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Small Business Tips: How to Sell More on the Web Isabel M. Isidro Managing Editor, PowerHomeBiz.com www.powerhomebiz.com Twitter: @powerhomebiz Facebook: www.facebook.com/imisidro

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Turning Visitors to Customers <ul><li>Getting visitors to your website is one thing; turning them into customers is a whole different ballgame. </li></ul><ul><li>If you are selling on the Web, you need to be able to do both well. You need to be able to attract more visitors and then turn them into customers. </li></ul>

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Factors to Entice Visitors to Buyers <ul><li>Simplicity or ease of use of web site </li></ul><ul><li>Attitude and accessibility </li></ul><ul><li>Responsiveness or the quality, speed and helpfulness of customer service </li></ul><ul><li>Transparency of policies including privacy and return policies </li></ul><ul><li>Selection and presentation of products </li></ul>

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Challenges of Small Online Retailers <ul><li>Lack of technology </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Limited personalization and customization </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>No data mining capabilities </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Limited capability to boost site efficiency </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Cannot take advantage of economies of scale to lower costs </li></ul><ul><li>Smaller marketing budgets </li></ul><ul><li>No multichannel marketing </li></ul>

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Tips to Increase Sales <ul><li>Get the right traffic </li></ul><ul><li>Build customer confidence </li></ul><ul><li>Improve product presentation </li></ul><ul><li>Maximize after-sales opportunities </li></ul>

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Get the Right Traffic <ul><li>Identify your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) </li></ul><ul><li>Seek qualified traffic – visitors that are genuinely interested in your products </li></ul><ul><li>Generate good visibility and reviews from shopping comparison web sites (Shopping.com, Epinions.com, Bizrate.com, etc.) </li></ul><ul><li>Sharpen your landing pages </li></ul>

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Get the Right Traffic <ul><li>Get your web pages ready for the sale </li></ul><ul><li>Analyze your web traffic </li></ul><ul><li>Reduce load times </li></ul><ul><li>Your site search is your best friend: examine what visitors are searching in your site </li></ul>

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How the Big Boys Do It: Home Depot Keep customers engaged by showing them and explaining to them why they need your products HomeDepot.com provides articles, videos and how-to guides to inform their customers and make their site a go-to place for information pertaining to their products

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Build Customer Confidence <ul><li>Demonstrate that you are a real business </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Include an “About Us” section </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Put your contact email information and a telephone number </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>If possible, include your physical address </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Put a human face to your business: consider putting in photos of your staff (if any) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Create a section where all your press mentions </li></ul></ul>

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Build Customer Confidence <ul><li>Get a toll free 1-800 number </li></ul><ul><li>Provide evidence of your products’ success </li></ul><ul><li>Give customers signals of protection and safety </li></ul><ul><li>Consider creating a “first-time visitor” page </li></ul><ul><li>Clearly specify your return policies </li></ul><ul><li>State your privacy policy </li></ul><ul><li>Respond to emails quickly </li></ul><ul><li>Do a spelling check of your web site </li></ul>

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How the Big Boys Do It: Target.com Add to Cart is located above the fold in an eye-catching red and prominent size Price is highlighted using big, red fonts, with availability clearly indicated Featured campaigns as well as Clearance prominently displayed even in product pages Several photos of the products are included, including how it can be used

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Improve Product Presentation <ul><li>Lead the visitors to your sales funnel </li></ul><ul><li>Make it easy for visitors to use and buy from your site </li></ul><ul><li>Design your site in such a way that visitors immediately know what you are selling </li></ul><ul><li>Entice customers to buy </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Highlight special promotions or hot new products </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Show best selling products </li></ul></ul>

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Improve Product Presentation <ul><li>Avoid intro, splash, or entry pages </li></ul><ul><li>Pictures sell: Invest in great photography </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Clear, clean, big and devoid of any distracting backgrounds </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Write compelling sales copy </li></ul><ul><li>Make your call to buy signals consistent and prominent </li></ul><ul><li>Use an Upsell Page </li></ul>

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Copy focuses on benefit: “Flattering fit – guaranteed” How the Big Businesses Do It: LL Bean Key Features offer bullets of supporting benefits Add to Bag uses a different color that makes it pop from the page

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Maximize After-Sales Opportunity <ul><li>Maximize cross-sell opportunities </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Include in your confirmation email other items they may like, as well as mailers included when the product is sent. </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Give customers incentive to buy again from you </li></ul><ul><li>Provide return and money-back policies </li></ul><ul><li>Consider a loyalty program </li></ul>

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Read the article “ How To Sell More on the Web: 30 Tips To Increase Conversion Rates For An Ecommerce Site” http://www.powerhomebiz.com/092006/ecommerce.htm