Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

So, here`s where we stand now:

• Do the shopper`s comparison shopping FOR them, right there on YOUR site so they don`t feel it necessary to click away.
• Offer various types of specials or combinations that would be difficult to emulate in a brick-and-mortar environment....OR...that simulate negotiating a deal.
• Use Testimonials.
• Have clear and easy-to-follow descriptions of the products (and good photographic images so people can really see the product).
• Make it easy to pay. Having a simple way to take credit cards would be terrific.
• Easy-to-use Shopping Cart
• Again, the specials. This might need some heavier thinking, particularly with the free shipping (and a shipping calculator?)
• High-visibility Return Policy, without making it frightening or reducing confidence in the product
• Provide a way for the potential customer to have a "Wish List," and easy bookmarking.

These are ideas for how to capture someone who`s just clicking around and stumbles across your site.

The problem here also seems to be with "deals, specials," and the "wish list." If the window-shopper-browser is actually looking for a product, testing to see if your site meets their feeling, specials would be an incentive.

What if every product has a simple button like eBay`s "Watch this" option? If it were done properly, someone could look at the site, click what they`re interested in seeing, and leave. They wouldn`t have to bookmark the site, but the site could email them "news and information" about the products they`ve chosen to watch. The email would have to have an "unsubscribe" feature.

I`m thinking of the "barkers" who stand outside clubs and show tents. People are just walking by, but these barkers try to entice them into the show...for "1 thin dime..." and so on.

Some people here on SuN propose that audio or A/V information is like that barker, where clicking the site produces not only text but sound and sight. It would have to be turned off after a first viewing though, and that`s not so easy to accomplish. Or, an "off" button works nicely.

Would that be something to add?

You seem to be compiling a check list of things that might make a potential online store more successful. Some of the advice you’ve got here is good. Some of it leans towards deterring a daily increasing category of users - internet savvy shoppers who’ve seen it all before.

 

Don’t use testimonials unless there’s a facility for users to add their own. Without this, my own automatic assumption would be that they’re phoney.

 

Your ‘watch this product’ idea is disastrous. eBay’s use of it is legitimate because people place bids and don’t want to sit in front of their screens until the auction closes. Be extremely cautious about marketing by email. Don’t underestimate the loathing that most people have for spam. If an online merchant used this technique to try and drag me into a sales pitch every five minutes, I’d hit that spam button so fast my mouse would think it had stumbled into a mousetrap.

 

The barker idea is even worse. Suck up users bandwidth and intrude on their browsing experience at the same time? It can’t be interactive, so why annoy people with it? Have you never been to a site where immediately you enter, some crummy midi tune starts playing in the background?

 

On an earlier topic. You can’t get anyone’s email address from an IP address. You can sometimes trace the ISP where an email originated, but that’s all. If people give you an email address, whether they buy your product or not, you should treat it like gold. Send me one email I didn’t subscribe for and as far as I’m concerned, you’re a spammer. It’s widely known that the surest way to get your email address into a spammer’s database is to ‘unsubscribe’ from other (not all) subscriber services. Don’t do it.

 

And finally. The most compelling reason to buy from a virtual store is the same as for a real one. Build a solid reputation for it.

 

eCom, :-)
Thanks for the counter-argument. In one sense this is compiling a list, but not the same as a "Go do this!" kind of list. I`m more trying to keep track of the explicit ideas that have been raised. The advantage is exactly for someone like yourself, so you can quickly see what`s been discussed and make your points.

I tend to agree on the spam thing. I hate it, in any form. But there have been some pretty hefty discussions about people who DO use (ahem) "mailing lists" to grow their customer base, market e-books, and make a lot of money.

The barker objection on bandwidth makes a lot of sense. The argument in favor is the growing interest in Web 2.0, and streamed A/V of some kind. I`m not yet prepared to say it`s a horrible idea, because I`m afraid I might be biased as coming from the old days of "really fast computer programs." I favor Assembler utilities that work almost instantly on any processor.

I get nervous with video feeds, slow loading sites, and so on. However, I see so few objections to that, these days, I figure I`ll keep it as a discussion point and see where we end up.

Personally, I think the reason most people click away from a site is they`re just not interested. If they`re shopping, they either don`t have the money or the product seems too expensive. In other words, "not interested" isn`t actually an answer. WHY are they not interested; that`s the reason for this discussion.

Apropos capturing an IP address from email, I wasn`t sure on that. Thanks for the clarification. (It came up partly from some other thread, but I can`t remember which one specifically.)

Hi Craig:

Okay, I sell services and not products (hard lumpy objects), so there may be some differences.  

I want to create a little bit of a sense of urgency and scarcity in my prospective clients.  If people aren`t ready or aren`t even close - this will have no effect.  But if they`re on the fence or leaning towards working with me - the people I`m interested in anyway - it will tip the scales in favor of them happily saying "yes."  When I say that I`m only looking for one person - it`s true.  I also want them to feel so excited about how I can help them that they start thinking about how they may be missing out by not having the benefits of what you offer. 

We live in a world where we`re bombarded with 13,000-15,000 marketing and advertising messages daily and so if you`re going to stand up and cut through the flotsam and the jetsam.. you have to be emotionally compelling.  It`s just plain safer for people to say "no" or "not now."

As for testimonials - they can be valuable but only if the person who made the testimonial is identified.  The testimonials on my site include not just the name of the person but also the name of their business and their site URL.  All are small business owners - so they all have a small site.  Testimonials have been helpful to me in the past and so I anticipate they`ll be helpful on this site, too.  (haven`t actually launched yet)

People buy based on emotion and then they back it up with logic.  I don`t care if they`re buying a car, a computer or groceries for the week or a lipstick or a book - they buy things that are in alignment with their core values.

As for those people who say they are never influenced by marketing or advertising - very often I find it`s not true.  The like to see themselves as "mavericks" but they`re also the exact same people picking up the phone ordering a double-pepperoni and mushroom right after they see an ad for Domino`s Pizza.  They just have to be in the presence of something they`re leaning towards anyway.  Then they always think it wasn`t the advertising or marketing - they wanted it anyway.  Translation:  the marketing worked so well  - it was seamless.

Now my husband Ernie, he really isn`t influenced by ads because I`d describe him as a "non-comsumer."  He`s originally from India and although he has an MBA he`s just a simple, lovable gallump - and just doesn`t want anything.  He just has very simple needs.  I have to beg him to replace things when they wear out - athletic shoes, jeans, a car, whatever.  So he doesn`t really even notice advertising except to laugh if it`s something funny.

All the best,

Denise Michaels, Author, "Testosterone-Free Marketing"

Visit me at http://www.MentoringwithDenise.com

-------------------------

PS: Does the thought of marketing drive you to chocolate? I`m looking for a very special woman who loves her business but hates selling and marketing. Tell me about your business and your challenges and I`ll tell you how I can help you have more fun, feel more confident and make a lot more money. All my marketing mentoring clients get results. Visit me at http://www.MentoringwithDenise.com

So Denise, are you saying that something people could do on their site is to make it appear more singular....personalized? I mean for service-oriented sites? If so, how would that work? What content would they change specifically?