In this era of diversification, many people hope to increase their extra income by starting a side business. Zhigou vending machines, as a convenient and promising side business option, have attracted much attention. However, one of the most concerning questions is how to recoup the investment quickly. The following are some practical methods and strategies to help you achieve the goal of recouping the investment as soon as possible when using Zhigou vending machines as a side business.
I. Carefully Select Placement Locations
The placement locations play a decisive role in whether vending machines can recoup the investment quickly. Therefore, more efforts should be made to screen suitable places.
Locations with High Matching Degrees between the Flow of People and Consumption Demands
Give priority to places with a large flow of people and corresponding consumption demands. For example, in schools, there is a dense flow of students around teaching buildings and dormitory areas. Students often buy snacks, beverages or daily necessities during breaks or when returning to the dormitory to meet their daily needs. Placing vending machines in these areas will ensure a good business. In addition, in the cafeterias and rest areas of factories, workers are also more likely to buy food and beverages from vending machines during their break and meal times, with a relatively high purchase frequency, which can naturally accelerate the speed of recouping the investment.
Areas with Relatively Low Competition
Avoid those "red ocean" areas that are already occupied by numerous convenience stores, small shops or other vending machines, and choose places with relatively less intense competition. For example, in some newly built communities, the number of residents is gradually increasing, but the surrounding commercial facilities are still being improved. At this time, placing vending machines in these communities can attract more residents' attention and consumption in the early stage, making it easier to stand out and quickly accumulate funds to recoup the investment.
II. Precisely Grasp the Selection of Goods
Selecting the right goods is a key link in increasing the sales volume of vending machines and thus achieving a quick recoupment of the investment. It is necessary to conduct precise selection of goods according to different scenarios and characteristics of the target population.
Popular Goods that Fit the Placement Scenarios
If the vending machine is located in a school, prepare more trendy snacks, stationery and various beverages that are popular among students. For example, self-heating hot pots, creative stationery, and milk tea with unique flavors are all goods that students are keen to buy. If it is in a community, choose daily necessities such as tissues, cooking oil, and small packages of rice and flour to meet the daily household needs of residents. The sales volume of these essential goods is guaranteed, which can help recoup the investment quickly.
Paying Attention to Seasonal and Trendy Goods
Keep up with seasonal changes and fashion trends to adjust the types of goods. In summer, stock refreshing beverages, ice creams and other heat-relieving foods in a timely manner. In winter, increase the stocking of hot drinks, warm-keeping items (if the vending machine has enough space) and other seasonal goods. Meanwhile, once you find popular snacks or daily necessities on social media, quickly include them in the list of goods in the vending machine, taking advantage of the popularity to attract more customers to buy, improving the turnover rate of goods and accelerating the process of recouping the investment.
III. Skillfully Formulate Pricing and Preferential Strategies
Reasonable pricing and preferential activities can stimulate customers' purchasing desire and promote the return of funds at a faster pace. Here are some effective practices.
Differential Pricing
Conduct differential pricing for different goods. For those goods that are exclusively sold, have distinctive features or are scarce in the market, the price can be appropriately increased to obtain a higher profit margin. For common and highly competitive mass goods, such as ordinary bottled mineral water and regular-flavored biscuits, adopt a parity strategy and rely on small profits but quick turnover to increase the overall sales volume, laying the foundation for a quick recoupment of the investment.
Launching Preferential Activities
Carry out various preferential activities to attract customers and increase the repurchase rate. For example, set up a membership system. Customers can become members when their consumption reaches a certain amount. Members can enjoy benefits such as redeeming products with points and enjoying member price discounts. Regular discount activities can also be held, such as discounting some products on a fixed day every week, or carrying out "buy one, get one free" and "full reduction" activities. Use these benefits to make customers feel that they get good value for their money, so that they will frequent the vending machines frequently and accelerate the speed of capital return.
IV. Actively Do a Good Job in Marketing and Promotion
Even if the vending machines are in good locations and the goods are of high quality, it will be difficult to recoup the investment quickly without effective marketing and promotion. Therefore, it is necessary to take the initiative to increase the popularity and influence of the vending machines.
Offline Promotion
Distribute flyers around the vending machines. The flyers should detail the special goods, preferential activities and location information in the vending machines to attract the attention of passers-by. Meanwhile, cooperate with surrounding merchants, community property management and others, and post promotional posters in their venues to let more potential customers know the existence of the vending machines and guide them to come and consume.
Online Promotion
Use social media platforms and local life service platforms to carry out online promotion activities. Take some pictures or shoot interesting short videos of the vending machines with an attractive appearance and a wide variety of goods, accompanied by appealing captions, and post them on platforms such as WeChat official accounts, Douyin, and Dianping, along with the specific location information of the vending machines and relevant topics to attract the attention of surrounding users, expand the audience range, increase the exposure of the vending machines, and then improve the sales volume and achieve a quick recoupment of the investment.
V. Finely Manage Operating Costs
In the process of striving for a quick recoupment of the investment, effective control of operating costs cannot be ignored. Every expense is related to the final speed of recouping the investment.
Optimizing the Replenishment Process
Reasonably plan the replenishment routes to reduce unnecessary transportation and time costs. According as the sales data of vending machines, accurately determine the replenishment quantity to avoid overstocking goods due to excessive replenishment, which will occupy funds, and also prevent insufficient replenishment that leads to out-of-stock situations and affects sales performance, ensuring that the operating costs are always within a reasonable range.
Equipment Maintenance and Care
Learn some basic equipment maintenance knowledge of vending machines. For common minor failures, such as jammed goods and payment failures, be able to solve them by yourself to reduce the expense of hiring professional maintenance personnel. Regularly conduct cleaning and maintenance on vending machines to extend the service life of the equipment. In the long run, this can also contribute to reducing operating costs and accelerating the speed of recouping the investment.
In conclusion, to recoup the investment quickly when using Zhigou vending machines as a side business, it is necessary to make comprehensive efforts in aspects such as location selection, selection of goods, pricing strategies, marketing and promotion, and cost management. Manage with care and continuously optimize the operation mode. I believe that as long as these aspects are done well, the goal of recouping the investment can be achieved as soon as possible, and this side business will bring you considerable additional income.
