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The eMarketing Digest
© 1996 - 2006
Library of Congress
ISSN 1522-6913
Published by
Webbers Communications
PO Box 3214
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Volume III, Issue XIX, Nov. 22, 2008
What About Those Zero Dollar Sale Days?
If you haven't already experienced this, odds are that you will. You sit
in front of the computer, checking your email, waiting for that first
order of the day to come in...but it never does. So what do you do on
those zero dollar sale days?
It is not the best feeling for a small business owner to see those numbers
staying still all day long. However, there are ways to combat the
negative thoughts this brings on.
- Use that down time to update your site or catch up on your inventory.
Think of it as a work day.
- Use it as a day off. Sometimes you will get so caught up in this
business that you may even forget it's the weekend or that there is no
more milk in the fridge. Consider a slow business day a day to catch up
on your non-business life.
- Know that business will likely pick up. It may be later in the day,
it may be tomorrow, it may be next week. Most small business owners would
agree that slow days are typically followed by very busy days.
- If you're just starting out, realize that internet businesses almost
always start out slowly. At the beginning, you may get a lot of window
shoppers. As your business picks up, your sales will begin to include
repeat customers and your slow days will slowly pick up too.
- Keep the lives of your customers in mind. It may be a holiday, or
vacation season. It may be the day of the month when a majority of your
shoppers have to pay the mortgage or other bills. There may be a reason
that people just aren't visiting your site.
- Use this time to think of new ways to advertise. There are always new
places to promote your business. If you are selling a product directed to
parents of small children, try checking into some parent forums or
homeschooling forums. If your product is directed toward users of a
certain product, do a goggle search to find message boards about that
subject. Use a slow day to get your name out there.
- If your slow day has turned into a week or more, it may be time to
start a new promotion. Try to figure out what is preventing people from
purchasing and create a promotion that addresses that issue.
- Know that every business out there has it's zero dollar days. If you
have friends or colleagues who are also small business owners, ask them
about their own experiences with slow sales.
- Make sure everything is working properly on your site. This seems
like the first thing most people would check, but it is often overlooked.
It may take several customers visiting before they find a way to contact
you to alert you to a problem, so don't forget to check for yourself.
- Lastly, don't get discouraged! Every business out there suffers its
slow periods. You may be especially prone to discouragement from these
slow days if you are in the beginning stages of your business. Remind
yourself that it will not last forever.
Diego Norte, Contributing Writer
http://www.DiegoNorte.com
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