Online Business Marketing: What Do You Do Better

  Don’t be overwhelmed by the competition. When you are doing research about an online business idea you have, it is not uncommon that someone has already thought about the same thing. In fact, there may be several competitor websites that show up when you do a search. Don’t let this overwhelm you. At this point you need to start an in-depth analysis of how they do business. Figure out what it is they do right and what they do that really has no promotional effect at all. You have to arm yourself with information about your competitors before you can determine what it is your online business will do better.   Cost is a big factor in online business. People prefer to buy at a traditional storefront if the price is right. In fact, price usually takes precedence over other characteristics like shopping convenience. The online shopping experience you offer on your website could be very pleasant but if your prices are too high, consumers will seek substitute products elsewhere.   You can avoid reducing product cost by offering plenty of free and promotional items. People love free and promotional items and having an online business makes the perfect conduit for your customers to download them. They could be discount coupons to a local restaurant or a free utility program like a calorie counter to run on a computer. You are only limited by your imagination.   You cannot do it all. While it is okay for an online business to have multiple revenue streams, you should not try to offer all of your different businesses on one site. For example, you might be both a writer and a web programmer and offer both those services—both of which are good for the online business model. However, your potential customers might get the impression that you are spread too thin and cannot provide a high level of service.   How much of the “real person touch” do you add in your online business? Your online business will be much more popular with customers if they can speak to a real person when issues arise after the sale. Understand that people are different. There are those who are more comfortable with human communications and there are those who would rather just go to your self-help FAQ page. But even the self-help folks get stuck sometimes and have to call customer support and speak to a live person.   Be careful not to spam. There is a fine line between customer follow-up and spamming. Spamming of course is another word for unsolicited e-mail or electronic junk mail. For most of your customers, you will find that subsequent e-mails after any e-mail related to the sale will only irritate most and you may find your online business in hot water over spamming. When you have sent that final e-mail thanking the customer for the purchase of the product or service, leave it at that.   Have an effective refund policy for your online business. Things are going to go wrong every once in awhile. Most times, it is not worth disputing minor issues with a customer. Just refund their money. If you are offering a product or service that involves intellectual property (books, writing works, web sites, etc.) then you might want to specify a no-refund policy right up front. With intellectual property, transfer of knowledge has already passed so it is impossible for the customer to return this knowledge.