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Sep 18, 2008 by Mark MaierAn article in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye on Wholesalers using the web to go direct to consumers. Shelly Banjo profiles 3 businesses that have made the move and offer great insight into what it takes to be successful:
1) Customer Service - Customers still demand resolution to problems and being able to talk to someone when something didn't ship right or there are other problems.
2) Establishing a Good Web Site - Paul here at LPG operates WhiteSites which is a web development firm and he says making it as easy on the customer as possible is key but the site also has to be secure, functional, and easily updated. The article states that those "new to the e-commerce world need to make a strong investment in infrastructure that supports all aspects of customer service, technical support, product support, returns"
3) Advertising - Just because you have a web site doesn't mean everyone knows about it. These businesses used Search and pay per click advertising to drive online traffic to their online outlet. They also posted to industry related Blogs with links back to their business to gather more referrals.
Lets take this one step further. What if as part of your web site you hosted space for clients to conduct business on the web and offered development as part of the service? You could be really creative and host not only pdf photo's and descriptions of merchandise but also slide shows and even video's (think virtual tours in Real Estate). You could also have each client develop their own Blog they would update on a regular basis where they could discuss new products, post reviews, and answer questions. There is no reason your local clients can't take advantage of the web opportunities and you could direct your listeners to the new features that are now part of your site. They can still sell to the world but it starts at your site.
To read the complete article click here
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