We are often bombarded with facts that online business, conducted through a website, is vastly different to offline business. Indeed, if you run an online business there are many unique skills that you will need to acquire if it is going to be successful. However, there are some great lessons that we can learn from offline business which can be applied to your online endeavours.
Firstly, your web site is just like a shop window. When you look through the window it should be inviting and look attractive to your target customers. Therefore, the colour schemes you choose for your website are important and need to convey the right image. Just like an eye-catching sign above a shop, your website should have a memorable logo and mission-statement, letting your visitors know what you can do for them.
Secondly, when you go into a shop, if you are anything like me, you want to find what you are looking for quickly. Therefore, you may ask a helpful shop assistant where you can find a particular item. Alternatively, the isles may be clearly labelled so you can find things easily. Any website you design will need to do the same thing; the helpful shop assistant can come in the form of ‘contact us for help’ tab, a ‘frequently asked questions’ section (or FAQ’s). Alternatively, you may wish to provide help to your visitors by using audio or video. A ‘site map’ on your website is the ideal substitute for the clearly labelled isles of a store; it will show your visitors where everything is on your website and will allow them to navigate their way around it easily.
Lastly, after you have found the item you were looking for in the shop, you will need to pay for it. If you have a long queue to join you may consider just giving up and leaving the store. Your website will not have queues but if your visitors have to wait too long for pages to load when they want to purchase an item, they might decide to go elsewhere. You also need to make the buying process as simple as possible. For instance, a customer can make payments quickly via Paypal or another secure online payment system.
In summary, a business is a business, whether online or offline. The common sense ideas that you use to develop a successful offline business can be applied to your online business activities. Furthermore, at every stage of the selling process, you need to think from the customer’s or visitor’s perspective.
Marco Lombardo