People buy stuff. Things they don’t need. Items that are necessities. Possessions inspired by the Joneses next door. We exist in a world of stuff attainment.
Country group Diamond Rio once sang about this condition in a song aptly titled, “Stuff”. We have enough that we use our garage for storage and park our cars on the street. We use our sheds and then for good measure rent a storage unit for the things we aren’t sure what to do with, but can’t quite part with.
Even in difficult financial times people still like to purchase stuff. They buy for themselves, friends, an uncle or a precious grandma. Items are purchased for their common sense practicality or cool factor.
The consumer is alive and well in America, but may be a bit more cautious about what stuff they buy and where they buy it.
You’ve heard of value added arrangements for purchases, but there may be value in giving away more at the front end than the consumer expects. This is often accomplished through enriched content that is beneficial to potential consumers. This may mean a free membership site that allows visitors to access additional content or access to other members in a forum environment that can be very beneficial. You can supply ebooks or an autoresponder ecourse. You can provide free samples or ways the customer can make or save money with your product.
You might also work to price your product in a way that allows you to offer free shipping. In other words, the price they see is the only price they pay. Many consumers respond to what is generally a bundled price in order to avoid what they perceive to be an added expense.
Many Americans continue to cautiously invest in more stuff. They engage in online window shopping and will come back to sites that offer the most value for no money down.
This is a concept that is often difficult for online business owners to wrap their minds around. To many online entrepreneurs it doesn’t make much sense to give away information or product samples without the expectation of a sale. The truth is when it comes to online shopping if you don’t provide value added material up front the sale of ‘stuff’ will likely go to a competitor who will.
Yes, it will cost something to develop the content you provide. There may be expense in providing samples for the consumer and in some cases you will never know who used the information until a sale is made, but the American consumer wants to know who has their best interest in mind.
Buyers are gravitating to home improvement stores who offer free classes on home improvement projects. They visit grocery stores that offer free food samples. Many of these freebie conscious consumers are then buying their products from the stores that provided the ‘no obligation’ information and samples.
By helping your customers understand your ‘stuff’ better you may also find that they will return to your site when they make up their mind to make a purchase.
Author Resource:
Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. Make your own website in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites at: http://www.highpowersites.com or Build A Website at: http://www.buildagreatsite.com . Start your own ebook business with BooksWealth at: http://www.bookswealth.com