Selling Products Online - Business Policy Development
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Develop a Set of Clear Business Policies that are Clear to Buyers
We are going to have this as our first in a series of lenses in the hopes of helping people develop the skills necessary to sell online and minimize the time it takes to meet some of their goals. It takes a great commitment to work through the policies that you will want to communicate to your buyers.
The most important reason for doing this is credibility. I cannot stress enough how important this is. There are always going to be apprehensive buyers out there. If you present yourself professionally it will keep buyers on your site.
The importance of defining these well before making your first sales will improve your chances of success and reduce potential problems later. If the potential problems are all spelled out in black and white, then when a buyer complains about something you can always refer to your business policies.
The first buyer experience is critical to your business especially if you have the type of business where there is a potential for repeat business. In businesses where the buyer might repeat, the initial sale is typically a test and then future purchases would typically be higher depending on the nature of the business. Even if there is not a big potential for repeat business, you still want people to refer others too you. Another component is feedback. There are many places that people can now review your business performance on the internet so you want to do everything you can to maintain high ratings. We will talk more about buyer experience in other lenses as well.
The most important reason for doing this is credibility. I cannot stress enough how important this is. There are always going to be apprehensive buyers out there. If you present yourself professionally it will keep buyers on your site.
The importance of defining these well before making your first sales will improve your chances of success and reduce potential problems later. If the potential problems are all spelled out in black and white, then when a buyer complains about something you can always refer to your business policies.
The first buyer experience is critical to your business especially if you have the type of business where there is a potential for repeat business. In businesses where the buyer might repeat, the initial sale is typically a test and then future purchases would typically be higher depending on the nature of the business. Even if there is not a big potential for repeat business, you still want people to refer others too you. Another component is feedback. There are many places that people can now review your business performance on the internet so you want to do everything you can to maintain high ratings. We will talk more about buyer experience in other lenses as well.
Contents at a Glance
Determine the Business Policies and Document them
Keep in mind that as a buyer we all want to have the most pleasant experience as possible. So, as a seller you need to think things through very well and communicate as much as possible to your buyer. When we started, I literally sold things for a fixed price of a penny to "experience" the sales process. People thought I was nuts, but to me, that was the cost of the education of online selling and developing the customer experience. I learned about customer expectations, communication, shipping, handling payment etc. Each step of the way I wrote down what I was doing. For each transaction, I wrote down the steps taken to list an item (ebay) and then the steps to complete the transaction.
For this lens, let's just talk about the business policies required that a buyer wants to know about:
Intro Paragraph: A short paragraph about the company might be nice just to help people get to know you. It is also important to include keywords and phrases as this will help you get higher ranked in search engines.
Checkout Instructions: Buyers experience different checkout methods depending on what shopping platform is being used. Walk them through a transaction step by step if possible in your business policies or communications with the buyer. It is best to do a test purchase and document everything you experience and then incorporate that into your instructions.
Hours of Operation: Enter the hours and the days of the week you will consider the business open.
Shipping Methods and Times: Enter the shipping services you offer and expected times of delivery to US or International locations. If you are offering multiple shipping methods, it is recommended that you list these in a bullet format rather than all in a paragraph.
Insurance: Is this included or is there an extra fee. If you are shipping UPS, the first $100 of insurance is included so you can mention this in your policies.
Payment Methods Accepted : List all methods and list those not accepted like personal checks if that is the case. Some buyers will just send a check and expect you to take it. You are required to return these to the buyer if they happen to send one to you.
Insurance: If you are offering insurance list the amounts for each range of merchandise totals.
Return Policy: Enter the terms for return and how long the buyer has to return. Indicate if authorization is needed. Also, list if there is a restocking charge.
Customer Service: Indicate to buyers how and when they will receive communications. We would send notifications for each item won / purchased, one when payment was received and one when the order is shipped.
For this lens, let's just talk about the business policies required that a buyer wants to know about:
Intro Paragraph: A short paragraph about the company might be nice just to help people get to know you. It is also important to include keywords and phrases as this will help you get higher ranked in search engines.
Checkout Instructions: Buyers experience different checkout methods depending on what shopping platform is being used. Walk them through a transaction step by step if possible in your business policies or communications with the buyer. It is best to do a test purchase and document everything you experience and then incorporate that into your instructions.
Hours of Operation: Enter the hours and the days of the week you will consider the business open.
Shipping Methods and Times: Enter the shipping services you offer and expected times of delivery to US or International locations. If you are offering multiple shipping methods, it is recommended that you list these in a bullet format rather than all in a paragraph.
Insurance: Is this included or is there an extra fee. If you are shipping UPS, the first $100 of insurance is included so you can mention this in your policies.
Payment Methods Accepted : List all methods and list those not accepted like personal checks if that is the case. Some buyers will just send a check and expect you to take it. You are required to return these to the buyer if they happen to send one to you.
Insurance: If you are offering insurance list the amounts for each range of merchandise totals.
Return Policy: Enter the terms for return and how long the buyer has to return. Indicate if authorization is needed. Also, list if there is a restocking charge.
Customer Service: Indicate to buyers how and when they will receive communications. We would send notifications for each item won / purchased, one when payment was received and one when the order is shipped.
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Ramkitten
Mar 21, 2009 @ 12:35 am | delete
- I'm now in the process of setting up an online business (pre-equipped backpacks), and you've mentioned a couple of points I still need to think about and include on my site. Thank you for the tips.
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by minordtails
minordtails
My background with online marketing started in 2005 as a Powerseller on eBay. We had approximately $500k in sales in our final year of 2008. more »
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