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Things to Keep in Mind for Your Online Business
Young Go Getters are full of brilliant new ideas for selling products and services. So, you have this awesome idea and you want to be able create a cool new experience for your targeted customers? Being the savvy strategy-minded entrepreneur that you are, you decide to cut the overhead and open up shop online. Even with a downward economy, online sales are only increasing, expecting to be up 13% within the next year. Where to begin you say? Since I am sure you have you business plan written out, there are various tips and tricks that will help you on your way to building your dream online store, without breaking the bank.
Hire a Web Designer
I can not stress how important it is to hire a professional to design your website. Your goal is not only to market and sell products or a service, but to create a user experience. If a site does not look professional and legit, why would a shopper feel comfortable entering in their credit card information in to it? The customer should understand your concept and feel secure about the company and making a purchase over the internet.
Language is Key
Keeping the content on your site casual and “intimate” with your possible customer is important when trying to build a relationship with them. Using words such as “we” and “us” are much better and more affective than “the company”. The content on your site is also important for a start-up business for search engine purpose. You want to make your site easy for search engines to find your site and connect the visitors when they are searching for product or service. Research the keywords your that connect your customers to your product and service. It should be correlated in specific content through out your site.
Research Your Merchant Account
As you know, a merchant account is a financial institution that allows you to accept credit cards. A merchant account provider acts as an intermediary between you and the direct processors. It is important to research a merchant account provider to match your company’s needs to the right supplies. There are several different merchant credit card processing services, all with various rates and fees which include specific benefits for your type of business. Other aspects when looking for an internet merchant account include the level of customer service a company will provide, especially when dealing with technical issue that involve your customers. Since this sector is competitive, don’t be pressed into contracts if you do not feel comfortable, you can most likely do business on a month to month basis.
Be Smart About Advertising and Marketing
It is important to get links and affiliates for your site and campaign, although, keep in mind it’s important to keep your pages clean to avoid looking spammy. Now that you are a small business owner, it hard to compete with big-time retailers when it comes to prices, although, there are other incentives you can offer, such as promotions and discounts. Research your niche and maybe offer a discount to customers who refer your site to other potential customers. You should always stress your strengths; maybe your site is known for excellent, on-hand customer service or easy returns on shipping. Social Media is getting bigger than ever, and it’s a free, easy way to promote your business. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin are awesome ways to get your products/services out there, as well as, promotions and discounts. Creating a blog for your site is also key for promoting and connecting with other partners. It’s all about word of mouth; the more talk, the more traffic.
January 28th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
I thought the post was great. Language is a tricky thing to work with especially when you want to talk up your company. Keeping the “I” factor to a minimum and the “You” factor up. You do a great job of that when you write but I can see a lot of sites out there that are all about themselves and not enough about the customer.