Why People Buy

The Internet is good for any good business, and bad for any bad business but it can bring a global market to a small speciality focused enterprise. We can influence shoppers and buyers by providing friendly, convenient, easy to navigate answers to their needs. There is little to differentiate between products and service on the Web; in each case SERVICE will be the convincing argument to bring customers and buyers to the Internet and to your Web site.

The number one reason people shop online is convenience. Conventional retailers might think about offering free convenient local delivery of merchandise bought on their web sites during evening hours. Speciality services could offer their product online, at a discount, or use a coupon at the site to be spent in the "store".

If your site doesn't ship or bill to foreign addresses, say so up front, don't have your customers go through the "fill out form" before discovering that you won't deliver to their country. Enable your buyer to use popular credit cards to pay for their purchase; your local Chamber of Commerce most likely has a "merchant account" which you can use at minimal cost. Ensure the "check out" page is easy to find, and be prepared to offer credit card customers the use of a secure site to send their card number through. Have a return policy and make it easy to find. Include a phone number, mailing address, office hours and contact name if possible.

A web site expecting to earn the trust of would-be-shoppers should present a professional impression. Spend a few hours reading the latest books on the topic. Good primers are: Creating Killer Web Sites by David Siegel; Web Sites That Work by Roger Black; and Designing Business by Clement Mok. Knowledgeable clients understand that many variables in addition to price determine true cost. There are many instances where price is far less important than other variables, such as: service, and how well your product/ service solves their problem..