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Home::ECommerce
Sales From Your Site - Make It Simple For Prospects
Author : Halstatt Pires
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.
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