How Much Money Are You Losing During the Holiday Season?
Earlier this week I went online to buy a gift certificate to a well-known local restaurant in a nearby city (I’ll keep both the name of the business and the city name anonymous to protect the guilty <g>.). I found the restaurant’s website easily enough, but there was absolutely no way to purchase anything online from them. I was dumbfounded. This is a restaurant that does VERY well, makes LOTS of money, is very well known in the area, and is located in a very hip city where it’s commonplace to do business online.
I called them to ask about purchasing a gift certificate. The woman who answered the phone (whom I later discovered to be the bartender) didn’t know if she could sell me a gift card over the phone and had to ask her manager. I explained to her that the person for whom I was purchasing the card was in that city and I lived many hours away, which seemed to further confuse her. After a few moments, she came back on the line to tell me that she could sell me the gift card but would have to verbally take my information down and then I would have to email the manager to give my permission to charge the card and to confirm the details of my credit card and address, using only the last 4 numbers of the card. I thanked her for her time and hung up.
That type of transaction was fraught with security risks — the last thing I needed during the holiday season is my credit card number floating around the restaurant until someone decided to process the gift card transaction. They just lost my sale, and I wonder how many others they have lost because they make it too difficult (and scary) to do business with them online. I can’t imagine I’m the only one who wants to purchase a gift card online to this restaurant.
How much business are you losing because prospective customers can’t purchase what they want from you online? Frankly, you’ll probably never know, because Internet visitors are fickle — if they can’t buy what they want, they’re off to the next option. Don’t miss out on opportunities to sell your products from your website. You never know what someone might want to give as a gift..:)
To your online success!
About the Author Donna Gunter
Best-selling author Donna Gunter works with successful business owners who are experts in their fields and established in their industry and are seeking a way to stand out from their competitors. Using her Ideal Clients on Autopilot System©, she helps them determine the exact strategies to generate more qualified leads and better-paying clients with automated systems. This proven system makes all their marketing easier and more effective and they find themselves positioned as the only choice for their clients.
