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Here is a story of four traders who each started with a website built by us, retailing
the same products Australia-wide from different cities. It's hard to compare businesses
with different products in different markets, but these four businesses had all
those factors in common.
Start-up:
Trader A started with a website and a spare room at home, and became so successful
that he needed to open a shop.
Trader B (in another city) liked Trader A's website, so he also started with
a website and a spare room at home, and became so successful that he also needed
to open a shop.
Trader C bought Trader A's website, shop lease and business and employed someone
to run it for him.
Trader D (in a third city) liked Trader C's website so started with a website
and a spare room at home.
Current status:
Trader A, after a break, started a new website and a shop with the same products
(but a different part of the city). He now has two retail stores plus he is
starting a wholesale division.
Trader B is very successful and happy with one shop.
Trader C has closed down.
Trader D is still struggling.
So, four businesses starting with similar websites designed by us, with the
same products, in the same market, in the same country, have four different
results.
Observations:
Service: - Traders A and B are always available to give personal service and
advice by phone or email on their products. They each told us that this was
as well as their having full information on their websites and FAQ pages answering
most questions. Trader C's employee was often out of the shop and left customer
enquiries unanswered. Trader D was working elsewhere during the day, and relied
on potential customers either placing orders on-line or leaving messages on
an answering machine.
Range: - Traders A and B carried a full range of inventory. C advertised a
full range but was often out of stock. D carried only a limited range.
Competition: - The same products were all stocked by large chain stores and
other on-line traders, so the fact that Traders A and B prospered indicates
that their personal service was able to attract customers away from the impersonal
chain stores and other on-line traders.
In our own business of developing websites, even though large projects can
and are carried out using email only, a number of clients have made contact
with us by telephone in the early stages, even from 4,000 kilometres away. We
have a lot of information on our website, but perhaps people need reassurance
that there is another human, not a robot, at the other end. Different products
have different issues. But the above story shows traders with a full range of
products, who know their products and can offer personal service are ahead of
others.
More information for small businesses is found at platypus websites - www.platywebs.com.au
About the Author:
Ken McKay is a website developer from Australia |
