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Remaining visible as a powerful player both online and in-store is clearly important – but as with any venture, it’s important to realize what works and what doesn’t when deciding to offer your products online. There are several tips you can take from the biggest players in the online shopping world to quickly build a respectable online presence and boost sales.
What works?
Don’t ignore the abandoned shopping cart. Most shopping carts will be abandoned before completion. It's important to gather the potential customer’s contact information quickly in the shopping process. This will allow you to follow-up with a timely e-mail or a phone call to recoup those lost sales.
Build your contact list. Build your contact list by offering special incentives for customers who give their e-mail addresses. Make the sign-up process quick and simple for customers – simply ask for an e-mail address when they add their first item to their online shopping cart. Keep track of which items customers purchase, segment them and send special offers tailored to their specific interests.
Cross-sell. Show relevant items whether they are accessories or alternatives to the same product. Use personal words like “you” rather than “we” to promote the suggested items, i.e. “You Might Also Like” vs. “We Suggest.”
Emphasize words that work. Use words like “Special Offers,” “Special Offers for You” or “Great Deals” to communicate savings and value.
Everyone appreciates a deal. Offer discounts on one item when you buy another, related item. Announce the offer on both product pages.
Highlight new arrivals. Online shoppers will really appreciate a “What’s New” section. It adds convenience, as it allows shoppers to immediately see the products that have recently been added to the site.
Make customer service paramount. Offer customers a number to call in case of any questions, concerns or issues with ordering. Have someone available to efficiently handle the calls. Remember that Internet means instantaneous to many, who appreciate getting questions answered with a minimal hold time when they do need to call.
Ensure privacy. Privacy policies should be easy to find and simply stated. Online shoppers are more inclined to disclose personal information and purchase products when you have effectively assured them of adherence to privacy policies. Online retailers should disclose upfront how personal data from site visitors would be used internally as well as shared externally.
Read our quick tips to proofing, turning out flawless copy and putting your best foot forward during those critical seconds.
- Make sure to read a hard copy of the document you’re proofreading. Eyes are less likely to catch a mistake when it’s on the computer screen.
- Read the document backwards to focus on the spelling of words.
- Spell-check your document when you’re finished, but don’t depend on it.
- Point with your finger to read one word at a time.
- Don’t proof for all mistakes during one read-through. Read the document for misspelled words, read again to check consistency of word usage, etc.
- Proof all headlines during one read-through. Go back again to proof the body of the text.
- Review all page numbers, headers and footers – they’re often overlooked but are just as likely to contain errors.
- Keep a list of your most common errors and keep a look-out for those separate mistakes.
- Have more than one set of eyes proofread.
- Don’t try to proof immediately after writing. Set the document down for awhile and revisit it later – the following morning is best if time allows.
- Ask yourself who, what, when, where, why and how when reading a document to ensure it answers all the necessary questions.
A “Green Business” can be defined as an organization that uses renewable resources (environmentally sustainable) and holds itself accountable for the human resource aspect of their activities.
- Know your customer. If you want to sell a greener alternative to consumers, you first need to make sure that the consumer is aware of and concerned about the issues that your product attempts to address.
- Empower consumers. Make sure that consumers feel, by themselves or in concert with all the other users of your product, that they can make a difference. This is called “empowerment” and it’s the main reason why consumers buy green products.
- Be transparent. Consumers must believe in the legitimacy of your product and the specific claims you are making. Caution: There is a lot of skepticism out there resulting from flimsy claims made by supposed green products that proved false.
- Reassure the buyer. Consumers need to believe that your product performs the job it’s supposed to do — typically they won't forego product quality in the name of the environment.
- Consider your pricing. If you're charging a premium for your product — and many environmentally preferable products cost more due to economies of scale and use of higher-quality ingredients — make sure that consumers can afford the premium and feel it’s worth it.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The country’s largest federation of businesses, the site represents companies of all sizes. The small business section provides plenty of useful (and free) documents, templates, forms, toolkits and news articles relevant to small business.
AllBusiness
Browse business advice by industry, get answers to common questions in the “Business Answers” section or log-on to one of the blogs to learn more about your industry. Visitors can also watch any of the site’s 360 business videos, which feature advice from experts. Videos appeal to all professionals – videos include an interview with David Perry of TrendMicro who discusses the importance of updating computer security and an interview with Stacy and Al Crocetti of Hardy Boat Cruises, a travel and tour company based in New Harbor, Maine who discuss the power of a good Web site.
Work.com
A site dedicated to small business how-to guides written by small business owners and experts, you’re bound to find loads of information here – all with step-by-step directions. Guides are filed into subjects, such as employees, operations, management and more.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Visit this site to ensure you’re covering your bases; it’s full of information related to protecting your intellectual property.
Small Business Trends
Here, follow small business blogger Anita Campbell as she discusses all things entrepreneurship. In 2005, this site won the “Best of the Web” for small business blogs, honorable mention from MarketingSherpa as Best Small Business Marketing blog and the Number One Most Practical Blog for Entrepreneurs from About.com.
Small Business Brief
This site features concise, easy-to-read small business news in blog format. Read comments from others or post your own after each news brief.
StartupNation
Designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs – it’s a one-stop shop for helpful articles, peer-to-peer forums, blogs, on-demand seminars, podcasts and success stories. The site features StartupNation Radio, hosted by entrepreneur brothers, dozens of public forums and a “Step by Step Advice” section with topics like “10 Steps to Grow Your Business” and “8 Steps to Managing Your Money.”
94 percent of consumers prefer doing business with this type of company.
Environmentally conscious companies.
A recent survey discovered that 94 percent of all consumers prefer to do business with companies that demonstrate that they care about the environment. Almost 80 percent said they would pay more for environmentally friendly products.
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