• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Multiply your sales with this simple sign trick

By Becky McCray

“People are four times more likely to buy something they can touch.”

That’s quite a promise. The quote is from Scott Taddiken, of the Washburn Small Business Development Center, quoted in the Agurban in 2009 and repeated this week.

Smell Me Sign
Photo by revger, on Flickr

I went searching for the source of that “four times more likely to buy” statistic. What I found was a great article by Bruce Baker in The Crafts Report, How to get Customers 4x more likely to buy.

“Once a customer holds something in their hands, they are four times more likely to buy it,” Baker said.

Baker continues with a specific trick to make your signs and displays much, much more effective.

“Signs that appeal to the senses and involve the customers in noticing or experiencing an item are key—to make customers literally see, touch, smell, hear or taste (when appropriate) an object.”

He gives two brilliant examples:

Moreno Wool Blankets
$78
The softest blankets you will ever feel!

Basil
$1.95
Smell it!

[While I didn’t find the source for the “four times more likely” claim, I did find quite a bit of research backing up the idea of touch influencing purchase decisions, including a study titled, “If I touch it, I have to have it: Individual and environmental influences on impulse purchasing” by Joann Peck and Terry L. Childers in 2006. It’s very dry academic reading, but the headline tells the story.]

How could you make this work in your business? 
New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.
  • About the Author
  • Latest by this Author
Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

www.beckymccray.com
  • Will trendy axe throwing and escape room businesses last? More experience-based retail: the Hat Bar
  • Create customer experiences online like Open the Shop With Me videos, and in person, like Silent Book Club
  • How to let customers know when changing your business hours

November 30, 2010 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing Tagged With: retail

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Comments

  1. Darrell says

    November 30, 2010 at 6:10 pm

    Hi Becky

    Wonderful advise. I wonder how do you bring in then senses and emotion when you work online or a consultant without using fear or what I call hard sell.

    Loading...
  2. Becky McCray says

    November 30, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    Darrell, you do a lot of showing. Use photos, screenshots, videos, and audio. You don’t have to use the “hard sell” to show what you mean.

    Loading...
  3. MissDazey says

    November 30, 2010 at 11:48 pm

    Great articles in this series. Very helpful for any retailer this “buying season.”

    Honest to gosh true story. Back in the day, I had several retail jobs. My first ever real job was in the flower shop. I didn’t know I had sales skills, but it came so natural to me. We carried stuffed toys, called plush now..I would carry a soft furry one around to let people hug. Once hugged, many times it was bought on the spot. Also, always let people smell the flowers, helps them decide.

    Loading...
  4. Chris Cree says

    December 1, 2010 at 2:24 am

    That’s why the “freemium” business model works for online stuff. People can virtually “hold” the product or service before they buy. Eliminate the risk for people to try it and they are much more likely to buy! :)

    Loading...
  5. Becky McCray says

    December 1, 2010 at 4:08 am

    Miss Dazey, that is great example. Perfect!

    Chris, I had not thought of that. Interesting thought.

    Loading...

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses. Logo with "Shop Indie Local"Move Your Money, bank local, invest localMulticolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week"Save Your Town logotype

Best of Small Biz Survival

A few people shopping in an attractive retail store in refurbished downtown building.

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Three kids in a canoe

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

A shopkeeper and a customer share a laugh in a small store packed full of interesting home wares.

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors

Wide view of a prairie landscape with a walk-through gate in a fence

Tourism: Make the most of scant remains and “not much to see” sites with a look-through sign

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2025 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in
%d