Prayagasoft - web designer India, Ecommerce developer india, Ecommerce design

Selling on the Internet

Marketing versus Selling Web Sites

Most companies with an Internet presence have a straightforward marketing site. The objective of the site is to supplement traditional marketing activities, perhaps give additional information, and generally promote the company. There is often a reluctance to give complete product details because the objective is to induce visitors to call or write to the company for more information and thus establish contact.

A selling site is different. The objective is to close the sale electronically with payment (and sometimes delivery) made over the Internet. This type of site will be designed to include comprehensive product information, as visitors will be expected to make a purchasing decision based on the information presented.

Such sites generally have three sections:

Marketing and added value information. This is aimed at attracting customers, giving them a feel for the contents, and giving them confidence in the retailer.

The catalogue. Detailed information on product benefits, specifications, and pricing.

Order processing. This will include a method for specifying and paying for the order. More advanced systems may have a method for the customer to go back into the system to check progress and delivery of the order.

The true electronic commerce site will have all three components in some degree.

Such sites may be stand-alone, or may form part of a larger retailing site called a ‘shopping mall’.

Shopping Malls

Internet shopping malls were set up early in the development of Internet commerce. A shopping mall has a standardised environment into which several merchants are held in a single Web site. They offer advantages to a new on-line merchant:

A standard environment for setting up the catalogue and arranging payment.

Someone else is arranging for promotion of the mall as a whole.

In the UK, where the payment processing has historically been a problem, it has meant a trouble-free credit card collection mechanism.

However these benefits have not generally materialised. Malls work in the real world because there is something that attracts visitors, generally a large department store. Once visitors arrive, park their cars and start shopping, it is convenient for them to shop at other merchants in that same locality. The Internet is not like this. It is as easy to visit another shop anywhere in the world as the ‘next’ shop in a virtual mall. People shopping for books are going to search for book sites. If they browse, it is the list of matches to their requirements from a search engine, not an on-line shopping mall.

From the infrastructure point of view, catalogue software and payment processing is now more widely available. Many merchants who started out in a shopping mall have graduated to a stand-alone site.

Building the Business

It is not enough to simply set up the catalogue and electronic commerce programs. ‘Build it and they will come’ has never been an approach that works on the Internet. The site must be promoted both on the Internet and via traditional means.

The biggest single source of visitors is also the cheapest. Registering with a few major search engines will generate over half, perhaps as much as 75% of your potential total traffic.

Other techniques are:

Negotiating links with other Web sites

Traditional marketing and PR

Advertising on search engines and other high traffic sites

Associate programs by which sites that refer visitors get a commission on sales.

Once the site is built and registered, look for other ways of building business such as special offers. Visitors can be tracked through the site and offers customised to their interests. These techniques are in their infancy, but are being developed rapidly.

Is this direct marketing?

Direct marketers should also not make the mistake of equating the number of Internet users with a mail shot of that size. If there are 2-3 million potential Internet shoppers in the UK, a Web site is not like a mail shot to 2 million people. Only a tiny fraction of these will ever find your Web site and see it at all. The good news is that they will by and large be people interested in your product.

Direct marketers often have difficulty with handling on-line catalogues. The fact of the matter is that if someone visits a site and decides not to purchase, then that is the end of the matter. If someone is sent a catalogue or brochure and decides not to purchase, the merchant can re-send the catalogue, follow up by telephone, and so on. Direct marketers are often loath to lose the degree of control implied in traditional methods.

Is this one-to-one marketing?

Internet selling is not retail, and it is not direct marketing. It has its own characteristics, which are evolving as the technology develops. As we learn more about this area we are finding new innovative ways of building the business, which are unique to this medium. Increasingly we are looking for ways to build a one-to-one relationship with customers using the Internet.

This has to be done carefully. You might be able to tell that you have a repeat visitor, but that person might not like the idea that someone is keeping track of his or her movements. By all means keep records of visitors' preferences so you can present them with the right special offers when they return. But be subtle - or preferably do this by consent.

This new world will require new attitudes and new marketing skills. It may not be right for every business, but when it is appropriate it can offer a low-cost channel with an outlet in virtually every country in the world.

The On-line Catalogue

The key to a good electronic commerce site is to provide an environment that makes it easy for the customer to navigate through the catalogue of products and ultimately make a purchase. How does this work? In the following section, we take a look at the purchase cycle from the point of view of the customer.

Navigation

The customer must be able to find the product they need without going through endless levels of indexes or menus. The visitor should be able to get to the product they need with very few clicks.

80% of visitors to any site will take one look at the page they arrive on and then leave. It has been estimated that you lose 20% of visitors every time you ask them to link to a new page. Good navigation is essential.

The information must be comprehensive once the customer has located the product of interest. Provide pictures and diagrams to help the customer understand what is being offered.

The Shopping Cart

When the catalogue is small (say less than 20 items), a simple order form will often do the job. However on larger sites the customer will flag products during this browsing session to be added to an electronic ‘shopping cart’. At any point the customer can review the contents of the cart, the cost and so on. This makes it easy for the customer to browse the site selecting products as they go.