4 Steps to Attract Black Customers Online

4 Steps to Attract Black Customers Online

In the rush to keep up with technological changes, many African American business owners are so busy adding the latest information to their websites, getting to the top of search engines, and learning about the latest database technologies that they often forget. A simple fact: people do business with other people, not with computers. Understanding the importance of relationships is crucial to attracting African American shoppers online. Here are some practical tips to get Black customers to shop on your website more often.

Here are some practical tips on how to get Black customers to shop on your website more often.

Step 1: Make a personal connection….put your face on it.
Adding realistic-looking photos of people to your website increases your sales. The photos jump off the page, so even if someone skims the words, the photo will stick. If you don’t have photos of your current employees or customers, use stock photos.

Here are some of my favourite photo sources:

Step 2: Build trust.
When you join a company, you can usually immediately tell whether you feel comfortable doing business there. You can check that the accommodation is clean and well-maintained, well lit and there is a friendly person available to welcome you and help you. On the Internet, your website needs to do all the conversation and service work. If this is a potential customer’s first visit to your website, they may not know whether you are a reputable company and whether they can trust you.

There are many ways to ease these worries and give your customers peace of mind. First, provide full contact information, including phone number, on your website. Second, if necessary, show a photo of your location and employees. Third, if you are a member of a professional organization such as the Better Business Bureau and/or industry associations, this is a great opportunity to display your membership logo. Most importantly, present offers and testimonials to your current satisfied customers to showcase your company’s high-quality products and services.

Step 3: Use the Whisper network.
From the griots of Africa to barbers and from barber shops to BlackPlanet.com chat rooms, oral tradition is at the heart of African American culture. Use this ready-made network to your advantage and give people the opportunity to tell their friends and colleagues about your products. A great way to do this is to immediately add a “Tell a Friend” button to your website. Constant Contact (see point 6) integrates this service as part of the electronic newsletter management program.

Step 4: Access other dark websites.
One way to speed up the flow of traffic to your website is to recruit customers from other high-traffic websites. You can purchase advertising space on a high-traffic website that also attracts a high percentage of your target audience. A cheaper alternative is to replace your ads with a company that offers products or services that complement, but do not compete with, your offering. For example, if you offer web design, look for someone who offers website hosting or web services. This strategy can work for both website ads. However, remember to replace the ads in each company’s promotional email newsletter.