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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for April, 2001 ++++++++++++++++++++++++
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If you're going to sell something using the internet (e-commerce) you need to pay attention to what it takes to get a customer to actually purchase an item using your shopping cart. There are plenty of designers who don't have the foggiest idea of what is required for an effective shopping experience on the Internet so it's up to you to give direction whoever you hire. The designer might be great at html and/or graphic design but that is only the beginning. Shoppers use the Internet to SAVE TIME. So the shopping experience must be easy and quick. With this important statement in mind, here are a few specific ideas to increase the probability that a shopper will buy from your website. 1. The navigation on your website should be easy to use and consistent throughout. Forget fancy drop-down menus that look like Microsoft Explorer or distracting animated menus - just stick to what is obvious, like tabs or simple directory listings. 2. Make the shopping cart east to find and include it throughout your e-commerce website. A visitor should always be able to instantly navigate to his or her cart. 3. Make the shopping checkout experience fast and easy! Don't include form elements asking for how you liked the website, what new products would you like to see, your age, etc. Ask for ONLY what is required for the transaction - name, address, e-mail, credit card info, etc. 4. Make certain your website contains full contact information that is easy to find. A telephone and address are a MUST. Also ensure that the customer can easily determine any extra charges, what shipping cost will be, return policy, etc. There should be no surprises for the customer. ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are 7 well known, highly effective marketing tactics many small business owners overlook when developing their marketing program. How many have you overlooked? 1. BE UNIQUE The best way to beat your competition is to promote a distinct advantage your customers cannot get from a competitor. This is often called your USP (short for Unique Selling Proposition). If you don't already have a distinct advantage, create one. Add something to your business you're not already doing. One network marketer I know doubled her sign up ratio by providing free sales leads to her new distributors for their first 4 months. 2. USE TESTIMONIALS Collect and use testimonials. Testimonials from satisfied customers are similar to referrals. Both provide your prospect with evidence that your product or service produced results for other customers just like them. I've performed many tests using the same messages with and without testimonials. Those with testimonials always increased sales, often by as much as 65% or more. Don't wait for satisfied customers to volunteer a testimonial. Instead, follow up with some customers soon after completing a transaction. Ask what they liked best about your product, service or business opportunity. You'll get many flattering compliments. Ask for permission to use them in your promotions. 3. MAKE AN UPSELLING OFFER Upselling is a proven technique you can use to get more money at the point of sale. Customers will never be more receptive to an attractive offer from you than when they're paying you money. Offer your customers or clients the option to upgrade to a better product or service at a special price. Or, offer the option of adding a related item to the sale for a special combination price. Many will accept your offer. An upselling offer can increase your average sale by 30 percent or more without creating any advertising expense. 4. TRIVIALIZE YOUR PRICE Demonstrate a low cost for your product or service by breaking down the price to its lowest time increment. "$325 per year" frightens many customers away. "Enjoy all of this for less than 90 cents a day" attracts them to the low cost. 5. STRESS BENEFITS BEFORE FEATURES A feature is what something is. A benefit is what it does. For example, my favorite donuts are now delivered in a re-sealable box. That's a feature. The donuts stay fresh for a week after I first open the box. That's the benefit. Promote the benefits of your product or service before you promote the features of it. People never buy something to get a feature. They always buy to get the benefit produced by the feature. 6. FOCUS ON THE HEADLINE Always include a headline with your ad, sales letter or webpage. Include your biggest benefit in the headline to grab your prospect's attention. Otherwise, many prospective customers won't read your promotional material. When you develop a new promotion, test different headlines to find the most effective one BEFORE you test anything else. After you find the headline that attracts the most readers you can test to find the most motivating copy for them to read. 7. MAKE AN OFFER Never advertise without including an offer. An irresistible offer is the number one reason why people buy something. To substantially increase the response to your advertising, substantially improve your offer. Many small businesses advertise without including an offer. This is a costly mistake because it doesn't provide a reason for prospective customers to respond. The best way to get a big response from your advertising is to make an offer your prospects can't refuse. Are you using all 7 of these tactics in your promotions? If not, revise your marketing program to include those you've overlooked. You'll immediately enjoy a big increase in your sales and profits without increasing your expenses. Contact Bob Leduc, author of "How To Build A High-Profit Business On A Low-Impact Budget," at BobLeduc@aol.com Subj: "ProfitBook". Return to top of page - Back to Home Page - Back to Archive Index |