I’ve been reading comments from my first post, and it gave me an idea for my second. I see a lot of people using the word “ecommerce” or talking about being scared to “go ecommerce”.
Ecommerce is, by definition, the buying and selling of goods and services on the internet. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, because ecommerce is totally possible in other industries, but I think you’re dreaming if you expect that in the promotional products industry. You might find this easy with company stores, or in certain niche markets, but the average distributor is dealing with more than that — I know I am. I target several niche markets, and have many low-competition niche products that I focus on, but even those don’t produce a great number of online purchases. There are just too many variables when it comes to buying promotional products and end users aren’t that comfortable just yet. In short, don’t go throwing those sales skills out the window. You’re going to need them.
I consider myself an “online marketer” NOT an “online seller”. If I write 150 orders next month, 145 of them are going to be literally “written” — pen and paper, phone in hand. Now keep in mind, I shoot for good margins. If I wanted to work for lower margins, i’m sure I could get more to buy online, but how many more? The very nature of this industry, and the items we sell makes that very difficult - so why play around and sacrifice profits?
I use my 10 years of online marketing experience to make the phone ring. From there I rely on my sales experience to help me end the call with a credit card number (more on that later). That is real good news for most of you…. you already possess the skills needed to be successful, you just want to know how to apply those skills in the “dotcom” environment and it really isn’t that hard. You simply take your existing knowledge of marketing, and apply it to your online marketing. Be sure to to keep those sales skills tuned too. You can be a great online marketer, but if you have no sales skills it doesn’t mean a thing.
As the site grows, keep an eye on the categories off to the right because they too will grow to help us keep things organized. This will not be in anyway structured, because an ADD mind like mine has no such ability, but I hope it will be informative. ;)
Chris,
I have a question….. What is your angle on this site? How is this putting money in your pocket? I could understand if you are just being nice and sharing advise but I know you so what gives? Dont get me wrong…. I LOVE THE IDEAL and your comments….
Glenn,
Just general industry education / information and some additional rambling by me. This site serves to further promote the other web properties that I am involved with and gives me a place to call my own without bothering others.
No real profits are going to be made directly from this site. Hopefully in time others will get to experience some of the other things I am working on that can help distributors and suppliers make a killing online. Again - as of right now, I make my money selling promotional products.
So I guess for now… yea.. its just me being nice as usual. ;)
You are so right in there being a difference between e-commerce (buying/selling) versus online marketing. Most of us in this industry work with clients to teach them the difference between advertising and marketing, now is time for many of us to learn the difference between e-commerce and online marketing.
Looking forward to information that will enhance our current online marketing efforts. Thanks for sharing.
I got your willingness to share on DT when I first started. Unfortunately, or fortunately at the case really is, I do not have the time to respond or discuss business trends and such, but enjoy helping others as well as getting helped by the comments of others and the questions asked.
We talked a while back and you gave me a lot of ideas for a website. I have just a basic one now hooked into DC to give the impression of largeness BUT I, too, prefer the middle sizing of my business to be able to take the time with family, my wife and quick trips when we need them. Today, as it was when I started my own business 28 years ago, it is fun to get up in the morning and go to work. Its still as exciting to get a small order or a large one as it was then, and, I have met some great people in this business over the past five years when I rolled over from the textile industry to this one. They are similar in many ways but the fun is in meeting people and new customers every week.
Completely agree, Chris. I use DC for my site and someone put alot of time into the shopping cart feature, but it’s difficult for anyone to use. I could never ask customers to fumble through it or I’d lose them for sure. I just have them contact me and I email an easy-to-understand email with all the details.
So far I’m with ya, let’s keep it rollin’!
I am in the process of revamping my website, which so far hasn’t attracted that much business. The first time around I was shooting for the “educate the customer, and they’ll appreciate you for it, and buy, buy, buy” angle. which as I said, doesn’t work. Can you give some kind of example of online marketing that you think would be helpful to drive customers to call?
I am going to get more into this soon. Stay tuned. It’s not an easy process… BUT it can be highly profitable once you master the art. It took me 10 years to get where I am. I am going to share a lot… so do stick with me. ;)
Brent, just look at any of the major online players in our industry. They are not coming off as “consultants” they are like any other successful ecom operation (amazon.com, buy.com). I suggest you take an hour or two to visit their sites, and that should give you an idea of what direction you could take.
Ryan,
Good point, BUT that is NOT the only way to run a business online in this industry. We make a decent living selling at real margins online. You don’t have to be like 4 imprint to make a killing. ;)
I work at 4imprint and I have to agree with Chris on this one. We have a great web site, but every single order cannot be completed without human interaction. We “consult” with every customer to make sure the art is right and a variety of other details that you just can’t do over the web without sacrificing quality.
The web is just another way to begin a relationship, but the customer service is how you keep customers coming back.
Orien, first off thanks for your reply.
I guess I’ll restate this.
There are tons of distributors who have “cosultative” websites that tell all about their company and what they can do for their clients. A lot of text and vey little product. Most state “Call us and we’ll help you acheive your goals”. That might bring in some business from the web, but the majority of business online is going to go to companies with an ecommece presence like 4Imprint, like Promo Punch, like Big Impression.
While we all consult with our clients, the type of online presence to attract clients is going to make a HUGE difference.
I never said anything about cutting margins. I simply was trying to point out that all the big players are “online retailers” not consultants.
Ryan:
Any idea how many “Account Managers” 4imprint has? Not trying to be a pain, but i’m guessing you dont fully understand how they run their business. Those guys are consultants like we are. 4imprint wouldn’t sell a thing with a bunch of highschoolers answering the phones and not as many orders come in online as you might think.
Chris,
He stated he tried the consultant angle with his “website” and it didn’t pan out. He asked what works. We’re (at least I am) talking front-end.
Obviously, you need to have consulting/sales skills on the back-end to close sales that come through your site (phone,online).
But the front end, websites, catalogs etc are again typical of the MOTO/Retail industry.
“not as many orders come in online as you might think.” I think we’ve had this convo before…. :)