Posted by admin on April 26th, 2008 — Posted in Your Commerce
Building a web site often can lead to interesting deviations caused by practicalities and changes in perspective. This is okay so long as you keep things simple for prospects.
Many business owners unintentionally erect barriers between themselves and their customers when it comes to the site sales process. Simple mechanisms can be put in place to remove these barriers. A business owner that is always looking for new ways to connect with potential customers often finds his or her efforts paying off many times over. Some of the most common web sales barriers are lack of contact methods, payment methods, and delivery methods. To bridge these potential barriers, a business owner can provide more options to crossing each of these barriers.
Contact Barriers
Simply adding contact options can be a great way to create more sales. Some web sites only offer email or even just a contact form as a means of contact. Yet there are many people that prefer to conduct transactions over the phone, by mail or by fax. Retail sites discover this fact the first time they go through a hot sales period such as Christmas. Some people just like to call. No, I don’t know why. They just do.
Providing a broad range of contact options also builds credibility. Having an office address, fax and phone number in addition to an email address shows the prospective client that the business does in fact exist and has made themselves transparent and easy to contact. Providing such information gives people the impression they aren’t dealing with some Nigerian scam.
Using an 800 number is also an excellent way to build credibility and remove a sales barrier. Picking up the tab on calls from potential clients is a polite gesture and may encourage a potential buyer one more reason to call. Toll-free numbers are easy to obtain these days and can cost around 6 cents per minute - a small price to pay for building confidence in your audience.
Payment Barriers
Many web sites provide only one way to pay for merchandise - credit card. There are many reasons to offer more payment methods. For one, not everyone has a credit card. Although in the United States, it seems like almost everyone does, this is not true in over-seas markets where there is resistance to credit. Furthermore, some people just don’t feel safe providing credit card information over the web. Regardless of how safe or unsafe Internet transactions may or may not be, it is usually the job of the business owner to provide what the consumer wants.
It is a simple matter to provide an address and a printable order form for most web sites where a check can be mailed. If you are running a home business, a PO box is a simple solution to keep your business separate from your home. Some mail box services allow for your address to be a suite number instead of a box number, which can further improve the image of your business.
Providing a phone number by which orders can be placed is also a way to remove a barrier between you and your potential customers. Of course this means there must also be someone there to answer the phone. Simply answering the phone can be the difference between a sale and a lost sale.
Delivery Methods
For businesses providing products, providing a variety of delivery methods is yet another way to cater to the desires of your customers and potential customers. Many people have a preference for delivery and meeting this preference could be a deciding factor when deciding whether or not to place an order. For those businesses providing services, providing a delivery pickup service for a deposit and/or contract can be a perfect sale closer.
Conclusion
By removing barriers between you and your potential customers you can increase the chances of making sales. Other options are also available, like instant messaging support, mapped out directions, video conferencing and more. Be careful to not confuse your audience with too many options. It is often a good idea to direct your audience to default options for contact, payment and delivery so as not to confuse people. Other options can be shown as small links or drop down options. By working to connect more with your audience, your sales and customer satisfaction can be increased dramatically.
Halstatt Pires is with the Internet marketing firm - www.marketingtitan.com - a San Diego Internet marketing and advertising company offering automated web site systems - www.businesscreatorpro.com - create web databases, e-commerce sites, business lead management systems and more.
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Posted by admin on April 20th, 2008 — Posted in Your Commerce
Most young people go into business because they want to make a lot of money.
I don’t enjoy working for other people.
I like to be challenged!
When I first started people laughed at me. They told me, “your cannot do it” but deep in my heart I knew that I would someday start my own business.
If I can do it, so can you!
Here are 5 keys to my personal business success:
1. Have a passion for success
- a burning desire
- willingness to learn
- have the right mindset
- be positive
- be proactive
- get started
2. Focus
- set daily goals
- pay attention to detail
- always move towards your goals
- plan often
3. Diligence
-stay on task
- don’t’ get discourage
- don’t accept failure
- learn from your mistakes
4. Knowledge driven
- learn from the best
- apply what you’ve learned
- have a passion for knowledge
- listen to advice
- try and learn from experience
5. Find the right products
- look at online reviews
- verify products
- make sure the product is right for you
- look at testimonies and look at the product benefits
These are the keys that you want to follow
They will kick start your own e-business.
If you have the passion to do something, just do it. Don’t let people let you down in anyway, think positively, there are many ways you can do this.
Getting started is one corner stone to your success, so get started today.
Now, I have told you the 5 key ways that you could build your e-business.
Now it is the time for you to take action.
Mr. Titus Cheng is a first-generation businessman based in Seattle, WA. Titus is an ambitious young man with a passion for e-commerce and sales. He is innovative and is skillful at developing multi-products.
His expertise includes:
• Publishing ezines
• Building mini-websites
• Marketing strategy
• Creating audio products
http://www.instantebookprofit.com
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Posted by admin on April 2nd, 2008 — Posted in Your Commerce
Online auctions have become a popular way for many people to
make money. The online auction business model includes one party
that sells products and services, while another party bids to
purchase them.
There a number of advantages of this online auction business
model. A few of them are listed below.
No geographical limitations: This is a strength of the
online auction business model that is inherent by the fact that
it is “online.” The Internet allows sellers and bidders to
participate in online auctions from anywhere in the world. A
seller in Japan can put up a doll on an online auction site that
can be bid on by bidders that reside in the U.S. The “cost” of
participating in an auction is essentially zero. This advantage
also increases the number of products and services that can be
listed, leading to an increased number of sellers and bidders.
No time constraints: Items can be posted on auction sites
at any time of the day, and bids can be made on items any time
of the day as well. And since items are listed for usually one
to 10 days, potential bidders have a lot of time to ponder their
bid.
Many bidders: Since online auctions allow for the
potential to find a wide variety of items at lower-than-retail
prices, it draws many consumers to try their hand at getting a
bargain through an online auction. The ease of the bidding
process also attracts consumers, who can bid from their
computers in the comfort of their own home.
Many sellers: On the other hand, the potential to sell
items at higher-than-retail prices also draws many sellers.
Selling their items through online auctions also reduces their
selling costs, and is also very simple and easy to do.
Joy of winning: Part of the fun pertaining to the entire
bidding process is seeing whether or not you will “win” the
auction and get the desired item. This aspect of the online
auction process attracts many bidders who find the win just as
rewarding as the item.
Online Auctions
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Posted by admin on March 31st, 2008 — Posted in Your Commerce
With all the companies on the internet that offer affiliate programs, you want to be able to differentiate between the types of programs that are being offered.
The three main affiliate programs you can choose from are, pay-per-sale, pay-per-lead and pay-per-click.
Pay-Per-Sale programs are definitely the most popular. By putting a link on your website and promoting their product, these companies will pay you a commission (usually 10% to 25%) on every sale you make on their product. Some of the companies will even pay out bonuses to their top producers.
There are many companies that pay you consistently from repeat sales from a customer who continues to buy products.
Some of these companies offer a two-tier program, whereas you receive a small percentage of commissions from anyone who signs up as an affiliate through you. With this type of program is where you will begin to build a consistent stream of revenue.
To significantly increase your levels of success, choose an affiliate program that is in relationship to your website. If you choose a program that is also a good match with your viewer’s interest, than you can see great results and do very well with this program.
Pay-Per-Lead with this type of program the company pays you a fixed commission amount for all qualified leads that you send them. Generally the leads would be signing up for; a newsletter, credit cards, new email subscribers, new applications to loans or requesting more information are a few examples.
Even though it is not as popular as pay-per-sale, some look at pay-per-lead programs as easier to promote because you are not requesting your visitor to make a purchase.
When considering this program, check out the company that you are going to be referring. You want to refer companies that offer a good product or service. Remember, if you refer someone to a bad experience, they will most likely not have any trust or interest in what you have to offer in the future.
Pay-Per-Click With this program you agree to put a link or banner on your website. The company pays you for each click through to their website. The payouts can be anywhere from $.01 to $.025 per visitor that you send to their website.
When considering this affiliate program, look for reputable companies that give you access to a statistics page to your account. This page should show you the total number of clicks that have come from your website, your earnings, new affiliates and contact information. This will be your only means to measure your earnings and how many clicks you have provided with this type of program.
A good word of advice is before signing up with any company, be sure to check out their program thoroughly and review their terms and conditions.
John Kovacs is the CEO and founder of “A Home Business Opportunity”. His website mainly focuses on supplying free marketing tips, resources and support for home startup businesses and Internet marketing. To get a step-by-step guide in building an online business, visit http://www.ahomebusinessopportunity.net
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