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Ecommerce Website Owners Are You Leaving Money On The Counter
wn an ecommerce website?
Do you have a mailing list? "· A discount voucher off their
first order
If not, you're potentially
leaving a lot of money on the The amount you are prepared to
counter. offer will depend on the profit
margin in your business, and the
Keeping in touch with your past drawback is you may only get the
customers and visitors, is one of email addresses of people who
the easiest and cost effective were going to purchase anyway.
methods of increasing your
website sales. You simply must "· A competition to win one of
have a mechanism to collect the your products.
email addresses of both buyers
and browsers alike. Do make sure you are honest and
pick a winner - put past winner
Collecting buyers email addresses details on your site to emphasise
is a "no brainer" - after all you this
need to send them confirmation
details, receipts etc. Just make "· An insiders buyers guide
sure you ask their permission to
keep them up to date on future If you offer technical products
special offers. that can be tricky to understand
- such as electronics,
Collecting visitor details is a audio-visual etc, then write a
bit trickier, and you must offer short guide
some kind of incentive in return
for them handing over their "· Special reports or tips guides
valuable email address. Here are
several ways: If you sell golf equipment,
search for articles on golf tips a better chance if you include
online, obtain the authors images of your products - after
permission and compile them into all a picture is worth a thousand
a PDF report. words, right?
Managing your list (the only exception to this is
people selling non tangible
Depending on what ecommerce products or services - for
system your website is based on, example, information products
you may already have the ability usually work better in text
to manage email lists. If not, emails.)
use a list management service
such as Aweber (www.aweber.com), What should you communicate in
which allows you to set up your emails?
autoresponder sequences, multiple
lists and send HTML emails. "· Special offers
Which brings me nicely to the Any products that you have put on
next *must* . . . send HTML special offer, sale items, end of
emails! line stock etc. Adding a message
of limited availability or ends
HTML emails are the ones full of by a certain date will help
images and graphics, rather like increase response.
webpages as opposed to plain text
emails. "· Seasonal offers
Why? They are far more Garden furniture and barbecues in
eyecatching, which is essential Spring, for example.
given the increasing amounts of
email we get every day. You stand "· Offers tied to special events
Before the recent FIFA World Cup, I wouldn't advise emailing your
I was inundated with special customers any more than once a
offers on all kinds of TV's for week, and leave it more than a
watching it on. If you can tie month between communications and
your products to a popular event they are likely to be forgetting
in some way, so much the better. about you.
"· New product reviews There we have it. Loads of ideas
on how to keep in touch with your
Reviews of the latest product customers, and make sure you stay
offerings to hit your at the forefront of their minds.
marketplace, will interest your The cost is virtually zero, and
customers. the potential returns are
massive.
"· Technical "how to's"
What's the cost if you don't?
If you sell any kind of technical Well, undoubtedly one of your
product, your customers will competitors will make the effort
appreciate the occasional how to - and end up seducing your
guide. How to get the best out of customers away from you . .
your equipment, top tips, etc. possibly for good.
Frequency of emails
About the Author:
Robin Porter is CEO of Arpey Internet : Uk Ecommerce website designers and advises ecommerce store owners on marketing at www.e-businessdoctor.co.uk
Read more articles by: Robin Porter
Article Source: www.iSnare.com
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