If You Build It, They Will Come?

The most common problem that our customers face when deciding to sell online is, in their excitement at the opportunity to sell to a “global” marketplace, they have forgotten that they will often have to compete with larger, more established competition. It’s a common enough tale. The customer decides they need a website. The website is designed and the e-commerce program is launched… now what? What happens next? Most often, very little. Why? Well, online success is all about traffic – traffic quantity. It is a percentages game; you will sell to a percentage of the people who visit your site (assuming that you have a credible product and have all pricing and logistics strategies down). The problem is one of scale, as the conversion rates are typically very low and you need high volumes of (quality) traffic to your website. Incredibly, most businesses still operate on a “build it and they will come” basis. A marketing strategy requires patience and persistence. A well formulated strategy is important and an understanding of who your target demographic is, is equally important.