Getting personal
It's been said many times, but personalisation is another way to avoid disenchanting customers. If you monitor customers' behaviour online--for example, what types of products they buy and how often--you are in a better position to cross-sell and up-sell additional product without sounding pushy.
To avoid customer concern over privacy, you can use aggregate statistics to make intelligent guesses at the things that customers might like. Amazon.com, a leading proponent of this philosophy, offers additional alternatives to a particular purchase by tracking what other customers have bought at the same time as the item in question.
If customers explicitly consent to collection of data about their individual purchasing habits, your site can make even more intelligent recommendations without seeming overbearing, as happens when salespeople hound customers in retail stores.
If you've got retail outlets as well as an online shop, it's important not to treat online customers in isolation. Many of those customers will likely be regular visitors to both your Web site and retail store, which is where cross-media promotions can become a highly effective way of combining online and offline networks. Online portal ninemsn has been doing this quite effectively, working with broadcast partner the Nine Network to arrange online chat sessions that are referenced within television shows such as 60 Minutes.
There is a lot at stake when you're dealing with customers that can just as easily go to your competitors. If you've already got an established brand name, you've also got to consider the effect that a poorly executed online presence can have on the overall brand. This can also work in reverse, helping the Web site gain legitimacy by leveraging the real-world brand. But in every case, putting the needs of your customers first should ensure you a strong market presence. Back it with a solid e-business infrastructure and your chances are better than most.
"We find that the organisations that are successful online are the ones that are successful offline as well," says Rohit Bhargava, senior producer with Web integration company Dimension Data. "One of the big mistakes people perceptually make when selling online is thinking it's a completely different environment and sales strategy than what they've done in the past. We advise clients to look at what's made them successful in reaching their target markets in the past, and looking at how you can translate that without reinventing the wheel."
