A home based business often has a harder time getting people to buy from their website than a conventional or top-brand business does. Sometimes this is simply due to the name recognition of a major brand that a home based business doesn’t have. But many times it’s because a home based business website owner hasn’t done all he or she can do to maximize their chances of making sales.
The look of a home based business website is vital to making sales. Advertising and marketing for any type of business, home based business or conventional, depends on appearance. How people perceive your home based business product or service makes a big difference in whether or not they’ll buy from you. In other words, if your home based business website looks like you just threw it up overnight, don’t expect to make a lot of sales because people probably won’t view you as a reliable, reputable business. So you want your home based business website to look as professional as it possibly can.
Another thing that helps increase sales on your home based business website is its security. Don’t expect your customers to know and trust that your home based business website is secure, remind them every chance you get that any financial information they give you on your home based business website is secure. You also want to reassure them that you won’t sell any of their personal information to a third party. Confidentiality and security are important to any e-commerce website customer, but it’s even more important when you’re a home based business competing with the big dogs.
Too, you want to tell people as much about you and your home based business as possible. Web consumers are becoming a great deal more savvy than they were a couple of years ago and will often call home based businesses before placing an order. They want to hear a real person’s voice when they call. If you use an answering machine or service, make sure you return a prospective customer’s callthat is if you want to make a sale for your home based business product or service. And have names and pictures of yourself and any staff you may have posted on your home based business website so that people have an idea of who you are. People like to know who they’re buying from, especially when there’s no instant top-brand recognition associated with a home based business.
And remember that your home based business website is equivalent to a corporate brochure. You want to include as much information about your home based business on your website as possible, but the language doesn’t necessarily have to be businesslike or authoritative, and never talk down to your web customers. Keep your home based business website copy conversational, informative and as friendly as you can. Because the more people know about and the better they understand your home based business product or service, the more likely they are to buy it. If writing is about as much fun for you as going to the dentist, you may want to hire a freelance writer through an outsourcing site like Elance or Guru to help you develop the content of your home based business website.
Promotions and free offers are also good ways to entice your home based business website customers to buy. Special discount prices are always a crowd pleaser. And if your home based business has a product that you can have a buy one, get one free, or even 50% off, are excellent incentives to get people to buy. You can also give away something for free like a special e-book or how-to report that gives information pertaining to your home based business. Free is, after all, the magic word of the marketing world. These sorts of offers are a great way to stimulate sales any time your home based business website sales go into a slump or simply need a boost.
And always give your home based business customer a reason to come back to your website. You want to keep your home based business website content fresh and add new articles, information, reports, etc., as frequently as possible. The reason many home based business websites fail is because they’re neglected. When people return to your website and see that nothing has changed or been updated in any way, they won’t likely give you a third chance. And you can totally forget getting a fourth chance. There’s a lot of competition out there on the superhighway. For your home based business website not to be passed by, don’t neglect it, and your customers won’t neglect you. And the more times customers visit your home based business website, the greater your chances are for making those sales!
Charles Fuchs
I grant permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way.
Copyright 2006, Charles Fuchs, President of Vision Management Enterprise Inc., is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own
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