Episode #13 - Cellphone Woes, Back End Sales, How to Choose a Reliable Web Host, and a Marketing Lesson from Zappos.com
July 15, 2008New to this website? View Episode #1 to bring you up to speed (we don't want you to miss out). Oh, and don't forget to sign up for show updates (top right corner of this page)
Episode #13 -iPhone madness has been sweeping the nation again, this time with the new iPhone 3G. For once, a product that lives up to the hype (IMHBAO - in my humble but accurate opinion). I also mention another unusual cellphone that you might not be familiar with - there’s a great marketing lesson in there too. Let me know what you think of the new trailer for the show, we had a lot of fun putting that together.
The viewer question relates to how to implement back end sales from an ebook product. The Nifty Click relates to how to choose a reliable webhost, and the big lesson comes from online shoe company Zappos.com - keep your wife away from this site, it’s a money pit for women ;). Seriously, what a great online company to model, and I’ll tell you a couple of reasons why.
Resources and websites mentioned in this episode:
Regards,
July 16th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Hello Andrew,
I would like to say that I enjoy your work very much. Your new trailer is terrific. It was already good… it´s even better. I loved it.
As to Apple iPhone, I think, it is a turning point in the market. If it is not it, it is something close to it.
I have only one concern. You see, it will be launched in my country until the end of the year, maybe for a reasonable price. We don´t know.
But there is always something that insists in spoiling our pleasure here and that is when companies that provide the services comes into play. They charge to high for using the services.
It is not far from truth to say it´s like having a Ferrari in which you can not ride, because of gas price!!
I hope that´s not the case for other countries.
That´s it.
July 16th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Hi Andrew,
Another excellent episode… and you’re so right about shipping… everyone hates shipping fees.
Neil.
http://www.NeilShearing.com/
July 16th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Andrew
I thought your point about free shipping was very good. Really the only complaint I get is about shipping cost. We sell small pewter items so I think if I can a few things it maybe something we can offer.
Thanks for all your marketing tips
Steve
July 16th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Andrew,
Many thanks for another GREAT show.
Ok, here we go:
1. You are still STREEEECHED.
2. Yugoslavia does not exist any more. You mean Serbia, maybe?
3. Thanks for recommending BlueHost. I have had so many problems with 1&1 that I really need to move away from them. WARNING to anybody who’s thinking of signing up with them - they are OK - and cheapest - for domains. However, when it comes to hosting - it’s a complete nightmare and their Philippines-based staff is completely incompetent, they send generic and irrelevant replies and there have been many instances of “accidental” double-billing.
4. Free shipping both ways - I love it. Love it, love it, love it. LOVE IT!
5. Do you have any experience with Aweber and/or Getresponse, and could you comment on them?
Many thanks again! See you next week.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Hey Andrew,
I own a first generation iPhone and really do like it. The fact that they are constantly adding software updates to improve it just proves to me that they care about the customer experience.
Your new Web TV show trailer is great!
~Brett
http://www.FreeTrafficBigProfits.com
July 16th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Suggest cropping the last shot of the used-car weasel. He detracts rather than adds. Otherwise, a jolly good show.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Everything I do can be delivered electronically, so there’s no shipping costs for me to cut
I wonder if there’s some equivalent annoying fee for service-based businesses… I can’t come up with anything in general, but cell phones (to take one example) have more than enough.
July 16th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Great episode, as usual. I love the idea of Free Shipping, but mostly for other companies
i would like to implement the idea, but the problem is that I sell nutritional supplements as an addition to the practice and the competition is so stiff that I tend to not make much of a profit without absorbing the shipping costs, so I’m not sure what I will do, but it definitely gives me something to think about…would adding $1 across the board to each product and then offer the free shipping be too much additional “financial weight” to bare? Hmmm. Thanks for the thought-provoking ideas. ‘Til next week, Dr. Scott
July 19th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Great show Andrew, but tell me, are you kneeling behind that ‘vitual’ desk? The close-ups reveal your hands ‘above’ the desk, and then the wide shots show them hidden! I think maybe a ‘bigger’ desk with you sat higher above it should do the trick!!
Unless of course you are kneeling - for which I ‘pray’ you to stand!
July 20th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Thank you, Andrew, for some interesting ideas. As one who sells his own books (now about 15) online through ebay and amazon, I found your idea about shipping one worth trying. Your comments about cell phones also struck a chord with me. Well done, old boy.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:30 am
Thanks Andrew. This is a great site as it got my creative juices flowing.
You’d think by now cell phone manufacturers would have figured out there is a profitable market for people who wants a cell phone that just sends and receives calls :-).
The new trailer is kinda cheesy but very cute none the less. It mirrors your personality (i mean that in a very good way).
Finally I love the information you provided about the Zappos.com business model. Keep up the good work!
July 21st, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Hi Andrew,
Loved the new trailer! The segment on Zappos.com was really eye opening. At first I thought, an online shoe store? No way that could possibly work. But the return policy - Just brilliant!
July 21st, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I agree with Lisa, it’s time to migrate away from 1&1. I don’t think their clunky system is worth the cheap prices any longer for me personally.
I just bought my first pair of shoes from zappos, you deserve a commission! I have big feet (size 13 or 14) and I usually can’t find what I want in stores, so shopping online has been a good option for me for a long time. However, I somehow never knew about Zappos return policy, amazing!
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I love how everything he explains is simple and clear. The accent,………just charming!
July 30th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Hi Andrew,
Your blurb about free shipping produced a big long “AAAAArgh!!” for me. Because I know what you say is true (my customers tell me that all the time), but as in the comment from Dr. Scott, we sell nutritional supplements and there’s just no margin there.
Any ideas for online stores like ours?
The only way I’ve found to “lessen the blow” for my customers is with a very honest explanation of why we can’t give them free or cheaper shipping on every order (we do offer free shipping for US orders over $300) and that explanation is here:
http://www.holistichealthshoppe.com/shipping_info.php#shippingcost
I’ll also paste it here (just delete it if it’s too long):
WHY DOES THE SHIPPING COST MORE THAN ON OTHER SITES?
Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do on the shipping cost. We don’t ship using USPS (the cheaper option) since we had too many orders go ‘missing’. So now we only use trackable courier shipping like FedEx and UPS. And believe it or not, on some orders we are actually losing a few dollars.
Some tips we can give you that may help: Order more at one time, rather than less, since there is a base shipping charge and adding extra products does not add that much extra to the shipping cost (unless you’re ordering heavy items like the 1 gallon George’s Aloe Vera and Absorb Plus).
Also, if you’re going to be purchasing every 2-3 months or so, then it will be cheaper to sign up for JPT Wellness Circle (at $9.95/month) since one of the benefits of membership is 15% of EVERY order - regardless of size. You can find out all the benefits of membership (much more than just the 15% discount) here: http://www.jptwellnesscircle.com/membershipinfo.php
Of course, the other alternative is to order over $350 worth - then you also get a 15% discount that way AND free shipping if you are in the continental USA (does not apply to Alaska and Hawaii). If you’re not in the continental U.S., I’m sorry but there’s no way we can give free shipping as we’d no longer be in business!
Perhaps the way other internet sites can offer cheaper shipping is that (1) They are shipping such a large number of orders per day, that the courier companies have given them steep discounts and/or (2) They are selling such a large volume of product that they can afford to subsidize shipping costs from their product profits.
The other strategy sites will use is to lose money on low-ticket items like vitamins and herbs, but then they have your email and address to market high-priced items where they make up for the lost revenue - we actually had a long conversation with an Internet supplement store that was doing this.
Unfortunately, since we are just a small shop, and we’re not a front to upsell you into some expensive products/systems, we can’t offer any of those cost-cutting measures. Believe me, nothing would make us happier than to be able to offer flat-rate or free shipping - that’s one of the reasons we love buying books from Amazon! But unless droves of people decide to abandon medical/drug treatment and seek natural healing protocols, that’s not going to happen anytime soon!
Anyway, as Jini often says, if you prefer to buy locally, then just use the Holistic Health Shoppe as a resource - find out which brands Jini recommends and what to look for to ensure potency in the various products. Just copy down the names of the products Jini recommends, then contact your local health store and get them to order everything in for you. Since the products will come along with their regular shipments, they won’t charge you any shipping costs.
Again, we really do empathize with you and wish there was more we could do on this - but it’s the classic corner store trying to compete with Wal-Mart scenario - there’s just no way we can get prices as low as the ‘big guys’
***********************************************
Thanks for your lovely show and I liked the trailer too. - Jini