10 Tips for Online Business Success

46 seconds is all you have...

The average time spent by an Internet user on a web page is a mere 46 seconds (Source: Clickz.com). Within these 46 seconds an online business needs to attract the customer, make a compelling proposition and close the deal.

The competition in the virtual world is growing day by day. Verisign reported 16% growth in domain name registrations in 2003. The total number of registered domain names now stands at a staggering 60 million, with .com consuming the largest share.
What can YOU do to stand out in the clutter and achieve E-Success?

We think the following 10 tips can substantially increase your chances of online business success:

1. Target the Un-Targeted:

Know your customers thoroughly and target those needs that are unseen by your competitors.

eBay is a bright example. eBay was quick to recognize peoples' desire to earn economic profits by trading second-hand products. eBay realized the need for a platform where such buyers and sellers could meet and trade. ECommerce technologies helped eBay to create the required platform required and the rest is history.

When you are new to online business- Start Small but Start Right.

2. Strong Business Planning:

Have complete knowledge of your revenue source, break-even duration and other important strategic details from the beginning, and decide on the milestones that are to be achieved. You should know the right moment to expand your business and plan for future sources of revenue.

The Internet business has a cruel history of bringing about disastrous changes at phenomenal speed. Be prepared to face such upheavals and have plans in place to manage such turbulent times.

3. Business Friendly ECommerce Software:

Always choose software that is easy to manage and allows you to focus on your core business activities.

Choose an ECommerce solution that fits your business requirements. Analyze ECommerce software in terms of its scalability, security and the amount of customization allowed.

Invest in a solution that not only meets your present requirements, but also is capable of accommodating your future business needs.

4. Create a Web Store with a Difference:

Visual memory is more enduring than textual memory. Correct branding is important for the success of your online business. Increase your brand recall by creating an estore that is in tune with the likes and dislikes of your targeted customers.

Learn more about your customers and create unique branding by using distinct color combinations, site layout and innovative logo. Attractive display of your domain name can also play an important role in branding your online store.

Be different (but not vague) in order to create a positive appeal in the minds of your customers for achieving esuccess.

5. Make your “Hot Sellers” most Visible:

Attract a customer and advertise your USP first.

Create your estore in such a manner that when a visitor leaves your online store, s/he is aware of your specialty even if they do not intend on purchasing those products.

To clarify: Let us assume you are an online flower vendor specializing in selling fresh red roses. Create your online storefront in a way that when a visitor leaves your storefront, s/he is aware about your specialty even though he may not have seen the Red Roses section. So the next time the visitor intends to buy red roses, they will be very likely to recall your storefront.

Highlight your best product/service first in your estore.

6. Do not let your Customers forget you:

Customer Relationship Management is of prime importance, especially when you are small and struggling to build a persistent customer base. Develop innovative ways to inform past customers about new products and the latest updates to the web store. Your chosen ECommerce solution should have provisions for incorporating various CRM campaigns. Adopt Innovative communication for communicating with your customers.

Pamper your customers to generate permanent sales in order ensure the success of your online business.

7. Increase your Web Presence:

Make your presence felt by carrying out intelligent marketing over the Internet. Perform search engine optimization (SEO) for your site, since the majority of buyers visit websites after spotting them come in the first three or four pages of search engine results. You can either hire professional services or carry out Internet marketing by yourself.

Associate yourself with web sites providing complimentary products or services on the Internet. This helps you in increasing your web presence both for search engines and for your customers.

Intelligent marketing alone will get you customers.

8. Build Robust Backend Operations:

Backend operations are the backbone of your online storefront. Spend time in analyzing the backend operations provided by the ECommerce software. Features such as Inventory management processing, credit card processing, reporting systems etc. will shape your first impression.

All your backend operations are expected to be accurate, scalable and provide real time data. Your choice of ECommerce solution would largely determine the strength of your backend operations.

A potential threat to your ECommerce operations is systems failure owning to faulty backend operations. Ensure the existence of a strong backend platform before opening for business.

9. Learn Faster and Better:

To err is human, but failing to cover yourself and allowing your competitors to exploit your loopholes, is suicidal and is a major threat to E-Success.

Always have an unbiased assessment of your online business and be prepared to spot your mistakes. Learn the art of covering your mistakes and rectify them before your competitors come to know about them.

Business is all about speed. Speed is essential in identifying and rectifying mistakes. You need to learn about your loopholes and mistakes faster than your competitors and rectify them effectively.

10. Surprise your Customers:

Surprise your customers with frequent changes in your business offerings. Add incentives by providing surprise offers, price discounts etc.

Your estore can also help to add life to your business enterprise. Perform regular enhancements to look and feel, the display of products etc of your online storefront. Make changes that do not detract from the brand image in the minds of your customers. Make sure, as well, that the changes are not unattractive or are too frequent.

Constantly innovating while remaining focused on your business goals will lead to success in your online business.