To say that the retail landscape has changed in the last 12-months is an understatement. The global pandemic in particular has forced businesses to diversify their business models and sales channels. Thankfully before this, Stoned Crystals as a company was ahead of the curve in establishing a very successful virtual live sales model, conducted via the live function on Instagram. Whether our bricks & mortar location is open or not, we’ve been able to maintain and actually increase our sales through online shopping.
And, with social media impacting the way consumers interact with brands, we were able to take advantage of this evolution and we look at our live sales shows conducted via our Instagram page has the next generation in e-commerce. However, as with any reliance on a 3rd party channel, live sales via Instagram have some limitations and unexpected disruptions. Therefore, we have further leveraged the virtual live shopping on social media by developing an App that allows for an uninterrupted shopping experience for the customer, while giving control back to the brand. The result is a less static and more immersive experience that allows for a more personalised and authentic shopping experience for the customer.
To demonstrate the power of live sales via Instagram and what this has meant for Stoned Crystals – the figures speak for themselves. During the 2020/2021 FY our bricks and mortar store equated to 9% of total sales, while our website accounted for 20% of sales. A massive 71% of sales came from our live shows conducted via Instagram. We did our first live show on Instagram in 2017 via the dining table of the founder of Stoned Crystals, Ashley Bellino. Now, we conduct two shows daily and our virtual shows in Instagram live generate the most revenue for the business. As of June 30th, 2021 we had conducted 731 live sale shows that generated $4million in revenue with the largest single live show generating $25,000.
A key element in the success of live sales via Instagram is embracing the process and H2H (human-to-human) sales and emulating the in-person retail shopping experience in a virtual setting. It’s all about humanising the customer experience.
KEY 5-STEP ADVICE ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT H2H SELLING VIA INSTAGRAM LIVE:
- Transform your space into a virtual sales showroom
Replicate an in-store visual experience in a digital setting and allow your customers to browse and view multiple products at a time. This personalised approach allows the customer to ask questions about products that catch their attention, as opposed to trying to sell them a particular product that you’re holding. This casual sales approach works best as the live video creates scarcity as customers see products being sold and taken ‘off the table’
- Talk to your customers in an authentic setting via casual video content
Talk to a human and not a customer! Use language that resonates with your audience. Bin the script and sales pitch. The H2H movement encourages businesses to use language that is friendly, casual and conversational to capture the essence of a face-to-face in-store encounter.
- Answer questions in real time
Emulating the in-store experience, have a back and forth conversation with your customer and focus on answering their questions instead of achieving a sale. This allows the brand to converse with the customer during their decision-making process, which is a key component to emulating an in-store experience.
- Suggest alternate products
The methodology here is to solve a customer’s problem to satisfy a customer’s personal needs. Listen to what they’re requiring and suggest real solutions to them. This allows for an entirely personalised experience.
- Use storytelling to humanise your brand
Chat about your day, your favourite products and give the customer insight into the story behind the brand they are engaging with.
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
While the Instagram live feature is an incredibly useful sales channel for any business, it does come with its limitations. Therefore, after experiencing the power of live sales in increased e-foot traffic and sales, we developed our own Live Sales App that we plan to make available to like-minded businesses.
Instagram Live Feature Challenges VS. Advantages of an App:
In comparison to Instagram live features, the benefits of the App outweigh the unpredictability and challenges of using a third-party channel.
- Instagram Live Challenges Include:
- Changes to algorithms and access being unpredictable
- Moderated content with words such as BUY and PURCHASE being blocked
- No service level agreements
- The fact that advertising can be displayed at any time
- Products can be de-listed
- URLS can be blocked
- Instant messaging can be halted
- Put simply, Instagram controls the brand and content virality.
- Key Advantages of the App include:
- A personalised and interactive experience where customers can view live show schedules to see what date and times to tune in, watch the live streamed video and comment or ask questions throughout, message in a private chat with any queries and secure products by instantly adding to cart all during the live stream.
- The functionality of private chats are unable to be halted and real time interactions on the live video merges face-to-face sales with an online model that allows for H2H selling as people buy from people.
- Seamless integration to e-commerce saves time and costs associated with uploading products to web stores.
- Maximises e-foot traffic by broadcasting to an unlimited audience.
- Allows the brand to be agile around offers and promotions without diminishing brand equity.
- The simple convenience where customers watch, interact, and move through the buying stages in a single touchpoint while fusing online with traditional retail experiences.
If you would like to experience a live show, please download the Stoned Crystals App via the Apple App Store or the Android App on Google Play, to see for yourself how it feels like an in-person in-store experience.
By Stoned Crystals
BIO:
Stoned Crystals is Australia’s leading décor, jewellery and crystal shop. Our aim is to make crystals and natural décor items more accessible, and show how they make such stylish interior statement pieces for our homes and workspaces. Even if you don’t necessarily subscribe to the notion that crystals can bring particular energy to your world, we aim to help showcase the obvious benefits of decorating our spaces just as we do with plants and nature.
