Zarr's November 2004 Newsletter
At whose convenience?
Welcome to Zarr's newsletter, bringing you the very latest ideas and information on how the Internet
can play an important role in growing your business. If you know someone who would benefit from reading
some of the ideas contained within the newsletter please forward it on.
Feature: At whose convenience?
If the beauty of web-based businesses is that the business owner can operate on their terms what is the benefit for the customer? Is the business developed around what the business owner wants or what the consumer needs? The successful ones certainly pay more than lip service to the customer.
If you want your online business to succeed in meeting your customers’ needs, consider the following points:
1. Understand how people buy
Understand the sales process and think about the questions people would ask when buying your products.
Ensure this information is easily accessible online. This might include sizing, colours, and returns policy. For some products visitors might benefit from a zoom facility in order to look at the product photographs in more detail. The secret to success is to provide all the information needed to make a decision to buy online at the appropriate stage in the sales process.
2. Know your customers
What do your customers value in what are you offering? Ensure that these benefits are reflected in the contents and the design of your web site. How will your customers want to interact with you? Will they want to be able to call you to ask specific questions about their purchase? If so you need to find ways to service this requirement.
3. Consider the difference in a mail order system
There are different considerations when fulfilling a mail order sale compared with a face-to-face transaction. If your business already services mail order business you will have the necessary processes in place. If not, you need to identify them in advance. Think about how will you tell customers when their purchase has been dispatched? How will you package and dispatch products? Will you hold products in stock? How well do you know your supplier and service standards have you agreed with them? For example how will you know if they don’t have the items in stock?
You need to work through the entire procurement process so that you give customers reliable delivery schedules and keep them posted throughout.
4. Identify the Internet Advantage
Talk to customers and find out why they would choose to buy online rather than in a conventional environment (e.g. a shop). Then build your online business model around this knowledge. If it is speed they value ensure that they can purchase the product in less than 4 clicks. If it is choice, offer them a number of options.
The key to creating a successful online business is to develop it around what your customers’ value and what you can provide. For a review of your on-line business model or to discuss how web technology can support business improvements call Hannah Reynolds at Zarr on 01788 820900
Top Tip: Keeping Customers Informed with Order Tracking
Once a customer has placed an order inform them of the order status. Let them know
when their order is likely to be dispatched, and then confirm when it has been
dispatched. For large quantities of orders it might be easier to have an automated
process in place. For smaller quantities keeping customers
posted by personalised email allows you to build a relationship with them.
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Web Insider: Call me back
Imagine starting your working day with 10 high quality sales leads. A Call me Back
facility on your website is a simple mechanism which visitors complete with their
enquiry and when it is convenient for you to call them back. It gives potential
customers the opportunity to engage with you at their convenience and it gives you
high quality sales leads. If you would like a
Call me Back facility added to your website call Vicky at Zarr on 01788 820900.
Case Study: U-Fit’s Online Solutions Give Customers What They Want
U-Fit is a successful manufacturing business, based in the Midlands. They manufacture
doors, windows and conservatories and sell to the trade and direct to the public.
The first product U-Fit wanted to sell online was doors. They understood that
doors can be a distress purchase and by offering customers a fast turnaround and
the ability to buy online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week they were delivering the
required convenience. Zarr worked with U-Fit to develop a step by step process
which works online including advice on how to measure the door space, the ability
to select a door style and appropriate furniture before completing the purchase
on line. Within 8 months U-Fit had sold £330,000 of products online through
www.doorexpress.co.uk.
Building on this success U-Fit decided to expand their online range to sell
conservatories. This was a more involved purchase requiring reassurance and
detailed information. U-Fit needed their web presence to assist in the sales
process by providing accurate and reliable information about the product.
Zarr worked with U-fit to stream video footage which demonstrates how the
conservatory parts are made and the solidity of the construction methods.
Understanding that web visitors are likely to want to speak to someone about
their purchase they are invited to leave their details for U-Fit to call them
back and this provides U-Fit with high quality sales leads for conservatories.
U-Fit understands their sales process and their customer needs and use
their web presence to effectively fulfil both. To discuss how the web could take
your business to the next level, call Hannah Reynolds at Zarr on 01788 820900.
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Coming Soon
Zarr’s December newsletter includes Gotchas on the web – covering the latest Internet scams.
Contact Zarr
If you are interested in finding out how your business can benefit from the latest
web technology or if you need help with your online business strategy contact Zarr
Internet Services on 01788 820900.
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