Merchandising

Setting up a hot online shop is a big project, but we're here to help. We know you haven't all taken courses in merchandising, so let us give you the lowdown on how to make your site a lean, mean, selling machine. It's easier than you think - just follow these seven hot tips.

Focus!

Don't let your page become a mish-mash of unrelated products. If your webpage is all about Star Wars, don't throw James Bond and Adam Sandler movies in there too. After all, if your visitors wanted to buy Adam Sandler flicks, they'd be somewhere else, wouldn't they? They came to your page because they're into Star Wars. Offering Star Wars-related products makes the visitor experience deeper, and better still, it increases your chances of making a sale. That's an extreme example, of course, but we're trying to make a point.

Put a Link Near the Top of Your Main Page

When someone clicks into your site, one of the first things they should see is a link that lets them know they can buy things. Let's go back to that hypothetical Star Wars page of yours. Right under the title, in plain sight, should be a link that points visitors to the Star Wars stuff you're selling.

Don't hide this link at the bottom of the front page or worse still on another page entirely. People need to know you're open for business from the moment they arrive at your site - so put an ad on your front page!

Of course, you shouldn't stop at one ad - put links on every page, but make sure they are attractive and well organized.

Use Search Engine Links, Not Plain Logos

Sometimes it's better not to link to an individual product. Imagine, for example, that your site talks about the wonders of vitamins and health food. While you'll have plenty of places to offer specific products, your front page and other areas of general interest may do better with a more broad offering. Don't make it too broad, though - give your shoppers some direction.

A great way to do this is by linking to your merchant's search engine. These links will generally perform better than plain logos that link to the merchant's home page. This could be because search engines call the user to action, or it could be that people feel overwhelmed at a merchant's home page. Whatever the reason, a search box drives more sales than a home page logo in most cases, so make sure you use them.

Create a Feeling of Abundance

Not even the hottest summer day will make people buy enough soda to put a dent in the pile of cans available at a grocery store. Why is the display so large then? Pure psychology, friends. For some reason, people love to buy from a well-stocked store, and more people buy from fully stocked displays than half-empty ones. Let's get back to the online world, and use a Star Wars site for an example.

Say you have a Star Wars page, and you're writing an article about Return of the Jedi. Along with the feature, you're going to want to give people the opportunity to buy the movie. Now, you could link directly to the movie, letting your visitor buy it with one click. However, you can also present them with more Star Wars options by linking your sales pitch to the Star Wars search results page at Reel.com. A label like, "Click Here To Buy Star Wars movies" is very direct, but it also gives your shopper a list of related options. You will often see professional online retailers do this by putting two related links near each other. For example, you might see, "Buy War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy" just above, "More Books By Russian Authors".

The only times you wouldn't want to link to a list of products is when the best list you can find is too big or too broad. When that happens, go ahead and link to a product alone. People like abundance, but not clutter. A dozen product links that have little or nothing to do with your subject doesn't create abundance - they creates confusion. If you are unsure how to handle a product, then show a limited number of options and suggest that there are more.

Create a Call to Action

Good marketers know that people respond to direction. In other words, people who know what to do to make a purchase are far more likely to do it. Imagine, for example, that you receive an offer for a hot new computer for $500. The price is great, your old computer is making some disturbing clanking noises, and you'd love to make the purchase — unfortunately, the ad doesn't clearly tell you what to do next. Do you need to make a phone call? Visit a website? Send a check somewhere? Most people will get frustrated at this point, and that's a lost sale.

Don't put your visitors through this. The easy solution is to make sure that your ads include simple instructions. Avoid "naked" merchant logos and vague text links, and your sales will increase.

Examples

Okay: [Insert bookseller logo]
Better: "Buy this book"
Good: "Click here to buy great mystery novels"
Best: "Click here to buy Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians and other great mystery novels."

Feature Products and Links

Nothing chases people away faster than a stale site. Update your site regularly to keep it looking fresh! What's that, you say? You don't have any new material? OK, we'll let you in on a secret: It's news if you say it is.

Imagine that you have a site about rap music. At the top of the main page you might have a button that says, "Buy the Beastie Boys' Latest." After a few weeks (depending on how much traffic your site gets) it may be time to change to, "Buy the Ice Cube Collection." The magic is not as much in the choice of artist as in the change.

Retailers call these "features." Learn to love them! Even without discounts, simply calling attention to a product - even one you have always had - generates interest. You can benefit from this phenomenon yourself by making frequent changes to your online store.

Keep It Fresh

A famous San Francisco cop once said, "A man's got to know his limitations." These are wise words for webpage authors. Don't announce future updates unless you can stick to them. If you know that your site will be left alone for weeks at a time, then do yourself a favor and don't put any time-sensitive material on the front page. Static sites can still be great and there's no shame in having one. Just don't trick yourself into thinking you'll baby your site when you don't have the time for it - otherwise your site will look stale, and that's a problem.