"The internet affords a level of relationship with consumers hitherto unfathomable."
Lucas Donat
Chief Branding Officer – TrueCar
How to sell online
Marketing is about sharing your passion.
Share yours online.
The online marketplace is huge. It’s a metropolis of businesses, with each trader bidding for the consumers attention tooth and nail. It has the potential to stretch your business internationally, however in this competitive environment, it’s essential that you stand out. You need a store that’s quick and easy to use, that keeps up with competitors, or overtakes them! Good things to consider when starting in the digital world are shown below, but make sure you talk to your accountant to see if these steps will benefit your needs.Â
Here To Help
The world of ecommerce and selling online has come a very long way in the past few years, and there’s more competition than ever.Â
Across all the pages in this section, we provide a series of guides to help you find what you should be looking for, particularly when it comes to using the online market to your business’ advantage, so when that time comes, we can help you…
CHOOSE THE ADVISER WHO UNDERSTANDS YOUR NEEDS.
Selling online
Key ways of selling online are through a third party or creating your own website.
Third party sites like Amazon are the best way to sell products if you don’t want to have to create your own site. The general public are already aware of these sites, making them a good platform for you to get your name across, however you will have a great amount of competition. It will also detract promotion of your brand, as consumers are likely to name the third-party site when asked where they got something.
Creating your own website will give you overall market promotion. You can sell your own products directly, and not have consumers distracted by competitors, giving you the opportunity to grow your brand and your business.
You don’t have to choose between the two, you could run something on both these platforms. There are lots of business advantages to doing so, and lots of options you can to help make sure you get the best you can for your consumers.
How to set up an online store
To start your online store, you will need to acquire a domain name. You can get one of these from a hosting company or register. People will be able to find you with this, so make sure you choose a suitable one – something that suits your company and the values you present. Think about what people may search for when looking for you online.Â
Now you need a company to host your website. Make sure you find a company that works for you and gets on with your business. The more you grow, the more you’ll come to depend on this company to perfect your site, so ensure you don’t cut costs here. You will also need to acquire a SSL certificate which will secure a safe connection between a visitor’s web browser and the web server hosting your site.
How to take payments through your own website
Assuming you are going to have a product to sell, you will need to set up a merchant account to ensure you can receive payments. These accounts make sure that the customers money goes to the bank before to you, adding an extra security measure.
The more payment options you have available, the more likely customers are going to buy, so make sure you’re set to receive payments from as many sources as you can. There are a lot of rules around an ecommerce site, so ensure you speak to a lawyer or solicitor when setting this up.
What is the best way to ship items?
Once your products are sold, the next step is getting them to the customer as quickly and safely as you can. As well as being good for the customer, you want the shipping to be good for your business, and not cost you a ridiculous amount.
Having a price threshold for free delivery is a common marketing tactic and can be effective for extra sales.
Consumers are becoming more and more used to buying online, however there is still a certain amount of trust required from them. Your company needs to present an official impression, so ensure you give the customer as much information as possible regarding their delivery. Providing an expected delivery date, and actually meeting that date, if not before, will stand you in good stead for some positive reviews.
Busy times may require a few more hands on deck to accommodate orders, if things are going well. Make sure you always factor in postage times and costs, especially at times such as Christmas, when they can be a lot longer than normal.
Provide customer services and support
The more you engage with your customers, the better their impression will be of you. Having a help desk that answers can be a massive difference between a successful business and an unsuccessful one, make sure those engaging with consumers are friendly and helpful.
As well as a helpdesk, you could consider offering:Â
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Private message form
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Email address
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Phone number
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Live chat function
Having a page of FAQ’s will help reduce down the amount of question duplications you receive and allow you to focus on the individual queries much more efficiently. It’s also important to have a complaints procedure in place, one that is consistent and allows the customer to communicate with your business efficiently.
Are customer reviews a good idea?
Although it can be scary to see what people say about you online, it’s also a great way to improve your companies search engine optimisation and to get conversation going around your business. Make sure any reviews published are from legitimate sources and no matter how bad a review, never edit or resent. How you deal with the bad reviews will reflect on your business, just as how you respond to digs in real life. If you can make an unsatisfied customer satisfied, and handle yourself with dignity, you’re only going to promote a positive message.
Is my site performing well?
Make sure you can track the performance of your sites to see what needs to be improved. Tools can show you where people are focusing, what’s leading to sales and what’s creating sales.
It’s all very well creating a professional and slick website, but you need to be able to make it visible and easy to find. Make sure you get a digital strategy in place and start promoting through social media, online advertising and SEO. Asking an expert for help on this is advised, there’s lots of competition out there so it’s important you get a message that’s going to stand out on those feeds.
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