Establishing your very own online business, or establishing a web presence for your offline business, does not automatically guarantee success. Succeeding online is not a matter of “set and forget.” When the famous line from the famous Kevin Costner film, Field of Dreams, was delivered, it wasn’t referring to an online business. “Build it and they will come” does not apply to online success. 1. Choose the right business model. Believe it or not, much of your success on the web will depend on your choice of business model. What makes a particular business model the right business model for your needs? Such depends on a variety of factors – the niche you have selected, the audience you are planning to target, the amount of resources you can invest for your online business, and the environmental variables that will affect the conduct of your planned trade. The right business model is one that can optimize these factors to work for your benefit. Whether it’s PPC advertising, CPA advertising, direct selling, affiliate marketing, ad selling, and others, you are bound to reap much success if you choose the correct business model appropriate for your needs and capabilities. 2. Target the right audience. Most online businesses fail because they cannot identify the audience they should be aiming for. A broad audience is a recipe for disaster. Targeting everybody will just spread your resources too thinly. A focused marketing approach is always best. By narrowing down your marketing focus, you’d be able to maximize your resources to achieve your real goals. Many experts will tell you that a general marketing approach will be like throwing money away, and they’re right. If you’re working on a limited budget, then you have to make every penny count. And this can only be accomplished by targeting the right audience for your product. 3. Win their trust and confidence. Selling online is doubly hard compared to selling in the real world. The main culprit for this is the anonymity prevalent in the World Wide Web, something that causes distrust and doubts on the part of your prospects. You must overcome this prevalence of anonymity to overcome their distrust and doubts. You must tell them who you are and you must make them believe in your product. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways: by providing a comprehensive resume and portfolio, by providing testimonials and referrals, by providing guarantees, by providing real contact details, and by providing a thorough post-sales support system that will take care of your customers’ needs even after the sale has been consummated. 4. Make things convenient for them. Convenience is one of the benefits that online transactions can provide for potential customers, hence, it would serve you well to capitalize on the same. Make your navigation bars user-friendly. Stay away from complicated designs – as much as possible, stick with the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) philosophy when building your website. Make sure that every pertinent detail will be easily accessible for your prospects. Most importantly, make sure that potential purchases will be as smooth as silk. 5. Take care of your customers. It’s a given fact that, at the average, 60% of your sales will come from repeat purchases. This is especially true for online businesses. Once a prospect learns to trust a particular online business, he will be loyal to the same provided that the business will not betray him. It is difficult to give one’s trust to an online entity, hence, once a person learns to trust your online business, he will prefer to deal with you in the future. Take care of your existing customers. Always remember that their first purchase is just the beginning of what can very well be a mutually beneficial relationship between the two of you. Debra Freligh is a well-known Marketing expert and the owner of DMF Media: Head over to her Website and finally discover your success http://www.dmfmedia.com Your Chance Has Finally Arrived!
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