Chapter 4: Sell to Repeat Impulse Buyers
After determining the products which will have the greatest demand to bring your dropshipping business into the spotlight it is time to target customers and transform impulse buyers into a business’s greatest asset, loyal repeat buyers.
Determine Target Customer
It is very important not to make the mistake of throwing some products up on a website and expect anyone and everyone to start pumping money into your account. In order to effectively sell and see success particularly in ecommerce, you need to have a very specific target customer.
In order to do this you need to be able to effectively describe what your target customer looks like. Start by defining their age, their location, gender all the way down to what they do for work as well as in their freetime. The more specific you can be the better as it gives you a good idea of how to streamline your services to appeal to these kind of people rather than just working to please everybody, something that can easily get lost in the ecommerce jungle.
By targeting hobbyists you are able to target a very specific niche who take an interest in what you are offering. This kind of target market are often impulse buyers meaning they get excited by the products you are offering and will make a purchase with very little push. Another great aspect of hobbyists is the fact that once engaged, they have a huge potential to become repeat customers which is inner crust of your business and will be instrumental in future success. Always aim for repeat, hobbyist customers.
Importance of Value
Another mistake many newcomers to dropshipping make is providing very little value through their business. By providing value to each and everyone of your customers you will start to see the results unfold in front of you. This is where it is important to understand your niche as well as having a well defined target customer. You can build immense value knowing exactly who you are providing for and what their needs/wants are.
By adding value to everything you do from the initial web page to customer interaction customers will appreciate the extra effort which makes for a far more memorable experience. Remember, you can have the world’s best product and not have any sales if your customer does not see the value that you are offering. Perceived value is way more important than actual value when it comes to sales. However, actual value of your product to the customer is way more important than the initial perceived value of the product when it comes to customer loyalty and satisfaction. We want to build a long lasting relationship with our customers. Hence it is key to always overprovide value. Long term foresight triumphs short term profits.
You must be sincere to your dropshipping customers as well. We are in this for the long run, your dropshipping business will still be around a decade from now. It is the loyal and happy customers that will keep you going. Just a side track as I feel I should say this. One very interesting fact about loyal and happy customers is that they are an active salesforce for your business. Your happy customers will automatically promote and recommend your products to their friends and families. The best part about this is that they are long term sales reps and they do not even get paid a commission! This was mentioned by Warren Buffet, a great investor and business owner. He is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.