Resale Stores & the Web

I recently attended a wedding – everything was perfect.  As a business person though, what jumped out at me as really perfect for both the guests and the wedding party and ultimately the photographer was this:  As I signed the guest book I spied a business card of the photographer with the website address to see candid photos of the wedding on his website the next evening.  How cool was that… well, maybe it’s been going on for awhile – I haven’t been to too many weddings.   But, I grabbed a card – and probably took less of my own photos because I’d be able to view and buy some really nice photos later.

My daughter and I had him take a photo of us together – In the back of my mind, I know just where I’m going to put that photo…

The next evening I excitedly found myself pulling out that business card, typing in the website address to see the page of phtoos.  And, as promised, there was page of photos of the bride and groom – just a sampling and a note that the rest of the photos would go online as soon as the bride and groom viewed the photos.  Ok – that makes sense!  But there was something that didn’t make sense and that was the ability to sign up for a notification of sorts which would remind me the photos were up and ready for purchase.

I waited a week, checked back on my own and then another week – nothing new. Took a few friends to the website to show them the photos, still nothing… before I know it, 3 weeks have gone by and my visits to his site are becoming less regular and I know at some point I’ll probably forget and that page of photos will be gone and the opportunity to purchase will be gone or at the least I’ll have to jump through some hoops to get the photo.

What is this photographer missing?

Two things jumped out at me – the most prominent:  A sign up form to be notified when the photos are available for purchase.

My next thought since I’d shared this page with friends who didn’t attend the wedding was that a “share this page” link  to email a friend or share on facebook or other social sites was missing.

This is a prime example of missed opportunities. He started out great at the gate – offering something of value to the wedding guests – bringing visitors to his website who might not otherwise even know he had a website as he shot photos all afternoon and into the evening…

But, his effort lost emphasis and importance by not having a way to automate and serve the potential customer and make it easy for them to return to his site.

So, what are you missing in your business? Do you make it easy for potential customers to remember you?

Are your newsletters targeted to the right people?  Do you offer the option in your newsletter sign up forms for different things? Sales & Promotions? Consignment news? General news?

Does your blog have  an RSS feed option so readers can check quickly to see if you’ve got updates?

When you have a shop event do you post photos on your website or a link to an online album like Flickr, Photobucket or Picassa?

The bottom line….

Take it all the way through to the finish line for both your customers and potential customers. Had this photographer done that, he’d probably have a customer in me and many others.  But, rather than creating memorability, he fostered forgetability and potential lost sales.. 

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If it sounds too good to be true, then it really is. Just as with many other things, if you want your business to be taken seriously you’ll want to avoid free web hosting. Free hosting comes with banner ads for other businesses and many times you’ll find those businesses to be competing business as it’s your keywords in your website that drive those ads.

As you can see, almost 25% of the right side of the page space is taken up with competing ads. You don’t want this and your customers/suppliers don’t want to see it either. And, yes, this is a real resale store website. I’ve limited the size of the photo in order to keep the identity anonymous because it’s not my wish to put down, but rather enlighten.

Business owners and potential business owners need to keep in mind that for less than $5 per month they can get reputable and reliable hosting to meet most if not all their needs and it’s important to invest properly into your business.

Hosting services are widespreadbut reliable web hosting is crucial and not all companies are equal. If you are having a difficult time determining which hosting company to sign up with I have personally worked with 2 hosting companies which I have been VERY happy with and both fall under the $5/month rate. They are: GoDaddy.com and for multiple domains on one account 1and1.com

Customer service I have found to be exemplary with both companies.

Additionally, if you have a website designer and they have a service they prefer to work with and it’s in the cost range described above then by all means you should go with their preference as they are the one who will be interacting on a regular basis with the hosting company. IF the cost is a lot more than that, then ask them what makes it more expensive. If there’s a legitimate reason – for example you’re setting your site up for e-commerce that’s fine. If you don’t receive an appropriate response then I think I’d be looking for a new designer to support my site and my needs. Certainly everyone is entitled to profit but profit on the services you actually perform rather than profiting off the hosting or domain name purchase. As you might ascertain, I don’t agree with this practice. :-/

Do you have a web host you’ve worked with and would like to recommend? Let me know and I’ll check them out.

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Domains are your piece of real estate on the internet. Just like that computer you own, or the racks your clothing hangs on, it’s a piece of property. It’s just a bit intangible until it’s put to use.

Addtionally, your domain name is an extension of your business, it’s a part of your branding, it’s your internet identifier.

So, you worked hard to put your business together, you’ve opened your doors and your website is on your “to do” list. Keep in mind that it would behoove you to purchase your domain name now rather than later. This aspect is a really small segment of getting your website up and could save you in the long run. Chances are though, that if you don’t snag that name, it could be gone when you’ve reached that part of your “to do” list.

What to do? Purchase your domain name now! Ensure your future website has your business domain name. You can purchase your domain name for as little as $8.95/year. Yea, $8.95 and park it (think of that as a place holder for your website) until you are ready to get your website up and running. Most all website registrars will park your domain for free.

Not sure how to do it? Which registrar to go with? There are a ton of registrars on the internet and you can easily google “domain name registrar” and get hundreds of thousands results. I know, I had to learn all this myself years ago. I personally recommend godaddy.com. I’ve used their services for years and have purchased for myself and others more domain names than you care to know.

Is your name available? go to godaddy and type in your business name and do a search. If the exact name is not available in the .com suffix try .net or .biz or .us – these are all common domain names.

Another way to get a domain name which is close to your business name is to add the word “shop” or “consignment” or “resale” to the end of your business name.

As an example a recent client of mine, Smarty Pants – a resale store in Roselawn, IN was unable to purchase smartypants.com, so instead she chose smartypantsresaleshop.com But she could have chosen shopsmartypants.com or smartypantsresale.com All of these names are acceptable and do not diminish the brand but rather enhance because the website is right inline with her business name and further defines the fact that it’s a resale shop.

Don’t become discouraged if your domain is not available – become creative.

And, if you would like assistance with this, I’ll be happy to guide you through the process.

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