Selling physical products is no different than selling digital products or offers in a store. What is clear is that if you want to have a store, try to be as niche-oriented as possible. So a online shop not like Wal-Mart or your favorite clothing store.
Try to start with one particular category. That does not mean it will be as successful as stores such as Wal-Mart or Amazon where you can buy several categories, but to master a store of this size, one must have a lot of money to make it work. When you go after multiple categories of items, you will end up offering one hundred products, while only one or two in the other categories. When you start out if don’t specialize, you will be trying to sell everything to the world, but will end up selling absolutely nothing.
When it comes to a virtual store, Here are some tested must haves for your store. which generate a lot of confidence and credibility.
- Look at your company name and determine how it can best be used in your online store’s url (web address). While the exact name may not be available as a url – xyz.com – a variation of it – xyzshoes.com – probably is. Your online address is a key element in your marketing and branding efforts.
- Sign up for an e-commerce Web hosting package that will grow with your online store, incorporates features you will need to operate an online business (ability to provide secure transactions, up-time reliability, shopping cart functions, etc.) and provides web marketing tools.
- Set up a merchant account so that your on-line store can securely process credit card and other transactions. Be sure your merchant account is able to accept the top three (at least) credit cards, process Paypal®, and accept bank drafts as well as other payment methods.
- Build your online store or work with a professional web designer in order to design an ecommerce Web site that is easy to navigate for your customers.
- Take advantage of online store and e-commerce elements that differentiate and brand your business and enhance your web marketing campaigns, such as dedicated e-mailboxes for each product line and targeted mailing lists for specific customer groups. Standing out in the crowd can play a big role in your online success.
- Put the logos of Visa, Mastercard and American Express, generates confidence.
- Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology protects your Web site and makes it easy for your Web site visitors to trust you.
- Track the success and effectiveness of your web marketing efforts by establishing specific codes that differentiate each promotion. This way you can measure which promotions have been the most effective.
- Put web marketing tools to work for your online store: review all text in your ecommerce Web site to make sure you are using words that will place your online store in search engine results; search engine optimization of all marketing and sales copy on your site, along with submitting your business website to the leading search engines will help insure that when people are searching for online products they will find your online store.
- After you create a Web site, pick a specific date for the “Grand Opening” (or “Grand Re-Opening” if you’re redesigning you online store) and promote that through e-mail marketing campaigns.
- Plan ahead for ongoing and regularly scheduled webpage and business website re-designs, introductions of new design elements such as surveys, response forms, blogs, and promote the new fresh webpage design elements in your web marketing campaigns and materials.
- Watch what works in your online store– and watch what doesn’t! By keeping an eye on web analytics you will know from the moment your online store opens which elements are most effective with customers, and which web pages may need to be tweaked or re-designed to encourage visits. And when you do the tweaking and redesigning, promote it throughout your site and via e-mail to your customers. I use Google Analytics.
All these elements help to build trust and credibility.
Obviously you have to take into account what your target audience wants. 
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Sat, Feb 28, 2009
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