Now that your website is up and running have you give much thought to mail-in orders? Or phone orders?

Are you offering ways to accept orders other than on line? You may want to consider accommodating this important market.

Not many people feel comfortable ordering on line and they like ordering the old fashioned way with a stamp and envelope. Or by phone where they can speak with a live person.

Also, many people without computers might be told by friends about your business and they would love to order, but since they don’t have a computer or lack the ability to order on line, it would be a good idea to accommodate them and in turn get orders from this source.

We have found that by placing a way for people to order off line and placing a link to the explanation of how to do that, we have received many more fax and direct mail orders. It really has paid off.

Many people use company checks where they don’t have access to company credit cards and I have been told by older buyers that they are not very computer savvy but are pleased to order by mail (the “old fashioned way”). Or by phone.

We set up a link on all of our pages in the navigation area and prominently on our home page. It says: “How to order off line” and it links to an easy explanation of how we would love to serve everyone and this is how we accept orders. Then we go on to explain how to order off line.

You can check this out for yourself at: TheDiscountPrinter.com You’ll notice at the top of the page right below the business name, we have a link called “How to order off line“. If you click that, you’ll go right to our explanation and instructions of how easy it is to order off line. We list fax, snail mail and other ways.

This is on the same page with testimonials, our privacy policy, our refund policy and other important items we have talked about in the past. These are all important ways to increase sales and make your customers feel secure about purchasing from you.

We don’t accept phone orders simply because our products are custom printed and we need to have everything written down for clarity. But we do offer a way for customers to call us whenever necessary. They are more than welcome to speak with our staff by phone to clarify any ordering issues.

Phone orders, snail mail and fax are very viable alternatives to web orders even if you are only a web-based business. It’s important to realize that many people prefer many different ways to place orders. Accommodating them is the surest way to help your business grow.

Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com Marketing eZine and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com put “subscribe” in the subject line or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com