The HOWS and WHYS of Ecommerce and the Web

The HOW to be successful selling on the Web.  What can you learn? There is more to gain that just selling stuff on the web.   Is it different than selling from your store front? 

I believe that learning how to sell on the web successfully will determine your business success in the future.  Get ready to tune up your business operation skills.

My experience selling used merchandise started when I was 9 years old working at my dad’s shop.  1500 square feet store with 6 show cases in a building over 100 years old.

In 2003 Our Company was the largest seller on the Internet with EBay selling through 50 stores with one system.

I learned to sell new merchandise as well over the years.  Ordering from vendors, receiving the partially filled orders, waiting for the back ordered goods and finally closing out the PO – ‘purchase order’ and paying the bill as negotiated.

We never had enough used goods, so we were always looking for bulk bargains on merchandise so that our prices were cheaper than the competition.  I learned that selling used merchandise was easier than new merchandise. I learned over time that it was easier in many other ways as well.  Because there was so much competition between big boys and our purchasing power was so limited, our only defense was to call our new merchandise used.  It worked.

Until we figured out how to grow our loan portfolios to fill the demand for our goods for of our retail, we needed to buy new stuff.   At one point we had 2 buyers looking for deals on  new and used merchandise.  We were purchasing millions of dollars a year to fill our stores.  It was hard work.  We added a warehouse, splitting, palletizing and shipping.  And expensive.  Every item that we bought new that we finally got to the store to sell had $5.00 - $15.00 distribution cost.  It took us 2 years to figure out that cost.

Were we making money?  Probably not.  I knew that it was very small at the time.   But the traffic it drew and the Brand that I was building, I felt at the time it was worth the time, effort, and cost.  Building a business is not always profitable at the beginning.  It takes time and investment to figure it out.

“ THE GIFT – THE CUSTOMER”  -- a customer coming into your business is “An Investment not a Expense”

Then came the Internet in 1997 and I finally figured this out. 

Factoid - In 2003 our Company was the largest seller on the Internet with EBay and Superpawn.com, selling through 50 stores through one common system, Bravo’s previous version PRIMA.  The only system available today, Bravo now adds the power of the Cloud to its exclusive Dynamic Ecommerce.  We sold 3000 items in our first 5 days.

The whole world was going to change with the Internet.  And it has.  But it continues to change and its 15 years later.  The one thing I learned about online shoppers.  They shopped first and purchased later.  Hmm, the same as in the store?  Was this a wakeup call on the Internet or have I been neglecting my store customers all of these years.

The most important lesson that I learned selling merchandise on the Internet was I had a lot to learn selling correctly through my stores.

Customers are Gifts.

Everyone knows that customer service is important.  Every customer that walks into your store is a gift.  But you’re paying for the gift.  The Gift could have wandered into your store for a million reasons.  Do you know why?  It could be your location, yellow pages, your signage, advertising, word of mouth, and If you are a pawnbroker, it may be the person had no other choice.   But it’s important to figure out the ‘why’ they came in.  The reasons your customers come into your store will continually change.  And if your spending additional money outside your rent (location, location) and word of mouth,  every dollar you are spending is an investment, not a expense.  It’s all up to you whether turn that investment into a profit.

There is a big difference treating the visit as an investment rather than a expense.  What you do with that customer (the gift) in your store is the all-important question you should be asking yourself every day as long as you are in business.

If you think of the customer visit as an expense, if the customer buys or not, you end up treating this visit as a one-time event.

If you treat the gift as an investment, every moment you are with the customer,  everything the customer experiences, your store appearance and smell,  your employees image and approach, your merchandise presentation and price, ‘the detailed experience’, will amount to a final determination of whether your investment will pay off.

1.      Will the customer come back?
2.      Will the customer tell a friend? 

That’s it.  That’s the goal.  That’s all you have to do.

So now you think I am crazy because the score is all about the purchase.   Well it is.  But even if they purchase it’s not over.  Will they come back, will they tell a friend.  One more visit by the same customer and you have reduced the cost of acquiring that customer by 50% and so on.  No one closes 100%, if you are exceptional it’s probably 30%.   However, if you give up and most do, you have walked away from your investment.  How many times a day do you walk away from your investment?

Remember, customers don’t come back to look, they come to buy.

The first impression is the most important.  Did you deliver?  Did you say  No?  Did the customer get a good impression?  Will the customer come back?  Will the customer tell a friend?   

Question?  Am I talking about what happens in your store or on the web?

Second most important lesson learned.  If you are delivering on the web and give the same experience to your store customers, you are a winner and a competitive business, in today’s market place.  The Web buying experience has set the new standard in retail.

The future is here!  Nearly everyone shops on the web before they buy.  Our vision for our Bravo users is that when an item is shopped using your mobile phone, the shoppers choice will be.  $100.00 to purchase and ship to my house with free shipping, or $90.00 to go pick it up 1.2 miles from where you are.  Online or Nearby will be the common way to shop. 

Bravo feeds every item into the shopping engine network,  so that you fit into the web shopping purchase equation. 

How does everyone give away free shipping?   Simple answer.  It’s cheaper to sell an item by giving away the shipping than selling it on your store shelf.  Many of you see the shipping process as a profit center or cost recovery, but in the world of selling on the Internet, the winners offer free shipping.  You got to figure out your full cost to sell.

Huge Advantage.  What I also learned about shipping was the cost to get it in my store.  When you purchase merchandise from a vendor, you pay shipping costs to your store.  When you buy used merchandise over the counter the customer pays the freight. J  Huge advantage.

Another Advantage.   The key advantage in owning your store and having a thriving business without the Internet is that every dollar that you make selling on the Internet drops to your bottom line.  Bravo empowers your existing store to become a competitive battleship on the Internet.  Free shipping, Best Prices, no one can resist your products.  Now just get your piece of the online pie.

Online customers are loyal and they shop more frequently.   Most shoppers test the waters.  They buy something that costs very little and they come back.  They shop every day.  People shop online shop more than they ever shopped before.  The cost of gas goes up and it becomes harder and harder to afford to shop around and people love to shop with a business they have gotten a good deal from and merchandise they expect.  Your online customer are more loyal than the customers walking into your store today.  I believe the reason for this is time that customers have, and the cost to drive to your store.  On the web this goes away and everyone selling on the web is working to make even easier and faster.

If you can make a buck and sell an item online you have a repeat customer.  Don’t turn down offers if there is any way possible.  Each customer that Maxpawn brings you is a fifty dollar investment in your ability in making this customer yours.  We currently are getting a thousand customers a day looking at your store.  Don’t let them walk.

We want you to be successful with Bravo.  We have created Bravo with the ability to provide you customers and a selling platform that is 80% less expensive than what how you can sell on EBay.  This is a huge opportunity, it’s an exclusive opportunity for our Bravo users, and its easy. 

Go build your online business.

This is the first part of the HOW selling on the Internet will make your business prosper.

If you are a Pawnbroker, the lessons learned translate straight into your Loan Portfolio.  Stay tuned for my next article.