Why Should I Buy From You?

When people ask me to look over their web sites for them the most frequent ommission I spot is a reason to buy from their site.

Let's assume for a moment that you are in the market for the latest greatest product from Apple, it's an iEgo. The iEgo is an amazing new gadget and because you love everything Apple, and because the iEgo self-inflates every time you buy an Apple product, you are desperate to get one... So you google to see who has the best deal.

You can and will get sales by having the cheapest price, but if your delivery charges push the price over your competitors you'll only annoy the customer later.

Why do some companies on the internet, who usually do not even have a shop front, charge for delivery?

There is absolutely no excuse for charging your standard postage to your domestic market. It's one thing to charge extra for sending overseas, or an extra charge for next day delivery, but if your basic standard delivery costs money then what you are doing is lying about your price. Especially if the customer cannot come to a shop and pick it up at that price.

Internet shoppers love free delivery. They'll even pay extra for it! It makes price comparison easier and builds trust by making your charges more transparent. Hidden charges upset customers further on in the checkout process.

So delivery is free, but what else?

Price comparison is dead easy for your customers to do on the internet. Being a penny cheaper really does make a difference because if your customers have two tabs open - one with your site and one with a rival, and they are faced with a choice then, they'll figure they may as well go for the company that's a penny cheaper. Throw a penny at the customer in the street and they'll sue you for assault, that's people for you - but it really does result in more sales.

Is it really all down to price and delivery charges?

No it isnt, but these are the two largest factors in selling your iEgo's to lots of people, or just a handful. So you're offering free delivery on your iEgo, but Apple have fixed the pricing and the margin is so tight you just cannot undercut the competition - does this meen you wont sell any iEgo's?

Of course you can still sell them, sales is 80% emotion, 15% impulse, and 5% logic.

Of course there is no way you can sell the same product if you are overpriced unless you do some magical piece of Edgecraft (a topic for another day) but you can get sales provided you are competitive by being trustworthy.

We covered one such method in the opening post in this series about becoming the authority in your field of expertise but that's just part of getting people into your store front, actually converting your leads into sales requires a lot more.

So Why You?

So why should a customer buy their iEgo from you and not someone else?

The way to achieve this is by being unique, by offering something that nobody else does. This is called a "Unique Selling Point". If your USP appeals to the customer then they'll purchase from you.

If you can offer something that nobody else can offer, whether it be a no quibbles returns policy, an extended warranty, next day delivery, a free gimmick in every box, free collection of faulty goods... Something that nobody else selling iEgo's offers, then that will set you apart from the competition and meen that you are more likely to get the sale.

Reasons & Trust

When you walk into a shop you trust that you will get the product and that if it's faulty you can take it back. You have this trust because the people are there infront of you and if you do get ripped off you can make a scene, or if you have the football fan gene, you can punch them. This helps reassure you that the sale is safe.

But have you ever considered buying something from a street vendor and then asked found yourself wondering if they'll still be there when you bring the product back.

That fear is amplified on the net, even when dealing with an established site (and very few people will do a whois domain name check to see how long you've been established anyway), because there is no human contact.

This lack of human contact isolates the customer. So you need to reassure them by establishing trust.

Give people a reason to buy from you. Fear is a good selling tool, encourage your site visitors to ask questions of the web site they do finaly chose to purchase and make sure you can answer them.

"Are you buying a genuine UK market product or an import?"
'Yes, every product we sell is for the UK market.'

"Will your warranty be correctly registered with Apple if things go wrong?"
'Yes, we are an authorised Apple retailer'

Pose questions which other competitors might not be able to answer, and post the answers too.

Testemonials & Reviews

They work. End of.

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