Remember
promise of Internet retail, where you could access a world wide audience and offer thousands of products at incredibly low costs?Now read sentence above and picture in your mind exactly what this means. Can you put a face on a world wide audience? Can you see thousands of products, or just thousands of boxes stacked high in a warehouse?
Even if you can, your customers cannot. It is proven. Offering thousands of products to faceless people yields no sales. Now look around Internet and guess what you find? Perfectly intelligent people are making same mistakes over and over, then blame Internet for their lack of sales.
As old saying goes, those who don’t learn from past keep repeating same mistakes. This is part of confusion of Internet retail and it is also key to your opportunity. Consider experience of a retail store, how it is designed to introduce customer to products and how this can benefit you.
==== Give Them One Product and a Comfortable Place to View It ====
If you have ever been shopping for apparel in United States, then you already understand design of an effective retail system. For years retailers have been testing placement of products, where to put best pulling products and how to introduce you to overall purchase.
For example, take experience upon entering an apparel store. Usually you have about 5-10 feet of open space after entering door, like a walkway to store, immediately available before you start seeing products. For years retailers tried to pack products into this entry point, figuring that people would want to buy most upon entering.
Now you have an open entry point with one specific product line. Here’s why: 1. Retailers discovered that customers entering door were in need of relaxation. Coming from a busy highway or parking lot, rushing around with friends and family, customer simply needed some time to orient themselves. The open path is a place to greet customer, not overwhelm them.
2. Customers who did stop and look were disturbed by other customers brushing up against them, talking, and speeding by. It was like shopping in a busy tunnel; all noise and commotion irritated people.
3. Retailers discovered that placing one product line at end of this entry path helped introduce customer to buying process with a suggestive lead item. For example, I go to Men’s Wearhouse to buy a suit. Upon entering door I have my open entry point, and at end are a selection of ties. Ties are lead product for entire suit; if I see a tie I like, salesman can then guide me to suit that fits that tie. Or if they offer a pair of shoes, we can then proceed to tailor entire suit to those shoes. The entry point gives customer a place to start buying process, introduced by small, low price products (i.e., lead items) which they like.
