Why would you want to do that? Why is it important to become an expert in your niche? Let me explain.
Compared to face-to-face sales at a brick and mortar store, the Internet environment is a pretty cold and impersonal place to be doing business.
How do you know that the seller you're dealing with is honest? What if I give him my money and he takes off without sending me the product? How do I get my money back? What if I don't like the product or it isn't what I thought it was? Who can I call or talk to?
Trust is a very important key to success in online selling. If the customer has reason to trust his merchant, he will be more apt to buy the product. If there is a reason why the customer is hesitant, the sale will surely fail.
There are many ways to earn the trust of the customer including full disclosure of all the benefits and features of the product, a secure financial transaction process, a straightforward and intuitive selling and shopping cart process, iron-clad guarantees, and many other merchant implemented ideas that will help put the customer at ease.
There is also the issue of the advice the customer is being given. Who do you trust more: a faceless stranger that makes a lot of fantastic claims and promises . . . or . . . a fact-filled recommendation from someone you perceive to be an expert in the field of the product you are considering?
Of course, the expert will be trusted to a greater degree than someone that doesn't fit the role because nothing is known about him.
Unless you are a well-known public figure that has already proven himself and become a recognized expert offline, you will have to go after that title online. Just because you own and operate a web site in a certain niche, there is no reason for a particular customer to consider you an expert unless you have done whatever is necessary to earn that title.
Is there anything dishonest, immoral, or illegal about wanting to become an expert when you're not already one? Of course not!
In fact, every web site owner should position himself/herself as an industry expert just as you would assume a shopkeeper at the local hardware store is an expert at his chosen trade.
Customers are more inclined to trust an expert. They know the questions they ask and the problems they have will be handled professionally and with the skill that experience and knowledge brings to the expert.
People buy from experts, especially on the Internet. They look to the expert for advice, suggestions, and recommended products because the expert will know what is best for the customer.
The business owner can become an expert over time by proving his skill and knowledge in the industry by sharing what he knows with his customers. He can create a reputation for himself by the way he operates his business and treats his clients.
Small business owners will help their own cause if they provide as much value as possible at their web site. Freely give of your knowledge and time and others will recognize you as a professional who is caring, fair, and one they can trust with their money.
In our next installment, we'll discover a great way to become an expert online. Stay tuned . . .
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