• Mar152010

    3 things most business owners think they know about e-commerce… and why those myths can cost you money

    Posted by Gene in Business

    Online business is a hot topic. It has been for more than 10 years, and I can’t see that trend dropping off anytime soon. In most cases, that’s a good thing; the more business owners know about finding new customers on the Internet, the healthier their bottom lines are going to look.

    The problem with this, though, is that e-commerce is a bit like professional sports — you have a few professionals, a handful of serious fans, and a whole lot of opinions that don’t always make sense. But while there’s no harm in chatting up your team’s chances with a few of your friends, having the wrong ideas about online marketing can spell disaster for your business.

    Here are three things lots of business owners think they know about e-commerce, and how to keep those myths from costing you big money:

    Flashier is always better. The latest and greatest are so-called for a reason; having cutting-edge animation, vibrant music, or a brand-new content management system on your website can all be great things. But go too far, and they can also cost you business.

    When designing a new site, a question that should come up frequently is this: that’s cool, but what will it help me do? You might want people who visit your site to buy, ask for more information, or maybe just be more informed. Anything that helps them do those is useful; anything that doesn’t is just in the way.

    It’s worked before, so there’s no reason to change now. Alternatively, we frequently see businesses with sites that look like they were designed a decade ago — the equivalent of decorating your office or showroom with a 50’s style decor.

    Just because your company’s website shows all of your main information, or even generates a few leads and sales here and there, doesn’t mean it couldn’t be improved. For many businesses, the homepage is a prospective customer’s first stop. You want them to see something that creates a strong, positive impression. And at the same time, most older sites aren’t bringing the kind of traffic, or sales, that they could if they were brought up to date here.

    It’s all about the sales. Before I start on this one, let me clarify: for some companies, it really is all about the sales. For every dollar spent on search engine marketing or online advertising, they need to gain so many more in online revenue for the campaign to make any sense.

    For the majority of small businesses, however, there are several other pieces to the puzzle. That’s because a good site doesn’t just generate orders — in fact, lots of the best performing websites don’t even have shopping carts or payment processing. Your site might be designed to answer questions, generate leads, show off your expertise, or fulfill any one of a dozen other functions. Those are all valuable, so long as they contribute to your business goals.

    Keep these ideas in mind the next time you’re talking small business websites with your friends and colleagues. When it comes to online business, everybody has an opinion, but it’s finding profits that counts.

    This article was originally written for and published on Midlandsbiz.com

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