| Jul. 21 2008 at 9:36 AM |
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Alvin
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Are you converting your current sales into future sales?
Do they has percentage off bonus for referrals? Do you mail them specials and keep contact? Can they sign up to be notified of replenished stock if there is something you are out of that they like? Can they be notified of new products?
It's hard to find a customer, and expensive, keep them.
Further, what is your demographic and how are you sure you are marketing to them? Do you email market? Direct marketing? Do you have a couponing method integrated into your site so that you can attract new business with discounts?
Hope this helps!
Tom Ryan
866-507-9089
Direct Marketing Services
Sales Leads, Direct Marketing Data
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| Jul. 22 2008 at 4:48 AM |
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Ryan:
As we have just started out, our sales are slow. My advertising methods are through online ads at the moment. I'm very conservative about the advertising... because I do not wanna over-advertise and get Zero sales. That's the worse case. I am building on the marketing bit by bit.
As new products come along, we will inform our current customers. They might be interested in buying our stuff.
I'm thinkin of direct marketing as giving out catalog to households. But it might be very costly & might not convert into sales. I would love to hear more from you manz. I guess you know much about direct marketing. Our 2nd stage of marketing involves Direct mail as well.
Rgds,
Alvin
"Success is 99% hardwork and 1% intelligence"
Albert Enstein
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| Jul. 22 2008 at 1:02 PM |
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Alvin,
Visited your site and noted the following:
- The first thing a viewer should see is product, not just one but several
 Multi Image different colors and styles. Your home page isn't selling
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I don't know if you're using SEO or PPC's and I suggest PPC's via Google, restrict it to your market area, say a couple of state we would say here in the US or a 50 Mile radius
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When you develop a serarch term like "Hot Bikinis" and they click on that term, it should take them to a page of a bounch of image styles, then when they click, to a size selection and then qty of order and then check out.
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Go with PPC but on a very small level or area of interest. I would select 2 states, California and Florida in the US market.
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People don't want to know the history of your product or how you developed a concept they want to purchase bikini's, show them bikini's and let them click to purchase.
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| Jul. 22 2008 at 1:20 PM |
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Hi Alvin,
I agree with the previous content that your site is too dark. It needs to be bright. The colors you have at the top of the home page are good...use those kinds of colors for background.
Secondly, your limited sizes will limit your sales. You need to make it easier to see that you have a sizing chart, which is critical for buying an internet product that needs to fit. I didn't even SEE it until I visited the site for the second time. I'd put a line on each suit's description that references the sizing chart at the bottom of the page.
I think each bikini needs a description that explains the material it's made of, so again, I don't have to search your site to see what the suit I like is made from.
I'm unclear if you're just trying to sell in Singapore or in the US, but if you're targeting the US market, your sizes will severely limit your sales. The average American woman is a size 14, which isn't even contained in your size chart! Also, from a psychological standpoint, I'd make your default size on the site "Small" instead of "X Small". You women to feel like they're going to look good in the suit, so if the default is XSmall and I'm a Small size, I'm going to feel "fatter". I'm not explaining that well, but trust me, you want women to feel SMALLER not BIGGER when they're buying your clothes!
Good luck.
Ann Blanchard
Blanchard Enterprises
HandiRecords
"A mini-medical file cabinet at your fingertips"
www.handirecords.com
Toll Free: 1-866-349-8653
Blanchard Enterprises is a Resource Partner of The Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
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| Jul. 22 2008 at 1:44 PM |
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I agree with CraigL about grey text on grey background. The text is also too small and hard to read. You should try different colors, even change the direction a model poses -- left vs right, just by flipping the photo. You'd be surprised at how tiny things will have a large effect.
I used to run a print shop and one of my regular customers printed a weekly sales flyer. He tracked the response based on paper color. Goldenrod paper drew 5 times the sales as the next best color. Some colors looked nice but drew very few sales. (After employing the psychology comments below) try changing colors for a week at a time and track your conversion rate to see which has the most pull. But you need to deal with the psychology of selling first. All the SEO in the world won't make up for a poor sales pitch. SEO can help get people to your website. Conversions are the hard part, and that is almost entirely about developing a strong sales pitch (sales program) Do some internet research on the psychology of selling. It should really be called the psychology of buying, because that's what it is.
Your home page, and every other page, should focus on *selling*. You have to employ a sales psychology from the first word to the last. Everything should say *Buy Me Now*. Your website looks nice, but it does not stir a strong emotional response, except for the hot chick on the home page -- now *she* stirs a response. But all your models are posed. I suggest some action shots -- happy, beautiful models frolicking in the surf (or pool) as handsome men gaze on them adoringly. Emotion and tension are necessary parts of the buying process.
You must hammer home *Benefits* -- I see no benefits mentioned anywhere. Selling is business, but buying is an emotionally driven event. People buy benefits, not products. Think of all the reasons someone would benefit from buying your bikini then hammer those points home in Large Text and Bright Colors. Lots more pictures, with both overt and covert messages about beauty. If you're not a salesman, then find someone who is and get some help with the psychology of making a sale.
Every salesman has a sales program, and your *selling* website needs one too. These are the steps that lead a customer from looking to buying. You must try for a sale conversion at every point along the way. Your pitch should be a series of the following: benefit, offer (to buy), another benefit, another offer, etc, etc.
Who is your target market? And what are the benefits of owning your product that would make your targets actually buy them? What are the benefits of buying from your website rather than go to a store to buy? Give some guarantees -- 100% satisfaction. Benefits are emotional -- beauty, prestige, feeling hotter and sexier than other women on the beach, getting the attention of men, quality, favorite colors, attractive designs, comfort, economy, savings (a huge motivator).
You might try this: List Price $149 - our price $99 - save 1/3. Show me a woman and I'll show you someone who loves a bargain.
To develop a powerful sales program think of the sales steps as though someone walks into your store. "Hi! How are you today? You are obviously here to buy a bikini. Ours will make you look HOT and SEXY. All the other women will envy you. Men will desire you. Our bikinis will make you beautiful, powerful, feminine, etc, etc. They are a bargain at this price. They will last forever. This will be your favorite bikini. Now what is your favorite color, and what size can I get for you?" You have to keep the sales psychology working constantly. It should not all be in words either. Photos are worth 1000 words. A man drooling over a beautiful woman stirs powerful emotions (like jealousy and competitiveness -- I want him drooling over ME.)
The impediments to sales are called *objections* -- and you have to overcome those, even without hearing them from the customer. Don't list objections directly on the website, but use the psychology of selling to overcome objections in your buyers' minds by hammering home all the benefits.
You have negative information on the home page -- all the "How to care for your bikini" section. It starts off by saying "No swimsuit will hold up forever..." then talks about how colors fade, etc. That is information, not selling. If you went to buy a car and the salesman started by saying the car was going to wear out and then he tells you all about maintenance costs... well, that's poor salesmanship. It is good information, but it needs to be buried on another page, or given as a freebie *after* the sale.
I also like the comment above about the sizes. Don't list XS first. Have your dropdown start somewhere in the middle of the size range. Or introduce size selection later in the sales process. Make the sale first (create the right emotional environment), then deal with size later in the process. Women in your country may be smaller than US women, but they still want to feel small and dainty.
Also consider these things: instant savings for buying today, upselling companion products, coupon for % off next purchase, bonus $ for sending a friend to buy from you, free gift for buying today.
Do a walk-through of your entire sales process. Track customers (use your logs) and see where you lose them. Then fix the process at that point. The last few steps are the most important. Go to this website and read their free articles on building effective websites.
http://www.uie.com
Edited by: mwhite1249 - Jul. 22 2008 at 1:56 PM
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| Jul. 22 2008 at 4:51 PM |
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I think your website looks okay, but you can add some images below the swimsuit model. Your converstion rate works out to be about 2% which is a little low. Try giving some free information in the form of a short ebook and have a link for visitors to download that ebook. The short ebook could contain some information on hot vacation spots to visit, or some tips for water sports or recreation etc. This info can result in people returning to your website. Do remember that regardless of what the "experts" tell us, we are in a recession and often, recreation is one of the first items that people will cut from their budget. You can work thru this however, and still market your product if you can come up with some creative ways to increase your income streams. Seek out other products that might be connected with vacation and recreational activities and see if you can sign up as an affiliate marketer. Also, continue to offer that free updated information and make your site one that visitors might bookmark and return to later.
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| Jul. 22 2008 at 8:21 PM |
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Great advice above. Maybe the ladies should be giving you an answer. I'll bet they like to physically try on about 100 suits before they actually buy the one they can justifiable get away with wearing.
Don't offer free return shipping! You'll go broke!
What are the sales statistics of suits that sell every year over the net? I would research feasibility of the model first before attacking the websites design.
Doing good for the neighborhood at[URL]http://www.CitrusCountyClassifieds.com[URL]
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| Jul. 24 2008 at 12:40 PM |
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Wow... Thanks for the many good advices. I will read each and everyone of these advices carefully. I found myself in the SuN Newsletter, thanks for that 2! Love the replies.
I'm going to an exhibition for the next 2 days to sell our stuff. Hope everything turns out well!
"Success is 99% hardwork and 1% intelligence"
Albert Enstein
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