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Ivan Petkov

Sometimes I have the feeling of "déjà vu" when it comes to online marketing development in our part of the world. This is because we constantly "reflect global trends" and after some time of development, we find out that the situation has not changed much in many respects. Subjectively speaking, online trade is one of those parts of our way of life that is supposed to constantly evolve in Bulgaria and for which we have the necessary prerequisites - fast internet connection, means of payment, etc. - but something is missing to make it a real part of our everyday life. Objectively speaking, if this type of shopping lacks mass interest, whatever innovations are introduced, they actually remain hidden from the average user.

Here comes the role of seminars such as "Sell More Online". It is in the hands of producers and traders to start good online trade by developing a functional and easy to use online shop in order for satisfied customers to appear. The desire of the organizers was to present "best practices and techniques for creating and managing an e-shop by proven experts in this business!" Here are some of the questions that found their answers at the seminar, which I think would be most useful to our readers who are interested in online marketing:

 How to advertise your online shop?
 Practices to create a successful online business!
 How to sell more online?

Mihail - Ernesto Mihaylov: "When introducing a new product in the market,... information and training of potential customers is essential. Our collaboration with the people who successfully develop blogs for good food and modern lifestyle was crucial in presenting our products to the Bulgarian customers in the best possible way and in time."When it comes to advertising, the majority of us think of expensive and flashy ads, of huge budgets that are available to large companies in order for them to drive us to buy their products; money that the small- and medium-sized businesses cannot afford. Is it possible to advertise effectively without investing a lot of money? I would like to briefly draw attention to less traditional, but already known, tools that are suitable for advertising:

    1. Blog
    2. Facebook (social networking)
    3. E-mail marketing in online trade

1. A blog is a kind of private and public online diary, which presents information, in which its author is interested. The informal form of sharing is what attracts the customers to the blogs and the information in them. Blogs can have a specific theme, for example cuisine. An advertisement presented in the same informal way can be accepted much better without the element of intrusion and it can effectively reach a larger percentage of the readers of the blog.

2. Social networks, particularly Facebook, are very popular already as well as the games, promotions and advertising campaigns on them. There is hardly a person who has not come across any game at least once. The flooding of social networks with games reduces their value as an advertising tool and so, new and creative ways are being sought to retain the customers' attention. And a satisfied customer easily recommends the relevant online shop to his friends and likes it. The same applies with even greater force to customers who are not satisfied with the shopping. So, be bold and careful!

Christo Radichev: "The good thing with e-mail marketing is that its speed and its great affordability facilitate the tests. A test will show you where you are doing well and where you are going wrong as regards your interactions with the customers. Sometimes the results you will get will surprise you. This will give you the knowledge that will distinguish you from the competition and will ensure better performance in every campaign."3. I will briefly present the most common mistakes in the use of e-mail marketing for the purposes of an online shop. Although it is a veteran in advertising, this channel of information has its place as long as it is useful to the customers. A large number of busy and wealthy people mainly use e-mail and do not have much time for social networks or blogs. Newsletter errors:

* Theme in English;
* Repeating the same theme in every e-mail newsletter wears the newsletter out and reduces its performance;
* Careless attitude towards the body of the e-mail (errors, text without clearly distinguished paragraphs, obviously bad translation, inappropriate content, etc.);
* No clear benefits for the client in each e-mail’s body;
* Lack of connection between theme and content;

Practices to create a successful online business!

I will emphasize errors again because their removal can make your online shop successful and their presence - a total failure. Often, in the presence of more than one error, the customer directly closes the site and forgets about the online shop. The lack of feedback in this case leaves the shop owner in the dark as regards what is wrong.

Top mistakes in online shops that we see every day:

1. Cost of delivery - 0 leva for Sofia and 5 leva for the rest of the country - that directly means that there are privileged customers versus those who do not live in Sofia.

2.  Lack of description of the product. I would add hidden description as well. The more useful the information provided to the customers, the more the customer thinks that he knows the product and this reduces his need to see it live. More photos, more information, even a video if possible - all this leads to a greater chance of a purchase.

3. Bad search engine. The majority of people have come to your shop by searching on Google. Logically, if they decide to look for something else in your shop, they will do it with your search engine. If it finds a small number of results, if the information is poorly structured or unclear, then the chances of the customer returning to Google and finding another website are great. Alternatively, the best option is to provide as much additional information as possible, which will not make the customer search again and which will not irritate him, of course. The customer will appreciate it if he will be able to look at such products without searching them, because that saves time and effort.

4. No available information about return policy, exchange or warranty of the product offered. This makes the customer feel insecure and uncertain. Let the customer know that his worries are unfounded.

5. "Registration required" – following the example of big online shops like eBay and Amazon, some traders require obligatory registration, but unlike the online trade benchmarks mentioned previously, they are far from offering the same functionalities that require obligatory registration. If you do decide that you want your customers to register, give them a reason to do so! Offer them something beyond the purchase itself.

6. We offer this product but it is not available at present. Customers are tired of “hollow” online shops unable to fulfil their orders due to lack of real product availability.

Good practices or how to sell more online

1. Personalization. The customer is flattered when the next time he visits the website he sees his recent searches and the new proposals. Even if the customer has already bought the goods he needs, a new promotion would certainly make him think that your shop is definitely profitable and he would seek in your shop the new product he wants to buy. Offering goods on the basis of the history of the customer’s demand leads to new sales.
2. Play a game. If you sell jeans and he sells jeans, if your delivery cost is 0 leva and his delivery cost is 0 leva, if your picture is good but his picture is good too, I will buy from you because you give me some promo -points with which I can buy something. It is not important that I do not buy anything in most cases...
3. Bulletin is NOT = SPAM. As I wrote above, the newsletter can be a very good channel for advertising as long as it is properly developed and used.
4. Online chat. The online chat function is useful in many ways. It gives confidence that the shop "works" and there is someone to whom you can always turn if you have a question or a problem.
5. Related products. You want to sell more and you want your customers to buy at an attractive price. Ideally, you can sell two related products at a discount.
6. Video, Video, Video! I have already mentioned the role a video plays in product perception. I will only add that one of the things I refused to shop for online was clothes but I changed my mind after I saw my girl friend watching a mini review of a dress!
7. Give a present when you are happy, but also when you are unhappy! We all love gifts and they make us feel special even when they are small.
8. Ratings and comments. Many people are afraid of criticism and avoid ratings and comments on their website. Give people a voice and it will pay off! Google too!
9. Who said that Facebook does not sell? A good product with a good picture + a good price + a short link to purchase + a promotion = a sale!
10. Create a customer status! It is not enough to offer promotions. People want to feel special. A good way is to give a special status and privileges to the most loyal customers and to show it to everyone. The former will become more loyal and the latter will want to be special too.
11. For old customers with love. Loyalty is very clear on the Internet. A reorder from an old customer can cost several times less than finding a new customer!
12. Last minute offers. The feeling that they will miss a profitable bargain can be a strong motive for a purchase, even for customers who are hesitant.

An increasing number of traders are turning to online shopping as a source of real sales rather than as a fancy or curious experiment. It is clear that in order for the online trade to be successful some basic rules should apply that are specific to this type of offering of goods and services. An increasing number of manufacturers and retailers understand that it is not enough for the shop to resemble this or that popular site or to copy best practices from offline marketing but that it is an activity which requires a lot of research and knowledge of how to develop it in order for the efforts invested to pay off.

Materials of the presentations of Mihail - Ernesto Mihaylov, Christo Radichev and Dimitar Dimitrov are used in this article.