There’s no denying that leveraging social networking is an effective way to cultivate and maintain relationships with customers, as well as to bolster sales. However, that doesn’t mean retailers and restaurant operators should abandon more traditional ways to increase shopper and diner spending in their establishments. Suggestive selling—which is also known as “up-selling” and uses constructive suggestions to add items to customers’ original purchase or food order—ranks among these strategies.

Some merchants and restaurateurs mistakenly believe that suggestive selling puts too much pressure on consumers, and that urging them to spend money on “add-ons” they don’t really want or need, erodes the relationship with them. However, quite the opposite is true: Studies by several firms indicate that suggestive selling is one of the most cost-effective means of bolstering not just revenues and profits, but customer satisfaction as well. There is a perception among customers of having received value and enjoyment from a salesperson or server’s personalized attention, observations and subsequent recommendations. They then become more “invested” in a business with their additional buying decision.

What’s more, the personal, thoughtful nature of a suggestive selling interaction increases the likelihood for repeat business–whether or not the original recommendation is accepted or rejected. On the flip side, if a shopper in a retail store purchases one item without suggestive input from a salesperson, and later decides that he or she needs items to go with it, there’s a chance that the later sale will be sacrificed to a competitor.

Retailers and restaurant operators alike can harness the power of point-of-sale technology in suggestive selling. For more information on the latest available solutions options, visit pcAmerica.