The "No Nonsense" Guide To Increasing Your Online Sales
Millions of people enter the Internet business arena every
day... hundreds of thousands of websites go up each week...
millions of dollars are spent every hour.
It's scary how fast 'net commerce is growing, but what's even
scarier is the "entry requirements" of any online business.
Quite simply, there aren't any!
Anyone with a computer connected to the 'net can trade online.
Anyone can hook up to a secure credit card processor and start
accepting your hard earned cash. And even more importantly,
anyone can run away with it.
This scary fact is what gnaws away at the mind of a skeptical
consumer, and without an element of trust established in their
minds, they'll leave empty handed which will leave you, in turn,
empty pocketed.
I've personally visited many sites where the product looks like
a real winner, but I haven't dared to part with my hard earned
cash due to the insecurity the site offers. Don't make the same
mistake.. here's how:
1) GIVE FULL COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION.
Devote a section of your website to "company information" and
give a list of your main staff and who handles what. Give a
telephone number, email address, mailing address, and full
contact info. You could even include photographs and biographies
of each team member.
It may not seem obvious what the purpose of your mug shot is,
but by doing so it brings the globality of the 'net much closer
(i.e. they can actually "see" who they're dealing with) which
helps add reassurance to the customer. I've seen sales double
with just this one tactic alone.
2) BUILD YOUR TRUST ON THE TRUST OF OTHERS
People may not initially trust you, but who they will trust are
established organizations such as the Better Business Bureau or
i-Cop who's job it is to monitor the activity and business
practices of their members. By joining these, you have to
conform to their standards and as a result, assure the minds of
your customers.
Here are a few sites to visit:
http://www.netcheck.com http://www.better-internet-bureau.org
http://www.i-cop.org
Example: You can check out my personal profile and testimonials
at:
http://netcheck.com/perfectbusiness.shtml
Displaying these membership icons can help prove you're a
serious business, and not some fly-by-night scam artist out to
grab every dime they can get their grubby hands on.
3) PROVIDE SURE-FIRE POLICIES AND CONDITIONS
Write your own "Privacy Policy" reassuring the visitor on how
you use their information. Inform them that their personal info
is completely safe and secure, and that NO info will be sold to
third-parties or used as spam.
When shopping online, I like to see the following:
* Anti-spam policy * Secure credit card processing policy *
Privacy statement * Terms and conditions
It makes the business feel much more established and
professional. And let's face it, that's the kind of company that
you want to do business with, isn't it?
4) IMAGE IS EVERYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS
Still using that free Geocities business page? Oh please. Get
yourself a professional image. You'll need your own domain name,
a web hosting solution, and a nice site design to even begin to
impress your customers.
People say to me "Ray, why isn't my website selling?" My
response is usually "Well, would YOU trust a site like yours?".
It needs to be professional, visually appealing, and full of the
info consumers need to see.
If it screams "scam", then your consumers will think "scam".
It's common sense really. Start treating your Internet business
as a proper business and actually devote the EFFORT required
into making it appealing.
5) EASY ORDERING OPTIONS ARE A MUST IN THIS GLOBAL MARKET
I've lost count at the amount of times I've pulled out my credit
card to purchase a product online, then realized that the
company only ships to one country... or they don't accept my
payment method altogether.
Make your customer feel at ease. Include full ordering and
shipping information BEFORE they purchase, so they know exactly
what's going on every step of the way.
I love ordering from Amazon because they go out of their way to
ensure the smoothest and easiest ordering experience possible.
Compare yourself to Amazon... just how easy is it to order from
you? Do you accept all major credit cards, and international
check payments too?
They're my five points of successfully establishing your
credibility. The rest just comes as common sense.
Treat your customers as you'd except to be treated too and in
turn, they'll never query your credibility or need to worry
about buying from you again.