| 1. Keep the website updated and easy to use. I find everything I'm looking for on the web. Have pictures of things on there as well as info and pricing. Make the efford to have more pictures than your competition. It's tough to find info on some product on the net and good quality pictures sell gear(especially cases and horns).
2. Keep up with your email. People aren't impressed if you take a week to answer a simple question. Your competition may have already taken care of the customer by then.
3. Be fair in pricing. People shop around and if you're primarily on the net then it takes no effort to make an online order somewhere else if you're too high. Just because you offer better service or a better site doesn't mean people won't take your info and get the better deal elsewhere once they've learned everything they need to know. Also, don't try to make money on shipping and handling.
4. If you make a mistake and you can afford to, take the hit and make things right for the customer. I'll say no end of good about a store that screwed up an order and then quickly, courteously, and free of charge fixed it. It's almost more effective for word of mouth advertising than getting it right the first time!
I've been working in retail for about 5 years now and I getting a good idea of what makes people walk out of the store and what makes them come back. Just because you're small doesn't mean you can't be quite successful and it doesn't mean you won't some day be one of the big boys. |