If you think about it, buying something on the internet without speaking to someone is actually quite odd. You can’t see the person you are buying from or verify that they actually have an item in stock. You don’t know where they are, how they got there or what they have done. Nonetheless, when you see something you like, you take out your credit card, punch in those digits that easily allow anyone to spend your money, and then you click “submit.”

Merchants often wonder why they don’t get sales, but they often fail to think about the trust involved in actually purchasing something online. No matter how you convey to your customers your trustworthiness by creating a legitimate looking site, it still helps them to offer the outside perspective of someone else, “a person like me” as the phrase goes. This is why it helps to offer customer reviews on your site.

Customer reviews allow consumers to get a better sense of the product you have and the service you offer. Without outside reviews of some sort, you often become someone else trying to take their money. Considering how many other companies bombard consumers with every product under the sun, this is not a worthwhile proposition.

Here are just a few stats from the “Customer Review” portion of Bazaarvoice’s “Social Commerce Report 2007,” which highlighted trends of European and U.S. online merchants:

• Of the 28% of online merchants who currently use customer reviews, eight out of ten merchants thought the reviews were beneficial to site conversion.
• 73% of these merchants found the reviews improved retention and customer loyalty.
• Customer reviews improved merchants’ search engine results due to the added content on internal pages.

When can customer reviews actually hurt a merchant? When they are not genuine. A negative review that is mysteriously left out can make the customer who left it question everything about your site. Statistics show that customers who bother to leave reviews are typically your best customers, so losing one can be bad news. That product review user is 21% more satisfied with his or her purchases than other buyers and is 18% more likely than other buyers to buy from that site the next time he or she needs similar products, according to a study conducted by ForeSee Results and the University of Michigan. One bad review could cost you five good ones.

Monitoring these reviews too closely will also prevent new customers from purchasing. Overstock learned this after loosening its customer review monitoring policy. Tad Martin, senior vice president of merchandising and operations at Overstock.com, stated that Overstock “learned that customers won’t trust the site if there are only positive reviews.” Makes sense.

So be fearless. Stand behind your product and let your current customers tell your new ones how good (or bad) your products really are.

Are you ready to improve your Volusion site’s conversion by including customer reviews?
Simpy go to Settings–>Config Varables, and check Config_EnableCustomerReviews.

-Michelle Greer, Volusion eCommerce Consultant

*Sources:
Wall Street Journal
eConsultancy

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It’s a disease plaguing the entire world. You can guard against it, but inevitably it always finds you. It finds you and then it gets worse over time. Eventually, you become less bothered by it, merely accepting it as an annoying problem that will never go away. This acceptance only makes it worse. Your inbox will never escape…

Spam.

Since you need customers to have a way to easily reach you, you need a way for them to reach your email from your website. Unfortunately, this also leaves you open to spambots, which in case you live in a cave and haven’t been hit already, are electronic message systems that indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages. Although the programmers who create spambots lie somewhere between slime molds and fungi on the evolutionary tree of life, we haven’t been able to stop them yet. The responsibility to prevent spam altogether stands with you, the merchant.

How can you encourage customers to email you with any questions they have without getting pummeled with spam? Here are three basic steps:

1.) Do not list your email anywhere on your site, especially as text. Spambots can pick up text and before you know it, that email box will be chock full of all sorts of offers you never wanted.

2.) Instead of including this email address, include a “Contact Us” page on your website, and on this page, include a form for customers to fill out with their questions. You can then direct that form to your inbox. If you have a Volusion store, there is a sample form for you to use under Design Website text.

3.) Include a CAPTCHA with your form. A CAPTCHA makes it much more difficult for spambots to work and requires the user to verify a code before posting anything. This prevents auto posting that could occur on your site. If you have a version 5 Volusion site, a CAPTCHA is included on the sample form.

A CAPTCHA looks like this:
Please enter the following code in the box provided:

CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.” Essentially, it is a test that a computer can generate and grade but cannot solve. Since you can require a CAPTCHA on your “Contact Us” page, you can help prevent electronic messaging systems from using this form and subsequently inundating you with spam.

Spammers will always find a way to make their money, but taking preventative steps to stop them should clear up your box for the emails you actually want to receive.

In order to setup your CAPTCHA form on your Volusion site, follow these three steps:
1.) Go to your store administration section.
2.) Go to Design > Website Text
3.) Find Article 83. You will see the verification code there. Simply copy the line of code for the verification tool, and paste it at the end of your HTML form.

-Michelle Greer, Volusion eCommerce Consultant

Technorati Tags: Captcha Form, Captcha ASP, Form Spam, Stop Spam Form

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Somewhere someone is broadcasting the most random details of their life on the internet. And another someone is sitting at their computer watching that broadcast of that person eating cereal or watching TV. Anyone with a computer and internet connection can blog about anything, and as unsubstantiated as that opinion can be, nothing stops it from gaining influence. Whether you are using the web because you want to cash in or simply because you have something to say, historically, the barriers of entry for influence have never been lower.

So what steps are you taking to influence your customers?

Hopefully you have blogged or have written articles about your trade for customers to read, and you haven’t broadcast yourself flexing your pecs in the mirror (well, as long as this isn’t linked to your online store). Not only are blogs and magazine articles SEO gold in terms of relevant content (and hopefully back links to your online store), you can use your blog to gain influence in your industry. Online consumers are bombarded with products they “need” to buy all the time. If you can offer a source of free information regarding the product they are purchasing, they will 1.) be more inclined to purchase because they can now make an informed decision and 2.) will regard you as an expert on the topic and will probably buy from you again. All that because you bothered to write about something that you hopefully feel passionate about in the first place.

So think back to the basics from freshman English class, get out there, and write! Let your customers know what you know and then to send them to your store.

Looking for a blog? Here are a few places to look:
Blogger
MoveableType
WordPress

Read how to Link Your Blog to Your Volusion Store

Have a blog and now you want to open your own store? Start one Now!

-Michelle Greer, Volusion eCommerce Consultant
http://www.volusion.com

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MySpace is all over the news and all over computer screens across America and beyond. In November of 2005, MySpace had 26.7 million users*. Just one year later, an estimated 128 million people were using MySpace, the site that according to Wikipedia “attracts new registrations at a rate of 230,000 per day”. And although teens may appear to be more hip to MySpace lingo, an October 2006 report by comScore Media Metrix notes that “more than half of all MySpace visitors are now age 35 or older.”

If you’re out of the social networking loop, now is the time to get in it. Today’s savvy consumers want products from a business they can trust, learn from, relate to and “be friends” with. MySpace is a potential springboard in lead generation for business owners, especially those that appear to be true friends rather than in-your-face marketers. Your MySpace page can be used to gain ties with other business owners and to promote items or services to prospective customers in a more personal and easily accessible environment.

Signing Up
Signing up at MySpace is easy, and it’s free. Below are some tips for starting a page for your own business and gaining some valuable friendships along the way.

Filling Out Your Basic Info
When creating your MySpace profile, there are some basic fields you must fill out first. The overall goal of using a social networking site is to give your company a personal feel, yet it’s wise to stay neutral on certain issues. A good way to do so is to select the “No Answer” option on those revealing questions. For example, if you’re selling golf balls it’s really not necessary to offer your religion preference to potential clients. If visitors disagree with an answer, that could be the deal breaker. Thus, some things are better left unsaid.
There are some questions, however, that do not provide the “No Answer” option, such as the following:
Under Basic Info: Gender, Date of Birth and Region (State)
Under Background and Lifestyle: Marital Status
As you can tell, MySpace hasn’t exactly made an optimal business page format in forcing a company to provide its gender, zodiac sign and marital status. However, a thing to realize is that while you are using your MySpace page to build a client base and market to your friends, MySpace is using your own page to market to you! The answers you provide help MySpace to target their own advertising messages, which is why some answers require a response.

Your Name and URL
When choosing a name and url (myspace.com/url), you can take two routes. You can either choose the name of your business, or you can use keywords describing the items you sell. To optimize your page, a keyword rich name may be your best bet.

Company Overview, the “About Me” Section
This is your page’s bread and butter. Give a concise overview of your company and how it may benefit your target audience. Use common sense and creativity to spark their interest. Who are you? What do you do? And what may entice me, your potential customer, to become your friend?

Potential Clients, the “Who I’d like to meet” Section
Here you can breakdown your target audience. If your products were talking, who would they like to meet? Water skis would want to meet water sport enthusiasts, high-end dog clothes would want to shake hands with pampered pet owners, and so on. Keep it targeted, yet open enough for any and every potential consumer.

Your Company’s Interests
If you choose to not provide info here, these sections will remain blank. However, if any of these interests may help to build your clientele or add to the appeal of your product offerings, feel free to fill these out. The Interests Section includes: General (which can be a condensed version of the “About Me” section), Music, Movies, Television, Books and Heroes. Use creativity here as well. Remember, you’re adding a friendly feel to your business, so think of what answers may offer some insight into your site’s personality.

Adding Pictures, the “Profile Pic” and “View my Pics” Section
You’ll need a profile pic or your default image will be a static grey icon with the words “No Photo” (not someone many people will want to befriend). When visitors come to your MySpace page, it will be the first thing they see and it will also be the image displayed on your friends MySpace pages. Your image should relate directly with your business. Your best bet would be to use your logo, or another image that will give immediate recognition of your type of business. There is also a “View my pics” section, where additional images can be added. This is a great place to add more of a personal touch to your page. You can add pictures of your employees, things that are of interest to you and other images that may help the consumer feel at home.

Adding Videos
Although it’s a feature not used by many, the Video Section can be a launch pad for some valuable word of mouth. If you create a video that boosts your business while offering something entertaining or educational, it can be picked up and spread by several potential clients. Videos provide a great medium for boosting a brand image, yet are not an essential must-have when starting your page.

Your MySpace Blog
On the right-hand side of your profile, you’ll notice a section for your “Latest Blog Entry”. Blogs are as wide-spread as social networking sites, in offering an informative, personal and entertaining way to provide information about your online business. The titles of your Blog posts also act as links, so providing keyword rich titles can help with Search Engine Optimization in generating more relevant traffic for your business. Use this section for company news, as well as information related to your product offerings. Try to keep this area up-to-date and consistent. For example, if every Monday you list a “Special Deal”, users may be more prone to check this area periodically.

Your MySpace Business Page Layout
This can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. A basic page can be made with little or no HTML knowledge, which is the route that most small business owners take (BookPeople) while larger companies often stray so far away from the format, you can hardly tell it’s a MySpace page (Adidas).

Here are some quick tips for designing your own page:
-Make your page’s personality match that of your product offerings.
-Keep your page simple. Avoid overloading your site with too many files, as audio and video files take up server space and can slow a page down. If it takes too long to load your page, your potential friends won’t bother waiting around.
-Keep your page current and informative. Give your friends something to come back for. Also, site visitors can see when you last logged on so if it’s been awhile, they’ll be less likely to pay you a visit.

For HTML and CSS coding tips, you can checkout the MySpace Profile Support section. There are also several sites that offer free MySpace Layouts, but do your research to check their safety as many are known to carry potential viruses.

Making Friends, the “Friend Space” Section
Friends are potential clients. An ultimate MySpace page would be one in which you were sought out to become a friend. However, if you’re a small business with limited exposure, a more realistic approach would be to seek others out instead. You can try a basic MySpace Search to find those that may be interested in your business, while you’re more likely to find targeted consumers by searching MySpace Groups. Once you request someone as a friend, they’ll receive a “Friend Request” in their Inbox. They can then visit your page to determine whether or not to accept (remember that these requests can be accepted, just as easily as they can be denied). In some cases, it may serve you better to send a Friend Request alongside a personalized message. Think about your own experience, and what a page has to possess to appeal to your interest. You should also link to your MySpace page from your online store, to help build a client base of people already interested in your product offerings. Your page will show the public your friend number, so try to show off your popularity by gaining (and keeping) as many friends as you can.

Posting Bulletins and Sending Messages
A Bulletin Post is a great way to message all of your consumers at once, but this tool should never be over-used. Remember the keyword here once more- “friend”. Friends don’t spam (or annoy) other friends. Unlike the real world, your friendship here can quickly be deleted with the click of a mouse. Give your friends something they’d want to read about (new product offerings, news related to items you sell, special deals, etc.) and keep it minimal. Although it must be done one by one, you can also send messages (like emails) to your friends. Again, inform and engage don’t shout or annoy.

Posting Comments
This is another great way to build your clientele. You can use comments to take advantage of pages that are already popular. For example, if you sell golf clubs- post a comment on a popular golf page, and so on. Try to keep your comments relevant, real and unique. You’ll notice a lot of “Thanks for the Add” comments. Like anything else, if you see something too much it becomes wallpaper rather than something of interest. Also avoid blatant advertising. Your profile can be set to approve comments before they post on your page (which is something you should do as well), so easily recognizable ads will likely be deleted. And again, you’re making friends. Throwing ads on someone’s page is not the key to this friendship. Inform and engage. Let’s say you make a Blog Post about “5 Tips to Finding the Perfect Golf Club”. Your comment (on a popular golfing page) can be, “Checkout my blog for tips on finding clubs”. This is something a friend would do, offer helpful advice which may lead to finding the “perfect club” from your own store.

In Closing
When you enter the MySpace world, you’re among thousands of potential leads- all with the same vehicle for giving and acquiring information. Be honest, be personal, be a friend and in turn, your new friends may become your lifelong customers!

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore Networks, Inc.

-Stacie Leonard, Ecommerce Marketing/Copywriting

Technorati Tags: Business Social Networking, myspace business, myspace business background, myspace business layout, volusion

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