Increase your sales by being Sticky

by Chris Malta & Robin Cowie

Most of the time, we try to avoid “sticky” situations in our lives. In Home Based ECommerce, sticky is good.

People usually think of something that’s “sticky” as something you can touch. Peanut butter, things that your kids find to smear on their bedroom walls, the mysterious substance that accumulates under your refrigerator, and so forth. (What is that stuff, anyway? I’ll have to ask someone…) Anyway, in EBiz, sticky doesn’t touch the physical senses. It touches and sticks to the awareness of the buying public; your potential customers. Making something sticky in EBiz means that you make it memorable. Something people will remember and want to come back to.

That’s a very important component of your EBiz success. You need people to see your web site or internet auction and remember you. You need them to want to come back to you for more. So, here are some ways that you can make your sales pages “sticky”:

1. Your page should be clean and easy to follow. For example, a lot of the conventional sales pages you see on eBay actually “shout” at the customer, with lots of very large letters, bright colors, and so on. In real life (on a physical billboard, for example) that IS noticeable, but when I see it, it cheapens my opinion of the business that created it. Ask yourself this: What will you remember longer? (a) A billboard for a personal injury attorney with lots of bright colors and outrageous claims, or (b) a big, solid black billboard with a Nike logo in the center, and in small print, the words “Just Do It”? The big companies have it down; clean and simple. Follow the lead of those who have spent millions figuring out how to attract customers.

2. Contact information is critical. Your first impression on your potential customer must be the impression that they can trust you. If they know right away who you are and how to reach you, they’ll be comfortable that they’ll get what they buy from you without a hassle. That impression helps you to stand out above the crowd.

3. Always give them value-added content. If you sell camping gear, set up a page where you link to places that tell them where the best campsites are. Create a blog where you talk about your experiences camping, and using the different kinds of gear you sell. Create a page that gives them an easy reference for contacting the warranty departments of the makers of your products. you get the idea…the more info you place on your pages that they will want to refer back to, the more they will visit your product pages.

4. Repeat contact is very important. Send an email to your existing customers once a month or so, where you thank them for their purchase, talk about your products, tell them what’s new on your pages, etc. Nothing with too much of a sales flavor; make it conversational and give them info they can really use.

Do these things, and your product sales pages will become “sticky”. As a result, your product sales will increase.

BIOGRAPHY: Chris Malta and Robin Cowie are the CEO and president of WorldwideBrands.com, Home of The Internet's Largest Source of Genuine, Factory-Direct Wholesalers for online sellers. Click Here for more FREE E-Biz & Product Sourcing info!