Every New Business Has a Huge Problem

Every new business has a huge problem . . . and here’s how to solve it!

I hope what I’m about to share with you will make some sense and help you to quickly become more profitable in your Internet business – whether it’s a brand new venture or even if you’ve been at it for years.

Put yourself in the driver’s seat and imagine you’ve been 12 hours on the road and are dead tired.  Your eyes hurt and your back can’t take any more abuse – long stretches of sitting in the same painful position.

You’re approaching the next town of decent size and decide it’s time to check into a motel and relax a little then enjoy a good night’s sleep and a shower in the morning.  But where to stay?

You’re too tired to fret over the decision and too sore to spend a lot of time driving around town to see what motel choices there might be.

Look . . . there on the right . . . the place looks OK . . . the sign says “The Gross Family Inn.”

You laugh a little but who knows?

No, wait . . . there on the left . . . it’s a Holiday Inn.

So you have two alternatives and you don’t feel like mulling over this decision.  Make it quick – which do you choose?

Here’s another question:  when you’re in the convenience store and you’re thirsty which one do you buy?  The 32-ounce Coke or the generic “cola” brand?  The generic’s cheaper you know.

Will you buy your next electronics gadget from a small retailer you’ve never heard of who advertises the lowest price online?  Or will you just order from Amazon and be done with your shopping task?

I hope you recognize the pattern I’m trying to paint that describes most people’s buying habits.  And if you think the lowest price usually wins the battle . . . think again.

Even though the generic cola is almost always cheaper, Coke will often outsell it by 25 to 1.  And there are sometimes sales at little no-name retailers that are actually cheaper than the Amazon price – but do you really want to take the time to hunt down the “super sales” and take a chance on ordering from a business you’ve never dealt with?

Are you beginning to understand the problem that new and unknown businesses face?  It has to do with “risk” for the buyer.

Many people think that price alone is the most important buying consideration. Well it can be for a few, very few . . . but more often than not, the risk factor is of greater concern to a majority of consumers.

Buyers don’t want risk. They have an aversion to risk. Online, consumers will pay more for an item that they know will deliver what they want and expect.  They will shop at stores and businesses they have had positive experiences with over others they know nothing about.

Buyers perceive risk in making first time purchases with new businesses, buying products that aren’t “brand” names, and in customer service and product return once a purchase has been made.

“Risk” is a huge problem for new and untested businesses because regardless of how trustworthy and honest and upfront you may be as the owner of a no-name business, you have to earn the trust, respect and confidence of your prospects so they will try your business over the more established brands and competition.

So what to do as a new business owner?

There are several things you can do to overcome the inherent risk that being a new business carries:

• Offer an iron-clad guarantee that is easily understood and without “weasel words” and make it good for a decent length of time

• Offer to personally answer questions or talk about your product or service, person-to-person, over the phone or by email before, during, and after any purchase is made

• Offer a comprehensive FAQs section on your web site where you anticipate and fully answer possible objections or questions in advance

• Make a video of your product/service in use and explain how easy/simple/intuitive it is for anyone to get the claimed benefits

• Include testimonials of happy customers as social proof that others have gained the benefit(s) of your product/service and they are happy to recommend your company to others

• Stress your willingness to provide unmatched customer care and service should the buyer need assistance with anything – before, during, or after the sale

• If you have a digital product, give the prospect a glimpse of what they can expect of the rest of the product.  Show off the quality, uniqueness, design, and one of the major benefits of the product so the prospect can “sample” its goodness

• Some businesses offer a “trial” period of use without cost (or with a major discount) just so the prospect can “see behind closed doors” and better evaluate if the product is going to be a good fit for the prospect

• If the business owner can get a positive endorsement from an authority figure in the niche, it will go a long way toward making the product and business seem more “legitimate” and enticing

All these strategies are fairly simple and commonplace and will help to ease the risk that a new buyer usually has about making a purchase from a un-tried vendor.

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com