The primary point of a business having a Web presence is to contribute to profits; directly or indirectly, through increased margins and throughput or by reducing costs. All that surrounds that primary objective must contribute to that primary goal. The point of a business is profit. Or it’s a charity. The challenge point, that key point of inflexion for a business strategy on the Web is the sales approach. Especially in regards to pitching physical goods (i.e. books, clothes, electronics) to consumers or other businesses. It is one of what we call Key Inflexion Points in monetizing the Web for a business. What does Sales Volume mean here?

Not the throughput of deals. In this case we’re talking about “what” you are pitching and most importantly, “how” you are pitching. Most companies selling physical goods on the Web, to business or consumers, focus primarily on selling the “good” first. Looking to slam the close right away! Wham! As if the Web was a place of “impulse purchasing”. Bring those products to the front, throw pricing up right away and put that shopping cart front and centre. This approach is okay, but the reality is, the first thing you are selling is “information” not the product. It is the Extended Packaged Product.

Step back into the Physical World; you see an advert in a magazine or on TV, you think you might like to try that new detergent. Next trip to the market, you see that packaging, like it and conduct an instant evaluation and buy it. You then use the product and evaluate it (consciously or not) and decide to continue buying it or not. But the packaging is limited to the container size that holds the product, and what you can print on the package. Other limitations on information are cost of producing the package relative to the purchase price and viable margins. So there are significant limitations on the “information” about a product in the real-world.

On the Web, it is likely you’re evaluation will be more involved. In the store, you look at the packaging, additional “information” is the weight, size for transport, feel of the package (quality indicator) and smell. Marketers understand physical packaging very, very well. A Website is essentially, Information Packaging. The product is further extended, including dish soap. A marketer on the Web can now extend the information surrounding that dish soap far beyond the physical bounds; showing comparison charts, short videos of people using it, animations, music and sheets of data addressing various consumer concerns such as the environment.

Consumers are seeking more and more information around “products” and products that can add value by adding information, have a significant lead over those that don’t. Certainly, some products we are ingrained to use and some will always be “impulse purchases” such as  candy bar at the check out. In our strategic work, we’ve found that when companies understand adding value through information (exceedingly low, almost zero, reproduction cost) they increase margins and product purchases on the Web.