"7
Keys to Online Business Success"
(c)
2004 Bina Omar
http://www.website-workshop.com
Starting an online business can be as simple as opening a
Yahoo Store. And as complicated as building your own dynamic
e-commerce web site. But no matter how you go about it, you
need
7
key ingredients to ensure the success of your online
business.
1. Demand
You can have the most awesome product and the most hi-tech
web site, but if you can't generate demand for your product,
you're doomed from the start. There are many ways to
generate demand in the online world. You could advertise in
ezines, start an affiliate program, encourage word of mouth,
referrals, do joint ventures. Remember, without demand,
there will be no sales. And without sales, where does that
leave you?
2. Order
When you start getting visitors to your web site, it's just
a matter of turning them into your customers. Okay, maybe
it's not as easy as it sounds. This is why, once your
visitor has decided to become a customer, you have to make
sure that it is easy for them to do so. Make sure that your
ordering process is easy and straightforward. The less
clicks to secure an order, the better.
3. Payment
This is one process of your online business that you'd
definitely not want to get wrong - how money is actually
transferred from your customer to you. The most popular
means of doing this online is through credit card
transactions. Credit cards makes full use of a person's 'buy
now think later' attitude. So, your sales would be a lot
higher if you accepted credit cards than if you didn't. This
doesn't mean you shouldn't have alternative methods. The
more payment methods you offer, the easier your customer
will find it to pay for your product.
4. Fulfillment
After payment has been made, don't make the mistake of
thinking that the coast is clear. There's still the matter
of delivering your products. If you sell digital products,
it is now normal standard to have it delivered instantly.
People now expect this, so make sure you set this up. If you
sell physical products that needs physical delivery, make
sure that you communicate with your customer every step of
the way. Ensure them that their goods are on the way. If
possible, send them a means to track the movement of their
package. Your customers should never feel insecure.
5. Service and Support
Once the sale has been made, it doesn't stop there. You have
to provide excellent customer support. Your customer support
will determine, to some extent, whether your customer will
request a refund and whether or not they will make repeat
purchases. Online support is getting more and more efficient. So don't get
caught behind. The least you should
do is provide timely e-mail support. If you have a busier
site, then consider other support methods - online helpdesk,
FAQs, live chats, ticket system, knowledge base ....
6. Security
The Internet community is getting more aware of what to look out for in order
to protect themselves from many of the
net's less desirable activities. One of which is e-commerce
frauds. It is, therefore, up to you to prove to your
visitors that they can trust you. Things like using secured
server to process payments, can go a long way. Purchase a
digital certificate, if you can. Add a physical mail address
or a phone number where they can contact you. Anything at
all, to give your visitors some peace of mind.
7.
Community
Once you've received more than just a handful of sales, you
should think about starting a community. Making your
customers a part of a community, gives them a sense of
belonging. Have your community be a part of your product
development. Listen to their suggestions. Not only will you
get product ideas, your sales ratio will increase with every
new product release and you will have a loyal customer base.
There you go. Work on these seven keys and you'll be way
ahead of most online businesses out there on the net.
Bina runs the WebSite Workshop
http://website-workshop.com,
a membership site filled with tips, tools and tutorials that
provide netrepreneurs with do-it-yourself web site solutions
Subscribe to her free ezine 'WebBriefcase!' and get your
free
7
part course on "How to Build Your Own Web Site in
7
Days"
mailto:subscribe@website-workshop.com
Good Luck in this Marketing Jungle!
CKasso
