Avoiding Wired Mistakes
by: June Campbell 
You can't do anything on the Internet
that you can't do in real life, but the Net lets you do it faster
and in view of global audiences. When you're doing somewhat great,
that's good. When you're making a gigantic mistake, it's less
good. From a consumer's perspective, here are some suggestions
that would help induce me to reach for my credit card.
Guideline #1: Your Web site should compliment
your real-life business. As an example, I offer you the story
of the florist shop with the beautiful Web site. It was a couple
of days before Christmas and I had left my shopping until the
last minute. An Internet search revealed a florist shop situated
in my friend's home community. The Web site was excellent. Fast
download, well laid out, easily navigated. Their floral designs
were pictured on the site, identified by code numbers and with
pricing information clearly visible. Obviously, it was the work
of a professional designer and obviously it was not done on
the cheap. I was impressed. I copied the phone number and dialed
up to place my order. Then things got sticky. The salesperson
didn't know there was a Web site, had no idea what floral arrangement
I was trying to order, or the price. If you're going to the
trouble of being on the Web, be sure that your sales personnel
are giving a consistent message.
Guideline #2: Answer Your E-mail. If
you are going to make your e-mail address available to your
customers, make sure that somebody answers the e-mail that you
receive and make sure that the person who does this is knowledgeable
and able to communicate through that medium. Nothing will tick
your customers off faster than sending an e-mail that is ignored.
And please note: the webmaster or the programmer in your organization
is not usually the best person to be handling your marketing
material or fielding questions about your product. You've gone
to a lot of trouble to attract potential customers. Try not
to annoy them too much through ineffective e-mail practices.
Guideline #3: The Price Is Not a Secret.
I'll be honest. This practice annoys me a lot and it has me
mystified. It's the peculiar online sales tactic of making the
customer work really hard to discover what something costs.
You go to a Web site or you receive a piece of e-mail promoting
a particular product or service. However, no pricing information
is available. It may not even be readily apparent that the item
is for sale. You click your way through a big Web site, finally
to locate pricing information in tiny print in an obscure corner.
Sometimes there's just an invitation to phone them or to send
e-mail for more information. I don’t know. It seems to me the
customer should not have to work really hard to buy something.
However, I'm open to hearing opposing viewpoints. If someone
out there knows of a good reason why it's best to avoid mentioning
money when conducting e-commerce, I'd be pleased to hear what
it is.
Guideline #4: Forget the Jargon. I received
a press release that went like this: "Our remarkable new
solution that promotes integrated data management of media content
that will realize better return on investment (ROI), and that,
in fact GISTICS has evaluated potential ROI to be as high as
16:1. (GISTICS, 1997) with general benefits...." Enough
said. If anyone understands what the devil they're selling,
let me know.
June Campbell is a professional writer
whose work has appeared in a variety of international print
publications. She also provides business writing services as
well as offering online sales of "How-to Booklets and Templates
for Business” from her Web site. (http://www.nightcats.com)
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