Should you sell your products and services on the Internet? Offering your customers this option may be an important service for your business and may bring you new sales from around the globe. But it's not the answer for everyone.
A few strategies for handling online sales are outlined below. If you think that selling via the Internet is for you, you'll want to stay abreast of the topic - keep up with news in the traditional media and on the Web.
Use Email, Fax and Phone to Complete Transactions
A low-budget solution for Internet sales is to "sell" your product on your web site by inviting
customers to complete the transaction using email, fax or phone (800 number). The disadvantage
of this method is that customers may not send you all the information you need to complete the
sale; obtaining the additional information could be time-consuming and costly. Also, since the
customer would need to initiate a second step off-line to make the purchase, your chances of
capturing the sale are reduced.
Fill-In Forms
Adding forms (possibly using CGI scripts or other techniques) to your web site allows your
customer to quickly "fill in the blanks" of an order form for your products at that moment
online. Customers can place an order immediately while they're still excited about what they've
seen on your web site. (You can build a database of order information from these sales for
future promotions as well.)
The form can be set up to immediately return a message to the customer indicating which required field(s) have been left blank. The customer will understand that the form will not be submitted until information in all of the required fields has been submitted. This allows you to gather all of the necessary data to complete a sale, which is an advantage over your customer sending an unstructured, and possibly incomplete, email message to place an order.
Your web page designer adds the script to your web site, and your Internet Service Provider (ISP) sets up a system for sending you the information collected from your forms.
Shopping Cart Software
Shopping Cart software allows a customer to make selections (by checking a box, for example) as
they move from page to page on your site. At the end of their shopping, a completed order form
is generated and displayed to your online customer. They either proceed to check out or have
the opportunity to revise the order until it is complete.
Secure Financial Transactions
Transmitting credit card information over the Internet remains somewhat of a barrier to
Internet sales. Many ISPs offer secure network services to prevent customers' financial
information from being easily stolen. SECs or Secure Electronic Transactions allow users to
send a credit card account number to a merchant in encrypted or scrambled form. The merchant,
using a special code, can electronically and automatically verify the validity of the card and
the user with a bank. Talk to your ISP and other service providers to evaluate costs and
procedures.
International Sales
Remember that web sites are accessed around the globe. Consequently, if you offer sales on the
Internet, you'll need to determine how you will (or won't) handle international sales. Shipping
costs, customs forms, and monetary exchange rates are just a few issues to consider.
Third Party Service Providers
You might consider employing a third party that specializes in collecting, processing and
shipping Internet orders for your product. This will allow you to focus on other key business
issues while still taking advantage of additional sales generated by the Internet. Evaluate the
costs and benefits of such a service.
Remember to Offer a Timely Response to an Order
The speed of the Internet creates the expectation that you will respond promptly to an online
order. Make sure your business confirms orders via email in a timely fashion so you satisfy and
keep customers
Building Internet Sales Takes Time
Remember that it may take a while to build Internet sales. Generating sales on the Internet
requires good planning, a well-designed web site, careful evaluation your target market, and
constant promotion of your web site. Some services and products may be more suitable for web
sales than others. Customers will often visit your site several times before they make a
purchase, so make it a fun site to visit and one where it's easy to place orders
