wide price range.
Cross-selling involves cross-selling, when the client is offered related goods and services during the purchase. This method is suitable for any business: online and offline, applies to both goods and services. Of course, these related goods must be in the assortment.
Most businesses use cross-selling technology. You buy a product, and you are immediately offered to buy something additional to it. A classic example: a case, headphones, protective glass, a power bank are offered for the phone. In this case, we do not sell something a person does not need, but help them protect their new phone, listen to music conveniently, charge it on the go. This is the most organic way to increase the average check.
The main advantage of the method is versatility. Disadvantages may arise due to poor-quality work by consultants, sales managers, and waiters, so you need to invest in staff training.
Loyalty program
This is a set of measures to encourage customers to buy more and more often: a system of discounts, bonuses, points, gifts, closed sales or tastings, customer service, additional services. A person receives certain bonuses for buying from you. And this, in turn, forms loyalty to the brand and a special relationship with it.
For example, your coffee shop has a loyalty program, according to which every seventh cup of drink comes as a gift. If a customer likes your drinks and service, then most likely he will buy coffee mainly here to get a reward.
It is believed that this method was first used in 1970, when American Airlines introduced the accrual of bonus miles that could be exchanged for tickets.
“The method works well in the restaurant business. If a customer likes the products and service, he can become your regular customer. Regular gifts and bonuses only consolidate the result and effect.”
The main condition for the effectiveness of the method is that the product and service must be top-notch.
Free shipping threshold
This is the order amount from which the customer will not pay for the delivery of the goods. It is important to calculate this threshold correctly. If it is too small, it will be financially unprofitable for you to deliver the goods for free. If it is too high, the customer will more likely agree to pay for delivery than to order something else from you. Experiments and calculations by marketers will help find the golden mean.
“This method is used for online projects or where there is delivery of goods. It is not profitable for a person to order one cheap product in an online store, he will order something extra to get free delivery,” the marketer notes.
However, this method will not suit those who have a small average check: simply delivering the goods for free will be unprofitable.
Bundles of goods or services (bundles)
You offer the client to buy a set, a set of complementary products for a lower price than if they were to buy each of them separately. For example, you can offer mascara to a palette of eyeshadows, a manicure to a hair coloring service, a pencil to a notebook, a croissant to a coffee, etc. The client receives the product cheaper, and you increase the average check.
By grouping products, you can actually convince the client to buy even something he doesn’t really need. Often, products are grouped according to the scheme: popular + not so popular.
In principle, this method is suitable for any business. According to the expert, sets are sold everywhere, even in pharmacies. The main difficulty is finding the optimal products and prices for grouping.
Limited time discount coupons
A customer buys a product or orders a service from you, and for the next purchase you give a discount coupon, but you limit its validity in time, for example, to two weeks or a month. If the buyer does not take advantage of the offer, the discount “burns out”.
The method is suitable for any business with a large assortment. However, it is unlikely that the owner of a nail salon that provides a mono-service or a car dealership will use it if there are no related products.
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