I visited with a friend who manages an independent bookstore last week. As he toured me around the newly-expanded store, I noted the absence of rack upon rack of music CDs that populate most [Christian] bookstores.Marketing Tips

“Why don’t you sell more CDs?”

My friend explained:

  • CDs are expensive to stock
  • People download individual songs from their home computers to MP3 players instead of purchasing entire CDs
  • Customers can create custom CDs right in the store

“Custom CDs? How does that work?”

He explained that customers can listen to thousands of albums from the kiosk in the store, click the tunes they want to purchase, and a custom CD is burned right then and there and pops out of the kiosk, ready for the customer to purchase.

How convenient! It reminds me of photo kiosks, where you plug in your storage device and a few minutes later, you walk out with professionally-printed photos.

This innovative combination of digital and in-store products illustrates Marketing Lesson #7: Make it easy for customers to purchase your product.

Our 12-year-old entrepreneur, the custom pen-making Daniel, does just that with his clean, easy-to-navigate Web site, Pens By Daniel.

  • His home page contains a series of descriptive navigation buttons, so you know how to find exactly what you’re looking for.
  • Daniel’s home page pictures him, hard at work. Visitors feel an instant connection with the master craftsman.
  • Click on any of the navigation buttons and you’re redirected to a page that showcases Daniel’s pens and displays thumbnail images of each pen style (which you can click on to view full-size). A slideshow helps you efficiently scroll through all your purchasing options.
  • Each image includes a PayPal button, so when you find a product you want to purchase, you are re-directed to Daniel’s shopping cart.
  • As an added bonus, we learn that Daniel supports breast cancer research; a page on his site showcases a special pink pen. Daniel donates 33 percent of the profits of each pen sold to the Susan G Komen For the Cure foundation.
  • If you’re still confused about how to order, Daniel includes a separate page that explains multiple ways to order, and yet another page that includes contact information.

If a 12-year-old can do it, so can you.

  • What product or service do you sell (or want to sell)?
  • What steps are you going to take this week to make your customers’ shopping experience easy, convenient, and rewarding?

Let’s share ideas, folks. Put your #1 goal for the week in writing, right here in our Comments area. Next week, tell us what you’ve done to meet that goal.

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