Too many online business owners make a fundamental mistake- they are stuck in the old-fashion business model where location and product alone bring customers to them. If I need a left-handed wrench, I’m going to find the closest (location) plumbing supply store that carries it (product). My choices locally might be between one or two plumbing supply stores. I only call about price and availability after I’ve narrowed my choices to stores near me. This isn’t how the Internet works.

Online, everywhere is ‘near’ everywhere else. Your physical location doesn’t matter. A quick visit to Google will give me hundreds of ‘places’ I can find that wrench. You can no longer sell a convenient location.
Three things you can sell

” Information- about your product and general information useful to the people who would purchase your type of product.

” Yourself- this includes how you present and operate your business. It includes ease of site navigation and purchase as well as instilling trust in potential customers.

” Your product- How and why your product is better- includes price and shipping charges as well as brand choices available.
Information

It is unlikely you can compete on price alone. But by becoming a site that provides useful information (free!), you increase the perceived value of your overall operation. You want people to bookmark your URL and go to your site first instead of a search engine. This is why Amazon features books and movie reviews; they provide information specific to what they sell, and make it available to people considering a purchase. You can do product comparisons on your site as well.

Yourself

Trust is key for online marketing. Unlike a physical store, web sites can come and go with the wind. Users know the Internet is an easy and cheap place to set up a scam. A good bio and real contact information help create trust.

Also, a professionally run site that is easy to navigate and shop gives a feeling of stability and reliability to visitors. Having clear item, price, and shipping information lets them know you are serious about running your online business. This includes quick customer response times (for questions) and timely problem solving (for complaints). Many sites offer guarantees and liberal return policies primarily to win the battle for customer trust.

Your product

Displaying and describing your product accurately is important. You should be proud of what you sell and the price you sell it at. If you aren’t, there’s a problem you need to fix. Don’t lie about or conceal shoddy merchandise just to get sales. The only business ethic that is viable long term is one that satisfies customers. When you cheat, you get negative word-of-mouth. And on the Internet, one loud and persistent enemy can kill hundreds of future sales.