By Chris Cook
Do you recall a time when selling brand names on the Internet was the exception and not the norm? When a call to your supplier launched an investigation of how this rogue reseller got their hands on your best sellers? Things have certainly changed as the Internet sales channel has evolved. Take a moment and Google your best sellers and you will probably find them readily available on websites like eBay.com, LogJamElectronics.com, BottomDollar.com and Yahoo Shopping.
At this stage, competing with those online retailers probably seems like a losing battle. It’s easy to get tired, and frustrated, with the situation when you’re competing with online resellers that seem to outnumber the stars in the sky. So what to do? Maybe call a hacker and have them shut down the Internet? Not likely, but at times a nice thought. I guess you are waiting for the usual advice to “offer good customer service and installation expertise” and everything will be alright? Not a chance. Although following that advice never hurts business, you need to look at this in a more proactive way.
First, do you have a Web presence? Is it a good one? You know, one you or your kids would visit and shop at? Have you ever thought of offering a best Internet price guarantee? Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, how would you compete selling products for less then you bought them for? Fine print helps because you can offer to beat any authorized Internet retailer (which certainly makes a difference to customers who want a valid warranty). The idea is to get customers in your store by letting them know (using your website) that you are the local guy willing to offer full service for Internet pricing on these products.
Maybe take it a step further by setting up your own e-commerce and or mail-order business using free or inexpensive software? We’ve provided you with a short list of e-commerce software providers at the end of this post. There’s no reason you can’t compete in the online world, too, while also promoting brick-and-mortar business and your installation expertise.
So let’s say you set up an e-commerce section of your site. How would you handle fulfillment? One way to handle this would be to use Amazon.com’s e-commerce fulfillment service to handle this for your business.
At the end of the month (or day) it’s how well you execute your plan to get customers in your store using any means possible (including the Internet). So log on, take a good look at your Web presence and see what you can do to break the logjam without making bottom dollar!
E-commerce providers:
Vendio (free to install and use, takes a percentage of Internet sales)
Zen Cart (free to install and use, paid support)
Print | posted on Wednesday, June 03, 2009 4:14 PM