‘Hi, I have a ladies fashion website with an online store. When we first started putting our items on it was doing ok but now we seem to have hit a brick wall and we hardly get any sales online. What can I do to pick up sales? (Online Business Owner)

Firstly, I’ve got to say that I don’t think you’re going through this current ‘slow patch’ alone! Many small businesses have been reporting a down turn over the last couple of months, really since Christmas which for most was pretty good.

My theory as to ‘why’ is this... I believe the recent rash of disasters, both here in Australia and globally have taken peoples focus off purchasing. Jan/Feb are typically slower in retail land anyway due to all the cash that’s spent pre Christmas and the fact that a lot of people are on holiday or have children at home on school holidays. What’s made it worst this year I believe are all the natural disasters that occurred over that period... the Queensland floods, serious flooding in other parts of the country and Cyclone Yasi in north Queensland.

Now, these events obviously don’t directly affect most people directly but I am convinced that they take our focus away from our day to day ‘pattern of consumerism’ for days or sometimes even weeks. As I write this the earthquake and resulting Tsumani in Japan are filling our screens and taking our focus away yet again, even though they are happening thousands of kilometres away.

All I can suggest with all this going on currently is to run your operation as lean as possible and continue to ‘tell your story’ out there as positive as you always did because, the tide will turn and we’ll all get back to normal sooner than later.

Looking at your site, I have couple of suggestions you might want to consider and a couple of other ideas that might help. I like the look of your product range but my gut instinct on first look was that the site is a bit stark? Using a white background and very little colour in general to me has the effect of making the site appear a bit impersonal? If the look and feel of your range is ‘party time’ then I’d look to use a lot more related images, themes and colours to help sell that message to visitors. Remember, your online store is just like a retail store in a lot of ways and those who visit need to get a clear message that you understand where they’re at in their lives and that you’re ‘talking directly to them’

The other thing I’d suggest is to consider using social media tools to enhance and spread that message to a wider audience. Facebook especially is great tool for posting photos of people wearing your outfits at events or preparing for events. Create a buzz around your product and make it the fashion to be seen in! It’s also a great way to let your ‘followers’ know when new products arrive. I have a client who uses Facebook very successfully to promote his products and now, every time he has something to say, over 3000 people hear it straight away!

One advantage of online trading is that your overheads are low when quiet times hit so take this time to look at your ‘marketing messages’ and your ‘shop’ to make sure they’re both ready to fire when market activity picks up again.

Hope that helped... all the best, Aaron