Today, almost every company has an online presence with an eye on enhancing its brand awareness. And the power of the Internet to achieve this important goal is well known. But what about the role of the Internet in shoring up your company’s bottom line? Can the Internet also be a powerful Sales and Marketing Tool? Going by a recent survey, the answer is an emphatic yes. This survey clearly shows why the Internet can be a great business tool.
Indian Online Users- A Portrait.
Observation: The findings are really interesting. According to the survey, 77% of India’s online users are lesser than 35 years of age. Predominantly urban, these undoubtedly have good purchasing power, are used to a comfortable lifestyle, and importantly, they are comfortable shopping online. Among other things, they shop online for tickets, books, clothes and music.
Interpretation: The Indian Online User has the wherewithal and the willingness to use the Internet for more than mere information hunt.
What are the Indian Online Users Using the Internet for?
Observation: In a nutshell, the Indian Online User uses the Internet for more than just emails. In addition to emailing, the Indian Online User uses the Internet for enhancing their careers thorough Job Searches. A vast majority use it to communicate, check news, receive sports updates, and download music and movies. A huge section of the users also use the Internet to keep track of cricket scores, make friends, search for life partners, and of course, search for information as well.
Interpretation: The Indian Online User is very versatile when it comes to using the Internet, offering any organization/advertiser many a channel to reach out to them.
The Indian Online User’s Buying Behavior.
Observations: 80 % of the users shop regularly on the Internet. While it is predominantly travel purchase that they use the Internet for, a huge chunk also uses it for non-travel purchase like books, music and movies.
Interpretation: Shopping online is no alien concept to the Indian user. What that means is a huge market that awaits your organization.
Should you reach out to the Indian Online User?
The answer is yes. With an online audience that is willing to, and is actively looking at conducting transactions online, it’s evident that your company should actively get online. So that, gathering maximum exposure positively impacts your company’s bottom line.
What’s the Ideal Way to Reach Out?
In any online transaction the thing to remember is that what makes the difference between a site visit and the actual act of purchasing is one simple decision. Unless you have a site that is convincing at every stage of the decision making process, you will end up with a site that will have visitors losing interest. And that means many abandoned shopping carts on your site. Honestly, I feel that this is really an avoidable situation. One important point to bear in mind while going online would be to have an interwoven strategy that will persuade a visitor to make a purchase.
How to create a transaction oriented website?
You may want to begin with the site itself. Ensure that the User Experience walks a visitor through the entire decision making process. And more importantly, influences him at every stage towards your goal of a successful transaction. In addition to a great user experience, it pays to have an accurate plan that convincingly gets the visitor to your site. On the site, one important aspect that makes or breaks repeat visits is a Response mechanism. Basically, a good response mechanism addresses typical buyers’ questions- “Great! I bought this in a jiffy! But haven’t got it yet! Who do I talk to? Where do I write? When can you tell me?”
Once these aspects are taken care of, it’s time for another mechanism to take over. And that is a mechanism that allows effective analysis. Addressing important issues such as, just how did the visitor come to your site, what was the visitor interested in, and how just how long it took for the decision to be made. While the entire process of creating a transaction oriented website may seem simple or even simplistic, it means taking into account many factors. What I attempted to leave behind with you were the core underlying concepts behind this critical task.
Shore up your bottom line:
With such a huge opportunity awaiting you, it stands to little reason why one should not consider making an organization’s website more transactional. And considering today’s business environment, one of the answers to shore up bottom lines is undeniably IOU. The Indian Online User, of course.