My colleague Jon Parker and I recently presented a 1-hour Webinar to members and guests of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce on how to jump into eCommerce. Moderator Emily Marsh did a superb job hosting the virtual event. You can watch the entire Webinar in the recording below.

We’re happy to summarize a few basics if you don’t have 45 minutes + to watch the whole video. Let’s start with the general theme of the event: Keep it simple!

eCommerce by the Bullet Points

If you and your business are brand new to eCommerce, here are some guidelines to start out successfully.

• Definition: Commercial transactions conducted electronically on the internet.
• Why eCommerce? Because you need to conduct business with customers where they are now – online.
• Your eCommerce Goals: More revenue, new customer segments, accelerate growth, business transformation? Let your goals guide your strategy.
• Are set up and maintenance costs expensive? Expect some additional fees above what a static informational site costs. Keeping your offers simple and using readily available and compatible platforms keep costs way down.
• Platforms and Payment Processing: With myriad options for eCommerce platforms and payment processing integrations, it’s generally best to stick with the popular, proven, most recommended platforms. Look at the reviews or talk with experienced consultants like us.
• How can you assure success? Simplicity has served salespeople and merchants since money was invented. The attempt to offer everyone in the world everything your company does has killed more marketing campaigns than can be counted. Keep it simple!
• Limit the scope of your offering when you launch. Start with your best sellers. Maybe just one product/service. Limiting choices, especially in the beginning, makes it mentally easier for customers to buy.
• Build out product categories and options gradually. Gain experience, data and revenue traction with your best sellers to help fuel your online store’s expansion and growth.
• Use premium photography and video. Be honest! Do your pictures pass your own quality test as a consumer yourself? Would you buy your own product based on your own pictures and video representations? INVEST IN YOUR BRAND – these are valuable and reusable assets!
• It’s all about the User Experience! Simple design, attractive merchandising, limited options and easy transaction processes are the experiences online consumers want. And that makes your job simpler!
• Think through the logistics. Plan for success! When the orders come in, are you ready to fulfill each one to every customer’s satisfaction? Inventory, size, weight, packaging, shipper, postage/freight calculations, shipping labels, accounting or ERP integration…? If a service, how will you schedule sessions or book appointments?
• How will customers find your online store? eCommerce requires a sufficient volume of targeted traffic or leads that will buy, to be profitable. Be sure to implement a prelaunch and ongoing lead generation/marketing campaign.
• Lead Generation – eCommerce Synergy:  A “grand opening” with no customers can be a major disappointment. Make sure to have a lead generation strategy in place or already running by the time you launch. Use strategic paid advertising and email marketing to boost your SEO efforts to gain traffic. Test different offers and dial in your campaigns as you go.

Now, If you have finally decided to go eCommerce, I offer you the pièce de résistance! Contact us here for your free eCommerce Planning Workbook, compliments of Chuck Sink Link and Recharged Solutions. Just type “eCommerce Workbook” in the Message section.

The post Simplicity is the Key to eCommerce Success appeared first on Chuck Sink Link.

Stop demanding leads!

Every business owner and salesperson wants qualified new business leads that they can close, add to the client list and so build their business empire. If they could reduce their time spent prospecting and just focus on closing more deals, business would be sooooo much better! But is that realistic? Probably not.

There are all kinds of lead generation programs out there that vary in firepower and sophistication. Most of them utilize a combination of digital platforms that, when integrated, allow you to target demographic and interest-specific audiences, and follow them around on the web and with emails. They include various levels of personalization, even to the point of feeling creepy and intrusive.

The B2B Marketing Reality

You can definitely increase your website traffic and generate inbound “leads” with a well-programmed campaign. Up to a point. There’s a point at which message saturation occurs and no amount of great marketing will deliver new customers when there aren’t a bevy of needy prospects in your market during your campaign. This is the reality of most B2B marketing!

You hit up the same finite universe of potential buyers with a drip campaign hoping some will just peel away from their current business relationships, open an account and place an order with you. But the real qualified leads are few and far between, so what can you do?

The Crux of Business Growth

Unless your messages are relevant to their thinking and well-timed to their needs, prospective business customers couldn’t care less about your drips and drabs following them around in browsers and delivered in emails. But when they’re ready for change, you need to have readied them to think of your brand first. So the question becomes, how do you maximize your current market share and position your company as the category leader when the market expands?

You build trusted relationships based on an authentic brand. And these relationships can begin with simple awareness and grow from there. Yes, it’s about branding again!

What do you do better than most if not all of your competition? Figure out how to make that fact resonate in every company message. Make it the foundation of your sales, marketing and PR. Don’t stray!

As your prospects notice the consistency in your value proposition and hear about your work in media or word of mouth, they might actually become excited about the chance to do business with you when the time comes. You may be unaware of any relationship brewing with your prospects as they are mindfully starting to develop a relationship with you. Then your phone rings and it’s them!

The B2B Marketing Bonus

Each new relationship offers additional marketing and sales momentum!

While B2B marketing may seem a bit humdrum compared with consumer or lifestyle campaigns, business clients tend to be much higher stakes customers who depend heavily on your services. The relationship is important because they are trusting some part of their business to your care, and as they grow to enjoy working with you and your team, your best form of advertising comes free; a testimonial, a kind word… a referral and another new client.

When you’ve been at this game a while, you realize that without a brand name – one that people in your market have reasons to talk about – your sales will remain flat. But if your company works hard on consistent brand awareness, sales growth becomes less of a challenge and more of a fulfillment – an answer to your market’s call.

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