Applying Old Rules in a New Technology Age

One of the greatest challenges facing a business selling its products or services over the internet is converting “visitors” into “buyers”.

Bringing the potential customer to the website is just half the battle. The real challenge is making the sale. It is no secret that selling is hard when done face to face or over the phone. When you consider that a website is the first contact a potential customer has with a business, the challenges to selling online are obvious. Even if a website is designed to generate a personal contact by phone or e-mail, the site still has to create the interest.

However, despite the obvious challenges to online businesses, the sales numbers are staggering. Just in the year 2000 alone, internet commerce totaled $354 billion (IDC Research Group, as reported in PC Magazine, July 2001). According to projections, the number for internet commerce will reach more than $5 trillion by 2005 (IDC Research Group, as reported in PC Magazine, July 2001).

In the retail sector, online sales during the Christmas season increased about 15% from the year before, despite the sluggish economy. By comparison, traditional retail sales during the holiday season only increased by 2% (Business Week , 1/9/02). Overall, holiday season sales reached about 13.8 billion.

In addition, just the sheer number of internet users bodes well for online commerce. According to Nielson/Net Ratings there were nearly 103 million Internet users in the United States alone, up almost 25% from the year before (Reported in PC Magazine, July 2001). In addition, according to Nielson/Net Ratings, 38 million of these internet users are in the workplace, up 21% from the year before (Reported in P.C. Magazine, July 2001). What is even more impressive is that nearly one third of Americans shop online (Neilson/Net Ratings, reported in Business Week, 1/9/02).

In light of the growth of online sales as well as the increasing number of people using the internet to make purchases, websites are one of the most important sales channels for any business. However, the challenges to selling online still exist and too many websites just do not work. So what can a business do to ensure that its website can make a sale or create interest? One good way to start is to know why people buy online and why they will not.

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