From the NRF BIG Show: 10 Tips for Small Brick-and-Mortar Retailers to Increase Sales

8. Find simple ways to increase your average order value. This can be accomplished through a couple of techniques, Ratner said:

• add signage to your stores with cross-sell and upsell deals;
• price all consumables in multiples (this is often referred to as kitting); and
• promote the benefits of more expensive products rather than their features.

To the last point specifically, Ratner gave an example of two similar sized bags of dog food, but a more nutritional brand's bag is $3 more than the other's. Ratner touts the nutritional benefit of the more expensive bag — less stool for the dog, have to feed them less of it so your cost per serving is the same, your dog will stay healthier — to help sell more of the higher priced bags.

9. Find opportunities for other people to do your marketing for you. The evolution of social media has afforded retailers this opportunity, Ratner said. Dave's Soda and Pet City gets involved in events that people care about in the communities where it operates. A recent example of this was it offered Facebook “friends” of a local animal shelter a discount to shop with Friends of Dave's cards — an easy way to track who these shoppers were. In return, Dave's donated 5 percent of all sales back to the animal shelter. This type of activity creates tremendous good will and positive word-of-mouth in your community, Ratner noted.

10. Depending on the market you operate in, cable advertising is a “no-brainer.” Operating in rural western Massachusetts, this medium is an affordable and far-reaching channel for Dave's Soda and Pet City, Ratner said. The key to advertising, according to Ratner, is figuring out how you can solve a consumer's problem, then advertising the solution. He used the example of overweight dogs, which he said vets classify as nearly every dog. To address this problem, Dave's advertises its healthier dog foods.

Here are some bonus tips that Ratner added in throughout his presentation:

• Out-guarantee your competition with a 100 percent money-back, lifetime guarantee on all items. Ratner cited L.L.Bean as a brand who does this right.
• Personalize everything. Small businesses have the opportunity for closer relationships with customers, Ratner said.
• Make the owner of your company readily available to customers. Provide his/her phone number and email address.
• “Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping” by Paco Underhill should be required reading for every employee in your company, Ratner said.