The Basic Principles Applied in Selling on the Web Used in the Brick and Mortar World - Research Paper Example

Introduction The art of selling on the web is unsurprisingly not that different from selling in the brick and mortar world. The key components of the strategy to drive sales on the web remain the same as anywhere and they are attracting the customer, providing a good service experience, and to retain customers for repeat business. The only difference perhaps lies in the fact that the Internet provides considerable ease to the customer in finding alternates and to compare offerings. Success as a web-based company requires diligence and flexibility because of the mercurial nature of the technology and the consumer's ability to navigate through what competition offers. Invariably, web based companies too focused on the design possibilities that come with technology and get entangled in the technology itself rather than follow the three basic principles cited here. This paper outlines some of the ways in which technology can be effectively used to sell without overwhelming the customer with badly designed e-commerce sites. Attracting the customer With a large number of sellers on the web, it is essential to convert visitors into buyers. In today’s competition, conversion ratios are not necessarily very large (Volpe, 2008), and it is necessary to have more visitors to ensure that a larger number are converted into buyers of products and services. One of the major ways in which to attract the right customers is to research the target market and design the site accordingly (Chance, 2006). An artistically designed site with a lot of abstract graphics may possibly attract art enthusiasts but if one is selling car spare parts this is clearly not an advantage. The designer must build the website with simple understandable content keeping the targeted customer in mind rather than his or her own whims about design ideas (Olson, 2009). Another aspect that goes hand in hand with targeted marketing is consistency of information on the website. After all, if customers at Walmart saw onions stacked next to shirts, Walmart would probably not have been as successful as they are. Consistency is not simply organization of content in related categories but also important in terms of colors, typography, type and style of images, and how the customer navigates through pages (Abdillahi, 2006). Use of heavy graphics and large images might be all right for customers with good powered computers and Internet connections but discourage the average user (Abdillahi, 2006) and must be avoided. There are simple ways to do that and software like Photoshop can help edit, resize, and optimize images to improve web page load times considerably (Chance, 2006). Finally, security of customer information and financial transactions gives comfort and attracts visitors. This single factor transcends the three areas of attraction, services, and retaining customers and must be considered seriously while designing revenue generating web sites. An SSL certificate, available cheap, gives the visitor confidence that their transactions are secured (Chance, 2006). Also, sites with no “About us” description or no contact information discourage customers as they would not see any way of communication to resolve potential conflicts (Olson, 2009). Few designers see the importance of offering a simple guarantee against misuse of customer information but it goes a long way in making the customer want to explore the site further. User experience and service A good user experience at the site goes a long way in ensuring customer loyalty in the face of competition. User experience can comprise of how easy it is to find information, whether the information is adequate, how smooth is it to place the order, and how comfortable the customer is in doing business at the site. Additionally, for repeat customers, familiarity of interface is also important. Consistency, simplicity, and ease of navigation in the website not only attract the visitor in the first place but also help enrich the user experience. However, a lot of times designers or owners of sites overlook the fact that, beyond the home page, users spend a considerable amount of time on product or services descriptions (Olson, 2009). A precise, well laid out description of what is sold, and under what terms and conditions, may implicitly address the visitor’s potential queries and encourage them to place an order. A smoother and quicker checkout process also makes all the difference between a poorly designed site and a good one. It is not hard to imagine whether a customer would prefer to place an order at a website that asks to fill out eight pages of information forms or one that asks for only one (Chance, 2006). Website owners and designers also need to raise the level of comfort of customers to ensure they go back satisfied. One simple way to raise this comfort level is to address and reduce the perception of any risks associated with doing business at their site. As mentioned in the previous section, building security in the interaction through SSL is one of the options to that. Another way is to make sure that the customer knows it is easy to reach a representative in case of issues in the order or product. Providing contact information and a process to deal with such situations was mentioned in the previous section. Many sites now also offer online chat facility for customers to quickly voice their issues. Customers also like it when they feel they are being “listened to” at the site. Polls, feedback forms, and other ways of customer interaction determine the responsiveness of the website (Olson, 2009). Finally, familiarity and identity is an integral part of user experience. A customer would not like to visit a site whose design is always changing making it harder to find information or to identify with it. A number of times designers are tempted to change the design more frequently than they should. It is important to remember that while the designer may suffer from fatigue at seeing the same design over and over, the frequency at which the customer sees that design is far lower (Volpe, 2008). Repeat business and customer retention It is common knowledge that business thrive on retaining existing customers and ensuring repeat business while, at the same time, attracting newer prospects. It is helpful to “remember” customers across visits to offer a personal flavor to their experience at the site. One of the ways this can be done by using simple tools such as cookies or maintaining a trail of customer activity at the website’s database. A number of sites ask their customers and prospects to register to receive periodic newsletters which help the business owner to remain in touch with clients. A newer way of doing the same thing more effectively and interactively is by using blogs and social networking sites (Volpe, 2008). Customers and prospects can subscribe to blogs or add the Facebook page as “Friend” or “Like” it. This allows the business owner to stay involved with clients as the updates appear in their social networking space. The ability to place comments makes it interactive and further allows indirect marketing as the customer’s own social group is able to see the site’s updates. It is important, though, not to bombard with information causing fatigue for the client. Newer technology tools This discussion would be incomplete without briefly touching on the newer tools available on the web to assist in marketing, advertising, and gauging website response. Search engines now form a large part of any person’s web experience. It is essential now to have knowledge of what search terms people are using and incorporate related keywords in one’s own website to make sure that pages from the site end up in user’s search results (Volpe, 2008). Further, tools such as at www.hubspot.com are available which provide important statistics about links from where visitors are reaching the site, how frequently are they converted to customers, and which pages on the site are more important relative to others (Volpe, 2008). Conclusion The basic principles applied in selling on the web are not very different from those conventional principles used in the brick and mortar world and consist of attracting prospects, converting them into customers, and ensuring they continue doing business. The web however, is a newer platform and offers its own possibilities in how each of these principles are implemented. This paper has discussed the importance of design criteria, safety, comfort, interactivity, and some common sense approaches to successfully selling on the Internet. Additionally the importance of keeping an eye on the fast changing nature of the platform is highlighted by briefly touching on some of the newer ways business owners can enhance their productivity. References Abdillahi, A. (2004, September 27) “Design an Eye Catching Website”. The UK Web Design Company. n.p. Retrieved July 22, 2010, from http://www.theukwebdesigncompany.com/articles/article.php?article=847. Chance, J. (2006, January 4) 10 Easy Steps to a Horrible Ecommerce Site. Sitepoint. n.p. Retrieved July 22, 2010, from http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/steps-horrible-ecommerce-site. Olson, J. (2009, March 23) 5 Universal Principles for Successful eCommerce-Sites. Smashing Magazine. n.p. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/03/23/designing-for-the-user-experience-in-ecommerce/. Volpe, M. (2008) Website Redesign Tips for Marketing Success [Video file]. Retrieved July 28, 2010, from http://www.mikevolpe.com/marketing-speaker/website-redesign-presentation/ Read More