subject: Are You Fishing With The Right Equipment? [print this page] The world of eCommerce is exploding! The growth of eCommerce has seen unprecedented revenue and hordes of customers have become devoted eCommerce shoppers. Less than a decade ago less than 3% of the population had ever purchased anything on the Internet, and yet now Ebay has over 400,000 hits a day! There are many reasons eCommerce has grown so rapidly, from the convenience of shopping at home to the discounts afforded by sellers over the Internet. Regardless of the reasons eCommerce has exploded over the last decade, it is evident that eCommerce is here to stay!
Many people have started to realize that there are many opportunities afforded by eCommerce including lower overhead, global reach, clients that find you, more consistent sales and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, people continue to go after the eCommerce industry the same way they went after traditional marketing. But eCommerce is a whole new game. It really is like fishing with the wrong equipment.
One weekend I had the opportunity to stop and visit with a friend who had moved to a large ranch in southern Idaho. Several years ago the owners built their own fishing pond. They literally dug a hole and filled it with water. Each year they stock the pond with fish, thus giving them the chance to fish whenever they desired. Although the pond remains a family favorite; like all toys, it has lost most of its original zest and now is only fished in when everyone has a break.
On the weekend that I was visiting with my wife and kids my friend invited us up to fish at the pond. Unfortunately, all he could find were small, kids fishing poles, some with broken line, mismatched reels, and tips bent at funny angles because they had been used as swords more than fishing poles. Armed with our less than deadly array of fishing equipment we proceeded to the secret fishing hole.
As I mentioned, the fishing hole has not seen a lot of action recently so when we threw in our hooks, carefully baited with the fattest worms we could find, the fishing was fast and furious. We were literally getting a bite at every cast. I have to admit it was some of the funnest fishing I have ever experienced. We were getting bites but not one of us were able to reel in any of the fish. Our undersized equipment was no match for the over fed fish which now inhabited the tranquil pond.
Too often in business we also follow these unfortunate trends. We find a secret fishing hole that has potential for massive success but people arm themselves with ineffective and dismal equipment to try and reel in their new prospective clients. In the end the result is causing only damage to themselves and perhaps even their reputation that may or may not be repairable. Get your eCommerce going and make sure your leads have a place to complete their purchases securely from you. The worst thing you can do is show your potential customers a great product or service and give them no way to acquire it. Next time you plan a campaign to gain more leads remember to plan strategically and decide what you will do with your leads before you even begin fishing for them.
