Distribution: A Short Guide to Getting Your New Product or Invention to Customers by Baker Phil

Author:Baker, Phil...
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-05-21T22:07:29.301000+00:00

Internet Sales

Selling through the Web is often a good way to get started, particularly selling from your own site. Startup costs are low; it’s an opportunity to satisfy early demand, particularly when a product is first being promoted. Profits are also higher because you’re avoiding one extra markup. You do have to invest in some marketing to draw traffic to your site, such as PR and online advertising.

Selling directly lets you get close to your customers to gain valuable information. You can find out what customers think about your product, test new ideas, conduct surveys, and discover potential issues.

Your Web site is also a wonderful vehicle for posting press articles, reviews, and awards. A well-designed site provides a bigger-than-life presence that lets you look as substantial and professional as much larger companies.

Today there are many excellent Web sites for selling your product, such as Amazon.com, Buy.com, jr.com, cdw.com, Newegg.com, Bestbuy.com, Costco.com, and so on. Unlike your own site, they work on similar margins as bricks-and-mortar stores and obtain their products through the same distributors. There are also many no-name resellers with Web sites run out of a home or small office, with low overhead and no customer support, simply shipping the product directly from the distributor. While they can increase sales, you’ll want to guard against them cutting prices too much. You don’t want to undercut retailers that provide service and support and make the effort to explain and promote your product.

Pricing, sales, and distribution are closely related. You might think that the more stores that carry your product the more sales you will make. But that’s rarely the case. If your product is found everywhere, it’s more likely that some of the stores will heavily discount it, and many more will fail to promote it and then will drop it for the lack of profitability. That often results in fewer sales over the long term.

Ideally you want to sell into fewer stores, but you must choose those stores wisely, avoiding those that sell close to their cost. While you can’t dictate what price they’ll sell it for, you have the right to sell to whomever you want and to provide assistance to help them be successful. That encourages them to carry, support, and promote your products.

Internet sales don’t allow the customer to touch and try your product before buying and don’t provide the same level of exposure as the storefronts. Many Internet sales result from seeing the product at retail and then ordering it online to save money. For many companies, Internet sales are still a small fraction of their total sales. But sales over the Internet will continue to grow over time because of the convenience, efficiency, price advantage, and helpful information that’s often available. I shop at Amazon frequently, because it’s become a pleasant experience. I can check reviews of a product I’m interested in, pay a competitive price, and receive the product within a day or two, often with free shipping.

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