Publisher's Synopsis
This essay sheds light on the top business growth strategies for growing a profitable vending machine business in the digital era and identifies the key success factors involved in creating a profitable vending machine business. There are a myriad of business growth strategies that vending machine business owners can leverage to foster increased sales volume, profitability, brand growth, brand recognition, brand equity, and brand loyalty. First and foremost, vending machine business owners can be pursuant of embracing specialty vending and also cherry pick products the offer the utmost highest markups to maximize profits per unit sold. Moreover, vending machine owners can offer specialty vending machine items that do not have short shelf lives unlike traditional vending machines items that consist of snacks, fresh food, and beverages. For instance, a vending machine stationed in a large public space, such as a transit station or airport, can an offer "essential travel items like phone chargers, headphones, and neck pillows which be lucrative vending products. Upscale vending machines in malls and airports often contain luxury skincare or electronics" (Spencer, 2018). A second business growth strategy involves buying a successful vending machine route to accelerate brand growth. This will allow you to immediately expand your market reach and attain more income streams. Customer to customer platforms, such as eBay and Craiglist, offer vending machine routes and used vending machines for sale. "This may be the best option for first-time vending entrepreneurs, who do not want to spend thousands on a new or refurbished machine" (Spencer, 2018). Moreover, buying a successful vending machine route, can not only allow you to start earning additional revenue streams immediately, but also allows you to mitigate against risks. Procuring a profitable vending machine route that already has a proven track record of success is highly likely to allow you to reap a positive return on your investment overtime. By procuring a successful vending machine route, you avoid dealing with the complications, moving costs, and other hidden costs associated with securing new locations, such as the opportunity cost associated with the endeavour of securing new prospective vending machine locations. As long as you can maintain the vending machines, provide exceptional customer service, and replenish the inventory in a timely manner then this acquired vending machine route may have the potential to provide you with more revenue streams in perpetuity until you relinquish the vending machine route to another prospective vendor. A third business growth strategy involves attempting to secure new locations and buying the vending machines on the second hand market to minimize capital cost by procuring them from other vendors looking to part with their vending machines. Moreover, in order to reduce commissions paid to retailers housing your vending machines, you can focus on offering them social media marketing services in exchange for being able to station the vending machines in their retail stores. You can also elucidate how the integration of your vending machine in their stores will offer the retailers' customers greater value since it allows customers to have a wider product selection and enhances the retail experience when customers have a broader assortment of products to choose from. You can offer product placements on your social media content to retailers in exchange for being able to station your vending machines at their brick and mortar retail stores. If the business owner is not interested in avail themselves of your social media marketing services, you can concede to offering a commission from the sales revenue as a last resort to secure the desirable vending machine location. Older vending machines are affordable even if they lack "touch or voice accessibility, interactive screens, and remote monitoring software with low-stock alerts" (Spencer).
