Offline to Online

So I've read this book called "A Survival Guide For Bringing Your Company Online- Clicking Through", very interesting indeed! I chose this particular book for the reason that, it relates to the course that I'm studying at the moment, Digital Business. I learned a lot of new things about how to bring your company alive online, what are the main do's and dont's. I'll share with you guys the main things that stood out to me and most relevant information in general to my opinion.

Bringing your company online

When you think about this, it seems so simple and easy. I never thought there would be so many rules and laws to follow, when doing this. It amazing to think that something so straightforward can be yet so complicated and time consuming at first.

Planning is everything! You have a much better chance for success when you map out a strategy for selling online. There are major differences between selling in the real world and selling virtually. Selling in the real world is done H2H (human to human). You have the chance to meet the customer, help them navigate through out the store, socialize etc.

But when its done virtually, there is no room for mistakes. Why? Because this will be a big put off and a minus for your online shop. The customer won't have the advantage to come to you and ask for help physically, as they would in an actual real world shop. Therefore, it is highly essential to have a website that is set up in a way that, it will meet the customers needs and easy to use. REMEMBER TO KEEP IT SIMPLE!

You have fewer than five seconds to grab someone's attention. Otherwise they're gone, never to be seen again. Some important tips to keep in mind

• Choose one or two plain fonts on a white background.

• Make your navigation clear and simple, and the same on every page.

• Only use graphics, audio or video if they enhance your message.

• Include an opt-in offer so you can collect e-mail addresses.

• Make it easy to buy, no more than two clicks between potential customer and checkout.

• Your website is your online storefront, so make it customer-friendly.

One of the most important internet marketing strategies is to develop every customer's lifetime value. At least 36 percent of people who have purchased from you once will buy from you again if you follow up with them. Closing that first sale is by far the most difficult part, not to mention the most expensive.

So use back-end selling and up selling to get them to buy again

• Offer products that complement their original purchase.

• Send out electronic loyalty coupons they can redeem on their next visit.

• Offer related products on your "Thank You" page after they purchase.

The concerns about online retailing are not tremendously different from those of mall tenants or catalog publishers: turning people into shoppers, shoppers into buyers, and sales into profits. The difference stem in large part from the public, worldwide nature of the Internet, the lack of human interaction for much of the process (with an accompanying need for technical integration), and the ease of entry into retailing space. Anyone with five megabytes of server space can theoretically begin selling online, although certainly without the kind of success earned by companies such as Amazon, which have invested millions of dollars in infrastructure, design, support, and advertising.

Despite the ease of entry benefits, no online retailing effort will succeed without real attention to detail and dedication to understanding and managing not only the day-to-day business of bringing in customers and selling them products, but the risks unique to internet business. Retailing involves highly regulated areas such as product liability, consumer protection and taxation. It is critical, therefore, that your effort be carefully planned and monitored, whether it's a stand-alone website or a gift store as a part of a broader information or entertainment site. Otherwise, instead of selling your merchandise, you might be selling yourself short... or even being sold down the river.

Business is like riding a bicycle. Either you keep moving or you fall down.

– Frank Lloyd Wright