Avoiding,Wired,Mistakes,You,ca DIY Avoiding Wired Mistakes
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and
You can't do anything on the Internet that you can't do in real life, butthe Net lets you do it faster and in view of global audiences. When you'redoing somewhat great, that's good. When you're making a gigantic mistake,it's less good. From a consumer's perspective, here's some suggestions thatwould help induce me to reach for my credit card. Guideline #1: Your Web site should compliment your real-life business. Asan example, I offer you the story of the florist shop with the beautiful Website. It was a couple of days before Christmas and I had left my shoppingtill the last minute. An Internet search revealed a florist shop situated inmy friend's home community. The Web site was excellent. Fast download, welllaid out, easily navigated. Their floral designs were pictured on the site,identified by code numbers and with pricing information clearly visible.Obviously, it was the work of a professional designer and obviously it wasnot done on the cheap. I was impressed. I copied the phone number and dialedup to place my order. Then things got sticky. The salesperson didn't knowthere was a Web site, had no idea what floral arrangement I was trying toorder, or at what price. If you're going to the trouble of being on the Web,be sure that your sales personnel are giving a consistent message.Guideline #2: Answer Your E-mail. If you are going to make your emailaddress available to your customers, make sure that somebody answers thee-mail that you receive, and make sure that the person who does this isknowledgeable and able to communicate through that medium. Nothing will tickyour customers off faster than sending an email that is ignored. And pleasenote: the webmaster or the programmer in your organization is not usuallythe best person to be handling your marketing material or fielding questionsabout your product. You've gone to a lot of trouble to attract potentialcustomers. Try not to annoy them too much through ineffective email practices.Guideline #3: The Price Is Not a Secret. I'll be honest. This practiceannoys me a lot, and it has me mystified. It's the peculiar online salestactic of making the customer work really hard to discover what somethingcosts. You go to a Web site or you receive a piece of email promoting aparticular product or service. However, no pricing information is available.It may not even be readily apparent that the item is for sale. You clickyour way through a big Web site, finally to locate pricing information intiny print in an obscure corner. Sometimes there's just an invitation tophone them or to send an email for more information. I dunno It seems to methe customer should not have to work really hard to buy something. However,I'm open to hearing opposing viewpoints. If someone out there knows of agood reason why it's best to avoid mentioning money when conductinge-commerce, I'd be pleased to hear what it is.Guideline #4: Forget the Jargon. I received a press release that went likethis: "Our remarkable new solution that promotes integrated data managementof media content that will realize better return on investment (ROI), andthat, in fact GISTICS has evaluated potential ROI to be as high as 16:1.(GISTICS, 1997) with general benefits ." Nuff said. If anyone understandswhat the devil they're selling, let me know.
Avoiding,Wired,Mistakes,You,ca