6 Steps to Attracting Black Customers Online

by Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva"

In the rush to keep up with technology, many African-American business owners are so busy trying to add the latest bells and whistles to their Web sites, get to the top of the search engines, and learn the latest database technology that they often forget this simple fact: people do business with other *people*, not computers. Understanding the importance of relationships is key to attracting African-American buyers online. Here are a few practical tips to getting Black customers to buy more from your Website.

Step 1: Make a personal connection... put a face on it.

Adding photos of realistic-looking people to your Web site will increase your sales. Photos jump out from a page, so even if someone just skims over the words, the photo will create a lasting impression. If you don't have photos of your actual employees or customers, use stock photography.

Here are a few of my favorite sources for photos:

o FotoSearch: http://www.fotosearch.com

o Getty: http://www.gettyimages.com

o Corbis: http://www.corbis.com

Royalty-free images start at around $19-35 per image and are much less expensive than rights-managed images. If you have a bigger budget, you can purchase CDs with entire collections of African American stock photographs and illustrations.

Step 2: Establish trust.

When you walk into an establishment, you usually can tell right away if you feel comfortable doing business there. You can see if the place is clean and well maintained, brightly lit, and whether someone friendly is available to greet and help you. On the Internet, your Web site has to do all the talking and all the handholding. If this is a potential customer's first visit to your Web site, they may be uncertain if you're a legitimate business and if they can trust you.

There are a number of ways to alleviate these fears and give your customers peace of mind. First, provide full contact information -- including a telephone number -- on your Web site. Second, show a picture of your location and employees, if applicable. Third, if you are a member of any professional organizations, such as the Better Business Bureau and/or professional trade organizations, this is a great time to display your membership logos. Most importantly, display quotes and testimonials for your current happy customers to show how what great quality products and service your company provides.

Step 3: Use the "word of mouth" network.

From the griots of Africa to barbershops and hair salons to the chat rooms on BlackPlanet.com, at the center of African American culture is the oral tradition. Use this ready-made network to your advantage, and give people the tools to tell their friends and colleagues about your products. A greatway to do this is with an instant "Tell a Friend" button on your Web site. Constant Contact (see Step #6) includes this service as part of it's e-newsletter management program.

Step 4: Network with other Black Web sites.

One way to jump-start the flow of traffic to your Web site is by recruiting customers from other high-traffic sites. You can buy ad space on a well-trafficked site that also attracts a high percentage of your target market. A cheaper alternative is to swap ads with a business that offers products or service that complement, but don't compete with, your own offering. For example, if you offer Web site design, look for someone who offers Web site hosting or network services. This strategy can work both with ads on a Web site, but don't overlook swapping ads in each business' promotional e-mail newsletter. (NOTE: Do *not* swap customer databases or lists of email addresses unless you have specific permission from your customers to do so.)

Step 5: Give your customers a reason to act now.

How many times have you visited a Web site and thought to yourself: "What a great product! I'd like to buy it, but I think I'll come back later." Did you actually go back and buy it? Perhaps not. Help your customers make their decision today: make them an offer they can't refuse. For example, use promotions like "limited time only", "this week only", "act today and take $10 off," etc.

Step 6: Keep in touch.

Remember, it's about relationships. Did you know that customers who buy online usually do so on the fourth to eighth visit to your Web site, and not the first visit? So you'll need to come up with a strategy to get them back to your Web site a second, third, and fourth time. The easiest, simplest, and cheapest method, hands down, is an e-mail list. It isn't enough just to collect e-mail addresses on your Web site and at your vending events -- you have to actually *write* and *send* messages to the list! Strive to get your newsletter out at least twice a month, but if you're just getting started, do quarterly, then build up to monthly, and then build up to every other week.

Here are a few e-mail list services I like:

o Aweber: http://www.aweber.com/?203887

o Constant Contact: http://www.roving.com

o YahooGroups (free): http://www.yahoogroups.com

Essentially, what successful online marketing boils down to, regardless of ethnicity, is relationships, relationships, relationships. Find meaningfulways to connect with your customers, and they will not only reward you with their loyalty, but they'll be happy to spread the word about your Web site as well.

© Copyright 2004 Jamila White. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva", is an Internet Strategist, Web Designer, and E-Commerce instructor in the Washington D.C. area. For a FREE subscription to her "Sell More Online" e-newsletter, go to http://www.ecommercediva.com.

[NOTE: You are welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end and the copyright notice), and you send a copy of your reprint to info@jamilawhite.com.]

____________________

Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!

Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!

Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!

Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!

Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!

---

Ecommerce Comes from Customer Satisfaction

Online shopping is convenient, but many companies whose web sites do brisk sales often leave consumers wanting. That's according to ForeSee Results, a research company that studied... Read More

How E-commerce Web Site Design Differs From Normal Web Design

When it comes to e-commerce everything is a little bit different, even the web site design for an e-commerce site as compared to a normal web design.... Read More

Web Users Crave Familiarity

The sad truth is, general Web users would love it if all our sites looked like Amazon.com.They'd immediately be familiar with the interface, they would know how... Read More

Accepting Credit Card Payments Online

Being able to accept credit cards and other online payments is crucial to the success of your business and profits. Your customers are more likely to buy... Read More

E-marketplaces from Sellers Perspective

What is an E-marketplace anyway?E-marketplace is a business to business web based venue, where buyers and sellers meet online, generate business leads and conduct business transactions. The... Read More

The House Of Print.Com

Publishing has always been a difficult business to promote successfully, which titles by which authors to promote, which genre, will it be fiction or non-fiction? Will they... Read More

Merchant Account Insider Secrets - Accept Credit Cards Online

The process of learning how to accept payments on the Internet is similar to the course of figuring out how to launch a business. What at first... Read More

Get Out of The Way

Get out of the way and make it easy for your visitors to find what they want.Recently I completed a report for a site that was the... Read More

Intranet - The Benefits Realisation Plan

The Millennium ExperienceA successful project is one that delivers on-spec ('quality'), time and cost. Right? Well consider these two projects?The Millennium Dome was delivered on time for... Read More

How to Write a Landing Page

Is there a difference between writing a landing page and any other web site page? Yes and no. But mainly, yes.You still have to work within the... Read More

Intranet Project Names - Some Ideas

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet."In this famous quote from Act II of Romeo and... Read More

Why This Is The Perfect Time To Start Charging For Website Subscriptions

If you're a writer, researcher, subject matter expert, enthusiastic hobbyist, or an authority on almost any topic, there has never been a better time to start your... Read More

How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy - Part Two

Why time spent on your site is importantAll websites regardless of type should measure this KPI, simply because all websites can use it as a gauge to... Read More

Free Competition Analysis for E-Commerce Startup

For anyone who has completed research regarding e-commerce, there are some common catch phrases that we all come across. 'Competition Analysis' is one of those catch phrases.... Read More

10 Compelling Benefits of Having A 3rd Party Merchant Account

If you have been wrestling with the idea of applying for your own 3rd party merchant account then take a look at the following compelling benefits of... Read More

Beginner Ecommerce Mistakes

This is a short article because in the constraints of time and space preclude me from writing a 10 page article. Recently i built a ecommerce web... Read More

Shopping from Your Cell Phone with Froogle Wireless

Many surfers already know about Froogle, Google's shopping portal that is still in beta testing. Google has now expanded their Froogle service so that it is available... Read More

Internet Merchant Accounts For Innocents Abroad

If you want to sell on the internet, your need to accept credit cards. To accept credit cards, you need a merchant account, or access to one.... Read More

Succeed With Your Own Home Based Business

An internet business is by far the best way to support yourself if you just cannot stand working for others for less money than you need to... Read More

Intranet Portals ? Collaboration through Team Rooms

Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply as the process through which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets. Knowledge assets are... Read More

Are You Making These E-Commerce Excuses? (part 2)

Last time, we started to take a look at the most common reasons why most people don't make progress on their e-commerce and Internet marketing goals. Today,... Read More

How To Turn Any Product You Sell In To Residual Income

The concept of this is for you to offer a subscription type product as an upsell or backend product. For example, if you're selling an ebook for... Read More

Chinas Online Shopping May Be Booming In The Next Few Years

Data from China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) shows that till June 2004 Chinese online user has reached 87 million, of which, 7.3% has experience of online... Read More

Using Credit Cards Securely Online

Nowadays, shopping online is a very common thing. Making your purchases without leaving your house is an attractive option for many of us. Purchasing items over the... Read More

Developing a Winning e-Commerce Strategy

One bright spot on the economic horizons around the world seems to be continued consumer spending and e-commerce is clearly a part of this, with sales estimated... Read More

Selling From Your Website

Greetings!Friends and relitives ask us all the time " How do sell from your website?" and no doubt you want to know as well. Over the next... Read More