6 Steps to Attracting Black Customers Online

By: Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva" (TM)

In the rush to keep up with technology, many African-American business owners are so busy trying to add the latest bells and whistles to their Web sites, get to the top of the search engines, and learn the latest database technology that they often forget this simple fact: people do business with other people, not computers. Understanding the importance of relationships is key to attracting African-American buyers online. Here are a few practical tips to getting Black customers to buy more from your Web site.

Here are a few practical tips to getting Black customers to buy more from your website.

Step 1: Make a personal connection... put a face on it.
Adding photos of realistic-looking people to your Web site will increase your sales. Photos jump out from a page, so even if someone just skims over the words, the photo will create a lasting impression. If you don't have photos of your actual employees or customers, use stock photography.

Here are a few of my favorite sources for photos:

• FotoSearch
• Getty Images
• Corbis

Royalty-free images start at around $19-35 per image and are much less expensive than rights-managed images. If you have a bigger budget, you can purchase CDs with entire collections of African American stock photographs and illustrations.

Step 2: Establish trust.
When you walk into an establishment, you usually can tell right away if you feel comfortable doing business there. You can see if the place is clean and well maintained, brightly lit, and whether someone friendly is available to greet and help you. On the Internet, your Web site has to do all the talking and all the handholding. If this is a potential customer's first visit to your Web site, they may be uncertain if you're a legitimate business and if they can trust you.

There are a number of ways to alleviate these fears and give your customers peace of mind. First, provide full contact information - including a telephone number - on your Web site. Second, show a picture of your location and employees, if applicable. Third, if you are a member of any professional organizations, such as the Better Business Bureau and/or professional trade organizations, this is a great time to display your membership logos. Most importantly, display quotes and testimonials for your current happy customers to show how what great quality products and service your company provides.

Step 3: Use the "word of mouth" network.
From the griots of Africa to barbershops and hair salons to the chat rooms on BlackPlanet.com, at the center of African American culture is the oral tradition. Use this ready-made network to your advantage, and give people the tools to tell their friends and colleagues about your products. A great way to do this is with an instant "Tell a Friend" button on your Web site. Constant Contact (see Step 6) includes this service as part of it's e-newsletter management program.

Step 4: Network with other Black Web sites.
One way to jump-start the flow of traffic to your Web site is by recruiting customers from other high-traffic sites. You can buy ad space on a well-trafficked site that also attracts a high percentage of your target market. A cheaper alternative is to swap ads with a business that offers products or service that complement, but don't compete with, your own offering. For example, if you offer Web site design, look for someone who offers Web site hosting or network services. This strategy can work both with ads on a Web site, but don't overlook swapping ads in each business' promotional e-mail newsletter.

(NOTE: Do not swap customer databases or lists of email addresses unless you have specific permission from your customers to do so.)

Step 5: Give your customers a reason to act now.
How many times have you visited a Web site and thought to yourself: "What a great product! I'd like to buy it, but I think I'll come back later." Did you actually go back and buy it? Perhaps not. Help your customers make their decision today: make them an offer they can't refuse. For example, use promotions like "limited time only", "this week only", "act today and take $10 off," etc.

Step 6: Keep in touch.
Remember, it's about relationships. Did you know that customers who buy online usually do so on the fourth to eighth visit to your Web site, and not the first visit? So you'll need to come up with a strategy to get them back to your Web site a second, third, and fourth time. The easiest, simplest, and cheapest method, hands down, is an e-mail list. It isn't enough just to collect e-mail addresses on your Web site and at your vending events - you have to actually write and send messages to the list! Strive to get your newsletter out at least twice a month, but if you're just getting started, do quarterly, then build up to monthly, and then build up to every other week.

Here are a few e-mail list services I like:

• Aweber
• Constant Contact
• YahooGroups (free)

Essentially, what successful online marketing boils down to, regardless of ethnicity, is relationships, relationships, relationships. Find meaningful ways to connect with your customers, and they will not only reward you with their loyalty, but they'll be happy to spread the word about your Web site as well.

Eight No-Fail Steps for E-Commerce Marketing

By: Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva^TM"

I know how to get a blank stare from just about any e-commerce web site owner. All I have to do is ask them about their web site marketing plan!

When I ask them about their web site marketing plan, I get that look. First the eyebrows go up. Then the eyes glaze over for a minute. And then the stammering begins.

"Uh, well, you know - I have my URL on my business card."

"I, ah, I'm going to start an e-mail newsletter."

Some of them may even mention something about "search engines."

But practically no one has a plan! And you know how the old saying goes: "Failure to plan is a plan to fail."

Most small business owners I talk to are frustrated. They think their web site is a big waste of money. An "online business card." A "marketing expense" that doesn't return any of its investment.

And no wonder:

You've spent thousands on a pretty web design. You shell out dough each and every month for web site hosting. You may even be paying a webmaster to update the web site regularly. And month after month, year after year, the sales barely trickle in.

Marketing your web site is frustrating. It's confusing! So we end up doing what all of us do when we're frustrated and confused: deal with it "later." And later never comes.

Know what? It's not your fault! No one ever taught you how to market on the Internet, this new medium. (They sure didn't cover that in my marketing class when I was in school.) And there's all that hype on the Internet - so called web marketing gurus who've made millions online. But guess what? The only thing they've ever sold is reports and e-books on - what else - "how to market on the Internet." They've never packed and shipped a box or ran down the street after the UPS guy.

But what if there was a formula you could follow, a step-by-step guide to creating an online sales machine?

After 10 years of marketing and selling on the web, I've boiled it down to a winning eight-step formula. This formula works for any web business, for any product from amber gemstone jewelry to zebra-print home accessories. In a nutshell, the eight no-fail steps of this formula are:

• Define Your Goals: With no clearly defined purpose, your web site can't succeed. Be specific with each goal, adding both an amount and a timeframe.

• Take a Snapshot: How's your web site performing now? Know your traffic stats and your "three magic numbers."

• Define Your Market: Who are you talking to? Be specific about who your products are for, and where these customers exist.

• Get Them There: Build targeted web traffic by getting your target audience's attention and creating an ongoing dialog.

• Turn Site Visitors into Customers: Once you've gotten them to your web site, make sure you seal the deal before they leave. Know what they're looking for, and what information they need to make a purchasing decision. Give it to them, then ask for the sale.

• Increase Their Spending: Would you like some fries with that hamburger? Since they've got their wallet open, ask for the add-on or upsell.

• Get Them Back: It's cheaper to get an old customer to buy again than it is to recruit a new one. Make the experience memorable, and make the next one convenient.

• Get Their Friends: A happy customer can be your best sales tool. Empower them to spread the word about your products and web site.

When you work each of these steps, your e-commerce marketing can't fail.

Building a Better Brick-and-Mortar with the Billion-dollar Web

By: Donald Lee

More than $117 billion passed hands from Internet shoppers to Internet vendors in 2004, according to the statistical research firm comScore. That's billion, with a B. Compared to the year before, the figure represents a whopping 24 percent increase in sales. Compared to the early 1990s, when the Web was a questionable commercial venture, today's $117 billion is proof-positive that the Web is the full-fledged money-making machine. It seems to be a big enough pie that any merchant with a Web site can cut out his heaping slice.

Not so fast. As any merchant who's tried to take a bite out of the Internet will tell you, turning a profit online is not as simple as throwing a few pages together. Professional Web sites cost big bucks for design, consultation, and upkeep. Either you have to hire a full-time editor or technician to manage your Web store, or you need to pay three-digit hourly rates to contract Web professionals. Then you have to face fees for Web hosting, broadband access, and IT maintenance.

Even after you expend all of this capital and launch your Web site, you're still not guaranteed anything. Your site will only be one among millions, if not billions. Yes, that's billions with a B again. The Internet, after all, is like a clear sky on a dark night. How can you expect a customer to pick your star out from among all of the others that shimmer for their attention?

On the Web you'll quickly learn that attracting your clientele-and building your Internet-based business-is just as tough as it was when you first started your brick-and-mortar shop. It takes smart investing, creative marketing, a little luck, and a lot more know-how.

What's great about the business side of the Web, however, is that your old-fashioned know-how translates quite well on the Web. A great example is the timeless merchant adage: "Location, location, location." This saying holds true on the Web, too. You can place your store's site in a spot on the Web where no one will discover you, or you could position it on a "busy corner" on the Internet.

One such spot are online classified sites. These sites provide similar services as you would get from a newspaper classified. Sellers can place ads online that describe a particular product for sale. Buyers browse these ads and contact sellers when they're interested. Online classifieds, though, are far more dynamic. They allow a merchant to display dozens, if not hundreds, of their goods with pictures and descriptions. And believe it or not, some online classified sites allow you to do this for free. Yes, that's free with an F.

The benefits don't stop there. As a merchant on a classified site, you can enjoy:

• A store that never closes. Your goods are for sale 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The Internet never turns off.

• A mall of online shoppers. Think of a classified site as a virtual shopping mall, with your grouping of ads under your own virtual storefront. By having a storefront, this allows you to have your own web page and listings, under the umbrella of the classified site.

• A chain reaction of shopping. "Real" shoppers go to a mall to visit one store, but often they end up browsing through all of the stores in the mall. The same is true of virtual shoppers. Even when they visit a classified site looking for one particular thing, they're likely to "spill over" to your storefront out of curiosity. At the very least, it leads to advertising for your store; at best, business.

• An advantage over pure Web merchants. Your classified site will pit you against wily online vendors who only sell their wares on the Web. This is where your brick-and-mortar business comes in handy. It's proven that shoppers seem to trust online merchants that have a real address and a real store somewhere.
• A solution to the intricacies of the Internet. Many classified sites can help with setting up your ads and with designing your storefront, providing you with instant IT IQ. For your buyers, the sites offer the security that Web shoppers demand to protect them from identify theft and fraud.

As mentioned before, many classified sites charge absolutely nothing for all of these benefits. The listings, the shopping traffic, the sense of business community, the advertising-you receive all of these perks for free. Oh, and don't forget your piece of the $117 billion dollar pie.