| ||
| ||
|
Internet Marketing | |
| Domain Names | E Books | Email Marketing | Ezine Marketing | |||
| Internet Marketing | Marketing | PPC Advertising | SEO | |||
| Traffic Building | Web Design | Web Development | Web Hosting | |||
| ||||||
|
| ||||
|
5 Things More Important to Internet Buyers than WHAT Youre Selling II
Web commerce is all about courtship, not salesmanship. In life, a suitor can't go from first date to the engagement ring in one afternoon. Courtship is an intricate dance, where each party contributes to the relationship at a measured tempo. Trust grows through gradual exchanges and reassurances. Yet, the typical sales-oriented Web site urges the visitor to jump to commitment right away. Pushing for them to "BUY NOW!" is not only premature, but a misapplication of the fact that visitors are in a hurry. Developing a relationship can't be rushed or skipped--not if you intend to lead them to the alter (sale). Buyers want and need to proceed at their own pace. Each request you make of a visitor "call, read, subscribe or buy" requires a higher level of commitment. So back off the hard sell, and instead weave the steps into a sensuous dance that respects them and invites a lasting relationship. It's possible, if you follow these five points that buyers care about. 1. How well they're treated The mood of the site should be welcoming, geared to assist the customer finding what they're looking for. Trust grows as you minimize their sense of risk. And make no mistake, the buyer's risks are greater online. Recognize them and reduce them as much as possible. They've been conned, burned, or faced non-delivery of purchases--not to mention abuse of their credit cards or privacy information. The Internet works because people feel anonymous. People are understandably leery about revealing personal information. So every aspect of the site needs to say, "you're safe here" along with, "look at all the interesting things we have to show you." One fast move and that skittish deer will bolt. Web commerce has several inherent disadvantages--shipping charges, delays until products arrive, lack of hands-on assessment, etc. When buyers encounter other disadvantages as well, whether it's unacceptable policies, or added costs, they treat them as a deal breaker--even if it's just a little bit more. 2. How efficiently the buying process went Assuming your site sells a tangible product, the buyer has to be able to assess its looks, materials, uses, and value without being able to touch it. This can be accomplished much better with some products than others by use of photographs and descriptive copy. But a buyer still takes a chance as to color, size, quality, and suitability. Sales sites need to know their customers' concerns so well that they anticipate what they need to know. Design the site for ease of scanning and logical organization that presents information so it will guide and inform. 3. How much aggravation they had to endure Here's where poor navigation or slow download times cost you sales. (Navigation problems are a main reason why site visitors leave.) They won't stay at a site where they can't easily find the answers they want. And if they have to wait too long for pages to load, forget it. Internet users are extremely time sensitive. The high percentage of abandoned shopping carts (as much as a quarter) proves that the payment process can defeat all efforts to motivate the buyer. These are "almost" sales, where sloppiness got in the way. Getting through some payment procedures confounds even experienced surfers. How many payment options do you provide--anywhere from Paypal to fax your order? Credit cards are convenient, but not always the purchaser's preferred choice. How intrusive are the questions (yes, we know about fraud avoidance)? When the goal is building trust (in both directions), how many "we don't trust you" signals does your site send? 4. How many mind games were played on them The primary products sold on most web sites are hype and high pressure. Unfortunately, that's not what buyers are looking to buy, and why conversion rates online are so abysmally low. The quality of typical sales copy is aggressive, designed more to trick than inform. It seems like the sales letters were drafted from the same manual. Aggressive tactics are so widespread that effective, customer-friendly copy can actually stand out. So get rid of the "gotchas." Customers dread them, and then relax once they don't find them. Mind games don't end after the sale's complete. Be alert for delivery, security, and privacy lapses that could creep up after the sale. 5. How well the business has its act together overall Behind the computer screen are untold elements--efficient links, quick loading, glitch-free credit card processing, the respect for the visitor's time, etc., that reveal the company's priorities. Unless all the parts work with a consistent goal and degree of care the buyer experiences whiplash. Sour notes (small potatoes signals) are trivial in themselves, but break the momentum toward purchasing. They're easily eliminated--once you know to look for them. To learn how, read the helpful articles at my site, http://www.giantpotatoes.com Give yourself extra points for post-sale follow up. Here's where Internet sellers can shine because of autoresponders and customer-oriented e-mail. Don't just use such tools for making the sale. Use them to build relationships and added value after you get their money. Dance Your Way to Profits Courtship is necessary to develop a lasting relationship. The pace of the dance should reflect the give-and-take necessary to build trust. Don't sell the buyer, court him with a well-paced dance. This is Part II of a two-part series. Part I can be read at: http://www.giantpotatoes.com/article201.htm © 2004, Lynella Grant About The Author Dr. Lynella Grant is an expert on the signals that make up the "body language" of a business. Author of The Business Card Book and Stop Looking Like Small Potatoes Visit http://www.giantpotatoes.com Off the Page Press (719) 395-9450 mailto:grant@giantpotatoes.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Internet-Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Starting an Internet Business is not for Everyone Creating and building your home internet business does not need to be a daunting task. Knowing how to start an internet business will pretty much be the most important thing you would want to know. There is Hidden a Successful Formula in Everything Although many say that things change on the net, still what worked before keeps working. You can advertise with start pages or banner exchanges. Google Sitemaps - A New Free Google Tool Google has released another valuable. The tool, "Sitemaps", allows you to notify Google of site updates. Planning Your Way to Success Whether you are a small company or a larger corporation one of the primary keys to success lies in preparing and following a good marketing plan. Why? Because you can have the most awesome product or service to offer, but without a plan in place, you may flounder for direction and waste a lot of time and energy as a result. 10 Sure-Fire Viral Marketing Strategies To Increase Traffic To Your Website "Viral Marketing" is giving something away for free and allowing people to pass it on to others. The main purpose of viral marketing is to spread your message to as many people as possible without having to spend any money for advertising. Top 10 Marketing Tips for Newbie To Start Looking for some tips on being a newbie in the world of marketing? Here are a few to think about (and do!).1) Know your audience - While marketing your website or webpage,you should consider your audience. How To Get An Instant Flow Of Traffic Doing What You Always Do How DO you get a great flow of traffic for free? Well I know one way you can get great traffic doing what you do everyday you get on the internet! Finally something easy without clicking sites you don't want to look. Look at what you want to with InstantBuzz while getting credits to display your site to thousands and thousands of people across the globe. What is So Exciting about Money and the Internet? I believe it is a principle of human nature that has always been there. You see it in kids digging in the woods for that 'hidden treasure'. Capture Names - They Are Like GOLD Nuggets!! A landing page is used to capture people's details when they come to your website.It helps to sort out the serious lookers from the curious!If people come to your website and they aren't really that interested in what you have to offer, then they probably won't give you their details to have a look at the inside. Mortgage Marketing: What To Expect From Your New Website The day has come for your new website to go 'Live'. After tweaking this and changing that you are finally ready for the herds of potential clients to bombard your website with promising loan applications. The New State Of The Art Method For Making Money With Joint Ventures If you are anything like me, you spend a lot of time researching joint ventures and going through the chore of analysing all the joint venture proposals you get on a daily basis in your inbox. I've often wondered if there was an easier way to find successful joint ventures, as serious marketers online all know the power of joint venture marketing. Getting noticed on the Internet - Digital Marketing for Small Business The Internet has grown from a small network of academics needing a way to trade research into a world-spanning, ubiquitous marketplace and repository for nearly every possible kind of information and knowledge. How does a small business avoid being washed away in the constant tide of buying, selling and marketers hawking every conceivable item (and some difficult to conceive. 10 Ways to Exceed Your Clients Expectations Every Time! The following tips are just a few of the things I do as examples of setting my service apart from the crowd. In general, the weakest areas in the Internet Marketing and Web Development business, are "Customer Communications" and "Customer Service. Online Testing Optimization Simply put, online testing involves keying each different test variable with a unique identifying code (so each desired response can be tracked to its source), running the test campaign, keeping records, and tabulating and comparing the results. The winning variable then becomes the control, or bench mark, which future ones are measured against. Internet Marketing Requires Persistence Marketing your company online requires patience and persistence. Like every worthwhile investment, you need to plan on a long-term commitment to reap a good return. Building Consumer Confidence Builds Sales Many small online business owners have yet to understand the sheer power that comes from building consumer confidence. They struggle with sales month after month, but still, when someone tells them their site design needs help, they get offended. Creating Your Internet Marketing Plan For large corporations, a marketing plan is a huge document detailing strategies for the fiscal year. It may include competitor analysis or a sales forecast. Ten Ways to Sell to Your Customers Again and Again OK, so you're making some sales, either of your own products, or through affiliate sales. What you may not know is that you've got a virtual gold mine in your possession, and all you have to do is follow a few simple steps to turn these one-time sales into lifetime customers, and to potentially create more and more customers simultaneously. Road Map to Internet Marketing Success Today, the internet has become part of our life. We communicate, trade, and find entertainment over the internet. 10 Explosive Ways To Turbo-Boost Your Sales 1. Design your web site to be a targeted resource center.
|
| Domain Names | E Books | Email Marketing | Ezine Marketing | |
| Internet Marketing | Marketing | PPC Advertising | SEO | |
| Traffic Building | Web Design | Web Development | Web Hosting |
|
Home | Site Map | 1000 Free
Places for Ads! | Free
Classified Ads | Free-For-All
Ads | Reciprocal
Links | Search
Engines | |
| Copyright © 2006-2007. The Highland Marketing Group. All Rights Reserved. |
|
| ||
|
