7 Tips To Increase Sales With Your Ecommerce Web Site
Ecommerce is just exploding right now on the Net. More and more people are doing their shopping online. Some Internet retailers are even beating out their offline counterparts. So what does this mean to you? It’s important that you are taking full advantage of your web site to get your share of the billions of dollars spent online every year. In this article we are going to cover 7 tips that you can put into practice immediately to increase your sales and revenue with your ecommerce web site.
1: IntroductionMake sure to have a brief introduction on the homepage of your web site. Your introduction should be concise and clearly identify the benefits of your visitors shopping at your site.
2: Navigation Make sure that your site has clear and easy navigation, such as a visible search box on the top part of your web site, clear categories to browse through, a FAQ page that clearly explains your shipping and return policy, and etc.
3: Gift Certificates People love getting gifts at certain times of the year, so make sure that you have gift certificates that your visitors can purchase right on your web site.
4: Customer LoyaltyInstead of just focusing on getting new customers why not take advantage of repeat business? Why not give your customers an incentive to come back and do business with you again? You can easily do this by offering coupons and special discounts to ones who have already purchased something from you. This is a lot easier than acquiring new customers since they already know you and feel comfortable shopping at your site. You can also add more value to your customers by adding live customer support to your site.
5: Special Offers Make sure to have a section on the top part of your home page devoted to featuring your current special offers and sales items. In fact if you happen to have a lot of special offers you can just feature the most popular ones and then make a separate web page that shows all of your sales items.
6: Shopping Carts People want the checkout process to go as quickly and smoothly as possible, so make sure that your visitors are always just one click away to checkout. Try to reduce the checkout process to as few steps as possible. Make sure to offer multiple payment options such as credit cards, Paypal, online checks, mail orders, and such. When you no longer have a product in stock make sure to either remove it from your site or clearly mark it as “out of stock”. There is nothing more irritating for a customer to go through the whole checkout process only to find out that you no longer carry the item they ordered.
7: Affiliate Program Do you have your own affiliate program? The most successful web sites have one and you should too. By starting your own affiliate program you will develop an increasing online sales force where you only pay them when a sale is made. There is really no risk and it is one of the best low cost effective advertising methods that you can use.
If you put these tips into practice you will notice a drastic increase in your sales and web site revenue.
About the Author
Jordan Williams is the Owner of WebCashLink.com which gives you the resources, tools, and software to succeed with an online business.http://www.webcashlink.com/
A Successful eCommerce Website - Part 1
So you want to succeed at eCommerce? Welcome to a very large group. First off, let’s be clear that there are a lot of ways to do business on the internet - and a lot of ways to both make and lose money. No way can I cover all of them in a few fairly short articles.
This article is going to assume that you have some of the fundamentals, that you understand the language and that you are serious. I’m not going to tell you how to set up a web site or get a decent hosting account. We’re a bit beyond those basics. The basics here have to do with factors which will influence the success (or failure) and the degree of success an eCommerce web site experiences.
First and foremost, you need to provide value for your customers. Absurd as it seems to have to repeat that, a lot of so-called eCommerce sites provide no or very little value for their visitors. Pretending to offer value is not the same thing as providing value. Promoting miserably written, hackneyed, cloned ebooks filled with questionably useful and/or outdated content doesn’t make for a high value site. Sure you can make some money. Once. And you’ll likely have a high refund rate. Essentially you'd be taking advantage of the inexperience of your customers and abusing their willingness to trust you. Not a good path to a long-term business with steady repeat customers.
Value on the net is not very different from any kind of off-line retail sales -- a quality product line that will attract potential customers and a competitive price that will lead to purchases. An honest, quality product that will meet the expectations you’ve created in your buyers. Hyped junk won’t do it.
Next, you’ve got to have a smooth, user-friendly, easy to follow process all the way to your thank you page. The simpler, cleaner and clearer you can make the process, the better. Where it makes sense you can augment this user-responsive site profile by adding live-response chat.
If you do use call-in or live chat, it’s imperative that your operators be well-trained, understand your products and your system and BE customer friendly. This can be a difficult job if you outsource. The less expensive out-source
alternatives can be a bad investment. You’ll need to check very carefully and be certain the operators do actually speak and understand the primary languages(s) of your targeted customer group. You’ll need to provide extensive background information and highly flexible, well-written scripts. You should also collect customer evaluations of these services - separately, and carefully monitor your results to be sure you are getting a decent return on the investment.
You need to have an attractive website. Some can do well with an ugly site, but, in that case, you need to really understand what you're doing and why it might work. The ugly site tactic is not for the inexperienced and very few individuals truly have the grasp of marketing and customer psychology that can lead to a successful "ugly" site.
To provide a pleasant experience, you need to be careful in what you use - colors, text-size, graphics, animation and white space can add value to your site or turn it into a user nightmare. Test your site with people who will tell you the truth. Just because you love it doesn't mean anyone else will. In general, aiming for a professional appearing site is your best option.
Wherever you can, provide incentives for customers to buy and to return. The return factor is a critical piece of a long-term strategy for success. Anyone who buys is your best possible future customer. Keep them, track them, make them special offers. Use coupons, discounts, special deals, customer-only offers and back end sales. Your customer base is your gold mine. They have at least some faith in you, enough to have purchased. Do your utmost to never damage that faith and treat them with the care they deserve.
The next article in the series will discuss factors such as personalization, security and assisting your staff in dealing consistently with customers customer support.
About the Author
Contracting the computer bug in the early 80's (yes, pre-www) and never cured, Richard, a PhD Clinical Paychologist, now writes on eCommerce, RSS and Niche marketing at
A Successful eCommerce Website - Part 2
Succeeding with an eCommerce website is a dream for many these days. It can be done no matter how difficult it may sometimes seem. this series covers some of the basic success factors - things you must consider in creating, implementing, managing and developing a quality eCommerce web site. There are a multitude of ways to do business on the internet - and a lot of ways to both make and lose money. Primarily these articles focus on eCommerce sites intended to sell products of various kinds, Not every factor will apply to every site, but since a major failing of many internet entrepreneurs involves the lack of multiple income streams, you should carefully consider all factors and apply them as needed in developing alternate revenue streams.
On examining your eCommerce web site, think carefully about how you can provide personal attention to each visitor. The idea here is personalization through which each visitor, if they wish, can develop a unique experience of your site.
Provide options through which the user can alter layout, colors, etc. Give customers the capability to create their own personal pages on your site. Perhaps offer a simple and easy to provide service to registered customers, such as free email accounts.
As well as building loyalty and stickiness, such features also build your customer database. Scripts are also available which will allow on-the-spot personalization based on responses to a series of questions. You can also use this kind of script to focus your sales message more tightly to the user's expressed interests.
Free services which can be provided on autopilot can be a virtually endless source of targeted customers. Everything from free email to blog hosting, opt-in list building to free advertising forums, all operate on the same principle as building a list through a newszine, white papers, free ebooks or whatever. In return for registration, e.g. name and confirmed email, you provide a service. Careful structuring can allow you to collect significant marketing information on your registered users which would allow well-targeted marketing campaigns.
Never lose track of a customer. Maintaining a database of customers with any of their prior purchases, interests, and so on, allows you to provide personalized purchase suggestions and special offers. The life-long value of a happy customer may be difficult to estimate accurately, but it’s far easier to sell to existing customers than to be continuously forced to acquire new ones.
Even if you only have a single product now, you have to eventually expand your product line(s). Don’t throw a buyer away. Stay in touch, offer information, occasionally recommend a high quality product you use and value. Build trust through value and quality.
To further expand the human dimension, you can add forums and chat rooms. Provide a variety of means to
acquire visitor input. On site surveys and questionnaires, email surveys and opinion polls can not only increase your customers' sense of being in contact with real people who value their opinions and ideas, but also provide exceptionally useful information for refining your marketing and sales tactics. Loyalty programs and affinity networks can also help.
This is a lot like beating a real dead horse, but... Reliability and security are crucial. If your eCommerce site is big enough and busy enough, multiple parallel servers, redundant hardware, use of fail-safe technology, fast technical support service, high quality encryption, valid certificates, high quality payment processors and excellent firewalls will all allow you to ensure your customers that their data is safe, their orders are handled properly and nobody's getting their credit information that shouldn't.
Right now you may not need (or want to pay for) parallel servers, redundant hardware and fail-over technology, don’t ignore the rest. You depend on your ecommerce hosting provider to keep your business running. So think carefully and do some serious research. Overloaded servers, lack of redundant network connections, slow technical support, poor backup procedures can create a nightmare situation for both you and your customers
As this part’s final idea to consider: smooth out your customer contact and support procedures. If multiple staff might come into contact with your customers (chat, phone or email) , providing all of them with the same (and useful) information about the customer, prior orders, any previous or current problems and so forth, can avoid a lot of potential frustration - and lost orders or, worse, a customer lost forever.
It can be incredibly irritating to have to tell the same story over and over, getting bounced from one person to another when no information ever seems to have been recorded. While it may cut down on repeat complaints, that’s usually because the customer is gone forever. Construct your systems so that no information is lost and so that the data needed to be responsive and helpful is instantly available. You may want to restrict some information which customers may not feel comfortable about everyone knowing.
Doing these things right can add significant credibility and usability to your online business, as well as build a loyal customer base which actually enjoys dealing with your eCommerce business. And that's a winning situation for everyone.
About the Author
Contracting the computer bug in the early 80's (yes, pre-www) and never cured, Richard, a PhD Clinical Paychologist, now writes on eCommerce, RSS and Niche marketing at http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/
You may freely reprint but the link must be live and spiderable.http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/
Accepting Payments Online: An ECommerce Web Site Overview
There are a seemingly infinite number of choices and configurations to accepting payments online. Choices range from almost total "do it yourself" programming to turnkey packages.
You can accept online payments from an ECommerce Web site in two general ways:
1)Through your own online merchant account and/or2)Through a third party online payment processor.
Accepting Payments Online through your own Internet Merchant Account
Accepting payments online via a merchant account puts you in control and limits your reliability on outside payment acceptance services. This approach can also seem like a jigsaw puzzle. Besides an Internet merchant account, you will need shopping cart software, a store or site host, a processor, and a secure payment gateway.
You may fit these pieces together in several different ways. On one end of the spectrum, you can choose the provider for each piece individually. On the other end, you may choose a turnkey solution, where a single provider has completed the puzzle for you.
There is no single best solution. Your choice will depend on your particular needs and experience. Among other considerations, you should factor in your own comfort with the technologies, customer convenience, providers' service levels, available technical support, reliability, costs, and time commitment involved.
Fees
There are a myriad of potential costs and fees involved in accepting payments online, making it difficult to compare different options.
Potentially, you could be charged fees by each provider involved in helping you accept payments online - application fees, set-up fees, yearly memberships, monthly statement charges, monthly minimums, gateway access fees, statement fees, fixed transaction fees, variable transaction discount rates (processing fee for each transaction), and cancellation penalties are all common.
Often, it is easy to misinterpret the fees you will owe. Rarely are all costs revealed in one place. If you are reading about a merchant account, for example, the quoted costs may not include gateway access, hosting,
and/or shopping cart. Because you may be comparing "apples to oranges", options that at first appear low-cost can - upon implementation - turn out to be pricey. Similarly, expensive-sounding solutions may actually be reasonably priced.
Accepting Payments Online through a Third Party Online Payment Processor
If you are not ready to set up your own online merchant account and/or you want to offer additional online payment options, you can turn to a variety of third party online payment processors.
Third party online payment processors provide a way to accept payments online without the extra cost and obligation of a merchant account. To compensate, transaction fees and/or discount rates are significantly higher than for merchant accounts.
Each program is a little different and no single third party payment processor is right for all situations. Clickbank, for example, helps you sell digital products online. At last check, CCNow processes payment for tangible items only.
Deciding What's Best for You
Whether you accept payments online through an Internet merchant account, through a third party payment processor, or both, read all agreements carefully before committing. Do not hesitate to ask the providers questions if information is unclear or incomplete.
There is more information about accepting payments online - including explanations of merchant account fees, finding the right ecommerce providers, and third party payment processor overview - on the ecommerce information site Take-Payments- Online.com, http://www.take-payments-online.com/ .
Put together the "puzzle pieces" for accepting payments online and your ecommerce Web sales will flourish!
About the Author
Bobette Kyle is publisher of the ecommerce information site http://www.take-payments-online.com/ . She is also proprietor of The WebSiteMarketingPlan.com Network, subject-specific Web sites designed to help you find the right information for writing and implementing your marketing plan. Visit here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/
Copyright 2004 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.
Advertising Your eCommerce Web Site
8 Tips for Increasing Your Online Sales
Once you’ve launched your eCommerce web site, you’ll need to show it off to the online world. Whether you’re paying someone to submit your site to all the major and minor search engines and directories, it’s still up to you to continually advertise your eCommerce site in order to keep attracting business.
Many online business owners will tell you that within six to nine months of your launch date you’ll start seeing increased orders for your products. However here are 8 things you can do to lure people to your site now!
1.Advertise on http://www.craigslist.org/ . This entry will only last for 10 days and you must submit to one city and category at a time. You can include photos and/or advanced HTML in your ad.2.Write a press release and send out for free to the following sites: http://www.prweb.com/ [this one has been around for several years]; http://www.prfree.com/ and http://www.openpress.com/ Paid submissions will get you more views, quicker listings in the search engines, and the ability to post photos and keep track of your statistics.3.Submit your site[s] to http://www.isedb.com/html/Web_Directories [You’ll discover loads of directories here, from the highly specialized to the mainstream. Many of the sites have ratings; indicate whether they’re accepting new submissions, and if there’s a fee for submitting].4.Search engine positioning. When advertising your eCommerce site, always have the following information on hand: A. Your Web site title. This should be approximately 7-12 words. B. Description. Have 3 different descriptions of varying lengths. 15 words, 25 words, 100 words. Have them summarize the essence of your site. C. Keywords. 10 – 50 of your most important keywords arranged in order of importance. Again, some online directories will allow you to contribute more keywords than others.5.Write articles about your products/service. Be an online expert. What makes your site so unique from the thousands of others in your chosen category? Is it your customized service? Your low prices? Your high quality? Don’t over promote your product, but concentrate on what will help others. It’s highly recommended you include at least two or three testimonials.6.Exchange links with other sites that have quality information and are related to your field in some way. For example, I sell a lot of soap so I link with mostly gift basket, crafting and candle sites. 7.Free classifieds. These can sometimes get you listed in the search engines, but don’t expect too much response from them.8.Offer a freebie. For example, if you have an eBook for sale, you won’t give the entire book away, but having a chapter or two online will increase interest – and sales. If you make or sell a product, offer a free sample with a paid order. Or free shipping on sales over a certain amount.
Follow one or more of these helpful tips and watch your online business bloom!
About the Author
Lisa Maliga, writer & owner of Everything Shea Aromatic Creations [http://www.everythingshea.com] offers a fragrant selection of designer shea butter glycerin soaps, exclusive Whipped Shea Butter, & unique SoapCakes to personalize for gifts or promotions.
An Arm & A Leg for eCommerce?
As a site designer myself, I realize how much time and effort goesinto registering, setting up, and designing a site; not to mention thecreation of content and seamless navigation. But it is unbelievablehow complicated and expensive this process has become!
Let's face it, very few entrepreneurs and small businesses can affordto spend hundreds of dollars to set up their dot-com presence withoutknowing how successful it will be! We've seen the results of highexpectations and over spending with the demise of many well-knowncompanies as reported in the news recently.
It doesn't have to be this way!
Are you planning to sell products or services?
You do NOT necessarily need expensive shopping cart software ormerchant accounts to sell your products or services. You can beginyour online venture by setting up a few of your most popular items orservices that can be purchased online. Once a customer has made apurchase, you can then follow up with details on how to purchaseadditional items.
There are low cost ecommerce solutions that can help you startconducting business online without breaking the bank.
First, determine exactly how sophisticated your ordering process needsto be. Then decide which of the following options best suits yourbusiness needs.
Option A - PayPal
Set up a Premier Account with PayPal. PayPal is a stable and securecompany that has been around long enough to establish a crediblereputation. I can personally vouch for them, I use them consistently.
Benefits:
Doing Business As:You have the option of using a business name or your personal name,regardless of how your bank account is registered.
Low Cost:There are no monthly fees and no set up fees. That’s right - it’sfree.A small fee is with-held each time a transaction (purchase) isprocessed.
Hassle FreeThey process all orders and notify you when payment is received.
Referral BonusYou can earn a small cash bonus for qualified referrals you send toPayPal.
Features:
Shopping
CartPremium members can set up a shopping cart that links directly fromtheir site to PayPal.
Send an InvoiceIf your services or product prices vary, you can send customers aninvoice from PayPal once the purchase price has been established.
Option B - eBay
Consider selling your products or services through eBay. You canaccept checks and money orders by postal mail, or you can acceptcredit cards and checks using PayPal, or eBay’s version of PayPal -BillPoint. You can provide links to your site with each item youlist for auction. You can also set up a reserve amount - the leastdollar amount you will accept for your service or product.
Ebay also offers an affiliate program.
Option C - ClickBank
Sign up as a merchant with ClickBank.net. There are some feesinvolved, plus you have to determine what percentage of each sale thatyou will allow the referring site to earn. Affiliates with ClickBankcan choose merchants they like (higher commission percentages dobetter) and then place links on their sites. There is a setup fee formerchants, but you'll also be providing your site a great deal ofexposure. Plus, ClickBank allows you to accept credit cards and othermethods of payment. You'll be setting up your own affiliate program!
ClickBank also offers an affiliate program:http://zzz.clickbank.net/r/?abelle
Option D - Find a Host that provides Shopping Carts
Many hosting packages are set up with shopping carts with a buyfeature. Do your homework. Check on the setup fees and the monthlyfees. Make sure it’s a reputable company so you aren’t worried aboutyour money transactions.
These are just some of the options that are available for setting upshop without going broke. I'm sure that there are many more optionsavailable - it just takes some net research.
About the Author
Sandra Cobb is a work at home site designer and homeschooling Mom.Visit her website for free resources athttp://www.designsbyabelle.com/, and sign up for her monthly ezine -Comets4Him at http://www.sandracobb.com/.
An Ecommerce Internet Merchant Account
Small business owners and home based entrepreneurs sometimes reach the point where they realize their company is ready to grow, and then they begin to consider the advantages of an ecommerce Internet merchant account. Those who accept merely cash or check payments may decide to increase the ways in which a customer can pay for goods or services. A merchant account will let business owners accept credit card payments in many different ways. That is why so many business people opt to apply for an Internet merchant account.
If you do not already have an Internet Website to promote your business, this would be a good time to put one in place by opening an Ecommerce Internet Merchant account. More and more, consumers are looking to the Internet to find companies that offer the products and terms they want. Conducting business on the Internet or through technological means is called "ecommerce," sometimes spelled as "e-commerce," and it is growing at a tremendously rapid rate. Once your Website is operational, you will want to update it often with your latest product lines and descriptions and price lists. Once customers from any other computer in the world know where to find you, chances are they will return time and again if they like your site; they might even bookmark it.
To keep customers coming back, get an Ecommerce Internet merchant account that will let you accept credit card payments. That way, customers can buy things at your store locations, whether online or at a physical site, and pay for them instantly. You won't have to send out statements or wait for checks to arrive in the mail. Instead, your credit-processing feature will let them pay with a credit card, and your underwriter can facilitate the payment by converting currency and deposit profits in your account, using real time.
An ecommerce Internet merchant account can put you leagues ahead of other companies in your industry. While they still take just check or cash payments, you can be busy processing credit card payments that could push your sales volume to new record heights. Naturally, you will want to keep your store looking attractive, and your Website should offer helpful information that will make guests want to return and possibly even bookmark your site for frequent reference. When the word gets out that you are accepting credit payments, more customers may browse your Website to check out your wares and plunk down a credit card in payment. One of the nice things about using credit is its convenience. Customers don't have to worry about carrying enough cash or making an account deposit before going shopping. They can browse spontaneously, and when they find something they want to buy, they need not be constrained by a lack of cash on hand or forgetting to order new checks for the checkbook.
Why not apply for your merchant account services account soon so that you can enjoy the status and benefits of attracting customers who prefer using credit when they hear about your ecommerce Internet merchant account.
About the author:
Shane Penrod is the founder of http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com/ Specializing in allowing merchants the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national merchant account providers. For free quotes on merchant account rates and fees, please go to http://www.merchant-account-quotes.com/
Ask Mr. D - ECommerce Sales
Dear Mr. D,
After spending about a year as anaffiliate for other companies, I havecome up with my own product.
My product is similar to one that Iwas selling as an affiliate. I madereal good money selling this productas an affiliate, but my product, whichI think is superior to that one, is notselling hardly at all.
My price is the same and I am gettinga lot of traffic, but as I said, very fewsales. Can you please take a look atmy website and see if I have a problemthere? Something is wrong.
Signed,
No Sales
____________________
Dear No Sales,
There is an old adage in sales, don't sell the steak - sell the sizzle.
Your site does a good job of describingyour product. That is what's meant byselling the steak. But, it falls short onselling the benefits a buyer will gainby using your product. That is called selling the sizzle.
People are not interested in your product or service per se, they are only interested in what the product or service will do forthem. How will they benefit from using your product or service.
You need to rewrite your sales copy tolet your visitors know how they will benefitfrom buying and using your product. Paintthem a verbal picture of how they will bebetter off once they have that product.
You said you had done well selling thistype of product as an affiliate. I suggestyou take a look at that website to seehow they do it. I'm not suggesting youcopy their site, but just get a few ideas.
I wish you the best.
Signed,
Mr. D
About the Author
Do you have an advertising or marketing question you'd like to see published in this column? Send it to mailto:MrD@epm.zzn.comYou can visit Mr. D's website at:http://www.freeadsgalore.com/
Blocking and Tackling A quick look at some eCommerce fundamentals
eCommerce can be VERY complex. To offer a world class customer experience, retailers must incorporate technologies and functionality that exceeds rising customer expectations.
eCommerce can be VERY complex. To offer a world class customer experience, retailers must incorporate technologies and functionality that exceeds rising customer expectations.
On the flip side however, site fundamentals still play a very large role in converting visitors into customers. Many retailers surprisingly lose sight of these site basics and leave significant sales on the table. This brief examines 4 quick “fundamentals” every eCommerce manager cannot afford to lose sight of.
Think Fast
Speed has become less of a problem due to the penetration of broadband, but don’t forget that a significant number of people still shop by a dialup connection. When creating a site framework, designers and e-commerce teams should ensure that the site is developed with pages loading in less than 9 seconds (over a dial-up connection).
Our recommended page size is within 60-70k in bytes. At that amount, sites will likely load within the maximum wait time of 9 seconds. Online retailers should avoid flash at all costs within their transactional site. Flash’s artistic aspects may help you establish a brand presence – but it will likely lose potential customers before they have even searched within your store.
Image is important
Images are a very important aspect of selling online and are often neglected. All product images should be of the highest resolution possible, be much larger than the product page original, and have multiple views. Dynamic imaging capabilities can improve the user experience to an even higher level by increasing interactivity (zoom & rotate). At a minimum – retailers should have at least two additional views outside of the product page image to help build emotion.
Be my guest
Shoppers do not like being forced to do anything, especially when they are ready to open their wallets. Forcing a shopper to register on your site before purchasing is a sure way to drive a portion of your traffic to your competitors. Too often, shoppers do not have the time or the inclination to fill out a lengthy form explaining what types of information they desire.
Always offer the ability to checkout as a guest. You will see less customer leakage within the checkout process and can still offer the option to register when the sale is completed.
Make sure it’s “above the fold”
Your homepage is the most important page within your eCommerce store. It sets the initial tone for the shopping experience and offers your best promotions and products to your visitors. Users typically visually scan a web page from top to bottom and then from left to right. All critical content and navigation options should be obvious to the shopper without having to scroll down. If you have your best promotions “below the fold” – you can bet that a large percentage of browsers are not scrolling down to see it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Learn more about us Visit http://www.trinityinsight.com/
Blogs, Podcasting, and RSS - How will these technologies affect eCommerce
At this moment in time, Blogs, Podcasting, and RSS are not going to fundamentally change any aspect of your online business, but rather, offer your company new ways to speak to your customer segments..
Blogs, Podcasting, and RSS Overview
You probably have heard all these terms an awful lot lately. You wonder about what these technologies do? What value to they provide? If you aren't up to speed on these new applications and how they are impacting online interactions then read this brief further.
Will these technologies impact you? To be honest, it's too early to tell - but awareness will drive innovation and maybe your team will develop an idea/application that utilizes these technologies to enhance a portion of your eCommerce business.
Here's the rundown:
Blogs
What they are:
Probably the most well known of the three, blogs allow everyday people to quickly develop a website presence and distribute any type of content that they desire. Look at the metrics relating to blog penetration.
7% of the 120 million U.S. adults who use the internet say they have created a blog or web-based diary. That represents more than 8 million people. 27% of internet users say they read blogs. Only 38% of all internet users know what a blog is. The rest are not sure what the term “blog” means. What a “blog” actually means is weblog. In basic terminology, it’s the ability for someone to update web content directly though the Internet, using a web browser as the publishing mechanism. This makes the creation of content easy and many people are using blogs to establish authority sites within unique business and hobby/interest niches.
Where blogs impact online retail most is within these targeted online communities. Certain blog authors develop a large base of specific visitors, hence the site becomes a potential target market for viral marketing efforts. Many web entrepreneurs us this functionality to develop affiliate hubs within niche markets, and use search popularity to beat out larger retailers within corresponding natural search results.
By integrating your brand image within the site experience at that SPECIFIC blog, you as an online marketer are able to segment your marketing PRIOR to converting someone as a customer. It is a place to communicate with current and potential customers about current offerings/promos while boosting the credibility of the brand.
Should you care:
If you have a very unique value proposition, or sell to a very specific or high-value customer segment, blogs can be a great way to increase overall brand awareness. You can better connect with your customers and provide detail into the current happening within the business (ex. Current sales on XBOX 360). Potentially, one person within your organization should own the monitoring of blogs within your vertical and look to post new content to meet the needs within the unique blog community.
Podcasting
What it is:
Pocasting should be just called mobile video broadcasting. However, Apple's marketing/development team did a great job with branding their device to a type of emerging media – hence the term podcasting! Similar to traditional radio and television, mobile video broadcasting delivers branded content in either a paid/free environment, on someone's mobile media player (Apple only does video currently, but that will change shortly). Retailers can potentially use this communication channel to deliver targeted content to their customer base, while integrating advertising within the video content.
Should you care:
Not really. Until video podcasting penetration increases, it's still a limited channel for advertising. The best application available right now would be an online audio content segment that is digitally delivered to an opt-in list. As technology advances, you can potentially do this from your current opt-in page on your website and not from Apple's iTunes platform.
RSS
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is a method for electronic content distribution. RSS is transmitted via the internet, but what makes it unique is that no downloading efforts are needed by the end receiver of the content. The content streams instateneously within a webpage.
Advanced consumers have RSS news readers on their computers, either integrated into an email client, or utilize an aggregated web application such as News Gator. This essentially saves them time in aggregating all new and updated content that meets their interests.
Already gaining steam in the travel industry and within comparison shopping engines, RSS seems to be a valuable way to push news and time sensitive offers to customers. Travel companies are able to provide a streaming supply of last minute airfare offers to their customer segments, without that customer having to open an email or visit a webpage.
Should you care:
It completely depends on the nature of your business. Do you consistently offer new prices? Do you obtain new products to your assortment consistently? Do you have a customer base that is extremely loyal that you want to reach out to with messaging? If so, RSS may another channel to help build your brand.
Call us today to learn more about these technologies and the potential impact they can have in reaching your customers with targeted messaging and fresh content.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Learn more about us Visit http://www.trinityinsight.com/
Building Ecommerce Web Sites: Where Do I Start?
Building a web site isn't something that is really cut and dry. There's a huge variety of products and services that can either help you get your web site where you want it or simply confuse you. It's also important that you make the right choices upfront so that you don't end up having to restructure your whole web site because of some problem in your design layout. The level of time investment neccessary for mastery in a lot of these software packages can range from little to a VERY significant amount. Because of this I feel it's important to be lead in the "right" direction to make sure you don't spend time in the wrong areas, or learning some software that might not be all that useful for you later on (*coughs* Frontpage *coughs*).Where you should start greatly depends on what you plan on attempting to do, and how deep you're going to dive in. For a moderately professional, clean looking web site without a lot of automation or intensive animated graphics you can probably get by with some basic knowledge of html, ability with a good WYSIWYG editor, and an image editting program. On the other hand, if you're someone that's looking to build something that will really wow your audience then you might consider spending some major time and developing some animation skills with a program like Macromedia Flash. I personally always spring for what I believe will bring me the greatest amount of profit with a minimal amount of effort, and because of this I usually end up spending all of my time diving in deeper with ONLY my WYSIWYG HTML editor, and my image editor.
What is a "WYSIWYG" editor?
A WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor is what allows you to get by with minimal knowledge of HTML. Yes, that means you don't have to know EVERYTHING about HTML to have a decent looking website. When you use a WYSIWYG editor it interprets what you're doing (inserting an image for example) as being a certain series of HTML tags with attributes, and does it for you... Thus, what you see on your screen is what you get. Instead of seeing a bunch of HTML code in text format, you'll mostly see what will actually show up in your browser once your web site is up WHILE you're making it. I highly recommend using the latest version of dreamweaver -- it is well-known as one of the best HTML editors by general consensus. Dreamweaver's interface is very friendly, has a built in FTP client, and is specifically built to be flexible enough to suit both the coder and the everyday amatuer webmaster.
Image editing? What do I need that for?
Okay, let's be realistic here: If you're going to make a professional *appearing* web site it's important that you can make some basic, decent looking graphics. There's a lot of graphics problems that can truly get the job done, but as far as power and flexibility goes I recommend Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop definitely takes some time getting used to, but in the end it's VERY rewarding. I've ended up using my knowledge of Photoshop to make not only graphics for multiple web sites, but also touched up portraits, made business cards, flyers, and other online advertisments such as banners. Infact, I've used it for everything except animation... But it also comes with Adobe Imageready which is very good with animation. This software is amazing, and if you're going to learn ANY image editing software I recommend you start with Photoshop because of it's widerange of overall... usefulness!Let's get me some sales!
Kick off your new web site you've gotten up from your knowledge of webmastering and image editing with a few new sales... Sounds like a plan? Well a great way to do that quickly is with pay-per-click advertising. BUT WAIT! Doesn't that cost money? Well... Yes. But with the tools brought to us by some of the biggest pay-per-click advertisers out there we should be able to make a good evaluation of how much profit we're going to make without much investment upfront.
The big question behind pay-per-click advertising is whether or not it's worth the cash when you can simply get traffic from regular search engine ranking (otherwise known as organic traffic). Afterall, there are plenty of companies out there that promise to help get you all the traffic you need through optimizing your web site for organic ranking. The answer to this question is quite simple: profit is profit. Through conversion tracking tools such as those offered by Yahoo! Search Marketing and Google Adwords anyone can calculate exactly what their profit is after cost of PPC advertising is taken out. In my opinion, Google Adwords has the most user-friendly interface among the PPC advertisers. Google Adword's interface makes it very easy to see which keywords are pulling you in the most sales, and which ones aren't even worth your advertising money.
Let us not forget, however, that in order to make those conversions we're going to be needing a shopping cart! There's a lot of diverse software packages out there you can use, but I've been using Mal's E-Commerce Free shopping cart for a number of years with great success. The cart's server is hosted on their machines so that means you not only get away with not having to pay for the software itself, but you get out of having to buy an SSL security ticket too! Nothing's a better bargain than free, eh?
Getting those sales leads you've been building up to BUY!
Once you've scored a few sales it would probably be a good idea to start using some kind of lead management services. I highly recommend the use of autoresponders for this purpose. Autoresponders are, essentially, a newsletter sign-up that allows you to strategically determine what you want to send each lead after a certain alotted amount of time. For example, let's say someone visits your web site and you offer them a free newsletter. If you were selling an ebook on some very complicated topic, you might consider sending them only information on the most basic concepts at first to get them interested. Slowly but surely, you can turn those visitors that might have left your web site and never have returned into some serious revenue!
As far as autoresponders go, I highly recommend the use of Aweber. Their customer service is superb (seriously, these guys really know their stuff!) and can be contacted at any point during the business day via online chat or phone. They also offer tons of free information, and guides on making the most of their services. Check out their month long free trial at http://www.getaweber.com/.About the Author
Jacob Richards, the author of this article, currently runs a website on the topic of building an ecommerce web site (visit at http://ecommweb.blogspot.com/ ).
Building eCommerce Websites That Work - Part 1
Copyright 2005 Richard Keir
You want to succeed at eCommerce? Welcome to a very big family. Right off, let’s be clear - there are lots of ways to do business on the internet. And lots of ways to both make and lose money. Successful eCommerce websites come in all shapes, kinds and colors and while I can't cover every type of site in this series, I will present the basics you need to consider and apply for an eCommerce web site to be successful.
Let's begin by assuming you have some of the fundamentals, that you understand the language and that you are serious. I’m not going to tell you how to set up a web site or get a decent hosting account. We’re beyond those basics. The basics here are the factors which will influence the success (or failure) and the degree of success your eCommerce web site experiences.
First and foremost, you need to provide value for your customers. Absurd as it seems to have to repeat that, a lot of so-called eCommerce sites provide no or very little value for their visitors. Pretending to offer value is not the same thing as providing value. Promoting miserably written, hackneyed, cloned ebooks filled with questionably useful and/or outdated content doesn’t make a high value web site. Sure you might make some money. Once. And you’ll end up with a high refund rate - and an unhappy credit card processor. That path means you're taking advantage of inexperienced customers and abusing their willingness to trust you. This isn't the way to a long-term business with steady repeat customers.
Value on the net is not very different from any kind of off-line retail sales -- a quality product line that will attract potential customers and a competitive price that will lead to purchases. An honest, quality product that will meet the expectations you’ve created in your buyers. Hyped junk just doesn't cut it.
Next, you’ve got to have a smooth, user-friendly, easy to follow process all the way to your thank you page. The simpler, cleaner and clearer you can make the process, the better. Where it makes sense you can augment this user-responsive site profile by adding live-response chat.
If you do decide to use call-in or live chat, it’s imperative that your operators be well-trained, understand your products and your system and be customer friendly. This can be a problem if you outsource. The less expensive out-source call centers can turn out to be very expensive in terms of lost sales and customers who never come back.
You’ll need to check very carefully and be 100 per cent certain the operators actually speak and understand the primary language(s) of your targeted customer group. You’ll need to provide extensive background information and highly flexible, well-written scripts.
You should collect your own customer evaluations - separately. Don't rely exclusively on any monitoring or customer satisfaction surveys provided by the call center. Track your ROI to be sure it's money well-spent. Don't stop monitoring just because the results looked good for the first two or three months. Things change. Make sure you're tracking desired actions linked to the call center separately from those NOT related to call-in or live chat. Mixing outcomes leaves you in the dark about what's really happening.
You probably should have an attractive website. An ugly site can work, but to do that you need to absolutely know exactly what you're doing and why it should work. And you'll have to test like crazy to optimize (of course, you should be doing that anyway). The ugly site tactic is not for the inexperienced. Very few individuals really have the grasp of marketing, market and customer psychology that makes for a successful "ugly" site.
To provide a pleasant experience, you need to be careful in what you use - colors, text-size, graphics, animation and white space can add value to your site or turn it into a user nightmare. Test your site with people who will tell you the truth. Just because you love it doesn't mean anyone else will. In general, aiming for a professional appearing site is your best option. Look for the highest ranked, busiest sites in your business area and study the layouts they use. Extract the common features that you see on those sites. While other factors heavily influence traffic and ranking, appearance has a strong effect on visitors and sites that do testing evolve toward optimizing visitor behavior.
Keep in mind that a site's desired actions affect the design and layout. You'll want to study sites where those actions are most similar to the desired actions you target on your web site. If your goal is direct product sales, there's not much point in emulating a site that's optimized for newsletter sign-ups or AdSense.
If your main goal is direct sales (and if it is, then you need backend products too), provide incentives for customers to buy AND to return. The return factor is critical to a long-term strategy for success. Anyone who buys is your best possible future customer. Keep them, track them, make them special offers. Use coupons, discounts, special deals, customer-only offers and back end sales. Your customer base is your gold mine. Since they've shown enough faith in you to buy, do your utmost to never damage that faith. Treat them like the priceless resource they are. Think long-term: successful eCommerce websites are all about value and customer service.
About the Author
Richard teaches, trains and consults, on and off-line, on business and professional presentations, eCommerce, site building and programming. And writes a lot. Visit http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/ for articles, information, resources and links and check our blog at http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites/blog for opinion and ideas.
Building eCommerce Websites that Work - Part 2
Copyright 2005 Richard Keir
Succeeding with an eCommerce website is a dream for many these days. It may seem nearly impossible at times, but it can be done. This series covers some of the basic success factors - things you must consider in creating, implementing, managing and developing a quality eCommerce web site. There are many ways to do business on the internet - and, not surprisingly, a lot of ways to both make and lose money. Mainly, I'm focusing on eCommerce sites intended to sell products of various kinds. Not every factor is going to apply to every site, but since a major failing of many internet entrepreneurs is the lack of multiple income streams, you'd do well to carefully consider all factors and apply them as needed in developing alternate revenue streams.
On examining your eCommerce web site, put some serious thought into how you can provide personal attention to each visitor. The idea here is a process of personalization through which each visitor, if they wish, can develop a unique experience of your site.
Provide options through which the user can alter layout, colors, etc. Give customers the capability to create their own personal pages on your site. Perhaps offer a simple and easy to provide service to registered customers, such as free email accounts.
As well as building loyalty and stickiness, such features also build your customer database. Scripts are also available which will allow on-the-spot personalization based on responses to a series of questions. You can also use this kind of script to focus your sales message more tightly to the user's expressed interests. This technique has been reported to substantially increase conversion rates.
Free services which can be provided on autopilot can be a virtually endless source of targeted customers. Everything from free email to blog hosting, opt-in list building to free advertising forums, all operate on the same principle as building a list through a newszine, white papers, free ebooks or whatever. In return for registration, e.g. name and confirmed email, you provide a service that your visitors desire. The exchange of value is critical. The more valuable the service that you offer, the more willing people are to provide their information. Careful structuring can allow you to collect significant marketing information on your registered users which would allow well-targeted marketing campaigns.
Never lose track of a customer. Maintaining a database of customers with any of their prior purchases, interests, and so on, allows you to provide personalized purchase suggestions and special offers. The life-long value of a happy customer may be difficult to estimate accurately, but it's far easier to sell to existing customers than to be continuously forced to acquire new ones.
Even if you only have a single product now, you will eventually have expand your product line(s). Don't throw a buyer away. Stay in touch, offer information, occasionally recommend a high quality product you use and value. Build trust through value and quality. It's nearly impossible to over-emphasize this point. Look to the long term and plan ahead. Every serious marketer needs to do this.
To further expand the human dimension, you can add forums and chat rooms. Provide a variety of means to acquire visitor input. On site surveys and questionnaires, email surveys and opinion polls can not only increase your customers' sense of being in contact with real people who value their opinions and ideas, but also provide exceptionally useful information for refining your marketing and sales tactics. Loyalty programs and affinity networks can also help.
This is a lot like beating a real dead horse, but... Reliability and security are crucial. If your eCommerce site is big enough and busy enough, multiple parallel servers, redundant hardware, use of fail-safe technology, fast technical support service, high quality encryption, valid certificates, high quality payment processors and excellent firewalls will all allow you to ensure your customers that their data is safe, their orders are handled properly and nobody's getting their credit information that shouldn't. Many people still are extremely hesitant to purchase on-line because of fears of identity and/or credit card theft. You can't ignore this issue and hope to succeed.
Right now you may not need (or want to pay for) parallel servers, redundant hardware and fail-over technology, but don't ignore the rest. You depend on your eCommerce hosting provider to keep your business running. So think carefully and do some serious research. Overloaded servers, lack of redundant network connections, slow technical support, poor backup procedures can create a nightmare situation for both you and your customers
As a final consideration for this part, smooth out your customer contact and support procedures. If multiple staff might come into contact with your customers (chat, phone or email) , providing all of them with the same (and useful) information about the customer, prior orders, any previous or current problems and so forth, can avoid a lot of potential frustration - and lost orders or, worse, a customer lost forever.
It can be incredibly irritating to have to tell the same story over and over, getting bounced from one person to another when no information ever seems to have been recorded. While it may cut down on repeat complaints, that's usually because the customer is gone forever. Construct your systems so that no information is lost and so that the data needed to be responsive and helpful is instantly available. In doing this consider that some information which customers may not feel comfortable about everyone knowing should be restricted to those who would actually need it.
Doing these things right can add significant credibility and usability to your online business, as well as build a loyal customer base which actually enjoys dealing with your eCommerce business. When you reach that stage, you're there - the true win-win situation that's makes an outstanding eCommerce web site.
About the Author
Richard teaches, trains and consults, on and off-line, on business and professional presentations, eCommerce, site building and programming. And writes a lot. Visit http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/ for articles, information, resources and links and check our blog at http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites/blog for opinion and ideas.
Building eCommerce Websites that work - Part 3
Copyright 2005 Richard Keir
An interesting eCommerce success factor that isn't precisely overlooked, but which is often thought about more in terms of being a way of feeding the search engine spiders has to do with providing content. In a very real sense the customer's job is to consume. That's why you're in business.
Think in terms of providing the information your customers need to do their job of consuming. What does that mean? Consider what you sell. The content on your site needs to focus on your products - whatever they happen to be. Reviews and comparative information on the items available through your web site can help focus and direct your customer to what they need, want and can afford.
Too often eCommerce sites use only marginally relevant information as content - or content that may match the general theme of the site but has nothing to do with what's being sold, promoted, etc. That could be more or less adequate as spider food, but it isn't going to help your customers do their job of consuming your products.
The better you combine these two goals - informing your customers and feeding the spiders - the better you'll do at both. Irrelevant search listings are pretty much a waste of your bandwidth. What you want is highly targeted customers interested in what you're offering and since the search engines love focused content and integrated sites, make that work for you.
And I'm not suggesting blatant repetitive hyped up sales copy. You want to inform, compare, offer added information that will help focus your customers. Use your content to develop desire and provide comparative information on similar products at varying price levels. Remember: desire not need.
While we all need things - and while you may be convinced everyone absolutely needs your product - we mostly buy based on desire - because we want it. The better you do at turning that need into immediate desire, the better your site will perform.
Again, not a fevered sales pitch. That's likely to turn off a large number of customers. Examples, stories and carefully chosen (and real) testimonials can support the process, too. Using video and/or audio can have a dramatic impact. Let your customers draw the obvious conclusions.
Along with providing plenty of comparison and review data, good search facilities are essential for a large eCommerce site. This also means that if you use a searchable product database that your keys and descriptions must be well-chosen and the links from search results to pages work smoothly and easily.
While we've talked earlier in this series about the importance of providing various ways to enhance the social aspect of your site, it's also important that customers be capable of using it without assistance. Never over complicate your site or your processes to the point that it's no longer obvious what to do to buy something (or complete whatever desired action you are focusing on).
A typical customer should be able to go from front page to product page to order page to thank you page easily and without hesitation or confusion. The simpler and cleaner the process, the better for you.
If you can manage it, test with 4 or 5 basically internet illiterate people. Watch carefully what they do, where they hesitate, what seems to cause confusion - but don't talk or help during the process. Then go over everything with them in detail working with your observations and their thoughts and feelings. Your site may be obvious to you, but is it obvious to anyone else?
And when you think you've covered anything, a few pairs of new eyes (or checking out your competitors' sites) can give you a whole new to-do list.
Your eCommerce site is an intentional business creation. Every aspect should be organized around what you want the site to do, what kind of visitors you want and what you want them to do. Everything on your site should be there for a specific reason that contributes to your goals for the site. And everything should be tested to be certain that it actually does contribute.
It's your site and your business so never take anything for granted, never assume something works if it can be tested. And never stop testing. With careful attention to detail and on-going testing you'll be able to make incremental improvements over time that will vastly improve the productivity of your eCommerce web site.
About the Author
Richard writes, teaches and consults on business presentations, eCommerce, site building and programming. Visit http://www.building-ecommerce-websites/ for eCommerce resources and links and check http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites/blog for opinion and ideas.
Canada and eCommerce
Canadian eCommerce growth was recently flat but still has an attractive upside...
Recent studies found that Canadian retail e-commerce growth was flat year over year (2003-2004). After further examination however, approximately 60% of the 100 largest non-travel sites succeeded in growing their sales over 20%.
Also interesting is the trending of Canadians from buying at non-Canadian sites to domestic sites (63% domestic, 37% foreign). This "domestic shift" clearly benefits the launching of a new eCommerce business in Canada.
The sales opportunity lies with the "early adopters", individuals primarily the 18-34 year old age range. This segment is more technologically savvy and more likely to purchase online. In a 2003 to 2004 sampling comparison, this segment's overall e-commerce spending increased 44%. The 35 to 54 age group increased only 5% and 55+ increased 18% (includes online travel).
Overall Internet Adoption rates still trail the U.S. and come in at approximately 52%. However, with the development of new Internet infrastructures and the maturation of Canadian ISP's, this number will likely rise in the next 3-5 years. The following quote from the Canadian government re-enforces this theme.
"To reach our new national goal (relating to e-commerce) Canadians will need to develop strategies that build an intelligent infrastructure to serve as the backbone of the e-economy- by encouraging investment, strengthening research, enhancing commercialization and ensuring that all Canadians have access to this infrastructure and know how to use it." (September, 2004)
Shifting demographics & lack of online competition equal a substantial opportunity...
Forrester Research reports that 48% of Canadian web shoppers are now female compared to 39% in 2003. 74% of web buyers are married and likely are home shoppers, compared to 68% in 2003.
With the gender gap closing, online home retailers have a great opportunity to target their core customer segment: the 30-40yr old female who owns or maintains a residence.
Within this sector, it is rare for U.S. based retailers to have online Canadian stores. Many brands will ship to Canada, for very high costs (customs duty & shipping) but this likely leads to an unpleasant experience for the Canadian consumer. These high costs, compiled with a lack of domestic Canadian retailers providing an e-commerce offering, are driving the stagnant growth of the online sales channel.
By being a "first-mover" in establishing a presence in the online marketplace within Canada, online retailers will facilitate sales from consumers that want to get products shipped from their native homeland after being paid for in Canadian currency.
Similar to the U.S., consumers are exhibiting multi-channel tendencies and embracing the emergence of broadband connectivity...
Canada is the only country in the world in which broadband overtook dial-up access in 2003. Currently 48% of all Canadian consumers have broadband access and they are 67% more likely to have high speed web-access than American consumers.
This impressive penetration may prove to be a strong driver for online circulars and new online merchandising tactics, as product differentiation are established outside of price.
Canadian shoppers are also parallel to U.S. consumers in their multi-channel behavior. 58% of Canadian shoppers have researched a product online and purchased offline, spending an average of $440. An online Canadian strategy must focus on integrating the online and physical store with store locator functionality and other tools to promote cross-channel behavior.
In conclusion, multi-national retailers should closely examine the Canadian eCommerce opportunity. Attractive consumer demographics, an established broadband infrastructure, and a shift in overall shopping tendencies make the Canada a high-growth and un-saturated area for multi-channel retail.
Canada's eCommerce Opportunity
This brief takes an updated view of the Canadian e-commerce landscape and provides insight for online retailers to help craft future Canadian customer strategies.
Canadian eCommerce growth was recently flat but still has an attractive upside…
Recent studies found that Canadian retail e-commerce growth was flat year over year (2003-2004). After further examination however, approximately 60% of the 100 largest non-travel sites succeeded in growing their sales over 20%.
Also interesting is the trending of Canadians from buying at non-Canadian sites to domestic sites (63% domestic, 37% foreign). This “domestic shift” clearly benefits the launching of a new eCommerce business in Canada.
The sales opportunity lies with the “early adopters”, individuals primarily the 18-34 year old age range. This segment is more technologically savvy and more likely to purchase online. In a 2003 to 2004 sampling comparison, this segment’s overall e-commerce spending increased 44%. The 35 to 54 age group increased only 5% and 55+ increased 18% (includes online travel).
Overall Internet Adoption rates still trail the U.S. and come in at approximately 52%. However, with the development of new Internet infrastructures and the maturation of Canadian ISP’s, this number will likely rise in the next 3-5 years. The following quote from the Canadian government re-enforces this theme.
“To reach our new national goal (relating to e-commerce) Canadians will need to develop strategies that build an intelligent infrastructure to serve as the backbone of the e-economy- by encouraging investment, strengthening research, enhancing commercialization and ensuring that all Canadians have access to this infrastructure and know how to use it.” (September, 2004)
Shifting demographics & lack of online competition equal a substantial opportunity…
Forrester Research reports that 48% of Canadian web shoppers are now female compared to 39% in 2003. 74% of web buyers are married and likely are home shoppers, compared to 68% in 2003.
With the gender gap closing, online home retailers have a great opportunity to target their core customer segment: the 30-40yr old female who owns or maintains a residence.
Within this sector, it is rare for U.S. based retailers to have online Canadian stores. Many brands will ship to Canada, for very high costs (customs duty & shipping) but this likely leads to an unpleasant experience for the Canadian consumer. These high costs, compiled with a lack of domestic Canadian retailers providing an e-commerce offering, are driving the stagnant growth of the online sales channel.
By being a “first-mover” in establishing a presence in the online marketplace within Canada, online retailers will facilitate sales from consumers that want to get products shipped from their native homeland after being paid for in Canadian currency.
Similar to the U.S., consumers are exhibiting multi-channel tendencies and embracing the emergence of broadband connectivity…
Canada is the only country in the world in which broadband overtook dial-up access in 2003. Currently 48% of all Canadian consumers have broadband access and they are 67% more likely to have high speed web-access than American consumers.
This impressive penetration may prove to be a strong driver for online circulars and new online merchandising tactics, as product differentiation are established outside of price.
Canadian shoppers are also parallel to U.S. consumers in their multi-channel behavior. 58% of Canadian shoppers have researched a product online and purchased offline, spending an average of $440. An online Canadian strategy must focus on integrating the online and physical store with store locator functionality and other tools to promote cross-channel behavior.
In conclusion, multi-national retailers should closely examine the Canadian eCommerce opportunity. Attractive consumer demographics, an established broadband infrastructure, and a shift in overall shopping tendencies make the Canada a high-growth and un-saturated area for multi-channel retail.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Craig Smith is the Founder of Trinity Insight LLC, a consulting firm that focuses on improving online sales for retailers through research, testing, and analysis.
Choosing an Ecommerce Shopping Cart
Choosing an online shopping cart is a big decision. Unlike a traditional brick and mortar business, your website is your only chance to impress potential customers. It needs to project a professional image to capture the trust of your visitors. The shopping cart is a particularly important part of your website because it deals with people’s personal information and credit card numbers. People are nervous about online purchases and need to be assured that they are giving their credit card numbers to a reputable company.
There are several types of ecommerce shopping carts available. They range from merchant services, which require no programming skills, to fully integrated shopping carts that require custom programming. The three main categories of shopping carts are:
Merchant services such as eBay and 2Checkout
Hosted shopping cart services
Fully integrated shopping carts
Merchant Services
Most shopping carts require you to have your own merchant account and gateway. A merchant account is a bank account that allows a business to conduct credit card transactions and the gateway allows the transaction to be conducted over a secure connection. It’s okay if you don’t have a merchant account or gateway. Merchant service shopping carts allow you to use their merchant account, gateway and shopping cart for a higher cost.
Merchant services are beneficial for very small businesses or those that are just starting and don’t have a lot of orders. Merchant services provide the merchant account, gateway, hosted shopping cart and will maintain your customer’s personal information. They usually require a set-up fee between 50 and 200 dollars, transaction fee between 30 and 75 cents, and 5% to 10% of each transaction. Because you are using their merchant account, your customer’s credit card statement will show the merchant services business name not yours. In some cases, customers will not recognize the charge and may dispute it.
Merchant service shopping carts have an administrative interface, which allows you to login to your account to add products, prices and shipping options. The shopping cart generates the html for the purchase buttons and you simply copy and paste the html into your web pages. When your customer clicks on the purchase button, he is taken to another website to enter the credit card information. This indicates to the customer that you are a small business. Some potential customers will abandon the shopping cart rather than enter their credit card information on a website they know nothing about.
Once your business grows to the point where you are processing over $1000 a month, it’s more cost effective to apply for your own merchant account and switch to either a hosted shopping cart (little or no programming) or a fully integrated shopping cart (programming required).
Hosted Shopping Cart
The hosted shopping cart is a great solution for a small business that is processing over $1000 a month but does not have the resources to create or customize a fully integrated shopping cart. Hosted shopping carts are similar to the merchant services because they provide an administrative interface for you to enter products, pricing and shipping options. They will generate the html for the purchase buttons, which can be copied and pasted into your html pages.
Hosted shopping carts face some of same problems as merchant service carts because your customers will be transferred to a different website to enter the credit card information. Some hosted shopping carts allow you to customize the shopping cart so that it has the same look and feel as your websites. Customizing your shopping cart may require some programming skills, but it could also prevent customers from abandoning their shopping carts.
The main difference between the merchant services shopping cart and the hosted shopping cart is the name that appears on the customer’s credit card and pricing. Hosted shopping carts allow you to use your own merchant account and gateway, which means the customer’s credit card statement will show your business name next to the charge. This can decrease your charge backs.
If you are using your own merchant account and conducting over $1000 of transitions each month, the hosted shopping carts can be less expensive than merchant services. Your merchant account will probably charge a monthly fee between 20 and 60 dollars, transaction fee between 10 and 50 cents, and a percentage of the transaction, usually ranging between 2% to 3.5%. In addition to the merchant fees, your shopping cart service will also charge a monthly fee between 10 and 30 dollars and could charge a transaction fee. These fees sound more expensive than the merchant service option, but if you are processing over $1000 a month and growing, it’s better to pay flat monthly fees than continue to be charged 5 to 10 percent of the each transaction.
Fully Integrated Shopping Carts
The fully integrated shopping cart is a great option for any business that can afford it. The shopping cart will be dynamic and will have the same look and feel as your website. The ZIP Baby Potty Training Store is a great example of a fully integrated shopping cart. Fully integrated shopping carts like this contain features that are not found in merchant service or hosted shopping carts. For example, you can discount items, display customer reviews, assign products to multiple categories, display out of stock notifications, sort products and prices, and display shipping estimates without requiring the customer to create an account.
Integrated shopping carts require advanced programming skills and can often be used with your own merchant account or with a service that allows you to use their merchant account for a higher fee. There are many integrated shopping carts available. Free carts require the most programming skills, but if you don’t have the programming skills necessary to customize a free shopping cart, there are many companies that specialize in customizing fully integrated shopping carts.
Your choice of a shopping cart can have a dramatic impact on your business. Your website is the first and only impression you get to make so you’ll want to make it as professional as possible. While shopping for a shopping cart system, put yourself in your target customer’s shoes and browse the Internet. Review your competitor’s websites as well as those outside your industry. Make a list of shopping carts that you find appealing and research them thoroughly before choosing one.
Comparing Ecommerce Software Programs - 5 Tips
If you've ever been interested in selling products online, this is certainly a great time to go into business. With more and more online users everyday, and people becoming more comfortable spending and making purchases over the internet, there is a lot of opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to tap into this market.Once you've selected your market and the types of products you wish to sell, you'll need to choose an ecommerce software program that suits your needs though. Here are a few tips to help the process along.
What type of product are you selling? If you are going to taking orders for physical products that you package and ship to your customers, the ecommerce software you need will be very different than if you are selling digital products that are delivered directly over the internet. Make certain the software allows you to offer pictures, descriptions, and choices of sizes, colors, etc… if that is what you need.
Compatibility - Be certain your server or webhost's server is compatible with the ecommerce program you choose. Most online store's will want to have a secure connection, so make sure your webhost provides this option too.
Payment Processor - Make certain the ecommerce software you choose can integrate with your current payment processor or the one you are planning to use. Most of the better programs allow integration with all of the popular merchant account gateways so you an quickly and easily accept and process payments via credit cards.Support - Although there are several open source ecommerce programs that work very well for small to medium size online shops, keep in mind that paid versions will usually offer full technical support. This is an important consideration if you are serious about starting and growing your online business.
Search Engine Friendly - Many newer ecommerce software programs are search engine friendly. That means they create addresses and ecommerce websites that search engines like google and yahoo can easily 'read' to see what's in your store. This will increase your chances of your store getting listed in the search engines, possibly providing you with free traffic and more potential customers.
We hope these tips will help make your choice of ecommerce software and bit easier.
Good luck with your new online venture!About the Author
Angie Noack is a business strategist with a sharp edge for technology. With her unique ability to combine these two skills, she's able to help businesses save time and increase profits. You can find her online at http://www.softwaresoftwaresoft.com/
Cost Effective Ecommerce Solutions.
Ecommerce use to be about spending thousands of dollars on setting up your shop and hundreds of dollars on getting a merchant. My, how things have changed over the years. Now anyone with a few hundred of dollars in their pocket(or less if you have the time to learn it yourself) can have a great working ecommerce system up and running in the matter of days. This also includes the full ability to accept payments from Credit Cards, manage customers, create invoices and more.
The most cost effective ecommerce solution on the market today is Oscommerce.com . Why is it so cost effective, well because it is free. All you need to do is learn it yourself or get someone who works in the web world(a web designer or programmer) to set it up for you. This can run you anywhere’s from $500-$900, give or take a bit depending on the features you want and if you want it integrated into a custom built design. In a all in one solution you can set up products to sell, have a visitor sign up and pay via the osc(oscommerce) payment section, create an invoice for that client as well as deliver the product(if it can be transferred via email) or create a packing slip to be mailed out. These are just some of the features located in oscommerce.
Another great feature about oscommerce is that you can integrate it to fit right into your site design. If you view my site at http://www.logo2d.com/ and click one of the links at the top(such as logo templates) you can see that it fits snugly into the design. You can customize any part of oscommerce including the buttons for the shopping cart. It is a really great program to use.
One of the hassle before with ecommerce was getting something that would process payment. Payment was a big issue as before it was very costly to get a merchant account, which usually cost around $400USD. Also you had to pay a % of every sale you made, which can really add up.
Today there are two great forms of payment that can be added to ecommerce as your payment modules, they are Paypal.com and 2Checkout.com . These two options are a great way to go. Paypal.com is free to sign up, has over 78 Million accounts, only charges a small % of each sale/payment, can be funded by your credit card or bank account if you want to purchase something online and any sales you get you can take straight down into your bank account. Though the user does have to have a paypal account to pay you, but with 78 Million Accounts, you can see that is no problem.
2Checkout.com doesn't offer as many features in the way as you being able to purchase products offline, but it is great if someone is purchasing products off of you. It allows you to take payments via credit card and the customer doesn't even have to have a 2checkout.com account. It only takes a small % off when you take money down into your account. The only down side to 2checkout.com is that there is a one time fee of $49 to purchase a membership and they only send payment out twice a month(the middle of the month and the end of the month). So really not much of a downside at all.
So combine these three options and you can have a fully functional ecommerce website up for only a few hundreds of dollar!
About the Author
Anthony Jewell has over 6 Years experience in the Web & Graphics World. You can visit my business at http://www.logo2d.com/
©Copyright 2005 Logo2D.com : Feel free to use this article freely but please keep in the copyright
Developing a Winning Ecommerce Marketing Strategy
One bright spot on the economic horizons around the world seems to be continued consumer spending and ecommerce is clearly a part of this, with sales estimated to be in excess of $9.9 Billion in the next three months according to ACNielsen. But, there is a dark cloud hovering over this landscape called poor ecommerce web site design. Let’s explore some of the reasons why consumers are not reaching for their credit cards after perusing an ecommerce web site.
There is a huge knowledge gap about how the web is really driving online and offline commerce. A recent eCommercePulse survey of more than 33,000 surfers conducted by Nielsen/Net ratings and Harris Interactive indicates ecommerce sites are driving more purchases offline (phone, catalogue, retail store sales) than online. Consumers are using the web to effortlessly compare features and pricing – then, calling the company or visiting their local retail store to make a purchase. Clearly many companies need to factor this information in when they analyze their online and offline marketing expenditures and related ROI.
Unfortunately many firms have allocated a disproportionate amount of resources for advertising and not enough on good web site design and back end infrastructure. It’s critical to make the market aware of a site, but if the potential customers are not presented with the right navigation and menus (read information architecture) they will not buy. Case in point, according to recent Dataquest surveys (and others) between 20-40% of most users don’t purchase because they can’t figure out how to easily move around the web site.
Many companies fail to properly integrate their ecommerce components with the overall site design. The in-house developers or outside design firm concentrate on the sexy parts of the web site design process (the graphics, branding, look and feel) and only focus on the ecommerce process after the primary web site design is completed – making ecommerce an afterthought.
Many ecommerce web sites don’t even list a phone number, arbitrarily forcing people to contact the company electronically – this is a real problem, as many people don’t want to use e-mail or forms as their primary means of communicating, they want the immediacy of the telephone.
It's surprising, but approx 30% of ecommerce sites don’t have a search capability that actually works – in many cases it just returns gobblygook. This is a real irritant for many online shoppers who want to find goods and services quickly and efficiently – the need for speed should be the ecommerce merchants marketing mantra and a good search capability gives users a way to quickly find products.
One of the most important parts of any web site is the home or index page, as it aggregates the design elements and information architecture. So many index page are cluttered and poorly designed, loaded with poor graphics, bad menu structures, oddball words or my absolute least favorite, 30-60 second Flash animation sequences which force the user to sit and stare at a blank screen while the animation loads. According to a recent Zona Research and Keynote Systems Report released earlier this summer over $25 Billion (USD) was lost in ecommerce due to users abandoning the web site prior to a purchase being made or during the process. The users just gave up because the load times (how fast it takes a page to be displayed in a browser) were painfully slow. Today’s online shoppers aren’t a real patient group, they want information presented in 12-18 seconds, or they are off to another site that works.
Privacy statements are about as exciting as filing taxes (unless you know your getting a refund) – they are out of necessity filled with legal terminology that needs to be addressed succinctly and in a way that makes a consumer feel comfortable about doing business with an ecommerce web site. Unfortunately, many ecommerce web site privacy statements look like an afterthought or are so “attorney driven” (three pages – who has time to read this?) people are turned off by them. It’s very important that a privacy statement be a compromise between legal and marketing.
We are a full service ad agency so I don’t mind shooting arrows in the direction of my peers – too much attention is being placed on web site advertising metrics (clickthrough rates, certified traffic to substantiate ad rates, etc.) and not enough on how people find and use an ecommerce web site. The industry standard web site analysis tool is Web Trends, but one of the least understood aspects of this product is tracking how people find and move around a web site via reports which can be pulled from the server log files; i.e. where did the visitors come from, what pages do they visit, how long do they stay, what are their traffic patterns, etc. Ecommerce companies should be analyzing these “digital customer tracks” to better understand how to improve their front end marketing processes and back end web site design.
Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of marketing experience He is the co-founder of a Northern California and Brussels Belgium based, privately held, Marketing Services and Software Company, Intelective Communications, Inc. http://www.intelective.com/ Intelective focuses exclusively on providing services to small to medium sized companies that need strategic and tactical marketing services. He can be reached at Lee@intelective.com
Developing a Winning Ecommerce Strategy
One bright spot on the economic horizons around the world seems to be continued consumer spending and ecommerce is clearly a part of this, with sales estimated to be in excess of $9.9 Billion in the next three months according to ACNielsen. But, there is a dark cloud hovering over this sunny ecommerce landscape called poor web site design. Let's explore some of the reasons why consumers are not reaching for their credit cards after perusing an ecommerce web site.
There is a huge knowledge gap about how the web is really driving online and offline commerce. A recent eCommercePulse survey of more than 33,000 surfers conducted by Nielsen/Net ratings and Harris Interactive indicates ecommerce sites are driving more purchases offline (phone, catalogue, retail store sales) than online. Many consumers are using the web to effortlessly compare features and pricing – then, calling the company or visiting their localretail store to make a purchase. Clearly many companies need to factor this information in when analyzing their online and offline marketing expenditures and related ROI.
According to a recent Zona Research and Keynote Systems Report released earlier this summer over $25 Billion (USD) was lost in ecommerce due to users abandoning the web site prior to a purchase being made or during the process. The users just gave up because the load times (the amount of time it takes a page to be displayed in a browser) were painfully slow. Today's online shoppers aren'ta real patient group, they want information presented in 12-18 seconds, or they are off to another site that works.Unfortunately many firms have allocated a disproportionate amount of resources for advertising and not enough on good web site design and back end infrastructure. It's critical to make the market awareof a site, but if the potential customers are not presented with the right navigation and menus (read information architecture) they will not buy. Case in point, according to recent Dataquest surveys (and others) between 20-40% of most users don't purchase because they can't figure out how to easily move around the web site.
Many firms fail to properly integrate their ecommerce components with the overall site design. The in-house developers or outside design firm concentrate on the sexy parts of the web site design process (the graphics, branding, look and feel) and only focus on the ecommerce process after the primary web site design is completed– making ecommerce an afterthought.
A large number of ecommerce web sites don't even list a phonenumber, arbitrarily forcing people to contact the company electronically– this is a real problem, as many people don't want to use e-mailor forms as their primary means of communicating, they want the immediacy of the telephone.
It's very surprising, but approx 30% of ecommerce sites don'thave a search capability that actually works – in many cases it justreturns gobblygook. This is a real irritant for many online shoppers who want to find goods and services quickly and efficiently – the need for speed should be the ecommerce merchants marketing mantra and a good search capability gives users a way to quickly find products.
One of the most important parts of any web site is the home or index page, as it aggregates the design elements and information architecture. So many index page are cluttered and poorly designed, loaded with poor graphics, bad menu structures, oddball words or my absolute least favorite, 30-60 second Flash animation sequences which force the user to sit and stare at a blank screen while the animation loads.
Privacy statements are about as exciting as filing taxes (unless you know your getting a refund) – they are out of necessity filledwith legal terminology that needs to be addressed succinctly and in a way that makes a consumer feel comfortable about doing business with an ecommerce web site. Unfortunately, many ecommerce web site privacy statements look like an afterthought, or, are so "attorneydriven" (three pages – who has time to read this?) people are turned offby them. It's very important that a privacy statement be acompromise doc brokered between legal and marketing.
We are a full service ad agency so I don't mind shooting arrowsin the direction of my peers – too much attention is being placed onweb site advertising metrics (clickthrough rates, certified traffic to substantiate ad rates, etc.) and not enough on how people find and use an ecommerce web site. The industry standard web site analysis tool is Web Trends, but one of the least understood aspects of this product is tracking how people find and move around a web site via reports which can be pulled from the server log files; i.e. where did the visitors come from, what pages do they visit, how long do they stay, what are their traffic patterns, etc.? Ecommerce companies should be analyzing these "digital customer tracks" to better understand how to improve their front end marketing processes and back end web site design.
About the Author
Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of marketing experience He is the co-founder of a Northern California and Brussels Belgium based, privately held, Marketing Services and Software Company, Intelective Communications, Inc. http://www.intelective.com/ Intelective focuses exclusively on providing services to small to medium sized companies that need strategic and tactical marketing services. He can be reached at Lee@intelective.com
Divesify With Ecommerce
Since 1972 Amsoil Inc. has progressively expanded its line of products. It began with one that proved to be the first of its catagory, an engine oil that had not been seen in the market place. Not too many years later, more need for superior synthetic automotive lubricants came into Amsoil Inc. awareness. Examples are the Food Grade Grease, racing applications and racing applications.
By the mid eighties Amsoil Inc. had more products available. These products where not the property of other contracted companies but Amsoil Inc. was the marketing and manufacturing origin of a widening divesification of product lines.
Opportunity to take advantage of these products in a variety of environments also proved successful. All types of automotive and commercial retailers where taking advantage of the technical support and leadership available. Racing has grown in atleast three areanas, no pun intended. Motorcross, Marine and Snomobile have made huge strides in the field of spectator sports as well as participants. Dealers have the opportunity to sponsor a rider or team in the field of their choice. This environment is an excellent fit for promoting Amsoil.
This an exciting business to be in because of its diversity of opportunites. The passion that keeps the engine of productivity moving is easy to refuel from a company that has the integrity at its foundation. The confidence that it will continue comes from the experience of the history and people behind Amsoil Inc. For more information, see www.lubedealer.com/hiebert
About the Author
Rudy Hiebert is an Amsoil Inc. dealer since 1989. The application of the Internet has increased his Amsoil activity ten fold. As a Certified Dealer, his downline of accounts and customers has stretched the continent with the use of the Internet.
Drop Shipping Is Ecommerce Snake Oil
Drop shipping is not for everyone. Even though it is pitched as a cure for everything from starting up withoutmoney to being able to sell without investing in inventory, it does not cure the main problems that want to be drop shippers have. Want to be web entrepreneurs are lead down the path of finding products that they can sell before they buy them.
And to do that, they are lead into buying all sorts of things from web sites to on line stores and lists of drop shippers. They get set up with what they need to sell. And they spend a lot of time and money in the process.
There is no doubt that they are, at the same time, given advice that they are starting a business. They are definitively told that they must comply with all those rules for success on the web. They are not misled.They mislead themselves. They get so excited and so tied up in their ideas that they are going to make millions that they do not stop to plan. They forge ahead with the plan to plan in the future. So they plan after their plan is already a failure.
The people supplying the drop shipping industry are not obligated to turn away customers. They have no way to determine who will or who will not fail. So they cannot be faulted for selling to people who run when they should be walking.
There is no doubt that some of these people do succeed and do very well for themselves. But 90 to 95 percent of them fail. A good percentage of them could have survived had they planned. But they fail because they chase the quick money.Having said that, drop shipping is an excellent way for a small business to expand. If use properly it has many advantages.
Let us take a simple example.
Anna wants to sell amber and silver jewelry and exotics crystal pieces at home parties. And she wants to be able to vary her offering so that each time she attends a home party she has the opportunity to present other products. She also wants a wide variety of products.
Now amber and silver jewelry is both expensive and there are many different pieces that can be offered. So if she were to maintain an inventory she would have to tie up several thousand dollars in jewelry, many pieces of which she might not sell quickly.
Now if she get some samples so that her customers see the products and the quality, she can take orders and have the ordered pieces shipped either directly to her or to her customers. Actually, she is better off to have the pieces drop shipped to her so she can visit her customers and possibly make additional sales during the delivery process.
So she searches About the Author
Gary Granai is the Director of the Poland Chamber that maintains the drop shipping portal that has complete information about drop shipping. You can see it at eCatalog - a Key Component of Your eCommerce Initiative
In recent years, Internet virtually has become major driving force of economic and technological growth in many industries. It is fundamentally changing the way companies operate, do their trade and interact with each other and it is giving birth to new processes and business models that were previously unimaginable.
First type of the Internet business models that created a different business method was Business to Consumer (B2C) eCommerce. Business to Business eProcurement systems and web-based storefronts were two other models that emerged next. The eProcurement systems became widely popular instantly due to the factor that Internet-based automated buying solutions are capable of considerable reducing Maintenance, Repair and Operating expenses, which, in turn, makes direct impact on the bottom line of a company. Web-based storefront, on the other hand, provides a low-cost channel for the global marketing and sales of goods and services.
The next business model that changed the perception of doing business online was eMarketplaces. An eMarketplace is an online venue which brings together multiple buyers and sellers and makes it easier for them to communicate, collaborate and trade as members of a large community.
The fourth online business model has combined key aspects of all the above mentioned business methods and is known as Enterprise B2B Portal or Private B2B Exchange. The business world sees enormous changes across industries due to the emergence of this unique solution. Enterprise B2B Portal with supply chain management features is capable of streamlining procurement and sales processes, cutting overhead costs, increasing efficiency, while maximizing profit and helping bottom line savings for companies.
No doubt that B2B eCommerce presents enormous new business opportunities. But to realize these massive opportunities businesses must overcome some significant technical impediments. The most extreme and critical of these challenges involve creating, managing and distributing product content. All four of the above mentioned online business models face this crucial problem.
Product Content and eCatalog
Accurate and complete product content improves quality and speed of purchasing decisions by giving buyers the vital information needed. For sellers content differentiates their products and enables them to participate in multiple eMarketplaces, eProcurement systems and in their very own B2B Portal. The eMarketplaces and eProcurement systems must deliver content, with value added information such as ratings, reviews, regulatory compliances and service information to attract new users, retain the old ones and fulfill the needs of their diverse buyer and supplier communities.
Creating high quality product content is difficult because different suppliers use different descriptions, attributes and parameters to describe the same item. Managing product information becomes even more complex with the addition of value-added content such as editorial articles, service information and third party reviews.
Moreover, Buyers and Sellers have totally different approach and require different functions from a product content management solution. Buyers need a comprehensive content management system which allows them to take conclusive buying decision with minimum of effort and cost. Suppliers want a system that enables them to manage their brand, control their product descriptions, pricing, and discount policies.
The need for an advanced eCatalog
Despite its critical nature, product information management has been grossly underestimated by most of early eCommerce projects, which tend to focus on more high profile technologies, such as transaction engines and user interfaces. However, few of these B2B projects put required emphasize on the management of product content. As a result, many of them are beginning to realize that they have condoned the challenge
of managing product information and that such oversights are hindering the overall effectiveness and scalability of their eCommerce initiatives. Actually, very few of eCommerce initiatives today have the right resources to support the activities required for aggregating, maintaining, and delivering high quality product content. In order to overcome this major hurdle eCommerce initiatives have to improve their ability to acquire, manage and update product content with the help of an advanced eCatalog system.
What is an eCatalog?
An eCatalog is an Online product content management solution with powerful user interface which provides efficient navigation, searching and integration capabilities to organize and publish product information and enable real-time handling of business processes related to buying and selling.
An eCatalog stores product content in a single database and organizes product information under a certain categorized hierarchy. An eCatalog also have sophisticated searching opportunities so that buyers can locate products easily.
Classifying products
Usually product information is acquired from different sources and is often classified under different taxonomies. This makes product indexing difficult and in many cases products end up being listed under several categories. International Harmonized Codes, a taxonomy used by many countries for customs tariff purposes, is one of the example of such systems. Because of this problem, HC and similar taxonomies are not really suitable for eCommerce.
That's why, most advanced eCatalog systems use classification system like The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code® (UNSPSC®), which provides an open, global multi-industry standard for well-organized and precise classification of products and services.
In e-catalogs the product content also has to undergo a normalization procedure to comply with a uniform product naming system. This uniformed nomenclature makes it easier for buyers to compare products and prices, and ensures exact match for relevant product searches. Depending on the quality of product information available, the eCatalog also requires rationalizing abbreviations and acronyms, synchronizing terminologies, converting unit of measurements, etc.
How businesses are loosing opportunities
Early eCatalog adopters made a crucial mistake by assuming that catalog integration is a fairly easy task in comparison to the other parts of eCommerce development. This misapprehension of reality occurred mainly due to lack of practical knowledge in this field and is based on the false assumption that one method fits for describing all similar products and it is possible to constrain product content with finite number of attributes and values. Observation shows that in many cases buyers are unable to take key procurement decisions due to poor content of the product, which results in lost business opportunities for eCommerce companies.
Benefits of using right eCatalog
An advanced eCatalog system similar to Rusbiz.com delivers a compelling value proposition. Using this type of solutions companies can integrate eCatalog capabilities into their business processes rapidly and manage sourcing, classifying, syndicating and publishing product content data effectively.
The return on investment from these solutions is also significant! Companies can expect increased revenue, better customer satisfaction, and shorter sales cycle.
About the Author
Nowshade Kabir is CEO of Rusbiz.com, a global B2B portal for small and midsize companies. Our distinctive web stores along with many outstanding features like e-marketplace, e-catalog,
Ecommerce 101 – Online Credit Card Processing
Back in 1998 (through 2000 or so), I worked for a small company (called PaymentNet / then Signio) that handled online transactions. Verisign later purchased this company, and the product team I led integrated the "client" - the portion that took the credit card information and sent it to our servers for processing. The product name is Payflow Pro - maybe you've heard of it?
I'm going to limit this discussion to Visa / MasterCard credit cards -- Amex and others operate slightly differently.
First, there is the bank that the consumer’s credit card is attached to. That bank is called the "acquiring institution" ... it handles the "credit" you have on your credit card.
Then, there is the merchant bank. That's where the business opens up a "merchant account" to be able to accept various forms of credit cards.
The merchant account is connected to another company called a "processor". This "hidden" layer is the company that actually moves the funds from the acquiring institution to the merchant account (that process is called "settlement"). The processor also handles talking to the acquiring institution to make sure that the customer has the funds available (a process known as authorization).
Some well-known credit card processors are First Data Merchant Services (FDMS). Nova and PaymentTech.
Sitting on top of the processor is one of two primary systems either a swipe-card terminal (like those you see in Wal-Mart) or a "gateway" company that does basically the same thing, but over the Internet - that's what Verisign Payment Services and Authorize.Net do.
Note that the waters are even muddier in many cases, for example, Wells Fargo can act as every piece of the puzzle in some circumstances.
So, what actually happens when you purchase something at Wal-Mart using a credit card?
a) You place your items from your "basket" onto the counter and scan them. the checkout system provides a total.
b) You swipe your card through a "terminal", which reads the # off the magnetic stripe.
c) Wal-Mart dials their processor, and asks if you have the funds available on your credit card. The processor talks to your bank (the acquiring institution). If funds are available on the card, they are marked as "held" in your account (an authorization) -
if not, the transaction is declined (yuk). Authorizations that are never settled tie up your credit card funds for a period of time, usually 10 days or so. d) At the end of the day, Wal-Mart marks all the transactions they want to receive funds for, and submits them to their processor in a "batch". The processor then contacts the acquiring institutions and transfers the funds to your merchant bank - which may make the funds available instantly (in a day or two), or may hold them for a while, or may hold the funds in a "rolling reserve" (keeping some funds held back in case a consumer fights the transaction, called a chargeback).
In the online world, replace the cash-register with an online shopping cart, and the electronic credit-card with terminal with called a "gateway" such as Payflow or Authorize.Net. the process is basically the same, with slightly more complexity.
My site, CommerceStore.com handles the entire "shopping cart" and storefront process, including talking to the gateway. It knows how to talk to every major gateway (online credit card terminal) available. In addition, we have direct relationships with various banks that can help you open a merchant account in the US or in Canada, and the system works with PayPal. There's a whole lot more, including AutoResponders, built-in affiliate system, etc.
As a merchant, all you really need to know is that all services purchased through CommerceStore.com will work together. Be careful going "a-la-carte" with ecommerce credit-card services: if the gateway you chose can't talk to the processor your bank uses, or your software can't talk to the gateway, you're hosed. That situation was MUCH more common (things not working together) back in the mid/late 90's than it is today. However, most “brick and mortar” banks (like your local branch) still don’t have a clue about online credit-card processing … if they attempt to sell you a “leased terminal”, it’s best to run the other way and find a solution from reputable online source.
Nick Temple is a former engineer for what is now Verisign Payment Services. He can be reached at his website, http://www.nicktemple.com/. He is part-owner of the CommerceStore.com complete ecommerce solution.
Ecommerce: A New Artform
What creative project do you have in the back of your mind? Writing that novel? Putting together a bluegrass band? Painting the sunsets over the Rio Grande? How about starting a business?
When you think of the term creative endeavor, does launching or running a business come to mind? To most creative people, business is the antithesis of creativity. Yet slowly, ever so slowly, the nature of business is changing. The need for innovation in business is gradually overtaking the need for control as the resource that makes the difference between success and failure.
Really? But isn't business essentially about control? Controlling resources and controlling people? Yes, but business is also about innovation and communication, both of which live at the heart of creativity.
There are two reasons why I believe creativity will become increasingly valued in business. Control is certainly critical in business, both resources and people need to be managed carefully. But control is easier to teach than innovation. Given an equal need for both innovation and control, control is the easier skill or talent to find and implement. Thus innovation rises in value because it's more difficult to find and utilize effectively.
Are innovation and control equal needs? They certainly haven't been in the past. Control has been the leading force in business since the beginning of the industrial age. That age has ended however, and we now live in an service-based information world of commerce. This means the resource that needs to be controlled is more likely to be information rather than, say, coal. Information can be managed easily across electronic wiring and storage media. That means important work of business will be creating and disseminating information, and that requires a creative mind.
The other reason I believe creativity will rise in importance in business is that in our information-based economy, the resources required for business are fewer and less costly. If you can run a storefront on the Internet that can reach millions across the globe, you don't need capital to build a store that sits in a city and reaches thousands. The juice it takes to make the Internet company successful is not capital so much as the creative ability to reach and build a customer base over an infrastructure that's effectively free.
Napster was a wonderful example of this. A teenager was able to create a service that was quickly utilized by millions upon millions of users. Of course Napster had a glaring flaw: the company was trading in products created by others, and trading without the consent of those who produced the products. But the heart of the matter is that someone without substantial resources could build a highly-used, well-recognized brand out of little more than a creative idea. Using the same infrastructure, surely someone will come up with another intriguing idea that will capture our imagination and a big audience, and it will probably happen soon. And the next wave of creative Internet entrepreneurs will have learned from the Internet crash and its aftermath.
The Internet isn't dead. It's just stumbling a bit while taking its toddler steps. Internet start-up ideas will continue to attract creative people, simply because the free infrastructure invites innovation and resists control. Control is the deathword to creativity. Creative people have shunned business for that reason alone. Yet in a world where creativity and innovation become the critical elements for success, you bet creative people will begin to see commerce as an avenue of expression.
During the high days of Internet exuberance, I used this column to make the claim that business will be the creative medium of the early 21st century. I still believe it's true, simply because the basic elements still exist a encourage a creative approach to business. The resources to support a new company do not require control so much as creative manipulation. Given this free and open canvas, creative people will rush in, despite the lingering notion that business is somehow anti-creative.
About the Author
Rob Spiegel is the author of Net Strategy (Dearborn) and the upcoming Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to Internet Start-ups (St. Martin's Press). You can reach Rob at spiegelrob@aol.com
Drop Shipping Is Ecommerce Snake Oil
Drop shipping is not for everyone. Even though it is pitched as a cure for everything from starting up withoutmoney to being able to sell without investing in inventory, it does not cure the main problems that want to be drop shippers have. Want to be web entrepreneurs are lead down the path of finding products that they can sell before they buy them.
And to do that, they are lead into buying all sorts of things from web sites to on line stores and lists of drop shippers. They get set up with what they need to sell. And they spend a lot of time and money in the process.
There is no doubt that they are, at the same time, given advice that they are starting a business. They are definitively told that they must comply with all those rules for success on the web. They are not misled.They mislead themselves. They get so excited and so tied up in their ideas that they are going to make millions that they do not stop to plan. They forge ahead with the plan to plan in the future. So they plan after their plan is already a failure.
The people supplying the drop shipping industry are not obligated to turn away customers. They have no way to determine who will or who will not fail. So they cannot be faulted for selling to people who run when they should be walking.
There is no doubt that some of these people do succeed and do very well for themselves. But 90 to 95 percent of them fail. A good percentage of them could have survived had they planned. But they fail because they chase the quick money.Having said that, drop shipping is an excellent way for a small business to expand. If use properly it has many advantages.
Let us take a simple example.
Anna wants to sell amber and silver jewelry and exotics crystal pieces at home parties. And she wants to be able to vary her offering so that each time she attends a home party she has the opportunity to present other products. She also wants a wide variety of products.
Now amber and silver jewelry is both expensive and there are many different pieces that can be offered. So if she were to maintain an inventory she would have to tie up several thousand dollars in jewelry, many pieces of which she might not sell quickly.
Now if she get some samples so that her customers see the products and the quality, she can take orders and have the ordered pieces shipped either directly to her or to her customers. Actually, she is better off to have the pieces drop shipped to her so she can visit her customers and possibly make additional sales during the delivery process.
So she searches About the Author
Gary Granai is the Director of the Poland Chamber that maintains the drop shipping portal that has complete information about drop shipping. You can see it at eCommerce and other strange animals
eCommerce, Ecommerce, e-commerce; however you spell it, the term is now firmly lodged in our language. So just what is it?
At it's most simplistic level; eCommerce is simply the buying and selling of goods, services or information via the World Wide Web, email or other pathways on the Internet. It is here to stay and will play a bigger role in our lives over the years ahead. Ecommerce and Ebusiness are interchangeable terms. eCommerce can be broken down into the following sections:
- eTailing. These are mainly "virtual" storefronts which act as a catalogue of products of merchants and usually include a "shopping cart" system to enable consumers to purchase online with the use of credit cards. Today's Internet climate dictates that if you can't buy what you see online while you are online; you will probably lose the sale. The great advantage of etailing is international coverage at minimum cost and the ability to trade 24 hours a day with minimum staffing levels. The benefits to consumers are shopping from home and a wide range of choice. This range of choice can sometimes be a downfall as it confuses some consumers who in frustration may give up on buying the product at all!
- EDI (Electronic Data exchange). This is the business to business (b2b) flow of information between companies or within a company itself. The 90's saw the concept information equalling power. Whatever creates power also generates money and therefore creates new enterprises to supply this information. EDI is being replaced with XML. He with the most relevant data on his hard drive wins!
- Email and faxing. Direct marketing through email. Unfortunately, it also creates the equivalent of what we find in our physical mailboxes every day; junk mail - electronic junk mail is known as spam. Terrabytes of spam is circulating around the Internet at any given time, which slows down our global network. While this is one of the negative aspects of eCommerce, direct marketing ploys, if carried out properly are a very successful and acceptable way of generating income for a business
- Security services. The broad exposure of (and sometimes hyped) dangers of credit card and direct debit transactions via the Internet has rocketed the growth of many companies who provide security services to protect consumer & business transactions. This can include authorisation/encryption technologies and creating secure areas on web sites. This will be a growth area for as long as eCommerce is with us because you can guarantee that as soon as a new "unhackable" technology is introduced - someone has hacked it. Some hackers view themselves as rebels, antiestablishment and "socialists"; but in reality they actually fuel the security services market and provide huge dividends for shareholders in successful security services firms. Good one guys... you won't change the world for the better by sniffing around bank accounts!
- Statistics. Demographics and survey results regarding Internet habits is a huge industry. Web planners rely on information from these sources in planning web sites and justifying marketing and promotional expenediture.
- B2B (Business to Business). When I began in Computer Hardware sales some years ago, I spent a great deal of time and money on national and international phone calls to locate components. In 2001, if contacting a supplier meant having to pick up a telephone; I wouldn't bother doing business with them. The B2B world of today means that wholesalers and retailers have a means of fast and efficient communications and transactions; the Internet.
Bill Gates is reported to have said something along the lines of: "In a few years, there will only be 2 types of businesses, those that are online and those that are out of business." You may not buy anything online yourself, but I'll guarantee that most of the companies that supply you with goods and services do - knowingly or not we all have our role in this brave new world......
Michael Bloch michael@tamingthebeast.net http://www.tamingthebeast.net/Tutorials, web content and tools, software and community.Web Marketing, eCommerce & Development solutions.
Copyright information....If you wish to reproduce this article, please acknowledge "Taming the Beast" by including a hyperlink or reference to the website (http://www.tamingthebeast.net/) & send me an email letting me know. The article must be reproduced in it's entirety & this copyright statement must be included. Thanks. Visit http://www.tamingthebeast.net/ to view other great articles FREE for reproduction!
About the Author
Michael is an Australian Information Technologies trainer and web developer. Many other free web design, ecommerce development and Internet articles, tutorials, tools and resources are available from his award winning site; Taming the Beast.net (http://www.tamingthebeast.net/)
Ecommerce - Boost Your Business ROI
Did you know that over 90% of all online orders are processed by credit cards and that web sites that offer customers the ability to pay with credit cards can achieve up to 300% more sales than those that do not?
It's a fact. Not only do more customers buy, statistics prove that customers actually buy more when given the option to pay with their credit card. Here are some recent trends that will reinforce the need to sell your product or service on the internet- if your business is not yet doing so:
-At the end of 2000, over 400 million people worldwide had Internet access. That number is expected to reach over 1 billion by the end of 2005!
-Almost 100 million people in the U.S. are now making a purchase after using the internet to conduct their research.
-U.S. Consumers spent a record $13.7 billion in online purchases during the 2003 holiday season. A follow-up study conducted jointly by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen/Net Ratings pegged sales during the 2004 holiday season at $23.2 billion, up 25% from the previous year. This comes at a time when traditional retail sales are growing in the low single digits.
-Forrester projects that total e-commerce sales in the U.S. will increase by approximately 20% per year, growing to $229 billion in 2008, making online retail transactions 10% of total U.S. retail sales by 2008.
In addition, in a survey conducted among more than 500 small business owners, the overwhelming majority indicated that they were either very satisfied or at least somewhat satisfied with their company's e-commerce return on investment (ROI).
It's no wonder- when compared to traditional forms of direct marketing such as mail order catalogs, the cost of establishing and maintaining an e-commerce website is minimal. Additionally, new affordable, user-friendly storefront applications simplify the task of establishing and maintaining a professional e-commerce website. It is now affordable and doable- even for the novice small business owner- to convert their brick-and-mortar operation into a click-and-mortar operation and triple their revenues in a very short period of time!
What’s more, if your company sells products to consumers or businesses and you don't have a fully automated e-commerce website, your business is simply not operating at its full potential and you're sending customers to your competition!
It is no longer a luxury for the small to mid-sized retailer to have an e-commerce enabled site-but a necessity to stay competitive in the marketplace.
About the author:Rick Caraballo is the author of this article and the CEO of Avance Web Marketing- http://www.avancewebmarketing.com,a/ South Florida Web Marketing firm that provides state-of-the-art web hosting, web design, e-commerce and marketing consulting services- including Hispanic Marketing. E-Commerce services include merchant services, as well as, the Excerpo® Shopping Cart- a state-of-the-art e-business storefront application.
eCommerce, Communications and the Global Internet Community.
In our increasingly online world, cyberspace is still experiencing "gold fever", but there have been and will be many casualties. Only the innovative, responsive, financially sound and flexible will survive. Many new markets are joining the world of eCommerce; over the last 6 months I have seen a remarkable increase in visitors to my site from countries such as India. This trends means more visitors to our sites perhaps; but it definitely means more competition between web developers, etailers and other service providers.
India will be extraordinarily competitive in web development, due largely to favourable exchange rates. In Australia, our struggling dollar still favours us in securing work with U.S companies, but not to the same degree. I can see that the Internet will play a considerable role in the valuation of our currencies in the future.
Up until now, the Internet has been very focused on the U.S. By 2003, the Asia Pacific region will catch up and overtake in regards to Internet usage. While we are all busy submitting our sites to the U.S and U.K search engines, have we considered their Indian or Taiwanese counterparts? There are literally thousands of Asia-Pacific search engines and indices. Some of them will grow to be major players in the next five years.
The Western world tends to forget that we are a minority. Only about eight percent of the earth's population speaks English as the primary language. As countries such as India, Korea, Taiwan and perhaps even China open up, we will need to adapt to this change. The big players can afford to have their pages translated into different languages. For those of us without the budget, perhaps even a simple greeting in a variety of languages on our pages would encourage a visitor with limited English abilities to explore our sites. If you are going to translate your site, ensure that the person undertaking the translation really knows their stuff, as a single word misinterpreted can turn a welcome into a curse. The proper use of images and other visual cues can also assist in relaying information more effectively than English text.
One of the other ways we, the smaller companies, can welcome these newcomers without spending a cent is to drop our xenophobic reactions to "foreigners". There are no "foreigners" as the Internet is now more than ever a global community. Instead of fearing these new arrivals stealing our bread and butter, we should be seeking to establish alliances with them. We should be striving to learn a little about the culture of the emerging electronic economies. This will assist us in using the correct protocols during business dealings.
As web masters, we receive many communications via email from our "foreign" visitors. Some of these emails are, in our way of thinking, poorly worded. As an example I received a note the other day that didn't have the usual signature line of "Regards" or "Sincerely", but had one word at the bottom of the message - "Waiting". Many of our visitors to whom English is a second language struggle with email writing, sometimes appearing rude to us. Perhaps we become impatient with this and devalue the communication or ignore it.
Bad move... both from a human and business point of view.
Nothing angers me more than to have an email unanswered. I am sure most others feel the same. I have written to a large U.S Internet presence four times in the last month, without a response. It's a shame, not for me, but for them.... I was a customer with a sizeable amount of money to spend. I'll go elsewhere.... and remember my dealings with the other company... for years.
In traditional business we are taught that an unhappy customer will tell 10 others about their experience. In ebusiness, an unhappy customer can tell tens of thousands through newsgroup postings - that's well worth keeping in mind.
When we do receive communications from someone and it's apparent that they may have troubles with our language, take the time to try and understand what it is they require. This may entail several notes back and forth, but it will be worth the effort in the long run.
From the "warm and fuzzy" (human) point of view; the Internet has allowed us as a species to communicate in real time with any other part of the planet. We are no longer dependant on government propaganda to shape our views of a particular country; we can hear it directly from the people. This is a real privilege, and we tend to forget it is.
The Internet has formed the basis of my living for some time now, but equally as important, I have gained a greater knowledge of our world and more importantly - of what it is to be a human. I believe The Internet as a whole, not government or individuals, will be the driving force behind mankind finally seeing past skin colour and creed to recognise "the person".
Related Article: http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles/visitorfeedback.htm
Michael Bloch michael@tamingthebeast.net http://www.tamingthebeast.net/Tutorials, web content and tools, software and community.Web Marketing, eCommerce & Development solutions.
Copyright information....If you wish to reproduce this article, please acknowledge "Taming the Beast" by including a hyperlink or reference to the website (http://www.tamingthebeast.net/) & send me an email letting me know. The article must be reproduced in it's entirety & this copyright statement must be included. Thanks. Visit http://www.tamingthebeast.net/ to view other great articles FREE for reproduction!
About the Author
Michael is an Australian Information Technologies trainer and web developer. Many other free web design, ecommerce development and Internet articles, tutorials, tools and resources are available from his award winning site; Taming the Beast.net (http://www.tamingthebeast.net/)
eCommerce development for Microsoft Great Plains: tools and highlights for programmer
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics and eEnterprise was designed in earlier 1990th as ERP, which can be easily transferable to the winning Database and OS platform and it was originally available on Mac and PC – Mac OS and Microsoft Windows respectively. Graphical platforms battle is pretty much over and now with eCommerce demands, we should look at Great Plains Dynamics tables structure:
Naming Convention. Great Plains was designed to be ready to move to the winning database platform and probably this is why we see this a bit complicated naming convention in place: SOP10100, RM00101, IV00101 – these are samples: SOP header, Customer master, Inventory master. First – we see module prefix: SOP – Sales Order Processing, RM – Receivables management, IV – Inventory control, etc., then 0 stays for the master files, 1 – so-called work files (before transaction being posted), 2 – open files (after transaction is posted) and 3 – historical files (when you close the year in General Ledger – transactions are moved from open to history files). So as you see – logic is present and structured, but it is not friendly to the developer, who never seen and worked with Great Plains Dynamics.
Tables Groups. Great plains was designed to first serve mid-size businesses and then with the availability of third party modules – the intention was to compete on corporate ERP market with Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP and others big players. This is why we see the whole cluster of tables to store, say Sales Invoice: SOP Header, SOP Lines, SOP Distribution, RM Key file, etc. From the Forms side (or screens) you can see more human-readable names: SOP Entry, RM_Customer_Maintenance, POP_Entry or the like. But these legacy Great Plains Dexterity names do not help eCommerce developer – only probably as the reference on which table works with specific screen.
Let’s take a look at the tools available:
eCommerce – together with eOrder, and other eXXX products it should be considered as legacy and phase out product, based on
Microsoft eCommerce server and ASP technology, today Microsoft has new paradigm - .Net and ASPX World
eConnect – was specially created for eCommerce developers, who integrate Microsoft Great Plains with eCommerce web interface. This tool covers a lot of Great Plains objects creation and retrieving functionality, however it does have restrictions, because it was not intended as replacement to Great Plains Dexterity shell. For example – if you create Orders in SOP via Web interface/eConnect – it is difficult manipulate these orders (transfers to Invoices, backorders, reallocations, etc.). Another issue with eConnect – developers are kind of used to the fact that Microsoft provides free SDK to its products, Microsoft CRM for example has freely downloadable Microsoft CRM SDK. For eConnect you have to pay license and be on Microsoft Business Solutions annual support to get version upgrades. Also if you are ISV and develop your GP integration to your customers – you have licensing issue with Microsoft.
Custom SOP/AR stored procedures. Microsoft Business Solutions partners in their practice usually have several Great Plains integration projects implemented where integration is realized on the stored procedures level and transactions are created and manipulated in Great Plains SOP. So – you may end up seeking this type of help Good luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 866-528-0577 or 630-961-5918! help@albaspectrum.com
About The Author
Andrew is Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ ) – Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Microsoft CRM Partner, serving clients in San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Orlando, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle, Minneapolis, Detroit, Los Angeles
help@albaspectrum.com
eCommerce Fundamentals
"Blocking and Tackling" - A quick take a some eCommerce fundamentals
eCommerce can be VERY complex. To offer a world class customer experience, retailers must incorporate technologies and functionality that exceeds rising customer expectations.
On the flip side however, site fundamentals still play a very large role in converting visitors into customers. Many retailers surprisingly lose sight of these site basics and leave significant sales on the table. This brief examines 4 quick "fundamentals" every eCommerce manager cannot afford to lose sight of.
Think Fast
Speed has become less of a problem due to the penetration of broadband, but don't forget that a significant number of people still shop by a dialup connection. When creating a site framework, designers and e-commerce teams should ensure that the site is developed with pages loading in less than 9 seconds (over a dial-up connection).
Our recommended page size is within 60-70k in bytes. At that amount, sites will likely load within the maximum wait time of 9 seconds. Online retailers should avoid flash at all costs within their transactional site. Flash's artistic aspects may help you establish a brand presence - but it will likely lose potential customers before they have even searched within your store.
Image is important
Images are a very important aspect of selling online and are often neglected. All product images should be of the highest resolution possible, be much larger than the product page original, and have
multiple views. Dynamic imaging capabilities can improve the user experience to an even higher level by increasing interactivity (zoom & rotate). At a minimum - retailers should have at least two additional views outside of the product page image to help build emotion.
Be my guest
Shoppers do not like being forced to do anything, especially when they are ready to open their wallets. Forcing a shopper to register on your site before purchasing is a sure way to drive a portion of your traffic to your competitors. Too often, shoppers do not have the time or the inclination to fill out a lengthy form explaining what types of information they desire.
Always offer the ability to checkout as a guest. You will see less customer leakage within the checkout process and can still offer the option to register when the sale is completed.
Make sure it's "above the fold"
Your homepage is the most important page within your eCommerce store. It sets the initial tone for the shopping experience and offers your best promotions and products to your visitors. Users typically visually scan a web page from top to bottom and then from left to right. All critical content and navigation options should be obvious to the shopper without having to scroll down. If you have your best promotions "below the fold" - you can bet that a large percentage of browsers are not scrolling down to see it.
Ecommerce Hosting Considerations
Website hosting can be a complex undertaking. Determining how much space you need, how much transfer, finding a reliable host, and getting everything online is no simple task. Add ecommerce to the mix and things become even more complex. This article will deal with some of those additional complications to finding a host for an online store. All of the same considerations to finding general hosting can be applied to ecommerce hosting, there are simply a few additional ones that need some attention.
Basics- Disk Space and Transfer
The core states of any kind of hosting, ecommerce or not, remain space and transfer, or traffic. Generally measured in monthly increments, your space and transfer will place a crucial role in determining just what size plan you need. Ecommerce sites will, generally speaking, require more space and transfer than an equivilant sized site without ecommerce. This is due to the presence of the shopping cart upon which the online storefront is based. Shopping cart programs are installed to the account on which they operate, requiring space, and their scripts for running the store will require additional transfer to handle customers as they browse, add items to their cart, and check out. Will there be a tremendous amount of extra transfer required by the cart? That depends on how many use the cart and on the cart itself. This is why its best to start small and having a clear upgrade path to handle future popularity.
Prospective online merchants will generally have a good idea how many products they'll be selling initially. This will vary wildly from merchant to merchant, and many merchants don't put their entire stocks online. It is wise to start with a considered selection of products first, especially if you wish to initially keep your hosting plan small and upgrade as the store prospers. Those with a great deal of products need to be aware they will probably be facing a bigger monthly fee for a larger hosting plan. Once the decision is made regarding the products, attention can be turned to finding a suitable shopping cart program to contain them.
Shopping Cart
The choice of shopping cart can be a personal one. Those entirely new to ecommerce will probably not have any experience with any kind of shopping cart software. There are a number of popular choices, and most hosting companies will provide one, if not a variety, from which you can choose. It is important to find a shopping cart that suits the individual user, as attempting to change your shopping down the road can be a long process that will, most likely, bring your store down during a transitional period. Don't immediately jump at the first cart a host offers. Ask if they have demos and try them out. Be sure it's a program you can learn and use, as it is the primary way you'll be doing your online business. Even if you have a large business and have a design firm setting up the cart, a rudimentary knowledge of the cart's processes is highly recommended.
Learn as much about your prospective shopping cart software as possible. Make
sure it supports SSL, a common site security protocol that will help keep your customer's credit card numbers safe when ordering online. It will need to support your merchant account and payment gateway. In many cases a host might bundle these services, so compatibility isn't an issue. If you secured your merchant services separately from hosting, be sure they are compatible. Find out if the cart has a recommended maximum product limit and, of course, try not to exceed it. The store may slow down and perform poorly if there are too many products in it.
Finally, make sure it will do everything you want it to do. Some merchants sell services and downloadable items that don't conform exactly to the order-product-ship-product flow. If your cart doesn't support these features by default, there may be 3rd party add-ons that will provide this functionality. Miva Merchant is one such shopping cart with a very active 3rd party developer community providing a wide range of add-ons, or "modules" to extend the feature set of the original program. The merchant will have to buy these add-ons and have them installed on their own initiative, though, and the hosting company will not be able to support them.
Reliability and Support
Perhaps of greatest importance is reliability in your chosen host. Think in terms of a "brick and mortar" storefront. If someone locks the front door during business hours, then no customers can come in and nothing is sold. Similarly, if an online store is down at any hour, no customers can come in and nothing is sold. You want the most reliable hosting for such a mission-critical site. Never just take the word of a hosting company's site in regards to their uptime. Do research and look for customer reviews of your prospective host. Online merchants should always be willing to pay more for a reliable hosting company with good uptime and support. A good rule of thumb is to stay away from free or "bargain basement" hosts, since support and uptime are usually the first things to suffer with this kind of hosting.
Conclusions
Finding the right ecommerce hosting company requires a few additional considerations. Decide on your products, your shopping cart, and then shop for your hosting company. You will need more space and transfer than an equivalent site, but start small with your product selection and you can still save money on your hosting. Find a shopping cart that's easy for you to use and understand, as switching at a later date can result in downtime and a lot of work transferring your products. Finally, make sure your host has solid uptime, as an online store that's down isn't generating any sales.
About the Author
Mr. Lester has served for 4 years as the webmaster for http://www.apollohosting.com/ and previously worked in the IT industry an additional 5 years, acquiring knowledge of hosting, design, and search engine optimization. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, ecommerce hosting, vps hosting, and web design services to a wide range of customers.
Ecommerce Hosting - How To Choose A Merchant Account
For a number of e-Businesses, discovering the best way to accept payments is a frustrating task. As the Internet is an instant medium, it is highly recommended that a ecommerce website must accept credit/debit cards and online checks as modes of payment. In order to accept credit card transactions, you require setting up a merchant account with a merchant bank. As soon as you set up a merchant account, an online processor can provide you with the software or gateway you need to transact. Selecting a suitable merchant account is considered to be one of the most tough business decisions you make as their existence has almost doubled and are now into more than hundreds. At the time of choosing a merchant account, you should be aware of the cost involved in setting up the account. Refer to the list below and don't forget to ask about each of these items before agreeing to an account.
Application Fee The application fee is compulsory so an agent or bank can "research" you as a potential customer. Few firms are more likely to repay this fee if your application is not accepted while others won't. It is always advisable not to pay an application fee that will not be refunded in case you are rejected.
Minimum Account Billing This fee requires you to do a least amount of business with a merchant bank. A majority of banks require a monthly minimum of at least 25 dollars in transaction fees. Anything less than 35 dollars minimum is satisfactory.
Statement Fee In case there is a considerable minimum-billing need, then there should be no statement fee. Still, a number of banks charge this to cover administrative costs. If you are assessed a statement fee, it shouldn't exceed 10 dollars per month.
Charge back Fee In case a customer is not satisfied with their purchase, can't get a refund, or is just looking for something free, you may be faced with a charge back attempt. Under this, the bank will return customer's fund and debit your account for the full amount. Always make sure to ask about your bank's charge back policy. Most banks tend to be more loyal to cardholders than merchants so protect yourself by
preventing charge back fees. Transaction Fee This fee, which is usually about 2-3 percent of the purchase, is assessed on every transaction. If a product costs US$100, the bank would receive US$2-3 for their services. While rates are relative to the nature of your business, anticipated volume and your credit history, you should never pay more than 3 percent.
Setup Fee This covers administrative work necessary to establish your account. In case you're charged an installation or programming fee, there shouldn't be a setup fee. There is a considerable amount of work completed to create merchant accounts, so fees of US$50-500 should be expected.
At the time of approaching banks or an intermediary about a merchant account, always keep in mind the following tips:
1. Read the terms, conditions and anticipated charges carefully. Don't sign anything until your questions are answered to your satisfaction. Take time to understand exactly what you are getting and how much you are paying to get it.
2. Do you require a reserve account? It shouldn't be, but if you are a start-up Internet business, have poor to marginal credit, anticipate low volumes or run a "risk" business, it may be required.
3. How long before funds are available to you? Ideally it should not take more than 72 hours from the time an order or transaction is processed.
Given below are some of the options available with whom you can setup your merchant account.
Paypal: With a free PayPal account one can accept credit cards on your website immediately Click bank: It offers distribution of digital products and has an instant affiliate network promoting your business. North American Bancard: It is a full service payment solution provider of Credit, Debit, EBT, Check Conversion and Guarantee, Checks by Phone & Net.About the Author
Copyright © Active-Venture.com's (http://www.active-venture.com/) ecommerce hosting service. This article may be reprinted freely online or in print, provided an active link is made to http://www.active-venture.com/
eCommerce, How much does it cost?
Making profits with your existing website design or creating a new online store can be exciting, affordable and most of all; rewarding. Mmmm . . . that's what the last sales guy told me.
What is eCommerce (or selling via the Internet)? It is similar to selling through a physical building's business storefront, with one big difference: the costs for eCommerce are lower. The lower costs alone make it a lot more affordable for someone to start up a business or expand their storefront business onto the Internet.
So, the cost to do online business depends on how much time and effort you are able to put in and the eCommerce developer you choose to work with. Generally, developers should try to enable their clients to be as independent as possible in areas such as daily site updates, processing online orders, customer feedback and low or no cost (except time) online marketing.
Hosting costs are determined by: the amount of 1) server space you require for product photos, e-mail accounts, and 2) bandwidth - the more customers that visit your store, the more bandwidth you will require. Typically an online store setup may cost $15 to $90 per month for hosting.
Other costs include online store program and designing the storefront. There are many programs to choose from with some being free to some costing thousands. As with anything you buy, you do get what you pay for. Clients like to use online store setups that are easy for them to use when they need to do product updates and simple design changes. That way the initial higher cost for the client's online store will be offset by ease of use and low maintenance costs to operate over the long term.
Next we have graphical design costs, that can range from $70 for a pre-designed store template to a built from scratch setup that can cost $500 and up. If you have only a few products I would suggest starting with the pre-designed store template as the cost is low and the look is quite professional, with only a small amount of time required to input text and make some minor modifications to suit your requirements. If you have quite a few products and they are quite different from each other, you may incur more cost to develop the graphic design as each product category will have a look designed just for that category.
Finally, we need to open up the store for business: market the store and bring in some customers to buy the products. As mentioned earlier, there is no-cost marketing that can be done. For example, the site can be submitted to the primary search engines, adding the store listing to online directories that are relevant to the product or service, and exchanging store links with other sites that are similar but not direct competition.
What are we selling? When your starting out with a new product, try to stay with a unique product that is light in weight, as shipping costs are often overlooked in starting up an online business. If you already have existing products to sell, revisit shipping costs and see where you can find savings.
I find most business owners sell what they are most passionate about. Some of your present hobbies or interests could sell as the end product, as items purchased by other people. Some of the most successful online stores are a result of one's passion and desire to share their dream with others and if done logically and thoughtfully with a good web developer, can result in financial rewards at a low investment cost through an online store.
Since 1997, Dennis Dadey, Chief Designer at IR Design, has been helping people with e-commerce applications. Find out more about IR Design at http://www.irdesign.com/.
eCommerce: Installing and Configuring your Shopping Cart
You decided you're going to sell your products online. Or perhaps you don't want to sell them yet, only display your catalog. So how do you go ahead and implement your virtual shop? The answer is short: you need to install a shopping cart in your website. But let's go step by step and expand this simple answer to a brief explanation of the process. It will be better to know all the players involved in bringing your store up to life. There are many shopping cart solutions out there, you need to find the one that meets your needs. You will find open source solutions and paid ones. They will have different types of customer support and some of them may be ready to install in your hosting account. You need to find the right solution for you, if you're not an experienced user get one with good customer support or even hire a professional to help you in the process of setting it up.
First: you need a domain name for your store, and need to host it at a hosting company. If you already have the domain, you may skip this step. If you don't, you need to register the domain and then place it, host it, at a web server. You need to choose a hosting company which offers what you need. You will most probably need a database for your store and programming language support. Which language depends on the requirements to install the shopping cart of your choice. Some examples of programming languages are ASP, Php, Perl.
Second: if you plan to sell products, you need a payment processor, a company to process the payments you receive online, in real time. You can use a third party solution like PayPal, where you do not need to open a merchant account. Or you may choose a payment processor company to accept credit cards online, where you also open your merchant account. Examples of these are Authorize.Net, WorldPay and SECPay. All companies charge different fees for their services, it is important to go over their fee structure and find the right solution for you. Most shopping carts come with payment processing integration modules so you can seamlessly connect your cart to the payment processor of your choice. If your processor is not included, you should consider requesting the integration development, if possible, or opt for a different payment processor.
Third: you need to install the shopping cart script in your domain, and configure it using the Administrator interface. This is a private, password protected area of your site that you use for all the store maintenance and admin tasks. You need to:
- choose the layout and looks of your site. - establish your products categories or groups, so they are organized - load your products - set your payment processor information - configure shipping options - configure taxes
This is only a short list including the more essential tasks. There may be more aspects involved in your particular implementation, depending on your particular needs and on the shopping cart you chose to install. If you think all this is rather confusing, you should consider getting professional help to get your store working.
About the author:
Veronica Bendersky is a Systems Engineer who specializes in web programming and online systems. She also offers web hosting at http://www.ayreshost.com/, where you can get help in setting up your online store.
eCommerce: Installing and Configuring your Shopping Cart
You decided you're going to sell your products online. Or perhaps you don't want to sell them yet, only display your catalog. So how do you go ahead and implement your virtual shop? The answer is short: you need to install a shopping cart in your website. But let's go step by step and expand this simple answer to a brief explanation of the process. It will be better to know all the players involved in bringing your store up to life. There are many shopping cart solutions out there, you need to find the one that meets your needs. You will find open source solutions and paid ones. They will have different types of customer support and some of them may be ready to install in your hosting account. You need to find the right solution for you, if you're not an experienced user get one with good customer support or even hire a professional to help you in the process of setting it up.
First: you need a domain name for your store, and need to host it at a hosting company. If you already have the domain, you may skip this step. If you don't, you need to register the domain and then place it, host it, at a web server. You need to choose a hosting company which offers what you need. You will most probably need a database for your store and programming language support. Which language depends on the requirements to install the shopping cart of your choice. Some examples of programming languages are ASP, Php, Perl.
Second: if you plan to sell products, you need a payment processor, a company to process the payments you receive online, in real time. You can use a third party solution like PayPal, where you do not need to open a merchant account. Or you may choose a payment processor company to accept credit cards online, where you also open your merchant account. Examples of these are Authorize.Net, WorldPay and SECPay. All companies charge different fees for their services, it is important to go over their fee structure and find the right solution for you. Most shopping carts come with payment processing integration modules so you can seamlessly connect your cart to the payment processor of your choice. If your processor is not included, you should consider requesting the integration development, if possible, or opt for a different payment processor.
Third: you need to install the shopping cart script in your domain, and configure it using the Administrator interface. This is a private, password protected area of your site that you use for all the store maintenance and admin tasks. You need to:
- choose the layout and looks of your site. - establish your products categories or groups, so they are organized - load your products - set your payment processor information - configure shipping options - configure taxes
This is only a short list including the more essential tasks. There may be more aspects involved in your particular implementation, depending on your particular needs and on the shopping cart you chose to install. If you think all this is rather confusing, you should consider getting professional help to get your store working.
About the author:
Veronica Bendersky is a Systems Engineer who specializes in web programming and online systems. She also offers web hosting at http://www.ayreshost.com/, where you can get help in setting up your online store.
Ecommerce - Making Your Bank Account Grow
Ecommerce has opened the door to many small businesses and individuals to compete on a global level with their products and services. Basically sellers look for buyers to purchase their goods online knowing that the choices and convenience it affords will tempt customers to buy.
So, what is it that sets your business apart from others?
You might be lured by so many product choices to stock your store. There are many claims to gaining quick and easy guarantees to top spots, but maybe you need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Let's assume firstly that you are at least showing up in the search engines. That way, visitors will start trickling in to your site. But what do you have to make them stay? These are the factors I see affecting most new ecommerce businesses.
Target Market: Who is your target market?
Marketing 101-, you do not have to be a guru to realize that people must have a desire in order for you to fill it. My first site was made to accommodate everything-from a pin to an anchor; but no visitors. With such a wide product base, I was targeting no specific customer group one and got no response.
That strategy also spells commercial suicide for many small ecommerce sites on the web. When you are small, how can you hope to compete on the same level as the big boys?
What you need to do is to develop a niche, one that has enough customer base, are hungry for your product offerings and have the ability to purchase. Niche Marketing is one of the new buzzwords on the net as small businesses attempt to differentiate their goods from others to create value for their own products.
Website Design
How appealing is your website? The cleaner the look, the simpler the concept, the better it works for most ecommerce sites. Are their exceptions? Sure! However, for the majority of customers, they do not and will not spend time wading through pages of worthless info to find your product. Make your products stand out. Quick and easy links from the front page directly to the product with ease of ordering.
I have gone on sites and have decided to buy only I am not able to find where to order. That, my friends defeats the process of setting up a sales site, after all if the order button is not prominent to whom or what sales are you hoping to achieve. Make sure all sales pages have a clear order button as sometimes having it more than once increases the likelihood of making a sale.
If you cannot design your own website to be commerce friendly, even though you might need to cut costs, consider at least investing into some straightforward hosting package that gives ready made templates that are easy to customize even without HTML knowledge. If you do have the money, hire a professional, the money will be worth it.
Product Choice
For any product, you can think of there exists a niche for it. However, you need to define clearly what your product line is going to be before you begin. This has an impact on the domain name you choose to buy. Research has shown that domain names with the name of the product or service, adds additional relevance to site and improves ranking and aids in faster listing of the site on the search engines.
Therefore, if I am selling shoes for people with small feet then I can buy a domain name like http://www.smallfeetshoes.com/. It does not sound pretty but guess what, right away you would have included probably your three most important keyword in the domain name and this will help in site listing and ranking.
Ecommerce is not really rocket science, but it does take a few hours of research in order to be fully knowledgeable about the process. If you are planning to get into ecommerce, try reading today, there are many places on the net with relevant info. Who knows it might save you from a future headache and lost cash.
About the Author: Kimberly Valentine is a Business Consultant for over 9 years who blogs about internet business interests. She also offers business resources and advice at http://www.freeblogsites.net/ and hosts websites at http://www.webhostsvalue.com/.Source: http://www.isnare.com/
Ecommerce Marketing Plan
Concept of ServiceThe current work deals with marketing offer of e-commerce service. It highlights the essential steps of marketing of a brand-new firm offering services of website construction, design, programming, development, and promotion. The service should be provided exclusively online via the site of the company. Online business operations include ordering, agreement on requirements, elaboration of design, and providing constant customer support.
The service implementation process should include the following stages:
- Defining goals of the site. This may include either physical meeting or discussion of the product in question via Internet. - Developing the website structure. This stage is aimed at flashing out technical aspects of the site. It should include definition of necessary technology, type and specifications of site navigation.
- Website design and built. Developing layout and graphics of the site. This may include elaborating the company's genuine creative approach in developing the graphic looks of the order, or complying with the requirements presented by the customer as to general look of the project.
- Website programming and built. This stage depends on details of each specific project and definite requirements posed as to the quality and level of the site. Also, this process varies according to the kind of customer and destination of the site contemplated. All features of the site are subject to examination and test by both company's specialist and customer.
- Technical release of the site. Once technical aspects of the project finished, the customer should be provided with free consultation along with further site marketing and promotion services, techniques, and practical advice.
- Ongoing site maintenance. This is the stage when the job of creating the customer's site is finished. But the company guarantees keeping all its sites current in terms of graphics, technology, navigation and usability. After release of the site, the company continues working with the customer as to establishing a schedule for the website regular review and maintenance to meet clients' requests, accommodate users' feedbacks, incorporating new system updates and new technologies.
It is a fact that the idea of the internet-commerce of this type is not brand-new, and for a new company to enter the market and receive profit out of its business, it is necessary to invent some novel elements in the service offered. The innovative elements that this project contains compared to large variety of competitors functioning on IT e-commerce market are based on combination of cost leadership and differentiation generic strategies (according to M. Porter, [1]). Therefore, the project is launched in B2C format, though there can be differentiation of customers and hence differentiation of the level and variety of services offered to each individual customer, and the project is for-profit, small business case. This new business is intended to compete with both large business providers of site development services and small business representatives dealing with this issue.
Another unique feature of the project is wide variety of services included in one business offer. This includes: web-design, redesign of existing site, possibility of working with many programming languages, site management, allocation in search engines, animation, free hosting offer, email registration, web mail and POP3 access, ftp access, tools for web statistics, domain name registration, other services like full life website consulting, flash animation creation, elaboration of graphic and logo design, e-commerce and shopping carts, site management, administering and maintenance, banner ads, marketing, engine position enhancing and promotions, search engine optimization, software testing and even online training.
Industry Overview
The industry of e-commerce is one of the fastest and most dynamically developing industries worldwide. Today it is quite difficult to accurately define the impact of the Internet on commerce in exact figures, but according to the estimates by 2000 there were about 260 million Internet users worldwide and by mid 2003 their number has grown more than twice and reached 580 millions. By 2005, their number is estimated to reach more than 770 million.
These figures show that the Internet has become very important and significant business medium through which buyers and sellers not only conduct transactions that were earlier conducted live, but carry out online-specific business buy-and-sell operations. Only three years ago, in the first three quarters of 2002, according to the figures of Department of Commerce [3], e-commerce transactions amounted to more than 20 billion dollars. It should be taken into account that those numbers are significantly lower than the amount of actual real transactions. Today, e-commerce is booming. Market size of e-commerce has reached immense volumes. Moreover, this growth tends to accelerate. While in 2002 total volume of retail American e-commerce sales was fixed at $44 billion, one year later it increased to 56 billion. Then, in 2003, online sales made only 1.6 of total sales, providing the ground to suggest that there is very large growth potential. Online sales are predicted to rise to 2.9% by the year of 2007. Thus, Internet economy force became more integral part of the entire US economy than it has ever been. Research conducted by the Cisco Systems (available at [2]) shows that the Web is transforming the way people work and the revenue from Internet transactions annually grows by more than 50 percent. Jupiter Research [4] reports that American B2B Internet commerce rates increased noticeably over the past 5 years and amount from $336 billion in 2000 to $ 6.3 trillion in 2005. Jupiter mentions five industries that have more than half of all buying and selling operations online. These are: aerospace and defense, chemicals, electronics, motor vehicle and parts, and computer and communications equipment and software. Among these industries, computer and communications equipment and software is leading with estimated number of online sales in this 2005 year reaching to $1 trillion.
That is very important for the current study since the project in question is to be launched in computer and communications industry. Therefore, proceeding from the trends mentioned in the industry of electronic commerce, one can assume that the direction of one's business connected to online service and e-commerce, notwithstanding powerful competition, has all the chances to further develop and gain success since this market sector is subject to enhancement, development and transformation. Since the number of Internet users is growing and the number of companies willing to be represented on the Web is increasing along with the number of companies launching online business, there is very high and further increasing demand in providing programming, design, site development and marketing services. Therefore, a new firm in the industry theoretically has solid opportunities to enter the market, whatever saturated it may be, and successfully develop. On the basis of abovementioned, the outline of relevant business target market gets clearly seen.
Target Market
The target market of the project is very vast one. It varies from individuals with the minimum requirements as to functionality, appearance and program possibilities of the site, to large companies with more solid and expensive orders. Since there are very different kinds of customers with various interests and needs, each requiring different approach and professional level of performance, they should be segmented into distinct groups. By segmenting the customers, the company increases its chances on success.
The customers were divided according to the level of the desired product complexity. After such criterion, three levels can be distinguished: those requiring basic site development; intermediate level, and sophisticated one. Basic level implies comparatively low cost of services and is fine for individual customers, non-professional companies specializing, for example, in online selling of a small range of products. According to its name, this solution anticipates limited functionality, simple design, and quick implementation of the order.
Second group of customers comprises those with intermediate level orders. Such sites should include...
Full version of Ecommerce International Marketing Plan is available at Ecommerce Marketing PlanAbout the Author
Anastasia Kurdina is a person of manifold gifts. Almost every her writing is followed by lavish testimonials from satisfied customers. Anastasia specializes in marketing, management, sociology and history. Anastasia is not an essay writer in a common sense. She is a Poet, an Analyst, an Artist, a Critic, ... . Get to know her better now at Your Personal Writer.
Ecommerce & SEO
The purpose of any business website is to promote a product or service online. The purpose of an ecommerce website is to take it one step further and to allow your visitors to purchase your products or services directly from your website. This model has many great advantages over the non-ecommerce website in that it allows for the generation of revenue with little-or-no time spent in selling past the cost to have the website designed and maintained, and it does not require the visitor to call you during business hours thus helping secure the sale to an impulse buyer. If your website provides all the information that the buyer would want, you can save significant money in sales time spent in that the visitor can find all the information they need to decide to buy from you without taking up your time or that of one of your sales staff. But ecommerce sites have a serious drawback as well; very few of them can be properly indexed by search engine spiders and thus will fail to rank highly.
A non-ecommerce website may have the disadvantage on not being able to take the visitor's money the second they want to spend it, however if it can be found on the first page of the search engines while your beautifully designed ecommerce site sits on page eight, the advantage is theirs. The vast majority of visitors will never get to see your site, let alone buy from you, whereas a non-ecommerce site may lose sales because they don't sell online but at least they're able to deliver their message to an audience to begin with. So what can be done? The key is in the shopping cart you select.
SEO & Shopping Carts
The biggest problem with many SEO-friendly ecommerce solutions is that they are created after the initial product. Shopping cart systems such as Miva Merchant and OS Commerce are not designed with the primary goal of creating pages that will be well-received by the search engine spiders. Most shopping cart systems out there today are not in-and-of-themselves even spiderable and require 3rd party add-ons to facilitate even the lowest form of SEO-friendliness. The money you may have saved in choosing an inexpensive shopping cart may very well end up costing you your business in the long run, especially if you are using your shopping cart as the entire site, which we have seen may times in the past.
What Can Be Done?
There are essentially two solutions to this problem. The first is to create a front-end site separate from the shopping cart. What this will effectively do is create a number of pages that can be easily spidered (assuming that they're well designed). The drawback to this course of action is that your website will forever be limited to the size of the front-end site. Which brings us to the second option: choose a search engine friendly shopping cart system.
Finding an SEO-friendly shopping cart system is far easier said than done. There are many factors that have to be taken into account including the spiderability of the pages themselves, the customization capacity of the individual pages, the ease of adding products and changing the pages down the road, etc. While I've worked with many shopping cart and
ecommerce systems, to date there has been only one that has truly impressed me in that it is extremely simple to use, it allows for full customization of individual pages and the product pages get fully spidered to the point where they have PageRank assigned. A rarity in the shopping cart world.
Easy As Apple Pie
Mr. Lee Roberts, President of Rose Rock Design and creator of the Apple Pie Shopping Cart, was kind enough to take the time to speak with me regarding how he developed his system. Trying to get an understanding of how this system was born I inquired as to what differentiated their system from others. Without "giving away the farm", Lee pointed out that his system was unique in that the search engines were a consideration from the birth of this project. Rather than trying to jerry-rig a system that was already in place, he initiated the development of a system whose first task was to allow for easily spidered and customized pages. A significant advantage to be sure.
In further discussions he pointed out a few key factors that should be considered by all when choosing a shopping cart system. While more advance shopping cart systems that provide for SEO-friendly pages may seem more expensive, they save you the cost of developing a front-end site, maintaining the pricing on a static page if one goes that route, and of course - if all your site's pages are easily spidered and you can then have hundreds of additional relevant pages added to your site's overall strength and relevancy you have a serious advantage in the SEO "game". If a shopping cart system costs you an extra $100 per month to maintain but it's use provides you with an additional $5000 in sales that month did it really "cost" you $100?
What Lee has effectively done is to provide a shopping cart system that enables search engines to fully read and index every page. Additionally (and perhaps because of his history as an accessibility expert) the system is extremely easy to work with as a user and as an SEO. And of course that's our primary concern at Beanstalk.
Conclusion
It is not to say that the Apple Pie Shopping Cart is end-all-be-all of SEO for an ecommerce site, if it was Lee wouldn't be in the process of building a new version that will include many new features for Internet marketing and tracking, and we would be out of work. That said, if you've got an e-commerce site or are looking to have one built, one must consider what type of marketing strategy will be taken with the site and if SEO is one of those, insure to find a system that provides the same advantages as this one.
It may cost a bit more up front but doing it right the first time is far less costly than building a site that can't be marketed properly and to it's maximum potential.
About the Author
Dave Davies is the CEO of Beanstalk Search Engine Positioning and provides guaranteed SEO services to his clients. Visit Beanstalk’s blog to keep updated on the latest SEO news.
Ecommerce Solution For The Big And Small Business
Do you have a business? Were you told you needed an ecommerce solution to help your business? Do you need to know how and where to get an ecommerce solution? Perhaps you are not even sure what an ecommerce solution is. For those of you who have asked these questions, an answer has been found.
First off, you need to know what an ecommerce solution is. An ecommerce solution can be defined in many ways. An ecommerce solution is a way to define electronic shopping carts. An ecommerce solution is used for businesses that sell things on the web. An ecommerce solution makes it possible for any sale or transaction to be made. They enable the use of credit cards and other forms of payment to be used right on your website. It is used for large companies like Ebay or Amazon. But now an ecommerce solution is for small companies and businesses as well.
There are other aspects and definitions of this subject. An ecommerce solution can also be defined as software that allows you to do business on the web. It is also software that designs websites that are used just for selling products or services on the web. An ecommerce solution can also be defined as a company that hosts websites. Either way you look at it, an ecommerce solution is for anyone doing business on the web.
An ecommerce solution does many things, as you can now tell. Finding a good ecommerce solution can be a tedious task. The best thing to do is to go online and use a search engine. Type in ecommerce solution and look at the top websites listed that offer this. There are many ecommerce solution stores that offer free trials. Many often guarantee ease of set up, customizable solutions, and guaranteed results with powerful marketing tools and affiliate programs. All of this is included in a set price.
When looking for an ecommerce solution, shop around and see which one offers you the best deal. Most offer a set yearly fee. This can be anywhere from $300 to $800 a year. There are some ecommerce solution stores that offer a month to month contract, however. These are usually $55 to $100 a month. Many offer a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not happy with the results of the ecommerce solution and it's software.
With all of this in mind, you are that much closer to finding a great ecommerce solution. There are many options out there, so do your research. For anyone who wants to do business on the web, it is an absolute necessity. Soon you will be on your way to a profitable and successful web based business!
About the Author: Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.comercio-electronico.info/ a blog focusing on the Ecommerce,resources and articles. This site provides detailed information on Ecommerce. For more info on Ecommerce visit: http:comercio-electronico.info Source: http://www.isnare.com/
eCommerce Solutions
Copyright 2005 Paul Sanford
All of the long, grueling nights and an unknown number of working weekends spent converting your dream into reality finally paid off—in a big way! Affiliates are signing up every single day and the clicks have really turned into cash. Your success is not limited to a lonely website but several and all of them are helping you move very diverse product lines. The effort has really paid off and you are milking this Internet cash cow for all its worth but there is one little problem, isn’t there? You have reached a point where growing your business even more is almost impossible because instead of developing or acquiring new products like you know you should, you are spending all of your time maintaining and servicing the sites you already have. By the time you get finished signing up and communicating with the affiliates, processing the orders and payment information, and handling the logistics of delivery—the day is gone and you are out of time!
Now don’t get me wrong, this is a terrific problem to have but the fact remains that if you are not growing your business then that business is dying! Besides, none of us started these websites just to be bogged down in the trenches, did we? It was the creativity and that rush from seeing the business grow from a single seed of an idea into the
multi-domain, multi-product beauty it is now, right?
There is a way to free yourself from the day-to-day operations of your e-business—automation! That is absolutely correct because there are programs out there that can automate your multiple domains, divergent product lines, and multiple affiliate programs! What you desperately need is an Autoresponder Management solution that will automatically handle your affiliate sign-up and the terribly time-consuming task of payment processing and delivery! Such a system would allow you to streamline all of your varied websites and help you to generate the detailed reports you need to better analyze your results in a cost-effective and efficient manner! In fact, virtually all of the tasks that have prevented you from developing new products and acquiring others can in fact be fully automated in such a way as to leave control where it should be—in your hands—while completely freeing you to expand your initial vision even further! If a program can effectively manage all of the routines currently eating so much of your time in a more efficient manner, why even consider continuing to manage all of these tasks yourself? Isn’t working smarter and not harder what got you here in the first place?
About the Author
http://gettingrichfast.com/ecomm.htmlhttp://gettingrichfast.com/clickspy/
Ecommerce Solutions Compared
There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of businesses and organizations eager to assist and sell product online. Basically, they fall into four categories: credit card transactions, digital cash transactions, electronic fund transfers and telephone billing systems
The right choice for you depends upon your specific business requirements.
1. Merchant Internet Accounts. Pros: Consumers are familiar with credit cards with credit card transactions, consumers don’t have to download and install special plug-in. Credit card sales lends itself to impulse buying.
Cons: Consumers still have concerns regarding providing financial information online. This method does not lend itself well to the purchase of down loadable soft goods, such as software, art, graphics, etc
2. Electronic Cash Transactions Electronic money is an arrangement whereby the customer pays for the merchandise using, well, electronic money. Examples of this are the well known DigiCash, Cyberbucks, CyberCash, etc. Pros No credit card transactions are required. No concerns re charge backs. Lends itself well to micro payments.
Cons Many people are unfamiliar with the concept and shy away from unknown entities. Eliminates the possibility of impulse buying, unless both customer and merchant are already in same scheme. May not be available globally.
3. Electronic Fund Transfers Funds are transferred electronically from the customer’s bank account to yours. The best known method is the issuing of electronic checks Pros No credit card worries. Available to persons who don’t have credit cards
Cons A very new technology that some perceive as being less secure than other forms of ecommerce. Many customers aren’t set up to issue electronic cheques; time required to make the arrangements eliminates impulse buying. May not be available to international consumers.
4. Telephone Billing Systems A very new approach, telephone transactions allow the customer to purchase an item or service, and the amount is billed to his or her telephone bill. Pros Eliminates worries about credit cards (for both consumer and merchant) Safeguards soft merchandise â€" no possibility of theft or pirating. Cons Customer is required to download and install a plug-in. currently only available for soft merchandise but can do some limited transactions for hard goods. Currently available for sales using telephone modems and will not work for transactions over cable modems and ISDN lines.
About the author:
For more information on credit card processing,please visit http://www.paynetsystems.com/
ECOMMERCE SOLUTIONS…THE CALL OF THE TIME
There really is no doubting the impact of Information Technology on our lives. And a significant example of this is the application of ecommerce in business. Conducting business transactions has been changed to a great extent. Just what are ecommerce or e-commerce solutions? Ecommerce or e-commerce is the purchasing or selling of goods or services as well as the transfer of funds in any way by means of electronic communications in inter-company and intra-company business dealings. Moreover, ecommerce solution is also a key to conduct business by means of technology through the internet. There are actually four types of ecommerce existing today and these are the following: business to consumer ecommerce, business to business ecommerce, consumer to business ecommerce and the consumer to consumer ecommerce.
The business to consumer ecommerce involves businesses selling products and services to various individual customers. This kind of ecommerce is also known as online trading and auctions. On the other hand, the business to business ecommerce involves the transactions commencing between companies in which they sell to other businesses. This type of ecommerce also includes a transfer of well thought-out messages with other business partners over private networks or internet in order to create and transform business processes. Moreover, the business to business ecommerce is deemed toward the improvement as well as the simplification of the various business processes inside a company. This type of ecommerce is also geared toward the maximization of the efficiency when it comes to the many
transactions that a company engages into. Likewise, the business to business ecommerce is designed to achieve a quicker and flawless transaction that is controlled. Aside from that, business to business ecommerce is also effective in maintaining limited inventory as well as efficient enough to perform product refill and many more.
The consumer to business ecommerce is actually considered an unusual internet trend. Examples for this type of ecommerce are those individuals who for example are looking for hotels but have limited budget. What they do is that they place an ad on the internet saying that they are looking for a hotel at a rate that are just within their budget and then they also place there their contact numbers or email addresses if ever some hotels are interested. This example simply shows the marvelous capability of the internet to bring people together and create a cyber market wherein various people can transact their business.
On the other hand, the consumer to consumer ecommerce is considered to be the internet’s equivalent of an advertising market. This is where individual web users are allowed to put their ad for other consumers to react to. The advantage of this type of ecommerce is that people are able to save on advertising and then their ads are much faster and are easily reached by an unlimited number of customers like themselves.
For comments and suggestions about the article kindly visit http://www.webplacements.com/
About the Author
Jinky C. Mesias is a lover of simple things and of nature. She spends most of her time reading and writing poetry.
Ecommerce Store Owners : Want Visitors? Here’s How. . .
Have you recently opened an online store, and waiting for those customers to drop by and start shopping?
In cyberworld - unlike the real world - you just can’t pick a good location and rely on passing trade. You’ve got to work hard to get visitors to your virtual store.
Let’s take a look at how we can drum up a small stampede...
Are You Optimised?
To stand any chance of being ranked well in the free search engines, your site must be optimised for the keyword phrases you are targeting.
Research and develop a list of keywords related to your product line, using the free downloadable software at http://www.goodkeywords.com/ . From this list, you can find two or three well targeted phrases, with decent visitor traffic, and make sure your website is optimised for them. Include the phrases in the title, and meta tags, in the body text (several times) and “alt” mage tags.
Make sure your product listings are optimised too. The term “horse saddle” is searched for over 1900 times a month on one search engine alone, so make sure your product titles and descriptions include the relevant search term, rather than just the plain old product number, such as “Acme A35284”.
Are You Link Building?
Search engines are placing more and more importance on incoming links to your website – in a way, ty consider them to be votes for your site.
First, make sure you submit your site to the large list of directories that are crawled and indexed by popular search engine spiders. You can get the SEO friendly directory list free at http://www.info.vibesilencer.com/
Next, pursue an ongoing campaign of getting links from other websites. Try to make sure the sites are on a related theme. You can find sites that are linking to your competitors by typing “link:www.yourcompetitorswebsite.com “ into Google, and then approach them to request a link to your website.
One useful piece of software for researching and keeping track of link requests is available at http://www.seoelite.com/ . (If nothing else, the free search engine optimisation course is one of the best free courses I have ever come across)
Are You Using Pay Per Click Advertising?
There’s nothing like Pay Per click (PPC) for a quick shot in the arm! You can often have traffic within an hour of setting up a campaign with Google Adwords (http://www.google.com/ads). Overture is Google’s main Ppc competitor (http://www.overture.com/) and can take a few days to get up an running with, but they are now part of Yahoo! – and therefore mustn’t be overlooked.
Ppc search engines can provide you with extremely well targeted traffic that you can turn on and off like a tap. However, you must get your strategy right or you will haemorrhage cash ; develop a large list of targeted keywords, write a catchy text advert and don’t get drawn into bidding wars.
Are You Overlooking Your Existing Customers?
Once your online store starts getting customers, make sure you keep them. Develop a newsletter to keep in contact with them – and regularly send them details of special offers and new products. Repeat business is often overlooked – but it is a vital part of some of the webs most successful ecommerce operations.
And if you already have a “bricks and mortar” store, don’t forget to publicise your new online shop – include it in all your stationery and marketing materials.
The marketing and promotion of an online store is an ongoing project. The most successful store owners know how important it is to set aside time each week to attend to marketing - whether it’s link building, writing a newsletter or keeping abreast of the latest online marketing developments – success comes to those who consistently put the work in.
© 2005 Robin Porter.
About the Author
Robin Porter has been CEO of London based web designer Arpey Internet (http://www.arpey.co.uk/) for over six years.
Ecommerce that Makes Sense
We weigh the merits of ready-made and custom solutions to add ecommerce to your site.In our last Tips we cautioned that just having a shopping cart on your website isn't enough to make ecommerce work. This month we'll weigh the merits of ready-made and custom solutions to set up ecommerce on your site.
IT ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE ANYMORE
There was a time when selling products online required months of conjuring by highly-paid programmers. Those days are gone. Large companies with complex requirements still need custom programming (to tap a mainframe for inventory information, for example). But for the vast majority of small businesses there's a ready-made solution.
Be wary of web programmers who propose to spend a large number of hours building a shopping cart. Either they've done this before and are trying to charge you full price for something they already developed, or worse, they've been living under a rock for the past five years and have never done an ecommerce site.
ADDING ECOMMERCE TO AN EXISTING SITE
If you already have a website, the first thing you should do is check the ecommerce solutions your web host offers. You may already have a solution available, or you may be able to pay a small upgrade fee to access one.
If you have a website with a list of your products online, you may try a shopping-cart-only service, such as 1ShoppingCart (http://www.1shoppingcart.com/). This type of service lets you add "buy now" buttons to your existing web catalog. When a buyer clicks the button, she's taken from your website to a checkout area on the ecommerce provider's site.
This can be a quick and easy way to set up a shopping cart. A mid-range account with 1ShoppingCart costs $40 per month. The downside is that, although you can add your own logo, the checkout area doesn't look exactly like your site. This may discourage some buyers.
CREATING A NEW SITE WITH ECOMMERCE
There are a variety of web-based services which provide a complete shopping cart and product catalog system. Yahoo Store (store.yahoo.com) is a good example. For $50 per month and 0.5% of each transaction (that's in addition to whatever you pay your credit-card processing company) you get a fairly complete package.
You choose from a variety of templates and then set up your store. It takes about 1/2 hour if you have copy and digital product photos. One benefit of a Yahoo storefront is inclusion in their ecommerce directory. It's like opening a store in a mall that already has good traffic. The downside? Although it is possible to customize a Yahoo store, it may end up looking a bit "cookie-cutter" and unprofessional. CUSTOMIZING A READY-MADE SOLUTION
For the most professional look and feel you'll want to hire a web development firm to customize a pre-built ecommerce system. Some web firms work with Miva Merchant (http://www.miva.com/). Another example is Resolve Digital's REDiSHOP module. Costs are higher than a Yahoo store: a license is typically $500 - $1,000 and web development can range from around $2,000 to $10,000.
The advantage of this approach is that the firm uses pre-built functionality so you don't pay to reinvent the wheel. Your money will be spent on those aspects of the site which are unique to you-- professional graphics, layout, and branding-- all of which can increase consumer confidence in your site.
SETTING UP A MERCHANT ACCOUNT
A merchant account enables your website to accept credit card orders in real time. Customers enter credit card information and funds are deposited in your account automatically. Firms such as Charge.com provide this service fairly inexpensively.
Your credit must be approved and you have to pay setup, monthly, per-transaction-fixed, and per-transaction-percentage fees. These are generally around $200, $25, $.20, and 2.5% respectively. If you look around you may find a provider running a special and waiving the setup fee.
Most ecommerce systems offer a preferred merchant account vendor. If the prices are within the range noted above you might as well go with that to minimize setup. You can also get a merchant account through your bank, but it'll be more expensive.
CONCLUSION
If you'd like to test the waters of ecommerce inexpensively, a service like Yahoo may be your best option. If you want to present a more professional face to the public, hire a firm to develop your site by customizing a pre-built ecommerce product. And remember, avoid anyone who wants to build you a shopping cart system from scratch.
About the Author
Barry Harrison and Jim Grady are the co-authors of REDiTIPS. REDiTIPS is a free monthly newsletter that offers simple techniques to market your Web site and grow your business. We provide practical, low-cost ideas to help you promote your small business and reach new potential customers.
Ecommerce Turnkey Sites
Turnkey host sites normally offer the complete package, which normally includes hosting as well as products. Turnkey means an already stocked business, depending on the store it might be stocked with from 10 products to thousands.
These hosts usually charge a setup fee to create your store. A domain name may or may not be included in the price and there is usually a monthly fee for maintaining your store.
Some stores provide you with products at a base price and allow you to add your own markup. Others charge a fee for each product sold while others simply pay you a commission off each item sold. You choose what best suits you, but you will make the largest profit from those that you can markup yourself.
Do not be lured buy quick promises of up to 50% commission. Often times months down the line you are still waiting on your first cheque as you have not sold anything. Sometime these products are very expensive or of such a quality that your customers will not buy.
Another thing some hosts fail to tell is that you have to promote the store yourself. So
get ready, in addition to paying a monthly fee, you will have to start driving traffic to your website. This can prove costly but there are ways around it, such as through site optimization and site submissions.
One of the greatest things about these turnkey hosting packages however is that you do not need to hold inventory. All your products are pre-stocked and for some hosts, you do not even need to worry about accepting payment. Everything is taken care of, these services are usually all included in the monthly fee. This does seem to make your transition into the world of ecommerce a little easier but does not guarantee you the best monetary remuneration.
So the choice of E-Commerce Turnkey host is yours, only you and your business idea will determine the best host for you.
About the author:
This newsletter is written and copyrighted by K Valentine, owner of Web Hosts Value a web hosting site and Jamaican Stores Jamaican Products. mailto:valencia@valenciastores.com
Ecommerce Web Hosting: All you need to know
Gone are the days when the Internet was only for the geek labs and university libraries. With the emergence of accessible connectivity and affordable technology, ecommerce and online business are not futuristic concepts. Websites like Amazon and Ebay are the prime examples of successful online business ventures.
If you are planning to start your online business or an ecommerce website, you need to be careful about where you host your website. There are two things that are very important to run an ecommerce website: a well-designed, content-rich website and a host that supports seamless hosting. Remember that your ecommerce host is the backbone of your business. Imagine what would happen if there are hundreds of customers eager to pay you and your website is down or certain sections are inaccessible. Or for that matter, some mischievous hackers steals your important customer and sales database and wrecks havoc with your business. Choosing an ecommerce or an online business web host is not as simple as choosing a web host for a normal website.
As it happens with any brick and mortar business, you need to take many things into account before choosing your ecommerce web host. How many other online business websites are they already hosting? What has been their track record till now? What do the other ecommerce entrepreneurs think of them? What all tools do they provide when you purchase their ecommerce web hosting package? Along with these, let us discuss in points what makes a host good for your ecommerce or online business website.
THE HOSTING PLATFORM FOR YOUR ECOMMERCE WEBSTIE
If you yourself are not developing/coding your website then your developer should be able to advise you what business hosting platform you require for your website. You may need Windows environment or Unix/Linux combination according to your website's development environment and tools implementation. For example, if your developer is an experienced ASP (active server pages) programmer, he/she would prefer a Windows web hosting environment, but if he/she prefers PHP, then you'll have to go for Linux/Unix business web hosting. Although different people have different issues with both the web hosting types, it all depends on personal preferences.
THE UPTIME OF YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS WEBSITE
This is the bane of countless webmasters. Millions in revenues are lost because when customers arrive at the websites, the ecommerce websites are down or some of the critical pages are not available. The customers arrive with the intention of making a purchase but there is no facility available...this is the worst nightmare for an ecommerce entrepreneur or a business person.
Make sure your ecommerce web host manages parallel servers so that
if one server goes down, the others can take over. Your business web host should give you the guaranteed security of your critical data.
THE BANDWIDTH OF YOUR ECOMMERCE WEB HOST
An ecommerce website requires lots of traffic in order to generate business because, as it happens with every business in this world, not every visitor is a buyer or a customer. 10 or 20 people do business if 1000s of visitors come to your website. You have to make provision for lots of traffic, and that too, targeted traffic.
THE STORAGE SPACE OF YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS WEB HOSTING PACKAGE
Ecommerce websites take up more space compared to normal, non-commercial or semi-commercial websites. First of all, you need an online database to maintain comprehensive inventory details. Then, you may have tens of flash files or hundreds of image files if your buyers would like to view the images or if they want to go through some sort of an online catalog. Keep your future server space requirements in mind while negotiating for an ecommerce hosting package.
THE NUMBER OF EMAIL ACCOUNTS YOUR ECOMMERCE WEB HOST OFFERS
Some business web hosts offer a limited number of POP3 email accounts that you can manage through software like Outlook and Firefox and some offer an unlimited number. Some don't provide a POP3 email account at all and you need to manage all your emails through a web-based interface. Make sure what your email requirements are going to be and go for an ecommerce web hosting package accordingly.
OTHER TOOLS WITH YOUR ECOMMERCE WEB HOSTING PACKAGE
* Some other tools you may want to check out are: Autoresponders: most ecommerce hosts these days provide free autoresponders. * Multiple FTP accounts: You may need multiple FTP accounts if you have a big team of programmers. * FrontPage extensions: FrontPage is shipped with lots tools for an easy and fast assemblage of a basic ecommerce website but these tools need some extensions installed on the server. If you are getting your business website developed using FrontPage, you'll need the extensions available on the server of the web host. * Secure Socket Layer (SSL): SSL can be used to collect sensitive data from your site visitors, to ensure that your emails are not intercepted online, and to provide a sense of security for your customers. * Shopping cart software: Some business web hosting packages are shift with a shopping cart. About the Author Rodel Garcia is a freelance programmer and web developer. Owner and webmaster of http://web-hosting-service-directory.com/ecommerce-web-hosting.html
eCommerce Web Site Building: Where Do I Start?
An article discussing the details on what tools, skills, and services you might need to start an ecommerce business.
Building a web site isn't something that is really cut and dry. There's a huge variety of products and services that can either help you get your web site where you want it or simply confuse you. It's also important that you make the right choices upfront so that you don't end up having to restructure your whole web site because of some problem in your design layout. The level of time investment neccessary for mastery in a lot of these software packages can range from little to a VERY significant amount. Because of this I feel it's important to be lead in the "right" direction to make sure you don't spend time in the wrong areas, or learning some software that might not be all that useful for you later on (coughs Frontpage coughs). Where you should start greatly depends on what you plan on attempting to do, and how deep you're going to dive in. For a moderately professional, clean looking web site without a lot of automation or intensive animated graphics you can probably get by with some basic knowledge of html, ability with a good WYSIWYG editor, and an image editting program. On the other hand, if you're someone that's looking to build something that will really wow your audience then you might consider spending some major time and developing some animation skills with a program like Macromedia Flash. I personally always spring for what I believe will bring me the greatest amount of profit with a minimal amount of effort, and because of this I usually end up spending all of my time diving in deeper with ONLY my WYSIWYG HTML editor, and my image editor.
What is a "WYSIWYG" editor?
A WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor is what allows you to get by with minimal knowledge of HTML. Yes, that means you don't have to know EVERYTHING about HTML to have a decent looking website. When you use a WYSIWYG editor it interprets what you're doing (inserting an image for example) as being a certain series of HTML tags with attributes, and does it for you... Thus, what you see on your screen is what you get. Instead of seeing a bunch of HTML code in text format, you'll mostly see what will actually show up in your browser once your web site is up WHILE you're making it. I highly recommend using the latest version of dreamweaver -- it is well-known as one of the best HTML editors by general consensus. Dreamweaver's interface is very friendly, has a built in FTP client, and is specifically built to be flexible enough to suit both the coder and the everyday amatuer webmaster.
Image editing? What do I need that for?
Okay, let's be realistic here: If you're going to make a professional appearing web site it's important that you can make some basic, decent looking graphics. There's a lot of graphics problems that can truly get the job done, but as far as power and flexibility goes I recommend Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop definitely takes some time getting used to, but in the end it's VERY rewarding. I've ended up using my knowledge of Photoshop to make not only graphics for multiple web sites, but also touched up portraits, made business cards, flyers, and other online advertisments such as banners. Infact, I've used it for everything except animation... But it also comes with Adobe Imageready which is very good with animation. This software is amazing, and if you're going to learn ANY image editing software I recommend you start with Photoshop because of it's widerange of overall... usefulness! Let's get me some sales!
Kick off your new web site you've gotten up from your knowledge of webmastering and image editing with a few new sales... Sounds like a plan? Well a great way to do that quickly is with pay-per-click advertising. BUT WAIT! Doesn't that cost money? Well... Yes. But with the tools brought to us by some of the biggest pay-per-click advertisers out there we should be able to make a good evaluation of how much profit we're going to make without much investment upfront.
The big question behind pay-per-click advertising is whether or not it's worth the cash when you can simply get traffic from regular search engine ranking (otherwise known as organic traffic). Afterall, there are plenty of companies out there that promise to help get you all the traffic you need through optimizing your web site for organic ranking. The answer to this question is quite simple: profit is profit. Through conversion tracking tools such as those offered by Yahoo! Search Marketing and Google Adwords anyone can calculate exactly what their profit is after cost of PPC advertising is taken out. In my opinion, Google Adwords has the most user-friendly interface among the PPC advertisers. Google Adword's interface makes it very easy to see which keywords are pulling you in the most sales, and which ones aren't even worth your advertising money.
Let us not forget, however, that in order to make those conversions we're going to be needing a shopping cart! There's a lot of diverse software packages out there you can use, but I've been using Mal's E-Commerce Free shopping cart for a number of years with great success. The cart's server is hosted on their machines so that means you not only get away with not having to pay for the software itself, but you get out of having to buy an SSL security ticket too! Nothing's a better bargain than free, eh?
Getting those sales leads you've been building up to BUY!
Once you've scored a few sales it would probably be a good idea to start using some kind of lead management services. I highly recommend the use of autoresponders for this purpose. Autoresponders are, essentially, a newsletter sign-up that allows you to strategically determine what you want to send each lead after a certain alotted amount of time. For example, let's say someone visits your web site and you offer them a free newsletter. If you were selling an ebook on some very complicated topic, you might consider sending them only information on the most basic concepts at first to get them interested. Slowly but surely, you can turn those visitors that might have left your web site and never have returned into some serious revenue!As far as autoresponders go, I highly recommend the use of Aweber. Their customer service is superb (seriously, these guys really know their stuff!) and can be contacted at any point during the business day via online chat or phone. They also offer tons of free information, and guides on making the most of their services. Check out their month long free trial at http://www.getaweber.com/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jacob Richards currently runs a website on the topic of building an ecommerce web site.
Ecommerce Web Sites: If You Build It They Will Come - Or Will They?
"If you build it they will come" is one of the memorable lines from the movie "Field of Dreams", one of my favorite movies, by-the-way. An ordinary guy had a dream about building a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield. He carried through with his dream, and the players came, and the fans followed.Many people today have the dream of building their own ecommerce internet business, their own "Cyberspace Field of Dreams." The problem is, in most cases, there is nothing to distinguish their web site from the thousands of other ecommerce web sites on the internet. They built it, but "no one is coming."
The guy in the movie built something truly unique, something that really stood out. What could stand out more than a baseball field in the midst of a cornfield? If you want people to come to your "field of dreams", you must make it truly unique just as the guy in the movie did.
The guy in the movie worked hard building a baseball field that he, the players, and especially the fans, could all be proud of. That's what you must do with your web site! Hard work paid off for him, and it will pay off for you as well. Bear in mind too that the work doesn't end the minute the field is finished. The next phase starts as we work to let people know about our "field", and why they should visit, participate, and buy.It pays to do it right. Don't make the mistake of doing it halfway. Don't just build an "infield", build the whole ballpark, and make it a fun and interesting place for the "fans" to visit.
Make your dream stand out from the crowd! Your dream is yours, it's unique! Put your personal stamp, your own "personal touch", on it. After it's built, keep it "mowed and watered" and make it a place that people will want to come back to time-after-time.
So go, create your own "field of dreams" online, but know that when it's built, you need to nourish and maintain it, and the rewards will follow.About the Author
Lewis Poteet is a web designer/eCommerce business owner.
Web Hosting, Merchant Accounts, eCommerce Solutions at http://www.ecomandmore.com/.
My eCommerce blog is at http://www.eComAndMore.com/blog.
Ecommerce website overview accepting payments online
According to searchmerchants.com, there are an infinite number of choices for accepting payments online. You can accept online payments from an ECommerce Web site in two general ways.
1) Through your own online merchant account 2) Through a third party online payment processor.Accepting Payments Online through your own Internet Merchant Account
Accepting payments online via a merchant account puts you in control and limits your reliability on outside payment acceptance services. Besides an Internet merchant account, you will need shopping cart software, a store or site host, a processor, and a secure payment gateway. You may fit these pieces together in several different ways. On one end of the spectrum, you can choose the provider for each piece individually. On the other end, you may choose a turnkey solution, where a single provider has completed the puzzle for you. There is no single best solution. Your choice will depend on your particular needs and experience. Among other considerations, you should factor in your own comfort with the technologies, customer convenience, providers' service levels, available technical support, reliability, costs, and time commitment involved.
Accepting Payments Online through a Third Party Online Payment ProcessorIf you are not ready to set up your own online merchant account and/or you want to offer additional online payment options, you can turn to a variety of third party online payment processors. Third party online payment processors provide a way to accept payments online without the extra cost and obligation of a merchant account. To compensate, transaction fees and/or discount rates are significantly higher than for merchant accounts.
About the author:
For more information on merchant services,please visit http://www.paynetsystems.com/
ECOMMERCE: YOUR OPPORTUNITIES ARE UNLIMITED
Peter Drucker believes ecommerce will be to the InformationRevolution what the railroads were to the Industrial Revolution.* To oversimplify, the Industrial Revolution was a time in whichtools were produced that replaced people in the manufacture ofgoods. In the first thirty years, all was devoted to producingknown products with machines.
While there were drastic social changes with the massiveshift from rural to urban living, there was little change in theproducts produced and purchased. They only became more readilyavailable at ever more modest cost.
Only later did the Industrial Revolution produce somethingnew - the railroads. For the first time in history, people couldreadily move great distances inexpensively. (Hauling freightcame much later.) Railroads brought a thirty year boom inEurope, and an even longer one in the United States. While manyother parts of the world got started somewhat later, the boom didnot end for them until the outbreak of World War I.
What Will Arise From The Information Revolution?
The parallels between the Industrial and InformationRevolutions are astonishing. Thus far computers, the Web, andinformation technology have created nothing dramatically new. They have merely changed the ways in which information isgathered, managed and reported. And to some extent, the way inwhich consumers purchase goods.
Computers themselves have changed the way in which productsare manufactured, including their design. And a few new spinoffshave come to the fore. But there has not been anythingrevolutionary in any of this. Nothing yet has had the impact ofrailroads on the whole of the social fabric.
If Drucker is correct, ecommerce will have an impactequivalent to that of the railroads earlier. Thus far the Webhas produced less change in the way business is done than orecars running on steel rails effected mining. In short, the realdrama and excitement is yet to be revealed.
Given easy access to the Web, you and I have been invited tojoin in. For myself, I don't want to miss a beat.
A Radical Shift Is Upon Us
There appears to be an awesome and exciting shift emerging inthe way business is done. There are those who feel that if it'sgood for business, it's good. Period. I hold a different view:If it's not good for people, it's not good.
Many with a business orientation are likely to abandon mythinking here. Those convinced people are sheep born to beshorn certainly will. But whatever your view, enormous changesin the way in which business is done are rushing down upon us. Companies who do not embrace them, will be swept away intohistory.
What Will Customer Service Come To Mean?
For example, automated telephone systems and elevator musicwill fade away, as will the companies that cling to suchbarriers. People will not be content much longer, with clutchinga phone to their ear, trying to accomplish some other task, whilewaiting for the answer they need right now.
"The customer comes first" will remain the driving forcebehind all successful businesses. Today, such phrases mumbled byall are generally mere tokenism. Tomorrow they will come to havean entirely new meaning.
Contemporary companies provide such services at theirconvenience. The endless round of voice mail and recordings in which busy people respond only to leave yet another message will come to a screeching halt. Successful companies will provide support when a customer requests it. And they willdo so quickly.
Conglomerates May Become Extinct
People have had enough of businesses concerned about theirbottom line. They are becoming increasingly concerned abouttheir own needs. They are even now turning away from those whofail to recognize this. Business success in the future willdepend heavily upon effective customer support providedimmediately upon request.
Conglomerates may be dinosaurs, so huge, so driven by theirown inertia, they will disintegrate back into the smaller partsfrom which they were created. Such companies talk of customerrelationships, but often do all possible to avoid any semblanceof one-on-one customer support. Smaller firms can be responsive. Those who are, will outperform those who are not.
I am excited about the future for Cyberpreneurs. They willunderstand they need their customers more than the customer needsthem. Untroubled by the constraints of contemporary businesspractices, they will see responsiveness to customers as anessential fundamental of their business. This characteristic ofitself will give them a competitive edge over large businessesthat do not.
The Future Is Yours For The Taking
One by one, creative people will consider ways in whichconglomerates produce and deliver products. They will thendiscover a way in which they can do so more effectively. Themuch larger company will hardly be aware of the tiny loss inrevenue. But given many such losses, the bottom line will beginto erode.
Completely new business models will emerge. They will seemso right, so perfectly attuned to both the needs of businessesand consumers, we will wonder why they did not appear muchsooner.
There will be a return to a "Rural," rather than an "Urban,"pattern of living, one independent of where you choose to live. In this "reversal," there will be a return to individuals beingvalued. Once again, as was so prior to the IndustrialRevolution, people will be both producer and consumer, making a significant contribution in both roles.
The Real "New World"
I continue to hear the Web is not real. That it is nothingmore than herds of impulses stampeding about on copper or opticalcables. What is reality? I will leave this to the philosophers. But there is no question in my mind; the Web is real. A newreality, at that.
You can feel the awesome power and unlimited resourcessurging from the collective dynamic of millions and millions of people the world over. People who are real. Our interactionwith each other is real, and now unlimited by nationalboundaries. The Web itself is but a tool. Not unlike thetelephone, but magnitudes more powerful. It facilitates theability to interrelate, to communicate one-on-one. And we willdo so in ways not yet imagined.
Welcome to today's "New World."
(Taken from "Your Path To Success" to be released in September, 2001)__________________*"Beyond the Information Revolution" by Peter F. Drucker, "TheAtlantic Monthly," Oct 1999, p47-57.
About the Author
Bob McElwainWant to build a winning site? Improve one you already have? Fix one that's busted? Get ANSWERS. Subscribeto "STAT News" now! mailto:join-stat@lyris.dundee.netWeb marketing and consulting since 1993Site: Phone: 209-742-6349
eConnect: eCommerce development for Microsoft Great Plains
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has several options to enable web ordering. Traditionally Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise had eOrder – this is ASP pages based ordering application, enabling you to place or retrieve your Sales Order Processing (SOP) Sales Orders over the web. There were several drawbacks however with eOrder. You should be the customer in Great Plains company database to be able placing the orders. Also if you were planning to customize eOrder – you could only do cosmetic style changes only – if you wanted to alter scripts on the ASP pages – then you would have very serious eOrder upgrade issues. Upgrade simply wipes out your custom scripts and you had to reapply your customization to new version enriched ASP pages. Instead of following the way to move eOrder to ASPX or .Net platform – MBS introduced eConnect, enabling web designer to “connect” eCommerce site to Great Plains backend. This is very elegant module and solution, however we are hearing a lot of complaints from developers on eConnect restrictions.• SOP Invoice posting. It is not enabled in eConnect. However you should probably first understand the architecture of Microsoft Great Plains. Order takers supposed to enter Sales Order and submit it (place in the batch and save) to the manager for approval (taking off transfer/print/post holds). eConnect enables you to create or update Great Plains objects, but it doesn’t allow you to process them (post) – this would open a gap in the security/approval cycle.• Order Transfer. Again – this is similar problem to the invoice posting. Both Order and Invoice could be subject to holds and approvals. eCommerce logic might need partial or full order transfer to invoice or even backorder, based on the item availability status.Why would you then need to purchase eConnect? Maybe just go ahead and program the connection in SQL stored procedures? The answer is – eConnect allows you to allocate items in
Great Plains Inventory Control module. It would take you a lot of time (if you are new to Great Plains tables structure and never coded in Great Plains Dexterity). Plus eConnect allows you to create and update customer record in Great Plains – this is however relatively simple to imitate in the stored procedure.Then what is the solution?• Do not allow order transfer and posting through eCommerce. This is probably the best advise we could give you – just create orders, or invoices, leave them to the Great Plains user to approve and post. However in some cases it is absolutely critical and required• Look for Invoice posting stored proc on the market. You are not the first and not the last one to face this dilemma – somebody already has it implemented (SOP10200, SOP10100, SOP30200, SOP30300 tables)• Microsoft Small Business Financials or former Microsoft Small Business Manager. In your case – you need the whole set of stored procedures to enable eCommerceGreat Plains version: more likely you are using eConnect for Great Plains Standard or Great Plains Professional 7.5, 8.0 and in the future 8.5 or 9.0Good luck in e-Commerce developing and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.comAndrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com
Evaluating Vendors of Ecommerce Fulfillment Services
Once your website has secured an order, you have to fulfill it. While the fulfillment of digital goods is usually handled online, the delivery of physical goods is handled in a "brick-and-mortar" world.
When choosing a fulfillment company ( http://www.4th-media.net/order_fulfillment/decision_making.php ) for your ecommerce operation, you need to evaluate both fulfillment services and ecommerce services for order processing.
Evaluating Fulfillment Services
Fulfillment services includes receiving, inventorying, warehousing, delivery, record-keeping and customer inquiries. You have options to outsource part of or all of fulfillment services to a third party.
Receiving - This is the process that fulfillment vendors acquire goods from suppliers and the accuracy of services starts at the receiving.
Inventorying - The skills of inventory management directly impact the quality and cost of fulfillment. If inventory is out of stock, you may lose customers. If inventory level is too high, it may increase the cost of inventory.
Warehousing - Physical goods are stored in a warehouse and valuable items are usually stored in secure storage. While fulfillment companies have their warehouses and distribution centers, small businesses can store goods in their garages or basements.
Shipping - For order fulfillment, goods are delivered to customers in various shipping methods - ground, overnight, etc. at fulfillment centers. Customers specify shipping methods when they place their orders and the fulfillment companies may adjust the shipping methods of the delivery.
Return and Order Inquiry - Customer
Service Reps at fulfillment companies can handle return and refund for their clients. Most ecommerce sites allow customers to view their orders and status of fulfillment online. Record Keeping and Reporting - The ability to track all information pertinent to the order fulfillment (from inventory items, customers, orders to shipping) will help businesses to gain insights into the behaviors of their customers. Fulfillment companies and large organizations usually install inventory and fulfillment management software to automate the processes. Small business owners can find shareware for less than $100.
Evaluating Ecommerce Services
E-commerce fulfillment vendors are usually fulfillment vendors that provide ecommerce services related to fulfillment.
Online Catalog - Ecommerce fulfillment vendors can either develop online storefronts for you or integrate your online storefronts into their backend fulfillment system.
Online Payment Processing - Online storefronts from ecommerce fulfillment providers should have the ability to process payments online in credit card, electronic check, and purchase order. Using a fulfillment company, you can accept credit card online without a online merchant account (http://www.4th-media.net/online_payment/online_merchant_account.php ).
Copyright © 2005, Bruce Zhang
About The Author
Bruce Zhang had worked a few years in distribution and fulfillment industry. He contributes to Order Fulfillment ( http://www.4th-media.net/order_fulfillment/ ) section of an ecommerce ( http://www.4th-media.net/ ) website.
Ever Wondered What An eCommerce Merchant Account Is?
An eCommerce merchant account can be likened to the cashier of an actual, physical store. They process payments, and eCommerce merchant accounts do the same, albeit, with added flair and whole lot more features. Much like how an actual, physical store cannot do business with a cashier, an online business would falter without a reliable eCommerce merchant account, sales can be lost and credibility lost.
But what is an eCommerce merchant account, exactly?
An Ecommerce Merchant Account Is The Heart Of Your Business.
An eCommerce merchant account can be likened to the human heart which makes living a reality by pumping blood to every vital organ of the body. An eCommerce merchant account does the same thing for an online enterprise. The operations of an Internet venture depend on the profit that can be made, and an eCommerce merchant account makes this possible.
An eCommerce merchant account can be availed of by choosing the many services that can be found in the World Wide Web. But bear in mind that not all eCommerce merchant accounts are built alike. Some eCommerce merchant accounts are simply better than others.
Choosing The Right Ecommerce Merchant Account For Your Business' Needs.
There are certain considerations which you must pay attention to when choosing the right eCommerce merchant account for your needs. Let us take a look at them so that we may be guided in determining the most appropriate eCommerce merchant account worthiest of our investments.
* Applicable fees.
Some eCommerce merchant accounts charge a monthly rate. Some eCommerce merchant accounts charge a onetime fee. With this regard, your choice of an eCommerce merchant account would depend on how much you are capable of spending.* Credibility. Ecommerce merchant accounts are your partners for profit. As such, you should select the eCommerce merchant account with a proven history of reliability. You wouldn't want to entrust your payments to an eCommerce merchant account that would just crumble as soon as you sign up, right?
* Coverage. The perfect eCommerce merchant account should be able to process payments from popular payment sources. This means that such an eCommerce merchant account should be able to accommodate users who would pay with major credit cards. Additionally, it would be ideal if such an eCommerce merchant account would also be able to process payments from other alternative online payment schemes, like PayPal, Stormpay, E-Gold and the likes.
An eCommerce merchant account could also be likened to a ship that would bring your to the Promised Land of online success. The waters may be rough, but if your eCommerce merchant account is made of sturdy stuff, you will reach your destination with flying colors.About the Author
Jeff Usher researches and writes articles on all aspects of Internet Marketing and eCommerce. For further information on the subject of this article please visit:- http://www.more-merchant-account.info/
Eyes on your eCommerce Website
Copyright 2005 Richard Keir
In a recent article I talked about Google AdSense placement based on eye-tracking research. However, research by The Poynter Institute, Eyetools and the Estlow Center for Journalism and New Media has a lot to say about more than where to put an AdSense block.
Designing an eCommerce site is more than making it pretty. You have certain desired actions you're looking for from your visitors. You have specific things you want to be sure they see and hopefully act on. Now, there's some research that can guide your design. Certainly you want your site to look professional, but you want it to do its job as effectively as possible too.
People are surprisingly alike in some of their basic visual behavior. It's been argued that our evolution as hunter-gatherers has shaped much of our ingrained visual patterns. Whether you buy that particular argument or not there are still important commonalities.
Typical behavior on initially viewing a site is to do a fast scan of the entire visible screen with short focusing periods around the areas that attract attention. First pass tends to include headlines, the page logo, photo captions, subheads, links and menu items. And the big hot spot is the upper left corner of the screen. I haven't seen any definitive research on whether these patterns also hold for users with native languages that read any way except left to right, but I'm assuming most of you are building sites for left-to-right readers.
The clear message is that your most important real estate is in that upper left area and that the lower right (particularly if it's below the fold) is the least likely to receive much attention.
How you use your words in a headline, paragraph or link can make a huge difference in your success at capturing a visitor's attention. The concept is called frontloading. Wherever you can make sure your critical terms appear at the very beginning of headlines, links and other text. It's still got to make sense, but the first few words are far more likely to be at least scanned then the middle or end of a headline or link or the inside of a paragraph.
The exact same words can have drastically different capture rates depending on their order. You want to maximize the probability that the visitor will read a whole headline or link and then act on it. So put the most significant, enticing words first - the ones that are the best grabbers and convey the subject immediately.
You don't have a lot of time to mess about. It's been reported that a typical surfer may be off your page in well under 14 seconds unless something grabs his or her attention fast. Remember the upper-left? You want to do an especially good job with headlines, link and text in that area.
Dropcaps (where the first capitalized letter in a line is in a different, often unusual, font and extends below the normal text base-line), bolding, font changes and color changes can also serve as strong eye-attractors. If you try these techniques you need to be careful that you don't overuse them (your page will look like a mess), and it's extremely important that you test whether or not they're actually doing what you want. Annoying as it may be, running tests is the only way to make sure it's an improvement.
Do you use lists? Have you made sure that they're in-line and as close to the left margin as possible? Don't ever use an outline format with multiple indents. People scan down, not across and they tend to scan close to the left margin. Indent too much and it might as well be invisible.
An interesting testing result that I read somewhere said that somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of site visitors don't even see centered headlines. Sure they look nice and a lot of sites use them, but if they're totally missed by even 3 percent of your visitors, you're paying a major price to look good. Suggestion? Put those headlines up against your left margin.
This also applies to links. Put those links up against the left margin, not inside a paragraph, centered or off to the right. And if you want any clicks on a link, never put it in that nearly unseen lower right area. Might as well just leave it off your page.
How about indented paragraphs? Now there's a great way to start an argument. Some argue that it attracts the eye, it's different, few sites use it so you stand out. Others insist that you're far better off staying left justified and frontloading each paragraph. There's only one way to resolve it for yourself, yeah, run some tests and see what works with your visitors on your site.
The bottom line is that once you get beyond the basics of placement, frontloading, and left-justified links and headlines, you need to test if you want to fully maximize the effectiveness of your website design. I wish there were a simpler answer too, but in the end only testing will tell you what works best for your site.
About the Author
Richard writes, teaches, trains and consults on business and professional presentations and eCommerce related matters. Visit http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/ for more information on eCommerce sites and eCommerce site building - and http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/articles for more eCommerce articles.
For Your ECommerce Success
Have you always dream of owning your own Business and working in the comfort of your own home ?
As human we all want to succeed. We all want the best from life. We all want to be wealthy, to have a great house, to travel around the globe. A great wife and beautiful and healthy kids.
To have all of this you don't need to be a genius, have luck or to rob a bank.
All you need is that you use the power of faith wich means confidence. Confidence in yourself.
You also need knowledge. Like the adage: "Knowledge is Power". But you must ACT. Knowledge without action is useless. It's like having a recipe of a cake, without actually making the cake.
So to succeed you need to know what you want and after that act on it.
HOW TO SUCCEED
The first ultimate start to succeed with your home business is to write your goals and have a business plan.
Don't wait for everything to be exactly right to start...THERE WILL NEVER BE A "PERFECT" TIME! Start now, with whatever you have. The things you need will come to you as you work toward your goal.
Let's talk face to face there is no easy way to succeed with your home business. Talk to people who succeed in business like George Walton of wal-mart or other like Donald Trump. They will tell you that it takes lot's of vision and determination. You have to be a man of action to really succeed.
Like i said there is no easy road. But of course you can succeed like me. You have to be persistant.
You have to build your business brick by brick. One step at a time. You start at the base of the ladder first.
Everyone who as succeeded in life have start at the base. Thats a fact of life. Like the man you are today, start as a baby.
Even the most dynamic, highest-earning entrepreneurs in the industry took MONTHS to begin seeing an income of any real significance.
And the real wealth, the $100,000+ income we all strive for, took an average of almost 3 YEARS to achieve!
Do you think ANY of these gentlemen don’t think the ends justified the means?
Do you think for an instant that the months and years invested hasn’t been rewarded a thousand times at least? You don't even have to think about it, do you?
So now you know ! It takes an average of 3 YEARS to build a significant income on the internet.
ONE STEP AT A TIME
Every house is build brick by brick. So is your home business !
Of course we all want to go faster. But we have to start at the base first. It's a basic law. We are subject to time and circumstances.
We have to learn. We have to experiment. With learning and experimenting we get experience. And with experience we become an expert.
We have to set goals. The goals will guide us one step at a time. It will will pave the way to our success.
You cannot go on a road trip without knowing your destination. You need a map. You need time. You need to rest. You need to eat. And sometimes there is roadblock.
When we hit a dead end we turn back and take another road. But we keep going to our destination.
It's the same thing with your home business. There is bumps and jumps and sometimes we crash. But we always keep our eyes to the goal. That is what give us the drive. It's our paradise. The goal become our existence. And it is.
By never, never giving up you will reach your goal one day. One mile at a time. It's impossible that you won't reach it. Unless you die.
That's the only secrets to success. One client at a time. One step at a time. 100 client at a time. Until you reach thousand like me and make your $100,000 a year and +.
To make $100,000 a year, start by making $100 per month. After $200 a month. And after $500 a month. And after $5000. And so on and so on.
Day by day, your on your way to succeed, week by week your on your way to succeed, month after month your on you way to succeed, year after year your on your way to succeed.
Until you reach your goal in 3 YEARS. (Maybe less, Maybe More.)
We reap what we sow, but the harvest is never in the same season as the planting! Today you are planting...and will be at least for the next several months.
Your harvest will come in time. Be persistent. Be patient. Think long term. Take action every day, (no matter how small) to build your business and you cannot fail.
MY 11 SECRETS TO SUCCEED WITH YOUR HOME BUSINESS
1. Your first ultimate start must include written goals and plans. Formulate a plan of weekly activity and be persistent in following it—if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Sticking to your plan is essential for success.
2.Don't wait for everything to be exactly right to start...THERE WILL NEVER BE A "PERFECT" TIME! Start now, with whatever you have.
The things you need will come to you as you work toward your goal. You cannot become successful in anything when you're trying to do too many things at once.
3. Treat your business as a serious, full-time business, and it will become one. Think of your first six months primarily as a training period. Don't expect large earnings until after you've educated yourself.
4. Be patient. You'll work the hardest your first six months or so and get compensated the least. Big incomes never happen overnight.
They only come after you've properly shown your affiliates how to duplicate your efforts. Always be ENTHUSIASTIC!! Don't give yourself unrealistic expectations.
5. Don't complain to your upline leaders. Realize that what you accomplish is mainly in your hands, no one else's.
Also realize that, when you see a problem, 95% of the time there are factors you are unaware of. Don't jump to conclusions. When you have a problem, present it in a concise letter as positive, constructive criticism. Offer solutions if possible, too.
Not only will this approach get you better results, but you'll be building your relationship with your upline instead of tearing it down.
6. Be organized, but don't allow the act of organizing keep you from the most important element of a successful business: MARKETING.
Market and promote your business EVERY DAY! Don't let little problems upset you. Concentrate on the many positives...and the "big picture."
7. Always remember that the only thing that will never change is that there will always be changes. Don't let changes upset you.
Know that you will have to deal with changes and other obstacles, both big and small, continually. Be prepared to be flexible.
8. Don't be a negative thinker and don't let the negative attitudes of others (even if they're family members, friends, or peers) influence you.
All the great men and women in history had to overcome the naysayers who said it couldn't be done—and then went out and did it. Think for yourself!
9. Don't be derailed by "perfection paralysis." Realize that you won't be able to do everything perfectly. Do the best job you can, then move on to the next project. Keep learning and keep moving ahead.
10. Read books (such as Napoleon Hill's classic, "Think And Grow Rich") that will convince you how powerful your mind really is. Develop the tremendous potential in you (that we all have) that has never been tapped!
11. Don't quit. The only way to fail is if you give up. Remember always..."You are what you think you are"
Copyright © Michel Richer
PERMISSIONS TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in its entirety free of charge, electronically or in print, provided it appears with the included copyright and author’s resource box with live website link.
Courtesy of: http://hombyz.com/
About the Author
Michel Richer is the Business Manager and Webmaster of http://hombyz.com/
With over 10 years experience in home based internet business and a SOLID REPUTATION in the industry.
He is dedicated to helping you SUCCEED on the Internet.
You can take a look at his website at: http://hombyz.com/ for Your HOME BUSINESS SUCCESS !!!
Getting Started In Ecommerce - Part One
In 2004, Enquiro.com conducted a study of the search behaviors of men vs. women. They found that women spend more time in their searches and at specific sites. The study also revealed that women tend to be more deliberate in reading search results, linger longer at sites and have a greater satisfaction in the overall shopping experience. Another study conducted by iProspect.com revealed that women are more apt to click the paid search advertising because they find it more relevant to their searches than do men (WebProNews - July 14, 2004).
What does this mean? It means that if we understand the searching and shopping patterns of our target audience we are better able to create marketing strategies to effectively drive traffic to our sites. Don’t yet have a website?
Electronic commerce or ecommerce is used to describe doing business over the Internet. Selling products and services to customers over the Internet can be accomplished a number of ways and various levels of sophistication.
The first thing you need is a professional Web site with its own domain name. You need to design and promote a Web site. You'll need access to expertise that can regularly design and maintain this Web site for you. A good website which gets visitors to return is constantly evolving and therefore, require ongoing attention. There are thousands of resources available for you to take advantage of, many of which are free. You can surf the Internet for what you need or you can simply visit http://www.wecai.org/ to see the many resources we have listed. We have resources for guests and if you are a member we have even more resources to help you get started. In fact, you can search our domain registry and purchase your own unique domain name at http://www.wecaidomains.com/.
Developing a business over the Internet requires many of the same major activities as starting any other business. You need a business plan, something to sell such as a product or service; you need customers and you may even need financial backing to get started. In addition, you need to market products to your customers, exceptional customer service practices and many other resources just as you do with traditional bricks and mortar enterprises. They may include inventory, fulfillment, shipping banking relationships and more.
Your store will need a "merchant" account, or the ability to process your customers' credit card transactions over the Internet. This includes needing a "secure server," (security certificate such as Versign or Geotrust) so that thieves cannot gain access to your customers credit information. Your merchant processing can be as simple as accepting payments through PayPal or as complex as a custom designed shopping cart system you pay for.
Getting a Merchant Account - If you have a good relationship with your bank and they don't require a security deposit this may be your best option for setting up a merchant account. Alternatives to getting a merchant account through your bank are to go through a broker, a fulfillment house, or using third-party billing.
For more information on establishing an ecommerce presence check out the e-book entitled: Show Her the Money – The Woman’s ECommerce Handbook for Online Transactions (http://www.showherthemoney.com/). If you are, or become a member of WECAI – http://www.wecai.org/, this resource is yours with your membership.
Excerpted from The PMS Principles - Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business - http://www.pmsprinciples.com/ - © 2005 - Heidi Richards
About the Author: Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International http://www.wecai.org/ – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at http://www.heidirichards.com/ or heidi@wecai.org.Source: http://www.isnare.com/
Getting Started In Ecommerce – Part Two
In Part One we talked a little bit about what Ecommerce is, getting a domain name and setting up a merchant account. Ecommerce is more than that, much more. To have a really good online presence that gets people to stop and shop you need a strategy for success. Your strategy must include your USP or Unique Selling Position in the marketplace. What makes you stand out from all the other online entrepreneurs looking for the same type of customers as you? Can you stand out from the competition based on quality, price or benefits? Once you know your USP, you can begin the monumental task of telling the world about your site. A really unique selling position will give you an advantage over all the competition – well that and a lot of planning and investing of your time and money.
FOCUS
Emphasize the benefits and the results the customer will get from purchasing from you and using your product or service. You can discover the benefits by listing all the features and then converting them to benefits. List everything your product or service offers. For each feature list a relative advantage from the customer’s perspective. You can discover the customer’s perspectives when they buy. Simply ask them, “ Why did you place an order today or use our service?” BE very specific when creating your benefit statements. An example of this is, “You will save $100.00 sells better than “you will save money.” “You will loose 20 pounds in 10 days” sounds better than “you will loose weight.” Rank your benefits in order of importance to the customer. If you have enough of them, use bullet points for emphasis.
Emotion sells. People make most buying decisions with their heart and not their head. Paint a picture of the results the customer will get when they purchase from you. “ You will look 20 years younger.” “You will be $100 richer.”
Make sure you include a call to action. Want them to make a buying decision today? Give them a reason to do so. Offer a bribe (discount, bonus, something for nothing).
Your website must load quickly and function easily. If your site loads slowly people will get impatient and go elsewhere. Do all your links work? Have you tested your order page by running sample orders? Have you tested load time using different connection speeds? You can get a fr*ee analysis by visiting Submitplus.com.
Make your website easy to look at and read. I find dark background tend to be more difficult to read than do pale backgrounds.
The overall look of your site should be clean and professional. When we were first creating the Women’s ECommerce Association, International we did everything in-house. Not being truly adept at HTML coding we thought we could just use a simple program to create a professional site. It was okay, but the one we now have is so much better. Why? Because we hired a professional. You can create a website with a good template program. We are using ECommerce Templates to create our new look for WUN Publications. It is simple to use and relatively inexpensive.
When it comes to graphics, be conservative. Sites that are laden with graphics and flash tend to take longer to load. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to do so, you will loose many visitors and potential buyers. If you must use graphics, make sure the files sizes used have been reduced as much as your image editing/compression software will allow.
View your site using as many different browsers as possible. In addition to Internet Explorer and Netscape, there is Opera, Mozilla, Lynx and those are just the ones that run on Microsoft Windows. WebMonkey has a chart of those supported by Macintosh, Unix/Linux and others. Also, many people will surf with their browser’s graphics switched off. Make sure you know what your site looks like without the graphics and that it is still easy for visitors to surf.
One last thought Make sure all your important information is above the fold. If you know that visitors are looking for something specific and you make them scroll down to find it, chances are they won’t.
Excerpted from The PMS Principles - Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business - http://www.pmsprinciples.com/ - © 2005 - Heidi Richards
About the Author: Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International http://www.wecai.org/ – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at http://www.heidirichards.com/ or heidi@wecai.org.Source: http://www.isnare.com/
Hosting Options for an Ecommerce Web Site
Deciding how your ecommerce Web site will be hosted can be daunting. There are several approaches available, each with different advantages and disadvantages.
Online Storefront
If you have a small business, you may want to consider a storefront or an online mall. For a fee, these services help you build and will host a small Web site through which to sell your products or services. These "site in a box" Web site services generally have options that include everything you need to sell online.
Features and support vary by program and can include options such as search engine placement, credit card processing, and advertising. They tend to be template services, however, with less flexibility than a custom site. Familiarize yourself with the current offerings in this area before making a final decision.
Custom Sites
If you have a business that is too large for or has outgrown the smaller storefront services, you may want to consider the more flexible custom site. For added cost you can have a unique site, receive greater support, and handle more traffic. You have the options of hiring the same company to design and host your site or using separate design and hosting services.
Hiring the same company to design and host your site.
This option involves the fewest logistics, but may come with trade-offs in design quality or host reliability. Be aware that designing and hosting require different sets of skills and expertise. When choosing a service, evaluate their experience and ask for references in both areas. Go to sites the company has designed and navigate them. Note how the sites look, how easy they are to understand, and how quickly they load into your browser.
To evaluate the company’s ecommerce hosting capabilities, contact current customers and ask how pleased they are with the service. Find out how often the server is down and ask about help desk responsiveness. Find out what order related issues - if any - they have experienced. Also, consider how your site will be updated. Can you upload changes directly or do you have to wait for someone at the hosting company to get to it? If it is the latter, ask current customers about their experience with this process.
If you are still considering the design/hosting service after studying their design capabilities and talking to their current customers, you may also want to find out if there has been recent turnover in key personnel. An individual designer, coordinator, or account manager can make a large difference in support or design quality.
Using a separate design and hosting service.
By separating the design and hosting, you have more choices. Thus, you can have more control over both your budget and your site. Technical incompatibilities are a risk when taking this approach, however. Be sure your designer is familiar with your hosting service and it's technical capabilities. To help facilitate information flow and minimize technical problems:
(1) Choose a short list of hosts that offer the ecommerce capabilities you require and pass "reliability" tests. Read "Don't Make These Hosting Mistakes" at http://www.take-payments-online.com/ECommerceWebHosting.html for questions to ask and other mistakes to avoid. (2) Find a Web designer experienced in ecommerce applications.(3) Together, decide on the hosting service and ecommerce systems you will use.
Making the Decision
Deciding upon the right combination will take some research. One way to gather a list of hosting options is to first find ecommerce sites that you like and/or have ecommerce abilities similar to your needs, then ask about the sites' hosting and ecommerce providers.
Asking for referrals from business acquaintances is another. Many times, people are more than happy to share their positive experiences. For example, I use five different hosts and am generally pleased with all of them. When asked about hosting, however, I always recommend Lexiconn.com (my WebSiteMarketingPlan.com site host) because of the exceptional help desk service and support documents.
Another way to discover hosting options is to look for online advertisements. You can generally find these designated as "sponsored" listings in search engines and on informational Web sites. While there is no guarantee all of the companies you find will be high-quality, the willingness to pay for advertisements can be an indication of commitment.
Diligently decide upon ecommerce features and choose a host with those features in mind. By doing so, you are creating a smoother path to ecommerce success.
About the Author
Bobette Kyle is publisher of the ecommerce information site http://www.take-payments-online.com/ . She is also proprietor of The WebSiteMarketingPlan.com Network, subject-specific Web sites designed to help you find the right information for writing and implementing your marketing plan. Visit here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/
Hosting Options for an Ecommerce Web Site
Deciding how your ecommerce Web site will be hosted can be daunting. There are several approaches available, each with different advantages and disadvantages.
Online Storefront
If you have a small business, you may want to consider a storefront or an online mall. For a fee, these services help you build and will host a small Web site through which to sell your products or services. These "site in a box" Web site services generally have options that include everything you need to sell online.
Features and support vary by program and can include options such as search engine placement, credit card processing, and advertising. They tend to be template services, however, with less flexibility than a custom site. Familiarize yourself with the current offerings in this area before making a final decision.
Custom Sites
If you have a business that is too large for or has outgrown the smaller storefront services, you may want to consider the more flexible custom site. For added cost you can have a unique site, receive greater support, and handle more traffic. You have the options of hiring the same company to design and host your site or using separate design and hosting services.
Hiring the same company to design and host your site.
This option involves the fewest logistics, but may come with trade-offs in design quality or host reliability. Be aware that designing and hosting require different sets of skills and expertise. When choosing a service, evaluate their experience and ask for references in both areas. Go to sites the company has designed and navigate them. Note how the sites look, how easy they are to understand, and how quickly they load into your browser.
To evaluate the company’s ecommerce hosting capabilities, contact current customers and ask how pleased they are with the service. Find out how often the server is down and ask about help desk responsiveness. Find out what order related issues - if any - they have experienced. Also, consider how your site will be updated. Can you upload changes directly or do you have to wait for someone at the hosting company to get to it? If it is the latter, ask current customers about their experience with this process.
If you are still considering the design/hosting service after studying their design capabilities and talking to their current customers, you may also want to find out if there has been recent turnover in key personnel. An individual designer,
coordinator, or account manager can make a large difference in support or design quality.
Using a separate design and hosting service.
By separating the design and hosting, you have more choices. Thus, you can have more control over both your budget and your site. Technical incompatibilities are a risk when taking this approach, however. Be sure your designer is familiar with your hosting service and it's technical capabilities. To help facilitate information flow and minimize technical problems:
(1) Choose a short list of hosts that offer the ecommerce capabilities you require and pass "reliability" tests. Read "Don't Make These Hosting Mistakes" at http://www.take-payments-online.com/ECommerceWebHosting.html for questions to ask and other mistakes to avoid. (2) Find a Web designer experienced in ecommerce applications.(3) Together, decide on the hosting service and ecommerce systems you will use.
Making the Decision
Deciding upon the right combination will take some research. One way to gather a list of hosting options is to first find ecommerce sites that you like and/or have ecommerce abilities similar to your needs, then ask about the sites' hosting and ecommerce providers.
Asking for referrals from business acquaintances is another. Many times, people are more than happy to share their positive experiences. For example, I use five different hosts and am generally pleased with all of them. When asked about hosting, however, I always recommend Lexiconn.com (my WebSiteMarketingPlan.com site host) because of the exceptional help desk service and support documents.
Another way to discover hosting options is to look for online advertisements. You can generally find these designated as "sponsored" listings in search engines and on informational Web sites. While there is no guarantee all of the companies you find will be high-quality, the willingness to pay for advertisements can be an indication of commitment.
Diligently decide upon ecommerce features and choose a host with those features in mind. By doing so, you are creating a smoother path to ecommerce success.
About the Author
Bobette Kyle is publisher of the ecommerce information site http://www.take-payments-online.com/ . She is also proprietor of The WebSiteMarketingPlan.com Network, subject-specific Web sites designed to help you find the right information for writing and implementing your marketing plan. Visit here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/
"How exactly does Ecommerce work"?
This has to be the most-frequently asked question I receivefrom newbie clients. They know people are buying online andthey know they have to accept credit cards if they want tostand a chance in all the net-based competition, but beyondthat realization, most are clueless as to how it all works.
I can't blame them, really. It's a confusing online worldout there and a lot of people who are trying to tell themhow it works are really just trying to sell them their ownsolution. It's kinda hard to trust the validity of what theysay when profit is a huge motivating force behind theirpersuasive suggestions.
And to be sure, there is profit in this Ecommerce game!Money is to be made at many steps along the Ecommerce path.With that in mind, let's take a walk along the path toEcommerce, and take a look at the signs--or components--thatare necessary to take part in the Ecommerce excitement andpotential profits.
1. The Merchant Account:
This really is your first step towards Ecommerce, unlessyou have chosen to go through a payment facility and arewilling to give up a rather large portion of your sales infees. The up-front costs of a merchant account can be heftyfor a small business, but the long-term savings can besubstantial.
This is especially true if you are selling big ticket items.For instance, on the sale of a $300 product/service througha payment facility you could pay between $20-$45 dollars ormore in fees. With your own merchant account it willprobably cost you about $9. With the typical fees andequipment for a merchant account startup costing about$1,500, you can recoup that cost rather quickly.
A merchant account comes with a merchant identificationnumber. That is about all it gets you. In order to processtransactions you need either a terminal (the little box thatyou swipe your credit card through at retail outlets) orsoftware that runs on your PC and will dial up the merchantvia your modem, and then process the transaction and depositthe money into your bank account.
2. The Shopping Cart:
If you are selling just one or two items on your site youwon't have much need for a shopping cart. A site with avariety of products should use the shopping cart systembecause it's the easiest way for your customers to shop. Theeasier it is to shop, the more they will spend, which isexactly the psychology supermarkets use, and exactly howshoppers are similar whether in a supermarket or scanningthrough your website. And the nice thing about electronicshopping carts is that the wheels never go square, and youdon't have to send a clerk out after the store closes toround up all the carts that have been left scattered aroundthe neighborhood. So shopping carts are good. But how willthey work with your merchant account and the all-importantordering process?
If the orders placed on your site are to be processed withthe customer's credit card as a sale through your PC orswipe erminal, then there doesn't have to be anycompatibility between your cart and your merchant account.The two will work completely independently, each doing theirpart of the job.
If, on the other hand, you would like all of your incomingorders to be automatically processed for you as the customerhits the submit button, you will need what is called "realtime processing."
3. Real-Time Processing - Almost every website company Italk to would like to have their orders processed for them(the vision of the owner of a website company turning on thePC and then stretching out in a hammock, watching the ordersget processed on the screen, comes to mind). However, mostweb company people, upon learning the cost involved, take myadvice to wait until they have a steady flow of orderscoming in before they use real-time processing. If you're ona tight budget the extra fees involved in real-timeprocessing might be better used to aggressively advertiseand drive customer traffic to your site. Processing a feworders per day doesn't take very long and until you find itto be more time-consuming to process the orders yourselfthan you like, you are probably better off processing suchorders manually.
If you are starting with a healthy budget and an aggressivepromotion plan you will probably be better off implementingreal-time processing right from the start. Changingorder-processing methods can sometimes result in systemhiccups and you don't want anything to slow down yourmomentum once you've started. You'll also save money, nothaving to set up your ordering system twice.
4. Web Hosting - The web host who is hosting your site cansometimes make a difference in how compatible your entiresite and ordering system are with each other. I say"sometimes" because for those of us not using real-timeprocessing, it doesn't matter who your host is or where yourmerchant account is located. They are independent of eachother. Orders arrive and you process them. No interactionbetween the two is needed.
Problems can arise when you bring a shopping cart ANDreal-time processing into the picture. A shopping cart alonewon't cause problems but the cart you choose to use must becompatible with your web host. Some carts are designed torun on certain types of servers, so when choosing one becautious to make absolutely sure you can use it with yourcurrent host. Otherwise you had better be prepared to find anew one.
If you want a shopping cart AND real-time processing thethree (cart, processing, and host) must work together well.Your shopping cart must be compatible with your host and thecart must be compatible with your payment processor. Withall the different shopping carts, hosts and paymentfacilities out there, putting together the right team can bea real challenge. This is especially true for the newbie whodoesn't understand how it all works and how it all has towork together, or understands imperfectly but thinks he orshe has it all under control when the decisions are finallymade.
One Stop Shops -
The easiest way to find a compatible solution is to choose aprovider who offers all you need under one roof. This iswhat I have done by partnering with Virtualis Systems. I amable to offer a great hosting solution along with acompatible shopping cart that works with almost any realtime processor. I have even taken this a step further bypartnering with a rock-solid merchant account provider,E-Commerce Exchange. Now I don't want to force MY "solutionof choice" on you in this article so I have set up anautoresponder with details on the Ecommerce solution Irecommend to all my clients. Please email our autoresponderat ecommerce@lrsmarketing.com for details.
Your Website Designer:
Asking your website designer to recommend a compatiblesolution is also a good idea. Most likely, he or she hassuccessfully set up shopping carts and payment systems thathave worked together for other clients and with thatexperience can confidently recommend one that will be rightfor your specific needs. There is also the added benefitthat your designer is comfortable and familiar with the cartand payment processing configuration. This will result inless time spent setting up your site, thus saving you moneyin design costs.
Who to Choose?
Choosing the right person for this task is perhaps the mostimportant decision you can make (in Ecommerce, that is.Choosing a dentist, a pet, and which TV show to watch alsorank high in importance). Nobody is an expert in all areasof Ecommerce because there are so many variables, dependingon which configurations of hosts, carts, and merchants youchoose. Find someone with whom you can talk to and who willlisten to YOUR needs with understanding. A web designer whohas created sites selling one product through mail order isNOT the best person to go to for Ecommerce advice. Just likea web designer trying to create a site that will sell andnot just look good, with no marketing experience, a designerwho doesn't know Ecommerce is going to be hard-pressed tojuggle all the components that must fit together seamlesslyand attractively to construct a truly effective Ecommercesite.
The Most Common Mistakes?
I've had clients come to me who have been provided ashopping cart by their web host but who then have purchasedanother cart, not realizing they already have one. They'veset themselves up with real time processing and thenpurchased a terminal even though they will never swipe onecard. They've had SSL enabled on their web host server eventhough it's provided at their payment gateway. I have beenon the sympathetic end of many, many more sad tales fromearnest folks who have told me their own personal accountsof throwing hard-earned money away on these kinds ofmistakes.
Why? Cutting through all the technical jargon, it's allbecause they simply didn't understand how each componentcan, should, and must work in conjunction with one another.
Ecommerce can appear simple (well, almost) once youunderstand how all the components work together. A merchantaccount allows you to accept credit cards, your web hostshows your website to the world, your shopping cart helpsyour customers order easily and real-time processingprocesses the orders in real-time and approved transactionsare credited to your merchant account. All are independentcomponents but they all function together to make Ecommercework. Find a designer or webmaster who can bring all theseelements together on your site & watch Ecommerce work foryou.
About the Author
Lisa Schmeckpeper of LRS Marketingand published in their free newsletter, Website SuccessMonthly. To receive a free copy of this informative e-zinejust send email to subscribe@websitesuccessmonthly.comor visit their website at http://www.lrsmarketing.com/.Copyright © 2000 [LRS Marketing].
How To Achieve ECommerce Success – You GOTTA Plan!
Before becoming a netpreneaur, I was an entrepreneur. First, I owned a successful child care center which grew to capacity in less than two years. When I sold that, I bought a little flower shop that had less than 300 customers and grew it to what it is today, one of the most successful, award winning companies in South Florida with more than 7,000 customers who purchase from us on a regular business. To better serve our customers, we took our business to the Internet. We still have a brick and mortar storefront, yet everyday we receive more and more customers via the Internet.
How about you? Do you or did you have a traditional business or professional practice? Is it successful? Unless you were born under the star called “LUCKY,” you probably did lots of planning. A business plan, a marketing plan, maybe even a succession plan for what to do with your business when you were through.
You may have heard the statistics that half of all small businesses fail in their first year and of those, only 25% make it through to five years. According to youngbiz.com it can be even less for e-businesses.
Build it and they will come! Not! You can have a terrific site, with lots of bells and whistles and if people don’t know you exist, you never get any visitors, let alone customers.
Planning is the key to success in business. Amazon.com had a plan, Bill Gates had a plan, eDiets had a plan, and I’ll bet they still do. Once a business launches on the net, you will need a marketing plan to be successful. Your biggest challenge will be to find time to plan. However, if you don’t find time now, you will find yourself with plenty of it (time, that is) later on, and no business to speak of.
Unlike a business, generally created to get financial backing from investors, Netpreneurs create marketing plans for themselves. Where do you start? First you have to ask yourself these questions. Where do you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years? How many customers do you want or better yet, how much money do you want to make? Who are your customers? Do you know what they want, need and expect? Can you give it to them? What are your competitors doing? What are you doing that is different? How will you promote your business?
Now Create your Website marketing plan.
Put it in writing! Not only do you have to plan, you have to write it down! Take a notebook or idea book and write the following: your vision, mission strategies, goals and the time frame you wish to accomplish these goals. Keep this notebook next to your computer to refer to. It will help you stay focused.
What is your vision for your business? Your vision is what you want your web site to accomplish. Write your vision statement in your notebook. The vision statement for my flower shop is to “Make a reasonable profit via the Internet by providing a quality product, delivering exceptional service, at a price my customers will pay.”
What are your goals? What do you believe you can accomplish that may be a bit of a stretch but doable? If the goals are too easy, you are not getting the most out of your planning process. And you could be losing money. Can make a profit of 20% in 3 months? Can double your customer base in 6 months? If so, write it in your notebook.
What steps do you need to take to achieve your goals? How much do you have to sell to achieve your goals? You must first know your profit margin to determine this figure. Then you have to figure out how you are going to find the customers to make your goals come true. What are your marketing strategies? Start with those goals you know you can attain. How will you reach your market? Are you going to use search engine optimization, email, newsletters, networking, advertising on related sites, advertising in trade magazines, or write an article to submit to online publications? Participate in online forums, message boards and newsgroups. Include your URL (Internet address) in your signature file.
What is the time-frame for accomplishing your goals? Create a time-line for every goal in your notebook. Next to each goal, write down the starting and ending dates of when you plan to accomplish that goal as well as what type of marketing strategies you are using. Are you keeping track of your marketing results? If you are doing any advertising whether it is online or offline, track the results. You can track online advertising using ad tracking software such as adtrackz.com, to track all the links you place online. Analyze web site statistics to find out how visits found you. For offline advertising, place codes or words in your advertising to keep track. Your online order forms should have a place to enter the code. To learn how customers found us, we use a numeric code on all advertising/marketing materials. What is your return on investment? How much money did the marketing strategy cost? How much money did you take in? Subtract the second figure from the first and that is your profit (or loss).
Keep track of those marketing campaigns that worked and those that didn’t. Do more of the first. Reevaluate the second. Can you change one thing in the strategy and achieve different results? Try it! Add new strategies to the mix. Stay focused on your goals. Nothing feels better than accomplishing a goal. Except maybe, all the money you are going to make when you do!
Excerpted from The PMS Principles - Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business © 2005 - Heidi Richards
About the Author: Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International http://www.wecai.org/ (pronounced wee-k+) – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at http://www.heidirichards.com/.Source: http://www.isnare.com/
How to Create a Money Magnet Ecommerce Web Site
If you've been online for more than a day you've probably heard some "guru" somewhere recommend that you create a Money Magnet Web Site - a site that is highly automated and helps you make money 24 hours a day. While that might *sound* great, what they often forget to tell you is HOW to do that.Well, I'm going to tell you right now, in this article!
First, what IS a Money Magnet Web Site? A Money Magnet Web Site can be defined as one that is equipped with an integrated suite of both e-commerce and internet marketing tools in a fashion that will allow you to be the most profitable with the least amount of effort.
Most e-commerce systems are equipped with the following essentials:
- A shopping cart. - Acceptance and processing of credit cards. - A maintenance system that allows you to add/change products. - An order-retrieval system that enables you to fulfill orders.
However, what most of them are lacking are marketing tools. There are several marketing strategies that are essential in the creation of a successful e-commerce web site:
- Email marketing (broadcasting) of prospects/customers - Effective use of autoresponders (generate automatic email messages) - Online Newsletter - Online Form / Survey to capture your prospect's email address - Electronic Product Delivery (if you sold a digital product) - Advertisement (Ad) Tracking - Back End Sales - Affiliate program
Now, if you had a system that would support the integration of ALL of these marketing tools in addition to the necessary e-commerce essentials, then you would have a Money Magnet Web Site. After all, it has been shown that it often takes 7 or more ad exposures before prospective customers actually make a purchase. Consider the following scenario:
A prospect clicks on an advertisement in an online magazine. This action increments a counter for this particular ad to help you determine how well it's working. They don't decide to buy as of yet but join your newsletter. They are now considered a prospect. You begin to send them a monthly email newsletter. Additionally, an autoresponder kicks in to thank them for joining the newsletter as well as scheduling them to get email twice a month for the next 90 days reiterating your product benefits and inviting them to purchase. Upon sending them one of your "juicy" offers that they couldn't refuse, they finally purchase. They will automatically be removed from your prospect list and added to your customer list. Based on the particular product or service they've purchased, they will receive a series of emails every two weeks for the next 6 months offering complementary products. This will be the engine that will drive your back end sales and keep your customers coming back to your web site.
Being able to play out a scenario such as this using one integrated system would be pretty impressive don't you think? The internet big boys do this with expensive e-commerce platform suites produced by vendors such as IBM, Microsoft and Oracle. Having your system automatically perform these follow up tasks frees you up to spend more time on your business, your health or your family! =====> What can you do to obtain a money magnet web site?
Fortunately, there are ways that you can automate your website in much the same way that the big boys do. The best and most cost-effective way would be to sign up with one of the handful of Application Service Providers available on the internet which provide a shopping cart integrated with a full suite of marketing tools. Normally, the shopping cart and tools are very flexible and can be incorporated into any website.
=====> Are there any other ways to automate your business besides working with a total solution provider?
You can accomplish some level of automation without an integrated shopping cart system, however, it will require manual intervention and of course it would be incomplete. I believe that the most important asset of your e-commerce business is your email lists. Therefore, concentrate on the implementation of a good autoresponder/list server system to "enhance" your present e-commerce website. There are several good ones on the market. Look for providers that allow you to:
- Create multiple lists. - Add prospects via a web form, email, or manually through a management console. - Send out an unlimited number of autoresponder messages. - Send out an unlimited number of email broadcasts. - Set up and distribute a newsletter.
When setting up your autoresponder system, create one list for your "prospects" and another one for your "customers". Now, here's where you come in: when a person orders your product, you will have to perform the extra task of logging into your autoresponder system and manually remove them from the prospect list and add them to the customer list. This action will then trigger your customer autoresponder series of messages to be sent.
Remember, the key to building a successful e-commerce web site is to automate your marketing engine as much as possible and drive your prospects and customers back to your web site. This will certainly create a money magnet e-commerce web site for you!
**************** To learn more about website automation, visit Izzy Camacho at http://www.internet-marketing-made-easy.com/.About the Author
Izzy Camacho is an accomplished software developer with approximately 20 years of experience. He has a degree in computer science from a distinguished university. For the last several years he has been involved in the creation of web site applications for corporate America.
How to set up the ecommerce shopping cart software tools to handle your transactions and how to do in smart, efficient and cost effective way.
Utilizing a ecommerce shopping cart software solution frees you of the burden of setting up and managing your shopping car, credit card processing and sales management functions so you can concentrate on what you do best, providing products and services for your customers.
The cost of using professional financial management providers who can set up your ecommerce shopping cart software pay you back 10 times over by eliminating the worry if your cash flow is being managed correctly, if your software is working properly and if your ecommerce income is secure and under responsible management.
By utilizing ecommerce shopping cart software solution, the quality of service is significantly higher than a conventional solution such as PayPal and the worry of having your account frozen or service in some other way disrupted is completely eliminated.
Creating a profitable web site is the dream of many of us. As you begin to explore the technicalities of getting your web site up and running, there are a lot of decisions to be made. Perhaps one of the most daunting areas of research is how to handle payments online. But getting paid is the bottom line of any business. You need a reliable and trustworthy tool for collecting payments for your goods or services and one that will grow and change with your business and as your web site grows. In the beginning, the questions outnumber the answers.
Of these many questions and the many more you may have, none are more perplexing than how to set up that "ecommerce shopping cart software" on your web site so you can accept credit cards.
Do I have to Apply to the Credit Card Companies to Accept Credit or to set up my Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software?
The good news is that there are services that are already in business on the web that can provide you with ecommerce shopping cart software services and handle all of that overhead for a small fee. These services have gone through meticulous scrutiny and have been validated as trustworthy to handle your accounts. As you start to research these accounts, you will learn how to look for the proper authentication so you know you are working with a reputable service.
But here is where a bit of caution is in order. Do your homework and be a savvy web shopper. Merchant account handlers can be very costly. Shop around for the right deal. You want an ecommerce shopping cart software partner who has set up your business relationship so your level of cost is directly related to how profitable you are.
Another internet concept that is good to know well is the idea of having your ecommerce shopping cart software "hosted". "Hosted" means that a third party is handling the transactions, the credit card management (and fees) and the payment authorization as we described earlier.
One alternative to having your ecommerce shopping cart software transactions hosted of course is to set it all up yourself which itself is a daunting challenge. A second alternative is to download a free ecommerce shopping cart software module that can handle that part of our business for us at no cost. Therefore, before you go into partnership with a third party hosting vendor, you need to have peace of mind that it is the right decision for you.
Are There Some Tangible Reasons to Have My Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Hosted Rather Than Use Free Software or Do It Myself?
What are the reasons for using a hosting solution for our ecommerce shopping cart software that will be reflected in our bottom line?
* Your focus is on what you do best. Your internet business, the services and products you offer there represent what you are really good at supporting. Let's face it, that is your real passion, not the nuts and bolts of the infrastructure, the bookkeeping and the financial details.
* Compare the cost to the investment of your time. In general, the cost of a hosted ecommerce shopping cart software is under $100 a month. Compare that to the effort and risk, you will take by using unreliable software or doing it yourself and it becomes painfully clear that this is the kind of service you need to outsource.
* What do you do if something goes wrong? By subscribing to a reputable business that does this kind of thing for a living, you have that assurance that they will be there when you need them.
* You need this job done right the first time! By using a hosted ecommerce shopping cart software service, the installation and maintenance of your shopping cart is handled by skilled experts who are installing well tested systems on your web site. That alone is worth the monthly cost of the service.
* One word - Security. Financial transactions must be guarded at the highest level of security, particularly in the online world. A reputable hosting service not only has put in place rock solid security measures, they are bonded and responsible to see to it your accounts are managed in a secure fashion.
Should I Rely on PayPal for My Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Solutions?
PayPal is probably the most well known service for handling online transactions. However, there may be good reasons to think again about using PayPal as your primary ecommerce shopping cart software service and to do some comparison shopping when that time comes.
At the very least, consider keeping more than one ecommerce shopping cart software option at your disposal. If for any reason your account becomes unavailable, "frozen" or locked out because the service has problems, that can have a dynamic impact on your business and on your customer retention as we will discuss I a moment.
What Are the Best Ways to Enhance My Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Presence to Improve My Web Visitors Experience and Encourage More Business?
In addition to choosing the right ecommerce shopping cart software vendor and keeping backup alternatives as we have discussed, putting some thought into how your site will manage the purchase processing will pay off in completed sales and repeat sales.
* Use a secure sign authority (SSL certificate) such as Verisign or Scanalert. Once you have set your site up with these services, you can prominently display your authorization which will give your business credibility as a legitimate member of the internet business community.
* Put into place a site search function early in your web visitors experience. Web shoppers love to use search engines and it also gives you a point of contact to collect interest information from them which can be used later for marketing purposes.
* Be subtle in guiding your customers to the point of purchase. So many sites put a "buy now" button on every page which is pushy and tends to drive customers away. Instead, draw your customer in and then when you know they are looking at what they want, then guide them to the purchase process where your ecommerce shopping cart software is located.
* Review your purchase process to assure that it is easy, enjoyable and fast so the customer frustration is kept very low or eliminated. Have your site reviewed by friends and associates so they can give you an impartial review of how your purchase flow works for the average web customer.
* Retain input. If you harvest their information early in their visit, use that again later when they are signing up for a purchase. Display on the screen the information you have gathered.
* Give your customers a point of review before they confirm the final purchase. Once they have made their product, shipping and other related choices, display a summary page of their purchase which represents their invoice.
* Make sure the customer is sure where they are in the purchase process and how much is left. If there is a five step process to the purchase, tell your customer what that is as they begin and let them know where they are as they go so they know they are on the right track and will be done soon.
* Communicate often with your customers about the purchase as it is processed. Send a confirmation email with the invoice to supplement the place online where they can purchase. As the purchase is processed, send frequent emails letting them know what is happening.
There are many ways you can customize the purchase experience for your customers so their interaction with your ecommerce shopping cart software is enjoyable and rewarding to them. They will never know they are working with a third party service but by combining the professionalism of your ecommerce shopping cart software provider with your own high priority on customer service, you are building a web site sure to be a on the book mark list for your valuable customers.
About the author:
Since 1998 Sandro has been helping ordinary people achieve "extra-ordinary" results in business and in life. He lives in Vancouver, BC - Canada and he's one of the late Corey Rudl's protégés teaching internet marketing at the IMC. Learn to supplement your income, get free weekly tips and how-to advice by visiting http://www.sandrosalsi.com/articles/ecommerce-shopping-cart-softw are.html
Increasing Your Conversion Rates: 50 Tips For Ecommerce Sites
You can convert More of Your Traffic into sales without having to spend a lot of money. There are hundreds of ways to improve your conversion rate and the persuasiveness/stickiness of your website, many of which can be done very quickly and most will cost you close to nothing to implement.
1. Use real customer testimonials with authentic customer photos... no stock photography. Shoppers can quickly tell the difference.
2. Make sure your marketing effort attracts qualified traffic. Example, if you sell Digital cameras, don’t advertise that you sell macro lens just to get more traffic to your site. This may drive more visitors, but they are visitors with no intent to purchase, thus decreasing your conversion rate.
3. Get a toll-free number and make sure the placement of that number on your site is prominent and consistent.
4. Include “points of reassurance” at every “point of action”. Example – if you are requesting that a viewer provide you with
their e-mail address, clearly state that privacy is very important to you and that you will not share that information with any other party.
5. Use SSL (secure server certificates from a well known SSL authority) and make sure that the user knows you are using it. Display a prominent "Secure server" note at the top of the page.
6. Build trust, subscribe to a service like VeriSign, Thawte or ScanAlert and Prominently place these logos to reassure your customer that you care about the security of their information.
7. Have a clearly defined privacy policy and link to it from all pages.
8. Include a physical address on your site.
9. Don’t always concentrate on just making the “buy now” buttons the most prominent on every page, but rather concentrate on styling the “primary action” buttons the most prominently on every page. Example – you sell books, and you provide the customers with the ability to select a few related books and compare them before they can buy now. Make that “compare button/link the same style as you would the “buy now” button/link on a page in which the “buy now” button exists. This will help herd customers through your sales funnel.
10. Clearly Define your return policy.
11. Make sure to include an “About Us” section on your site. The majority of my customers will visit or look for that section before making a purchase.
12. Make your site load fast, easy to navigate and user friendly. No need for horizontal scrolling, excessive vertical scrolling, large animation files or intrusive pop-up windows.
13. Keep your “buy now” button consistently and prominently placed on all product pages. The closer to the top of the page...the better. ”Above the fold if you want it sold” & 2. “Eye level is buy level”.
14. Provide clear good quality images of your products with an "enlarge image" option.
15. Make your checkout process as usable, intuitive, reassuring and simple as possible. Losing a shopper during your checkout process is a CRITICAL loss.
16. Don’t make people type their e-mail address twice. Get the site to remember and do it automatically.
17. Don’t force people to install crazy plug-ins just to make a purchase from your site. Stick with JavaScript, Flash and the other breads & butters.
18. Read your copy, make sure its compelling, yet not exaggerated and too loud.
19. Identify your unique selling proposition and exploit it. If you are the only seller of medium-sized green widgets in the UK, clearly state that and be proud of it.
20. Implement a “site search” box and make sure it is accurate. Not only it will allow users to find what they want quick, it will give you an insight as to what they are shopping for and what terminology(keywords/key phrases) they are using so you can tailor your copy (and ad campaigns) accordingly.
21. Don’t just focus on the many features of your product, but rather on the benefits those features will provide you customers with. Don’t just say “folding ladders”, say “Our folding ladders will save you valuable garage space”.
22. Display your prices, shipping charges and tax clearly BEFORE the checkout process is completed.
23. Don’t use a drop-down for the "country" or “state” list over your order form. Many people are using scrolling mice these days, many are sure to accidentally scroll off of their
correct state.
24. Let customers copy their shipping info to their billing info if they are identical, with one click.
25. Remove distractions as much as possible from the final checkout process such as the main navigation that existed during the shopping portion of your site.
26. Clearly provide a checkout process indicator. If your checkout process has 3 steps, clearly indicate at the top of the page what step they are on and how many steps there are to complete the order.
27. Clearly identify what info you really require during your checkout process. Eliminate unnecessary text fields/questions.
28. Use easy to understand, friendly error messages. No “INCORRECT USER INPUT IN STATE FIELD!” messages.
29. If your checkout error messages occur on a page other than the page with the errors, preserve the information that the user has already input and get the site to input it automatically.
30. Double check the spelling on your site. And the spelling on your error messages. "Ers in input filed" would look very unprofessional.
31. Try and get good reviews from shopping authority sites (shopping.com, epinions.com, bizrate.com, etc) and from previous shoppers.
32. Don’t use complex formulas for shipping price calculations, Example - 'if you buy 13.5 kilograms worth of x", then multiply that weight by y shipping rate. Get the site to do the calculations and show the shopper the price.
33. Consider shipping the product free. This is often a very good selling point with online shoppers.
34. Display the stock status of the selected item and do so BEFORE the user puts the item in their cart.
35. If you don’t sell or run out/discontinued an item, remove it from the site.
36. If you are offering a lot of products, users should be able to sort them by important criteria...price, size, color, etc.
37. Provide an easy way for shoppers to compare details of similar products.
38. Use a custom 404 not found page to link people back to the important areas of your site
39. Give a clear estimate of the delivery time.
40. Accept a wide variety of payment options and clearly display those options.
41. Important information should not look like ad banners. There really is such a thing as “ad blindness” and people will automatically skip over this important information.
42. Make sure you have a “first-time visitor” page. This is where you are going to explain why and how you are different from your competitors.
43. Update your copyright statements on page footers. Make sure that the current year is displayed....fix that 2003 copyright statement.
44. Let customer make a purchase without having to register with your site.
45. Consider making every link the last part of the statement “I want to...”. Don’t just have a link that says “the privacy policy”, but rather “read the privacy policy”. Do you get it... the shopper wants to “Read the Privacy Policy”.
46. Don’t use too clever names for your shopping cart like “widget basket” or “widget box”. Call it "My shopping cart" or "My shopping basket".
47. Don’t make the shopper specify select an option when there is only 1 “option”. If the product only comes in red, don’t make the shopper select the “red” radio button or choose “red” from the drop down. Get the site to do it automatically.
48. Provide clear shopping instructions in an empty shopping cart. Don’t just say “your shopping cart is empty”.
49. Provide a "special sale” or "special clearance” section. This will attract the budget-conscious shoppers.
50. The most important golden rule...you must portray a lot of trust and credibility to instil shopper confidence and get them to make a purchase. Make sure you do.
About the Author: (c)2005 Gail Bellaiche. Gail Bellaiche is an Internet Marketing professional and webmaster at http://www.intelliwebtools.com/ as well as a number of e-commerce sites. Visit her website for articles and tutorials on Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and other great webmaster tools. Source: http://www.isnare.com/
Building eCommerce Websites That Work - Part 1
Copyright 2005 Richard Keir
You want to succeed at eCommerce? Welcome to a very big family. Right off, let’s be clear - there are lots of ways to do business on the internet. And lots of ways to both make and lose money. Successful eCommerce websites come in all shapes, kinds and colors and while I can't cover every type of site in this series, I will present the basics you need to consider and apply for an eCommerce web site to be successful.
Let's begin by assuming you have some of the fundamentals, that you understand the language and that you are serious. I’m not going to tell you how to set up a web site or get a decent hosting account. We’re beyond those basics. The basics here are the factors which will influence the success (or failure) and the degree of success your eCommerce web site experiences.
First and foremost, you need to provide value for your customers. Absurd as it seems to have to repeat that, a lot of so-called eCommerce sites provide no or very little value for their visitors. Pretending to offer value is not the same thing as providing value. Promoting miserably written, hackneyed, cloned ebooks filled with questionably useful and/or outdated content doesn’t make a high value web site. Sure you might make some money. Once. And you’ll end up with a high refund rate - and an unhappy credit card processor. That path means you're taking advantage of inexperienced customers and abusing their willingness to trust you. This isn't the way to a long-term business with steady repeat customers.
Value on the net is not very different from any kind of off-line retail sales -- a quality product line that will attract potential customers and a competitive price that will lead to purchases. An honest, quality product that will meet the expectations you’ve created in your buyers. Hyped junk just doesn't cut it.
Next, you’ve got to have a smooth, user-friendly, easy to follow process all the way to your thank you page. The simpler, cleaner and clearer you can make the process, the better. Where it makes sense you can augment this user-responsive site profile by adding live-response chat.
If you do decide to use call-in or live chat, it’s imperative that your operators be well-trained, understand your products and your system and be customer friendly. This can be a problem if you outsource. The less expensive out-source call centers can turn out to be very expensive in terms of lost sales and customers who never come back.
You’ll need to check very carefully and be 100 per cent certain the operators actually speak and understand the primary language(s) of your targeted customer group. You’ll need to provide extensive background information and highly flexible, well-written scripts.
You should collect your own customer evaluations - separately. Don't rely exclusively on any monitoring or customer satisfaction surveys provided by the call center. Track your ROI to be sure it's money well-spent. Don't stop monitoring just because the results looked good for the first two or three months. Things change. Make sure you're tracking desired actions linked to the call center separately from those NOT related to call-in or live chat. Mixing outcomes leaves you in the dark about what's really happening.
You probably should have an attractive website. An ugly site can work, but to do that you need to absolutely know exactly what you're doing and why it should work. And you'll have to test like crazy to optimize (of course, you should be doing that anyway). The ugly site tactic is not for the inexperienced. Very few individuals really have the grasp of marketing, market and customer psychology that makes for a successful "ugly" site.
To provide a pleasant experience, you need to be careful in what you use - colors, text-size, graphics, animation and white space can add value to your site or turn it into a user nightmare. Test your site with people who will tell you the truth. Just because you love it doesn't mean anyone else will. In general, aiming for a professional appearing site is your best option. Look for the highest ranked, busiest sites in your business area and study the layouts they use. Extract the common features that you see on those sites. While other factors heavily influence traffic and ranking, appearance has a strong effect on visitors and sites that do testing evolve toward optimizing visitor behavior.
Keep in mind that a site's desired actions affect the design and layout. You'll want to study sites where those actions are most similar to the desired actions you target on your web site. If your goal is direct product sales, there's not much point in emulating a site that's optimized for newsletter sign-ups or AdSense.
If your main goal is direct sales (and if it is, then you need backend products too), provide incentives for customers to buy AND to return. The return factor is critical to a long-term strategy for success. Anyone who buys is your best possible future customer. Keep them, track them, make them special offers. Use coupons, discounts, special deals, customer-only offers and back end sales. Your customer base is your gold mine. Since they've shown enough faith in you to buy, do your utmost to never damage that faith. Treat them like the priceless resource they are. Think long-term: successful eCommerce websites are all about value and customer service.
About the Author
Richard teaches, trains and consults, on and off-line, on business and professional presentations, eCommerce, site building and programming. And writes a lot. Visit http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/ for articles, information, resources and links and check our blog at http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites/blog for opinion and ideas.
Building eCommerce Websites That Work - Part 1
Copyright 2005 Richard Keir
You want to succeed at eCommerce? Welcome to a very big family. Right off, let’s be clear - there are lots of ways to do business on the internet. And lots of ways to both make and lose money. Successful eCommerce websites come in all shapes, kinds and colors and while I can't cover every type of site in this series, I will present the basics you need to consider and apply for an eCommerce web site to be successful.
Let's begin by assuming you have some of the fundamentals, that you understand the language and that you are serious. I’m not going to tell you how to set up a web site or get a decent hosting account. We’re beyond those basics. The basics here are the factors which will influence the success (or failure) and the degree of success your eCommerce web site experiences.
First and foremost, you need to provide value for your customers. Absurd as it seems to have to repeat that, a lot of so-called eCommerce sites provide no or very little value for their visitors. Pretending to offer value is not the same thing as providing value. Promoting miserably written, hackneyed, cloned ebooks filled with questionably useful and/or outdated content doesn’t make a high value web site. Sure you might make some money. Once. And you’ll end up with a high refund rate - and an unhappy credit card processor. That path means you're taking advantage of inexperienced customers and abusing their willingness to trust you. This isn't the way to a long-term business with steady repeat customers.
Value on the net is not very different from any kind of off-line retail sales -- a quality product line that will attract potential customers and a competitive price that will lead to purchases. An honest, quality product that will meet the expectations you’ve created in your buyers. Hyped junk just doesn't cut it.
Next, you’ve got to have a smooth, user-friendly, easy to follow process all the way to your thank you page. The simpler, cleaner and clearer you can make the process, the better. Where it makes sense you can augment this user-responsive site profile by adding live-response chat.
If you do decide to use call-in or live chat, it’s imperative that your operators be well-trained, understand your products and your system and be customer friendly. This can be a problem if you outsource. The less expensive out-source call centers can turn out to be very expensive in terms of lost sales and customers who never come back.
You’ll need to check very carefully and be 100 per cent certain the operators actually speak and understand the primary language(s) of your targeted customer group. You’ll need to provide extensive background information and highly flexible, well-written scripts.
You should collect your own customer evaluations - separately. Don't rely exclusively on any monitoring or customer satisfaction surveys provided by the call center. Track your ROI to be sure it's money well-spent. Don't stop monitoring just because the results looked good for the first two or three months. Things change. Make sure you're tracking desired actions linked to the call center separately from those NOT related to call-in or live chat. Mixing outcomes leaves you in the dark about what's really happening.
You probably should have an attractive website. An ugly site can work, but to do that you need to absolutely know exactly what you're doing and why it should work. And you'll have to test like crazy to optimize (of course, you should be doing that anyway). The ugly site tactic is not for the inexperienced. Very few individuals really have the grasp of marketing, market and customer psychology that makes for a successful "ugly" site.
To provide a pleasant experience, you need to be careful in what you use - colors, text-size, graphics, animation and white space can add value to your site or turn it into a user nightmare. Test your site with people who will tell you the truth. Just because you love it doesn't mean anyone else will. In general, aiming for a professional appearing site is your best option. Look for the highest ranked, busiest sites in your business area and study the layouts they use. Extract the common features that you see on those sites. While other factors heavily influence traffic and ranking, appearance has a strong effect on visitors and sites that do testing evolve toward optimizing visitor behavior.
Keep in mind that a site's desired actions affect the design and layout. You'll want to study sites where those actions are most similar to the desired actions you target on your web site. If your goal is direct product sales, there's not much point in emulating a site that's optimized for newsletter sign-ups or AdSense.
If your main goal is direct sales (and if it is, then you need backend products too), provide incentives for customers to buy AND to return. The return factor is critical to a long-term strategy for success. Anyone who buys is your best possible future customer. Keep them, track them, make them special offers. Use coupons, discounts, special deals, customer-only offers and back end sales. Your customer base is your gold mine. Since they've shown enough faith in you to buy, do your utmost to never damage that faith. Treat them like the priceless resource they are. Think long-term: successful eCommerce websites are all about value and customer service.
About the Author
Richard teaches, trains and consults, on and off-line, on business and professional presentations, eCommerce, site building and programming. And writes a lot. Visit http://www.building-ecommerce-websites.com/ for articles, information, resources and links and check our blog at http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites/blog for opinion and ideas.
Integrating Microsoft Great Plains Accounting/ERP: RMS, CRM, eCommerce, Lotus Domino – overview
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share among horizontal and vertical clientele in the USA, Canada (including French version for Quebec/Montreal), UK, Australia, New Zealand, Spanish speaking Latin and Central America, South Africa and Middle East. Nowadays ERP can not stay as it is off-the-shelf product – it requires integration with Legacy or newly implemented systems, such as CRM, Retail Management applications, custom in-house made business systems (transportation/cargo tracking, etc).
The tendency is that if company uses Microsoft-driven computer park (Windows domain, SQL Servers, MS Exchange) the rest of the ERP/CRM applications are Windows-oriented. However you can have successful bridge between non-Microsoft ERP and Great Plains: Oracle, IBM Lotus Notes/Domino, DB2 or others), usually it involves Java/CORBA/EJB/JSP type of expertise.
Microsoft RMS-Great Plains integration. There are few options – first one is to use standard integration, coming with MS RMS. It has Dexterity interface in Great Plains, does integration to single company at the time. Doesn’t integration on SOP/AR level, however. Second option is to use integration, maintained by Alba Spectrum Technologies – it integrates unlimited number of stores, SOP/AR/POP, posts through Bank Reconciliation module and so allows to track Check Books/Credit Card balances. This integration also has Dexterity interface for Stores-GP Companies mapping and could work as nightly or real time SQL Server routine Microsoft CRM-Great Plains integration. This integration is maintained by Microsoft Business Solutions and allows you to synchronize SOP and Customers in Great Plains with Microsoft CRM Quotes and Orders. Microsoft CRM has open Microsoft CRM SDK and so you can customize and integrate Microsoft CRM at will, having C# or VB.Net in-house expertise. The above mentioned integration could be altered and tuned
by programming MS BizTalk server (it can use either BizTalk runtime or regular license) Microsoft Great Plains as Back office for eCommerce web-site. Here we need to mention interesting thing, The product, created and dedicated to eCommerce developers – Great Plains eConnect is often considered as a bit expensive and licensing-restricting solution. If your company is ISV and implements eCommerce product, integrating to Great Plains – you would rather prefer set of open and simple stored procedures, moving data to and retrieving from Microsoft Great Plains Sales Order Processing (SOP) module Microsoft Great Plains integration with Oracle. Well – you can do it either from Oracle or from MS SQL Server side – in both cases you have linking tools and heterogeneous queries mechanisms Microsoft Great Plains integration with Lotus Notes/Domino. – If you want Great Plains documents lookup from Lotus – you typically use ODBC connection to MS SQL Server. You need to know Great Plains tables structure (Tools->Resource Description->Tables in Great Plains)Good luck in upgrading and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918! help@albaspectrum.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com
Integrating Microsoft Great Plains Accounting/ERP: RMS, CRM, eCommerce, Lotus Domino – overview for developer
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share among horizontal and vertical clientele in the USA, Canada (including French version for Quebec/Montreal), UK, Australia, New Zealand, Spanish speaking Latin and Central America, South Africa and Middle East. Nowadays ERP can not stay as it is off-the-shelf product – it requires integration with Legacy or newly implemented systems, such as CRM, Retail Management applications, custom in-house made business systems (transportation/cargo tracking, etc). The tendency is that if company uses Microsoft-driven computer park (Windows domain, SQL Servers, MS Exchange) the rest of the ERP/CRM applications are Windows-oriented. However you can have successful bridge between non-Microsoft ERP and Great Plains: Oracle, IBM Lotus Notes/Domino, DB2 or others), usually it involves Java/CORBA/EJB/JSP type of expertise.
Microsoft RMS-Great Plains integration. There are few options – first one is to use standard integration, coming with MS RMS. It has Dexterity interface in Great Plains, does integration to single company at the time. Doesn’t integration on SOP/AR level, however. Second option is to use integration, maintained by Alba Spectrum Technologies – it integrates unlimited number of stores, SOP/AR/POP, posts through Bank Reconciliation module and so allows to track Check Books/Credit Card balances. This integration also has Dexterity interface for Stores-GP Companies mapping and could work as nightly or real time SQL Server routine
Microsoft CRM-Great Plains integration. This integration is maintained by Microsoft Business Solutions and allows you to synchronize SOP and Customers in Great Plains with Microsoft CRM Quotes and Orders. Microsoft CRM has open Microsoft CRM SDK and so you can customize and integrate Microsoft CRM at will, having C# or VB.Net in-house expertise. The above mentioned integration could be altered and tuned by programming MS BizTalk server (it can use either BizTalk runtime or regular license)
Microsoft Great Plains as Back office for eCommerce web-site. Here we need to mention interesting thing, The product, created and dedicated to eCommerce developers – Great Plains eConnect is often considered as a bit expensive and licensing-restricting solution. If your company is ISV and implements eCommerce product, integrating to Great Plains – you would rather prefer set of open and simple stored procedures, moving data to and retrieving from Microsoft Great Plains Sales Order Processing (SOP) module Microsoft Great Plains integration with Oracle. Well – you can do it either from Oracle or from MS SQL Server side – in both cases you have linking tools and heterogeneous queries mechanisms
Microsoft Great Plains integration with Lotus Notes/Domino. – If you want Great Plains documents lookup from Lotus – you typically use ODBC connection to MS SQL Server. You need to know Great Plains tables structure (Tools->Resource Description->Tables in Great Plains) Good luck in upgrading and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918! help@albaspectrum.com
About The Author
Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com.
help@albaspectrum.com
Internet Basics: eCommerce is Like Playing House
Ever play house as a kid? You don't even have to be in a house to play it. You just say, "The kitchen's over there, and this is the laundry, and here's the garage," and so on. You make it all up in your mind, but none of it's really there.
You can add stuff whenever you want, and you can decide it's the end of the workday even if it's really ten o'clock in the morning.
That's what eCommerce is like.
With eCommerce, a business doesn't have to be in a traditional business-type setting or building. If they want a store, they just:
·make some webpages (which are really only computer files)
·upload them to a server (which is really only a computer hooked up to the Internet)
·make sure they have a way their customers can pay them (a payment provider)
And suddenly they have a store, even though there's no "actual" store anywhere that anyone can "go into." And it can be open 24 hours a day.
But just as playing house isn't just about the kitchen, eCommerce isn't just about selling things online. With eCommerce, if a business wants a service department, they just:
·create an email address
·then make sure somebody somewhere (anywhere) is going to pick up the emails sent to that email address
Or they might put customer support information on their website - things like Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), or installation instructions, or product registration forms.
Or they might make up tools their customers can use, such as a mortgage calculator, or a currency converter, or even an ovulation calculator.
Or they might provide access to a person they can contact for help through email, or chat, or a phone number (maybe), or even snail mail (regular postal mail).
They just make up what they need to do business online as they go along because it's so easy to make it up.
And that's why eCommerce is like playing house.
Copyright (c) Grant Pasay 2005. All rights reserved. You may forward this article in its entirety to anyone you wish.
About the author:
Grant Pasay is a writer, musician, moviemaker, and author of the new eBook, "The Internet Is Like A Refrigerator: And Other Weird Comparisons That Make it Easy to Understand Everything From AOL to Zip Files."
Check out Grant's free/brandable ebook at: http://grantpasay.com/refrigerator/
Check out Grant at: http://grantpasay.com/
Introduction To Ecommerce
Many people new to websites and/or ecommerce are confused at the in and outs of ecommerce. Even many people who are fairly adept at scripting can set up a store using some popular package such as OSCommerce and then are left stumped by the idea of making it work with a payment gateway to actually collect money and put it into their account. In this article, I will give a brief overview of how the system is set up to collect your money. I will then discuss briefly what to look for in evaluating payment gateways. As usual, I will keep this basic and understandable just as I do with all of my articles.The Basics - How Funds are Collected
Ecommerce simply refers to the practice of shopping online. From the site owner's perspective, it entails collecting funds from sales transactions on their website and depositing that money into the bank. In order to collect funds, you need to have a merchant account and a payment gateway (discussed below). Basically, when a person enters their credit card number on a website, the card number and buyer information is sent to a payment gateway. This is done securely. The payment gateway will interface with a payment processor to check availability of funds as well as any other criteria set for accepting transactions. If the funds are available, the payment processor will then deduct the funds. The payment gateway will then report back a successful transaction to the merchant, at which point the merchant's shopping cart system will respond by displaying a "Thank You" type message to the buyer. Funds will sit until the transaction is settled, which means the funds are collected and deposited to your bank account. Until a transaction is settled, the transaction will not post to your bank account and the corresponding debit will not post to the buyer's credit card account.
Merchant Accounts
A Merchant Account is a special type of account specifically for online retailers. They are designed to allow non-POS (point of sale) transactions using credit cards, or transactions where you don't have the person's credit card in hand. In other words, you don't have a card swiper. A merchant account is not the same as a bank account. It acts as a go-between between your payment gateway and your bank account, accepting funds from credit cards which are then deposited into your bank.
A merchant account is a relationship based on trust between you and the issuing bank. The bank takes funds from the buyer's account and deposits into your account. A payment processor takes care of checking for availability of funds and debiting from the credit card account. The bank issuing the merchant account is trusting that you will fulfill your end of the transaction by providing the product or service that the buyer purchased. In case where this does not occur, the buyer can dispute the transaction. This puts the issuing bank on the line because they are then obligated to return the funds to the buyer's card (a chargeback). Therefore, merchant providers are taking a risk in allowing a merchant to take credit cards under their name.
The organization providing your merchant account will do underwriting on the account when you apply to check your credit. If you have a history of too many chargebacks, you may be denied. In fact, too many chargebacks can result in you, as a merchant, being put on the Terminated Merchant File (also called The Match File). This is a blacklist which will effectively prevent you from ever receiving a merchant account again.
Payment Gateways
A payment gateway serves as the front end to your merchant account, allowing you to manage funds, transactions, and the like. It also serves as a connection between your website and your merchant account. It takes data submitted via your secure order forms and presents it to your processing bank. The processing bank then approves or declines the transaction and sends its response back to the payment gateway. The payment gateway then turns around and provides this data back to the merchant for appropriate handling of the transaction. A payment gateway, then, does not offer services such as merchant accounts or shopping carts, although some of the larger-known gateways do provide such options as value-added services.Some of the better known payment gateway services are Authorize.Net, Verisign, 2CheckOut.com, Linkpoint, Paysystems.com, Worldpay.com, and MerchantCommerce. Some of the things to look for in a payment gateway are compliance with CISP, SDP and DISC (security initiatives put out by the major credit card companies), virtual terminal (to be able to accept transactions over the phone by typing in their data rather than only relying on your website), fraud prevention, recurring billing, methods of integration, cost and whether they can accept e-checks or not.
Fraud prevention is a big one because, as stated above, too many fraudulent transactions will result in chargebacks which could end up putting you on the Match List and your merchant account closed. Some of the common fraud detection mechanisms are Address Verification (AVS) which compares the customer's address with that on file with the issuing bank, CVV2 which makes use of the 3-digit security code on the credit card (4-digit on American Express cards).
Most gateways will provide instructions on how to interface with their servers from your web store. Most gateways offer two methods of integration.
One method is to have your site POST a form to the gateway's server which is pre-populated with your customer's information. At that point, the customer will provide the customer with the payment form which allows them to type in their credit card number in a secure environment. After processing occurs, the customer is then routed back to your website along with the results of the transaction. Your site again takes over the process. This method is usually easier to set up for site owners and it also means the site owner does not need to purchase their own SSL certificate (allowing secure transactions on the site itself). The tradeoff is that you do need to send your customers off of your website for payment collection. Many gateways offer ways to make the payment form look like your website using customized headers and footers, but the fact remains that the visitors are leaving your website.
The second method is totally invisible to the customer. If the site owner has an SSL certificate, they can set up security on their own site. This means they can host the payment form themselves, totally customizing it to their website. When the customer submits payment, your site will securely and invisibly submit the information to the payment gateway. The payment gateway will do the usual processing and then invisibly send the response back to the merchant's website, allowing it to respond properly. From the customer's perspective, they never left your website. And they never did. This type of setup requires an SSL certificate as well as access to the CURL library.
Many gateway providers can get you set up with a merchant account at the same time as the gateway. So, in most cases, you do not need to sign up for them separately.
Conclusion
Hopefully this has given you a brief introduction to how credit card payments are processed on the internet.About the Author
David Risley is a web developer and founder of PC Media, Inc. (http://www.pcmedianet.com/). Specializes in PHP/MySQL development, consulting and internet business management. He is also the founder of PC Mechanic (http://www.pcmech.com/), a large website delivering do-it-yourself computer information to thousands of users every day.
Is eCommerce Right For Our Business
If your business features products or services for sale, undoubtedly the topic of eCommerce has come up. What is eCommerce? Literally defined as "the conduct of financial transactions by electronic means," it refers to purchases made over the Internet. There are popular slang terms such as ebusiness, click and mortar, dotcom, cyber-mall and multiple spellings (eCommerce, e-commerce, E-Commerce), but they are all basically the same thing. Don't let the different phrases confuse you, it all comes back to the same principle: selling online.So how do you know if selling online will be beneficial for your business? There are a few basic questions that can help you with this decision. First and foremost, can you afford to develop a professional eCommerce storefront on your Web site? You've heard the phrase "if you can't do it right, it's not worth doing at all". This is especially true in regards to eCommerce because people will not purchase from your Web site if it looks amateur and is poorly done. Custom developed eCommerce sites can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but pre-built shopping cart solutions such as WebSolutions' Marketplace can provide your business with a professional eCommerce storefront for a fraction of the cost. Another benefit of a program like this is whereas a Yahoo or eBay store may be less expensive to get going, it's going to be less customizable, and as your business grows, you'll outgrow the site and need to start over again. An option like the Marketplace provides a great starting place with unlimited building potential and growth. After the cost issue is addressed, you need to evaluate the potential of selling your product or service online. Are any of your competitors selling online? If not, have a brainstorming session and try to think of any logical reasons why they aren't. Could it be that they tried and failed or is it that they just haven't thought about selling online yet? One key to remember is that once you make the decision to sell online, your product and pricing is now available 24/7 to anyone that stumbles upon your site.
After evaluating your competitor's Web sites, you need to look at your product line and determine your target audience. Who buys from your now? Are you selling to businesses or individuals? If the answer is businesses, are they generally companies that are active on the Internet or businesses that don't rely on the Web as much (such as mechanics, restaurants, etc.). If the answer is individuals, what demographic(s) are you advertising your products or services to? You need to be sure that the people you want purchasing your product have access to the Internet and are willing to shop online. Few businesses realize that over 80% of the world's Internet access speed is still dial-up, so loading huge catalogs, Flash files, and large graphics will deter a prospect from purchasing. Finally, you need to determine how you can make your business stand out from all the rest. If you're selling copier supplies, why is someone going to come to your site versus the other millions of copier supply Web sites? Are you going to sell based on price, location, quantity, quality of service? Are you going to provide online shipment tracking, account management, wish lists, real-time credit card authorization and processing, and other advanced eCommerce applications to make your site more professional? These are all issues that need to be addressed before you start designing your first product page. Taking the next step of selling online is a big decision for your business and isn't to be taken lightly. There is significant cost and risk involved, but there is also significant reward waiting to be had. Be sure to consult with your Web developer to find out which options are available to you and do your research ahead of time. Not every eCommerce site is profitable, but if you prepare, there's no reason yours can't be.About the Author WebSolutions is a professional Web site design, development, and hosting company based near Chicago. Their expertise in eCommerce has been highlighted in print and television. Jon Kee handles all sales and marketing related activities for WebSolutions and can be reached by phone at 630.375.6833 or email @ sales@wsol.com. Visit us online: http://www.wsol.com/
reading eCommerce Consultant Admits You Should Only Listen to One Real Expert! (And it’s not him..!)
Let me share with you a secret that most marketing experts and consultants don’t want you to know… (many of them don’t even understand this secret themselves.)
The secret is… There is only one true expert who can show you how to drastically improve the effectiveness of your website and your marketing. With dozens of so-called guru’s, consultants and experts ready and willing to give you (or charge you for) their advice, there is actually only one person you should listen to on a regular basis. Only one! And his name is Eric Graham… No, no… just kidding…
The only “experts” that you should listen to and trust are your visitors. The visitors that come to your website or view your ads are the only true experts. They will share their expert opinions with you by the actions they take while on your website.
Not sure what headline to use at the top of your page… You have a couple of options:
Pay an “expert” consultant like me to look it over for you and give you copywriting recommendations, for a few hundred dollars an hour.
Or…
“Ask” your visitors which one is best, by split testing each element of your headlines and letting your visitors vote with their credit cards… The one that converts to sales best wins!
Trying to figure out how much to charge for you new ebook? You can hire an expert… I can talk to you all day about advanced pricing theory and explain to you how prices with a “7” in them (such as $17, $97, $777) usually convert better. I can walk you through an analysis of the price points of competing/similar products…
Or…
Simply test 3 or 4 different prices to see which one is most profitable. Often the greater perceived value of a higher price actually converts better than a lower price. But you won’t know if that’s true for your product and your visitors until you test it. Again your visitors will teach you more about pricing than any consultant ever could. You just need to “ask” these experts by testing.
If done properly, the questions you can get your “visitor experts” to answer about your website by simply testing, is endless.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that you should never hire a consultant or expert -- after all my clients happily pay me a lot of money to help them improve their conversion rates. And I am worth every penny! ;-)
But what you need to understand here is that the best experts, became experts by studying and testing, testing and testing different elements over and over until they developed a set of “best practices”. So, by hiring
someone who has been in the trenches you can save time and money in the long run.
However, every website, business, product and visitor demographic is different. Just because something works at one website, doesn’t automatically mean it will work at yours. The best consultants will tell you that you still need to test everything. So in the end it’s still your visitor who’s the true expert.
Just imagine the results you could achieve over the next year, if you took the time to test only one new element every week. Even if half of the tests were failures and didn’t produce improvements in your conversion rates, you would still discover 26 ways to improve your sales. Even if each improvement only boosts your conversion rate by 1/10th of 1%, you would have improved your conversion rate by over 2.6% (and probably much more!)
Look over your current sales statistics, and ask yourself, “How much more profit would I be making if my conversion rate jumped by 2.6%?”
With most sites currently converting at an appalling 1% to 2%, a 2.6% improvement could triple your sales…
Let me ask you a question: Imagine you have a website selling information on how to learn to play the guitar, getting 1,000 visitors per day. And I came to you and showed you how I can change a few things about your page, improve your search engine positioning and triple your traffic? Would you be excited? Sure.
Then, why not get equally excited about optimizing your website for maximum conversion rates?
Many online businesses will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars optimizing their sites for the search engines. But then they waste 99 out of every 100 visitors that they spent so much time and effort getting, simply because they failed to invest in “asking the experts” (their visitors) first. Had they taken the time to optimize their site for conversion rate, before driving the traffic their results would be 10x more profitable.
The great news for you is, so few online businesses are currently testing anything! This means that you are in a position to absolutely dominate your competition by simply listening to the true experts… Your visitors!
Copyright 2004 Eric Graham
Want to improve your conversion rates? Eric Graham is the CEO of several successful online companies. A top authority on eCommerce & Internet Marketing, he's an in-demand speaker & consultant. Visit http://www.web-site-evaluations.com/ today for an in-depth evaluation to boost YOUR websites conversion rate!
Meeting the UK Ecommerce Regulations
Many UK small businesses with ecommerce web sites are failing to meet the legal requirements of the following acts and directives:
Ecommerce Directive 2002
Data Protection Act 1998
Distance Selling Act 2000
This is often due to misunderstanding their responsibilities or simply lack of resources. However, failing to comply with these legal requirements may seriously damage your web site and your business.
By promoting compliance with these legal obligations, your web site will gain more credibility and increase customer's confidence.
Useful Resources
The following links provide essential information related to the UK ecommerce regulations.
The Data Protection Act 1998 - http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/
The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 - http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/pdf1/bus_guide.pdf
The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 - http://www2.dti.gov.uk/industry_files/pdf/smallbusinessguidance.pdf
Data Protection
(a) You must register under the Data Protection Act if you collect information about people (for example, employees, customers and visitors). This information can include names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses.
(b) You must state what you do with your subject's data and not deviate from that statement.
(c) The Act is applicable to businesses of any size.
(d) You must not export the personal data outside the EC (European Community) without permission from the people you are collecting data on.
(e) You must ensure that all information is held securely and must be revealed or deleted upon request from the subjects of the information.
(f) You must only record pertinent data to your prime business needs.
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations
The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 apply to many ecommerce sites. However, they are not applicable to ‘business-to-business’ transactions.
(a) You must provide clear information about your products and services before purchase.
(b) You must be clear about postage and packing costs and whether VAT is included in the prices shown on your website.
(c) You must provide a
written confirmation of order following purchase, e.g., via email.
(d) You must allow a "cooling off" period of 7 working days for most goods. Certain exclusions do apply and include perishable and digital goods.
(e) You must inform your customers of their right to cancel their order with no loss other than return postage and packing.
Ecommerce Directive
(a) You must display the name of your business, the company registration number (or proprietor's name), geographical address (not PO Box number), contact information e.g., telephone number and email address, VAT registration number (if registered).
(b) You may refer to trade or professional schemes if applicable.
(c) You must provide clear information on price, tax and delivery to buyers.
(d) You must clearly display your site’s Terms and Conditions.
(e) You must acknowledge all orders.
(f) In commercial communication with your customers, you must clearly identify any electronic communication designed to promote your goods or services.
(g) You must clearly identify the sender of all electronic communication.
(h) You must clearly define any promotional offers and the qualifying conditions regarding these offers.
(i) If you send unsolicited emails, you must clearly identify them as unsolicited.
Other means of increasing Ecommerce Credibility
In addition to ensuring that you satisfy the ecommerce regulations, you can gain extra credibility by:
(a) Including verifiable testimonials.
(b) Allowing payment via other means than online, e.g. via telephone or mail order.
(c) Ensuring that all transactions that involve the transfer of personal and payment details are secure (via SSL).
(d) Ensuring that your shopping cart does not make the following common mistakes:
Call a shopping cart something else!
Use a ‘Buy Now’ button instead of a ‘Add to Cart’ button
Give no feedback that an item has been added to the cart
Force the user to view the cart after each added item
Make the user register before adding items to a cart
Not provide a ‘Remove Item’ button
About the Author
James Saunders is the Managing Director of Site-Report.com Limited (http://www.site-report.com/), a UK internet consultancy offering holistic advice to UK SMEs on all aspects of website development and promotion including usability, accessibility, ecommerce regulations, internet marketing and search engine optimisation.
Merchant services add ecommerce functionality to any business
According to paymentonline.com, this includes credit cards processing systems with a Merchant Account to receive payment from the customers. Merchant Accounts are an important element in any ecommerce venture. Merchant services provide the expertise and reliability to enable merchants to accept credit cards, debit cards and checks. A GOOD Internet Merchant Account is one that 1) Deposits money into the bank account immediately 2) Has VISA/Mastercard rate lower than 2.3% 3) Doesn't have a setup/application/or some other name for a $100+ or so fee 4) Has flexible term contract or commitment 5) Has been issued by a reliable merchant account provider 6) Doesn't have a cancellation fee or annual fee 7) Has 24/7 telephone and online support from the merchant account provider 8) Allows ecommerce indicator security features As per merchantlogic.com, many merchant services include access to all major credit card and regional debit card networks, as well as check acceptance services with electronic deposit. Whether the business is looking for retail merchant services, Internet merchant services, mail/phone order merchant services, or a wireless merchant services, the merchant services provider have a solution that's right for your business needs. They also take pride in having one of the largest chargeback and fraud merchant services departments in the industry providing the customers with the finest level of service and protection for their businesses. Choosing the right merchant services provider can be critical to the business's bottom line. But selecting a merchant services provider at first may appear to be a daunting task. A single web search will deliver a seemingly endless list of merchant services providers. The service provided by the merchant services provider is that it will provide various types of merchant accounts that can be used to process transactions. Each type of merchant account varies depending on the merchant's business model. It is important that the merchant accurately completes the merchant application based on their business model as the rates and fees are determined on their business model classification. If a merchant fills out an application with an incorrect description of the services and products sold, the merchant can be fined and put on a terminated list for all merchant account providers to view. Merchant accounts are reviewed for compliance by a processor's risk department and the credit card associations on a regular basis.
About the author:
For more information on credit card processing,please visit http://www.paynetsystems.com/
Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0: Ecommerce Web Development – Overview For Programmer
Microsoft “Project Green” phase one is reflected in Microsoft Great Plains/Dynamics GP 9.0 realization. It is exposed to .Net developer currently through eConnect and as time goes – more and more eConnect object will have XML web service interfaces. In this small article we will be touching the set of object, deployed in eCommerce application, using Microsoft Dynamics GP as a backend.
• Sales Order Processing (SOP). In the light eCommerce case – you push data into SOP10100 – SOP Header table and SOP10200 – SOP Line table. If you do create Sales Orders Only, do not accept deposits against sales order – then you do not care about SOP Distribution table: SOP10102. All these tasks could be realized through eConnect.
• Inventory Tables. If you sell from your inventory (not just services), then you use Inventory module tables: IV00101 – Item master, IV00102 – Item QTY master, the last one shows you quantity at the specific location and in general
• Receivable Management Tables. RM00101 – Customer master – in case if you create and register new customer or update existing customer info in Great Plains.
• eConnect extensions. Obviously eConnect will be repeating the logic of former Great Plains Dexterity objects. In Great Plains you typically create work documents: Quotes, Orders, Invoices and then you post them individually or in the batch – posting process is functionally assigned to the operator, this is why you will have hard time to program it via eConnect (which allows you to create work documents). You will need eConnect extensions or simply stored procedures, which post work records in Sales Order Processing and potentially Receivable Management modules – it is not recommended to create ones from scratch – posting and order transferring logic is very complicated.
• Stored Procedures approach. We see more and more cases when eCommerce is built around Microsoft Small Business Financials, former Microsoft Small Business Manager – in such a situation eConnect might be too expensive and too complex – you may need just several SOP oriented stored procedures to create SOP orders and invoices at the back end in SOP SQL tables. The advice to the developer in the case of Small Business Financials – ask SBF user to create sample transaction – Sales Order and watch how did it distribute across SOP tables – you will get the idea and replication pattern for your SQL coding
• Development Tools. Microsoft Visual Studio.Net is becoming the tool of choice (over now legacy Microsoft Dexterity or Great Plains Software Dexterity). However if you are eCommerce developer – you will have to use SQL scripting. Usually the first question is – where do I get Great Plains table structure description: Tools->Resource Description->Tables. Sometimes developers ask about Great Plains Integration Manager. This tool is in process of being rewritten with eConnect panidea. Integration Manager up to version 8.0 was relatively slow in its technical ability to integrate bulk number of records – it used legacy OLE Server technology – Great Plains was OLE Server and IM used GP screens to validate integration records. New integration manager should be more powerful and it is in the process of the creation as we write these lines.
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM web front. In some cases we see this scenario. Microsoft Great Plains – MS CRM integration is in process of being rewritten on eConnect – currently it uses BizTalk server (and does a nice job, however sometimes you have to programmatically tune the BizTalk integration). In CRM you can create Account or Contact that will be integrated to Great Plains Customer, then Order when submitted can be integrated to Great Plains if needed. Sometimes developers complain, that they have to force credit limit for the CRM Account to be non-zero – in order for the invoice to come through.
About the Author: Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ http://www.greatplains.com.mx/ http://www.enterlogix.com.br/ ) - Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Navision, Axapta MS CRM, Oracle Financials and IBM Lotus Domino Partner. Please do not hesitate to call or email us: USA 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918 help@albaspectrum.comSource: http://www.isnare.com/
Microsoft Ecommerce Web-development: Great Plains Econnect .net Approach – Highlights For Programmer
In our small article we’ll consider Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains Sales Order Processing module as eCommerce backend. Plus we’ll cover what is possible and impossible in eConnect and why. Microsoft Great Plains is one of the most popular ERP in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Latin America, UK and South Africa. Due to the MBS strategy – Great Plains Dynamics was pulled from other markets, such as continental Europe (Germany, France, Russia) – where Navision and Axapta are the promoted and recommended solutions. If you have Navision or Axapta – please read our publications on these products on Alba Spectrum Technologies publication site.
• Great Plains Platform – Great Plains Software Dynamics is written on GPS proprietary platform in Dexterity program language. Dexterity is based on very shrewd application development philosophy – ERP application will stay decades if it is independent from the graphical computer environment and database platform. Back in 1992 C programming language was believed to be the rescuer and be cross-platform.
• Great Plains Architecture. Here we need to give you highlights on Great Plains Dynamics initial design. General Ledger (GL) was intended as core module, then you see modules, posting directly to GL: Receivables Management (RM), Payables Management (PM), Payroll, Inventory Control. The next level – modules, posting to GL through other modules: Sales Order Processing (through Accounts Receivable), Purchase Order Processing (through Accounts Payables), etc. The second principle – Great Plains would never allow you to post the batch of transactions behind the scene – only via the user interface – checked and approved by the user.
• eOrder – this IIS ASP application was initially available for all the platforms: MS SQL Server, Ctree and Btrieve (later on Pervasive SQL 2000), in 1998 Great Plains Software made it available for MS SQL server only. eOrder was predecessor of modern eCommerce sites and all the attempts to customize eOrder were dubious in the version upgrade.
• .Net paradigm. Instead of inventing and making you use standard eCommerce solution - .Net gives you the choice to select from variety of products available on the market. This means that no more eOrders – you just need the connector which will allow you to address Great Plains objects from your eCommerce application. As usual you are free to use your language of choice: VB or C#
• eConnect. Yes – exactly – it was initially developed for eCommerce programmers. Later on eConnect was extended on the majority of Great Plains modules, including distributions
• Restrictions. As you see above – Great Plains allows you to address work tables only – this means that you can not post transactions using eConnect. Other reported issues were related to Sales Order transfer to Invoice/Backorder
• Custom Stored Procedures. Right – you have to use these custom SQL scripts to post transactions, created with eConnect.
If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
About the Author: Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Australia, UK, Canada, Continental Europe, Russia and having locations in multiple states ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ )Source: http://www.isnare.com/
Programmer Microsoft Ecommerce Web-development: Great Plains Econnect .net Approach – Highlights For
In our small article we’ll consider Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains Sales Order Processing module as eCommerce backend. Plus we’ll cover what is possible and impossible in eConnect and why. Microsoft Great Plains is one of the most popular ERP in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Latin America, UK and South Africa. Due to the MBS strategy – Great Plains Dynamics was pulled from other markets, such as continental Europe (Germany, France, Russia) – where Navision and Axapta are the promoted and recommended solutions. If you have Navision or Axapta – please read our publications on these products on Alba Spectrum Technologies publication site.
• Great Plains Platform – Great Plains Software Dynamics is written on GPS proprietary platform in Dexterity program language. Dexterity is based on very shrewd application development philosophy – ERP application will stay decades if it is independent from the graphical computer environment and database platform. Back in 1992 C programming language was believed to be the rescuer and be cross-platform.
• Great Plains Architecture. Here we need to give you highlights on Great Plains Dynamics initial design. General Ledger (GL) was intended as core module, then you see modules, posting directly to GL: Receivables Management (RM), Payables Management (PM), Payroll, Inventory Control. The next level – modules, posting to GL through other modules: Sales Order Processing (through Accounts Receivable), Purchase Order Processing (through Accounts Payables), etc. The second principle – Great Plains would never allow you to post the batch of transactions behind the scene – only via the user interface – checked and approved by the user.
• eOrder – this IIS ASP application was initially available for all the platforms: MS SQL Server, Ctree and Btrieve (later on Pervasive SQL 2000), in 1998 Great Plains Software made it available for MS SQL server only. eOrder was predecessor of modern eCommerce sites and all the attempts to customize eOrder were dubious in the version upgrade.
• .Net paradigm. Instead of inventing and making you use standard eCommerce solution - .Net gives you the choice to select from variety of products available on the market. This means that no more eOrders – you just need the connector which will allow you to address Great Plains objects from your eCommerce application. As usual you are free to use your language of choice: VB or C#
• eConnect. Yes – exactly – it was initially developed for eCommerce programmers. Later on eConnect was extended on the majority of Great Plains modules, including distributions
• Restrictions. As you see above – Great Plains allows you to address work tables only – this means that you can not post transactions using eConnect. Other reported issues were related to Sales Order transfer to Invoice/Backorder
• Custom Stored Procedures. Right – you have to use these custom SQL scripts to post transactions, created with eConnect.
If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
About the Author: Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Australia, UK, Canada, Continental Europe, Russia and having locations in multiple states ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ )Source: http://www.isnare.com/
Microsoft Great Plains eCommerce - know your options and alternatives
As eCommerce designer you should be aware of several options and customization tools in your disposition, when you utilize Microsoft Great Plains 8.5 (June 2005), 8.0, 7.5, Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise 7.0, 6.0, 5.5 or 5.0 Great Plains Dynamics C/S+.
Since Version 8.0 Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains & Great Plains Standard are available on Microsoft SQL Server and MSDE (which is in fact MS SQL with database size limit of 2GB). When you have old versions (7.5 and prior) we assume that you are on MS SQL Server 2000/7.0, because if you are on Ctree or Pervasive SQL/Btrieve – you should use ODBC / RDO connection tools, such as MS Access and its queries or use MS SQL Server Linked Server technique with OPENROWSET statements. So, lets assume that you are on MS SQL Server. You have basically two options eConnect (you should pay for the reg key/license and this is SDK) and custom stored procedures. We’ll only consider custom stored procedures way here:
Stored Procs. The first question is – are we allowed to create stored proc in Great Plains DYNAMICS and companies databases. The answer is Yes – opposite to such products as Microsoft CRM (where you are banned to create any custom object in MS CRM database, and instead you create your own custom database and place all your procedures and views there) – you are encouraged to create your stored procedures and place them in both DYNAMICS and Company databases. You need to know the anatomy of Great Plains tables structure Tables Structure. If you launch Great Plains workstation and follow this way: Tools->Resource Descriptions->Tables – then you are in tables descriptor, sorting by tables Physical, Logical or Tables Group Technical names. This is all Great Plains Dexterity architecture realm and it is relatively complex and not “developer-friendly” – but if you create sample transactions in Great Plains – you can figure out where data should be populated Sales Order Processing. Or SOP module. This is usually the core of eCommerce development – transactions should go into SOP tables (with SOP prefix): SOP10100, SOP10200 and others. If you are selling to your existing customers, then customers are in Receivables Management module (AR) with AR prefixes: RM00101 – is Customer Master, RM00102 – customer address master, etc. Sales Order/Invoice Allocation dilemma. Great Plains SOP module is working in concert with Inventory control, making allocation of inventoried items in IV. So, this is very challenging to replicate allocation logic. We recommend do not allocate in Orders and Invoices and do allocation by operator, who processes the internet orders batch Sales Order transfer dilemma. If you are using eConnect – this is kind of issue, so you have to appeal to GP internal architecture and do it with the stored procs approach.Good luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew is Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ ) – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, New Orleans, Toronto, Montreal and having locations in multiple states and internationally
Microsoft Great Plains eCommerce: overview for developer
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was designed back in the earlier 1990th as first graphical ERP/accounting system for mid-size businesses. The architects of Great Plains Dexterity – this is the internal mid-shell, all Great Plains was written on, designed it to be easily transferable between graphical operating systems (MAC, Windows, Solaris – potentially) and database platforms – initially Great Plains was available on Ctree (both Mac and PC) and Btrieve, a bit later high end version Dynamics C/S+ was available on Microsoft SQL Server 6.5. But the idea was to catch or switch winning/losing database platform – nobody could predict if MS SQL Server, Oracle or DB 2 become a dominant DB platform, like Windows among OS. All these trade-ins for being potentially cross-platform application make the life of nowadays eCommerce developer difficult.
eCommerce developers were using Microsoft IIS and ASP-based Great Plains eCommerce around 4 years ago. Today, with the move to .Net and ASPX platform, server based scripts are replaced with .Net code behind approach and Great Plains eCommerce should be rewritten.
Microsoft Great Plains subdivision released SDK – eConnect which was targeted to eCommerce developers to manipulate Great Plains objects, such as Customer, SOP Order, Invoice, Quote, etc. What is a bit unpleasant – eConnect requires license key and is quite expensive for small internet eCommerce sites.
Custom Stored Procedures. Companies, like Alba Spectrum Technologies have implemented multiple diversified eCommerce projects with Great Plains at the back end. So, these custom stored procedures are available on the market, but they are not packaged as eConnect and could be purchased on the individual agreement base with Microsoft Great Plains partner.
Some Great Plains tables structure logic is required. You usually need consultant help, however you could try to make maximum work done at home. Tool->Resource Desciption->Tables, re-sort by Table Group technical name, then make test transactions in Great Plains (SOP module) and see where records go. This is how you design and test your queries Good luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 866-528-0577 or 630-961-5918! help@albaspectrum.com
About The Author
Andrew is Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ ) – Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Microsoft CRM Partner, serving clients in California, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Florida, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Canada, UK, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Russia
help@albaspectrum.com
Microsoft Small Business Manager eCommerce – overview
Microsoft Business Solutions Small Business Manager is scaled down Great Plains Dexterity based version of Microsoft Great Plains or former Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise. Small Business Manager first release 7.0 and all the following version was available on MSDE (MS SQL Server 2000 with limited usage and database size – 2GB maximum).
It is nice situation on the market in eCommerce niche – we see huge number of customers, who have purchased and implemented SBM for their small and mid-size businesses and then realized that customization options for Small Business Manager are very limited: in comparison to Great Plains SBM doesn’t have VBA/Modifier, it has very restricted version of Integration Manager. These restrictions lead you, eCommerce developer to direct SQL programming. Again – being scaled down version of Microsoft Great Plains – Small Business Manager has a legacy of relatively complex tables structure.
tom stored procedures way here:
Tables Structure. Small Business Manager has similar to Great Plains structure and similar System DYNAMICS database and the company. As you could see tables structure in Resource description in Great Plains – so you do in SBM Stored Procs. Yes – we can go ahead and create stored proc in DYNAMICS and companies databases or Small Business Manager. Now – there is one issue. Technically Small Business Manager comes with MSDE and MSDE doesn’t have lovely tool SQL Server Enterprise Manager with Query Analyzer, etc. So somehow you should deal with this. If you have consulting programmer – she or he can connect to your MSDE installation, using MS SQL Server Enterprise Manager, installed on consultant’s laptop Visual Studio.Net. This is the development tools to use – because you will need a lot of web-debugging, considering complicated tables structure and records workflow. Some developers might suggest to use VS.Net data designer to link to Great Plains tables – this idea is rather very difficult to realize, because of the simultaneous population of multiple tables, while creating internet orders: Order Header, Order Lines, Order Comments, Customer Master, Customer Address Master to name a few. So we would recommend sticking to stored proc. SOP. Sales Order Processing. Usually eCommerce solution works around Sales Order Processing tables. The reason is – it works with Inventoried items and typical eCommerce is ordering specific items off the internet. Look at SOP10100, SOP10200 and other tables with SOP prefix. Also you should know that SOP1XXX – are so called working tables and you populate mostly these, when orders are transformed to invoices, order record goes to SOP3XXX tables – these are called historical RM. Receivables Management Module – When Sales Order Processing Invoices are posted – they create record in Accounts Receivables or Receivables Management Module. RM has RMXXXX tables and the ones you are interested to know are RM00101 – customer master and RM00102 – customer address master Batch Processing. We recommend you consider just order creation via web interface. Then these orders should be processed by operator in Small Business ManagerGood luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew is Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ ) – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, New Orleans, Toronto, Montreal and having locations in multiple states and internationally.
Microsoft Great Plains eCommerce – stored procedures approach
Since Version 8.0 Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains & Great Plains Standard are available on Microsoft SQL Server and MSDE (which is in fact MS SQL with database size limit of 2GB). As eCommerce designer you should be aware of several options and customization tools in your disposition, when you utilize Microsoft Great Plains 8.5 (June 2005), 8.0, 7.5, Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise 7.0, 6.0, 5.5 or 5.0 Great Plains Dynamics C/S+. When you have old versions (7.5 and prior) we assume that you are on MS SQL Server 2000/7.0, because if you are on Ctree or Pervasive SQL/Btrieve – you should use ODBC / RDO connection tools, such as MS Access and its queries or use MS SQL Server Linked Server technique with OPENROWSET statements. So, lets assume that you are on MS SQL Server. You have basically two options eConnect (you should pay for the reg key/license and this is SDK) and custom stored procedures. We’ll only consider custom stored procedures way here:
Stored Procs. The first question is – are we allowed to create stored proc in Great Plains DYNAMICS and companies databases. The answer is Yes – opposite to such products as Microsoft CRM (where you are banned to create any custom object in MS CRM database, and instead you create your own custom database and place all your procedures and views there) – you are encouraged to create your stored procedures and place them in both DYNAMICS and Company databases. You need to know the anatomy of Great Plains tables structure
Tables Structure. If you launch Great Plains workstation and follow this way: Tools->Resource Descriptions->Tables – then you are in tables descriptor, sorting by tables Physical, Logical or Tables Group Technical names. This is all Great Plains Dexterity architecture realm and it is relatively complex and not “developer-friendly” – but if you create sample transactions in Great Plains – you can figure out where data should be populated
Sales Order Processing. Or SOP module. This is usually the core of eCommerce development – transactions should go into SOP tables (with SOP prefix): SOP10100, SOP10200 and others. If you are selling to your existing customers, then customers are in Receivables Management module (AR) with AR prefixes: RM00101 – is Customer Master, RM00102 – customer address master, etc.
Sales Order/Invoice Allocation dilemma. Great Plains SOP module is working in concert with Inventory control, making allocation of inventoried items in IV. So, this is very challenging to replicate allocation logic. We recommend do not allocate in Orders and Invoices and do allocation by operator, who processes the internet orders batch Sales Order transfer dilemma. If you are using eConnect – this is kind of issue, so you have to appeal to GP internal architecture and do it with the stored procs approach. Good luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
About The Author
Andrew is Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com/ ) – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, New Orleans, Toronto, Montreal and having locations in multiple states and internationally.
help@albaspectrum.com
My Top 7 Favorite Ecommerce Tools
Copyright 2005 Jim Edwards
When you make your living on the Internet, you sometimes forget that the resources you use every day (and take for granted) might rate an incredible discovery to anyone who doesn't already know they exist.
Whether they help you make money, save time, save money, or avoid frustration, these ecommerce tools and services rate my highest recommendation for anyone who conducts any form of ecommerce online.
ClickBank.com -
If you sell a downloadable product such as an ebook, report, or software, you can't beat ClickBank for processing credit card payments. Not only do they take the payments and send you a check twice a month, they also plug your product into an existing network with tens-of-thousands of affiliates who can sell it for you. Also, unlike a traditional merchant credit card processing account, ClickBank assumes all the fraud risk and prevents many of the "horror" stories you hear in connection with online credit card processing.
MySiteSales.com -
Since ClickBank only allows the sale of downloadable products, MySiteSales.com comes to the rescue for anyone selling a physical product or service. Offering a suite of integrated product catalogs, follow up autoresponders, advertising tracking, a secure server, and even limited-time coupon offers, this tool rates a "must have" for setting up and integrating a professional ecommerce solution on virtually any size website.
Aweber.com -
If you need an unlimited number of follow up autoresponders and the ability to send an email "broadcast" to all your contacts at one time, Aweber offers an excellent managed solution. Specializing in helping small to medium-sized Web businesses implement an effective email follow-up strategy without complicated software, Aweber gets our highest marks for service and dependability.
GoDaddy.com -
Cheap, reliable, easy-to-use domain name registrar that only charges $8.95 per year for each domain name you register. Godaddy rates cheaper and just as, if not more, reliable than any other domain registrar. They also offer a "private registration" option that allows you to keep your identity as the domain owner a secret from unscrupulous people who exploit domain name records to compile mailing lists, spam databases or worse.
FrontierPowerHosting.com -
Any successful ecommerce endeavor begins with a solid website hosting service. Nothing shuts you down faster than an unreliable web host because, the second they go offline, your business goes offline. I host one of my servers at FrontierPowerHosting.com because of great customer service and guaranteed up-time.
ClipArt.com -
Ever pulled your hair out searching for that perfect image, photo, or piece of clipart for your website? Once you exhaust the Microsoft collection on your computer, the next stop (if you want to find something fast) is Clipart.com. With thousands of images searchable by keyword, you can always find the perfect image in less time and without the worries of copyright infringement if you just pull something off the Web.
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Website got traffic but no making much money? Open a free account with Google AdSense and earn a commission any time someone clicks on any of the targeted ads. An excellent way to earn extra cash on virtually any website.Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-step and click-by-click how to finally create your own money-making mini-sites... Get a FREE Copy of The "Mini-Site Secrets" Audio Right Now Click Here => http://www.minisitecreator.com/
Network Monitoring for Serious eCommerce
In the real world, businesses come in every size, from self-employed entrepreneurs like me to mega malls like Wal-Mart.
On the Internet, companies come in every size, too, from a stand-alone ebook sales page with webmaster and owner all in one, to 300 pound gorilla like Amazon, with over a million pages requiring the entire population of a small country to serve as webmaster.
If your site is a single page, it is its own network. But if your site is any bigger, and you have plans to grow, it is a network or is fast becoming one. You need network monitoring.
Most ecommerce webmasters are at least somewhat familiar with website monitoring. Many use a website monitoring service or software to keep track of "uptime" and "downtime".
At your local shopping mall, serious business requires more than just knowing when the front doors are open and when they are closed. Serious ecommerce needs to know more than just when the site is accessible. That is what network monitoring is all about.
Chances are, your e-business owns one of the following, or uses one of the following remotely:
DNS servers: These are used to translate your site name, like http://www.mycompany.com/, to the numbers called "IP addresses" that computers understand. If DNS servers are not working properly, end-users will not be able to find your site and will get an error. Usually only an external or remote monitoring service will detect such a problem.
An FTP server: File Transfer Protocol servers are used to help you exchange files with remote users. If you use FTP, a monitoring service can make sure it is always up and running.
POP3 and SMTP servers: These are used for exchanging emails. If you are using email, chances are you are using SMTP and POP3. If your SMTP server is down, everyone who sends you email will receive an error, stating that your mail server is down and cannot accept incoming email. To say that the impression this leaves your customers is bad would be an understatement. If your POP3 server is down, you will be unable to retrieve email from your mailbox. Once again, only external monitoring will prevent such a problem.
Firewalls: Many businesses use firewalls to protect their internal network from un-authorized traffic, such as spyware, viruses and sabotage by competitors. Furthermore, a firewall is your first line of
defense. If your firewall goes down, your whole network may actually become inaccessible from outside. In other words, if you host your own web site and mail servers, those will become inaccessible to the outside world if your firewall goes down. Once again, remote network monitoring is required to detect that a problem exists and quickly get it repaired.
Internet connections: Users come to your network from multiple backbones, depending on the company they use to connect to the Internet and their location. It is important to ensure that your connection performs well for each user. A remote monitoring service can ping your networks from multiple locations around the world, thus testing most major routes to your web server or network. Before hiring a network monitoring service, check to see that they have both your customer geography and the Internet backbone layout covered.
Very few websites of any size and functionality are anything less than a complete network, and many networks rely on servers in different parts of the world.
A good network monitoring service can ensure, as a base, that all servers are properly functioning, that data can be sent to and received from each server, and that each function sharing the server responds as required. An advanced network monitoring service can even remotely monitor the temperature of your servers.
What you need to monitor depends on how extensive your network is. A network monitoring expert can help you determine what needs monitoring. If you own the servers, or are remotely hosted on dedicated servers, you most likely need everything monitored. If your site is hosted on shared servers, you might need fewer functions monitored.
David Leonhardt is a freelance writer and SEO consultant. Contact him at
http://www.seo-writer.net/
He wrote this article for Dotcom-Monitor:
http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/
Read more on network monitoring:
http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/network-monitoring.asp
Read more on website monitoring:
http://www.dotcom-monitor.com/website-monitoring.asp
david@seo-writer.net
Oscommerce A Viable Ecommerce Solution !
Ecommerce has become the buzz of the day !! The Internet success stories revolving around Ecommerce, Online selling or shopping has been increasing day by day and the late thinkers are losing a huge market.
The advent of online payment gateways, improvement in Supply chain management and paucity of time to go to the physical stores have been the root reasons for the growth in online business. But just thinking about one's own Ecommerce site makes one shudder due to huge investments required. The branded or customized Ecommerce solutions start at exorbitant price and the maintenance charges also come out be pretty high.
So, when the opportunity is so attractive and investment potential low, open source solutions come into sight. The open source solutions have changed the way web based sites and softwares are running. The community development, open source nature, low cost of ownership (virtually free) and high ROI are basic ingredient of Open Source Solutions. osCommerce (available as free download from http://www.oscommerce.com/) is the most comprehensive and popular open source Shopping Cart system on Internet. It has a huge list of features and is probably the most versatile shopping cart solution and offers vast range of customization choices for the on-line storefront owners depending on their need at a very affordable price. The basic script can be downloaded totally free with complete source code. The costs of customization and hosting are the only implicated costs which when compared with other solutions, will be meager.
osCommerce is an online shop e-commerce solution that offers a wide range of out-of-the-box features that allows online stores to be setup fairly quickly with ease, and is released under the GNU General Public License. osCommerce is a complete online store solution that contains both a catalog frontend and an administration tool backend, which can be easily configured over web. osCommerce was started in March 2000 and has since matured to a solution that is currently powering 6,204
registered live shops around the world.
Requirements : osCommerce utilizes Open Source solutions to provide a free and open e-commerce platform, which includes the powerful PHP web scripting language, the stable Apache web server, and the fast MySQL database server. With no special requirements, osCommerce is able to run on any PHP 4.1+ enabled web server running on Linux, Solaris, BSD, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows environments.
Features : - · Oscommerce is template based and offers complete scope of customization. · The Backend to manage the site offers support for unlimited product categories and products; both virtual and physical. Multilingual, multi currency support, database backup and restore facility, stock availability, invoices and customer relation management are inbuilt modules. · The Frontend offers customers to browse complete catalog with ease, wishlists, personal accounts with purchase history and multiple billing and shipping addresses, and many other user friendly features to make the overall shopping a nice experience. · Payment module covers numerous offline payment processing (cheque, money orders, offline credit care processing, ..) and online payment processing (2CheckOut, PayPal, Authorize.net, iPayment, ..) · The shipping and tax module fulfils almost all the major requirements.
Apart from these features, there are thousands of contributions developed by efficient developers and companies. The online forum support on at http://forums.oscommerce.com/ is very popular and no nonsense forum where any post regarding any query, error gets answered. The community development and maintenance has played a major role in developing such a huge success of Oscommerce.
So, the basic shopping cart enables one to start a readymade Ecommerce site in minimum time and minimal costs.
About the author:
Ravi chamria is a webmaster, for more computer related articles please visit at Computers-and-Technology.
Outsourcing Your Ecommerce Order Fulfillment
When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you can no longer package and ship the orders yourself, it’s time to begin outsourcing your order fulfillment. Although all order fulfillment centers offer the same basic services, their individual methods and costs will help you choose one over the other. When selecting an order fulfillment service, keep the following in mind:
Location
Order fulfillment warehouses are located all over the country. It’s more important to select a warehouse that is close in proximity to your customers than to select one that is close to your business. For example, if your warehouse is located in California, and most of your customers are located on the East coast, your shipping rates will be higher than if you had a warehouse located in Kansas. Fulfillment centers located in the middle of the country will be able to ship to both the east and west coast for similar prices.
Size
Fulfillment warehouses range from small business with just a few employees to large companies such as UPS. Select a fulfillment service that can meet your daily order fulfillment needs. Do you have consistent orders each day or do your orders spike? If you have orders that spike, be sure to choose a fulfillment center that can handle the extra workload and still ship the orders within the agreed timeline.
Shipping Options
Most fulfillment centers offer a variety of shipping options. Make sure the fulfillment service you select offers all of the shipping options you currently offer your customers and the shipping options that you may want to offer in the future.
Turn-around Time
Each fulfillment warehouse has it’s own policy regarding order processing. For example some fulfillment centers will ship all orders that arrive before 1pm on the same business day. If you miss the 1pm deadline, the order is shipped the next business day. This could impact your customers if a next-day order is placed after 1pm. In this case, next day shipping turns out to be two-day shipping.
Order Entry
Order entry methods can be very important when considering a fulfillment service. The most common methods include:
Forwarding individual order invoices to the warehouse
Entering each order on the fulfillment center’s web-based system
Emailing an Excel spreadsheet with all order once a day
Each method has a different affect on your business. For example, you may save money by manually entering orders into a web-based application, but it can be tedious if your business grows to the point where you have more orders than you have time to enter. You may pay a higher price to automatically
email each individual invoice to the warehouse, but it may be worth the extra costs to have orders may be shipped as they arrive. Same day shipping could give you the edge over your competitor. On the other hand, if you have a high volume of orders, you won’t want to individually enter each order into a web-based system and may not want to pay the extra charge of having individual orders emailed to the warehouse. If you don’t mind shipping the next business day, you can send an Excel spreadsheet containing all of your orders once a day. Choose a warehouse that offers an order entry method that meets your business needs and fits your budget.
Communication
Communication is an important part of every business. There will be times when you need to contact the fulfillment center to modify a customer’s address or cancel an order. Select a fulfillment center that is available via phone and email. You should not have to wait more than a few hours for a return email or call from the fulfillment center.
Error Rate
Mistakes will happen. Some customers will receive the wrong items or the items will be shipped to the billing address rather than the shipping address. When interviewing potential fulfillment centers, ask about their error rate and their process for remedying the situation. For example, do they issue UPS call tags to pick up the incorrect item and pay to ship a replacement item? Will they ship the replacement item at a faster rate to compensate the customer?
Costs
Each fulfillment center operates under a different payment schedule. Some use sliding scales and require contracts while others charge per order or per item with no contracts. You will also be charged a base fee to store your inventory at the warehouse and an additional fee per pallet or per item. Be sure you have a clear understanding of the fulfillment center’s costs and any contracts.
When choosing a fulfillment center, create a checklist of the features you would like. Interview a member of the warehouse staff, as well as, their references to make sure the warehouse will meet the needs of your growing eCommerce business. When you outsource order fulfillment, the time that you normally spend packaging orders, managing inventory, and dealing with returns, can now be focused on growing your business. Use this time to expand your product line, enhance your online image, promote your business or expand into new markets.
Copyright 2004. Danna Henderson. All Rights Reserved.
Danna Henderson started ZIP Baby in order to provide parents with comprehensive potty training information and a large selection of potty training products. For more information visit the ZIP Baby Potty Training Store.
Quick Ecommerce Tutorial
Quick Ecommerce TutorialWhen choosing to create an ecommerce store, there are 3 important questions to ask yourself.
1) Do I need ecommerce? This is important. Generally speaking, consumers are comfortable making purchases online for under $250. If your product or service costs more than that, then you may be better served creating a "Lead Generation" web site and an eSales team who are comfortable working with internet based leads.
2) How much time do I have? Setting up an ecommerce store is relatively easy for any experienced web designer and can be done and out to market in a couple days, assuming you have a limited number back end products in place and ready to be shipped. But, if you are a newbie, then you face a substantial learning curve. We encourage everyone to learn HTML, and to be entrepreneurial in their endeavors, but it does take a large time commitment to learn enough to succeed. Also, keep in mind, that the learning is never done. There are always new technologies effecting the Internet and the way people buy and sell online and you need to keep up to date with them to succeed. Another thing to keep in mind is internet marketing. If you plan on acquiring sales through the search engines, then you need an seo strategy that works. For starters read Serr.biz
3) What is your budget? Everyday you hear of people making millions online by just having an ecommerce enabled web site that they got for free. We would like to dispel this myth. It's simply not true. There are technology costs associated with operating
an ecommerce site, not to mention the cost of products, fulfillment, standard overhead costs, and marketing. The old idiom of "It cost money to make money." is 100% true. However, starting an ecommerce store is generally less expensive than a traditional brick and mortar, especially if you have a successful brick and mortar business already. However, the bare bones start up costs associated with an ecommerce store is the cost of your computer and ISP. This is possible, but not very probable. In truth, you should expect to spend somewhere in the range of $50-$1000 a month in technology costs alone. That does not account for variables listed above.
If you have thought about the questions above and still want to proceed, here is a quick check list of things you recommend you have.
1) Product or service to sell.2) Web site and hosting company with email.3) Shopping cart with a secure check out.4) Merchant account so you can accept credit cards.5) Back end technology and order fulfillment in place.
For more details about starting an ecommerce store visit this link:1-2-1 merchant account
About the Author
Michael Zittel most recently worked as the VP of Internet Marketing for Payright.com. Prior to that he's held similar positions for various other companies. Cumulatively he has over 5 years of internet marketing and ecommerce experience. Currently he runs his own ecommerce businesses, namely 121merchantaccount.com and Serr.biz.
Reverse Logistics and eCommerce
It’s no secret that a positive experience delivered to a customer determines whether that customer will come back. Retailers must enhance the user experience prior to pressing the “buy” button but also focus on the post-purchase site experience to keep customer retention metrics at satisfactory levels.
Here are some key metrics to support the return optimization business case:
85% of customers say they will stop buying from a retailer if the returns process is a hassle (Harris Interactive) 95% of customers say that they will likely shop with a catalog or internet retailer again if the returns process is convenient (Harris Interactive) 40% of shoppers don’t buy online due to returns difficulty (Jupiter Research) Customers who have their complaint resolved quickly have a re-purchase intention rate of 82% (McKinsey) The increased importance of online returns
Returns are an inevitable fact of online retail. As the depth of online product categories became apparent in the last three years, the importance of online return policies became painfully obvious. Provide a bad returns experience and you undoubtedly reduce the chance of a customer coming back for a repeat purchase.
For example, sectors such as high-end apparel, consumer returns reach levels as high as 20% and an efficient returns process is critical to overall success. Quicker inventory cycles and fluctuating retail prices make it important to not only process the return effectively for the consumer, but also get it in the warehouse quickly for re-sale.
Reverse Logistics solve fundamental business problems
Retailers are now being proactive and turning these operational challenges into competitive advantages and incremental revenue streams. By investing in solutions that integrate key platform components and data, online retailers are able to offer self-service return capabilities to consumers.
A typical reverse logistics solution allows the consumer to more easily initiate the return by incorporating a pre-paid postage label within the box. This label can be integrated within the packing slip or it can be a separate stand-alone piece.
Because the label generation is initiated by the warehouse management system, the label is able to capture key customer information for tracking purposes, both for CSR’s and the end consumer.
The label provides one primary source of value to the customer - convenience. No post office trip is needed and retailers improve overall customer satisfaction while facilitating the product return to the distribution center.
When consumers initiate returns through this process, retailers typically charge them a “handling fee”. This fee is typically 20% higher than the postage charge that was provided by the reverse logistics service provider. This dollar spread, between what is charged to the customer and what has been billed to the retailer for postage, generates direct and measurable profits for retailers.
Improving communication with online consumers
A reverse logistics solution can drastically improve customer communication during the return process. Newgistics is a great example of a reverse logistics provider that has customer-centric communication processes embedded in their overall solution.
After a return package is picked up from a consumer location, it is sent to a Newgistics hub for sorting and re-locating. During this process, there are strategic scanning mechanisms used to facilitate triggered and branded communication emails.
A consumer receives “retailer branded” email notifications when certain milestones are achieved in the return process, such as:
Return receipt (Ex. We have received your return and you should get a credit in the following days). Return Completion (Ex. Your return has been processed) Quick receipt of these emails enhances the confidence level of customers, reduces inbound customer service calls, and provides another value-added feature to boost the eCommerce relationship.
Your company is taking a great risk if it does not provide a great post-purchase site experience. Feel free to contact Trinity to learn more about this type of initiative and how we can help in discovery, scope, and implementation efforts. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Craig Smith is the Founder of Trinity Insight LLC. Trinity helps online retailers meet their potential through eCommerce consulting that includes startegic research, testing, and analysis.
http://www.trinityinsight.com/
Search Engine Optimization in an eCommerce World
Before one can fully understand the importance and necessity of implementing a search engine optimization program into their marketing mix, it is important to look first at the phenomenal statistics regarding Internet use. For example:
There are 7 new people on the Internet every second.
Every 4th person online is buying something right now.
One billion dollars in e-commerce transactions will be conducted this month.
Over one trillion dollars in e-commerce business will be generated this year.
1 out of 8 dollars spent by consumers is spent on online transactions.
(Source: ACCUTIPS.com, December 2003)
Furthermore, according to glreach.com, there were 649 million Internet users online worldwide in March 2003---a 14 percent increase in just one year! That comes out to be about 88 million new users in that year alone.
There can be no question that the Internet is continuing to grow at an amazing pace. While the fact that so many consumers are online is important, it is even more crucial to understand what these consumers are doing while online. The two most outstanding reasons people use the Internet is to communicate (e-mail) and to research (using search engines).
Again, here are a few statistics regarding how people spend their time online (for more statistics and a list of sources, visit http://www.10xmarketing.com/information.asp):
88% of all Internet users use search engines
37% of online shoppers used Google to search for online retailers. Search was used by 25 percent of consumers searching the Web for holiday purchases
For car buying decisions, search engine advertising proved itself a stronger influencer (26 percent) than TV ads (17 percent)
Virtually all affluent adult shoppers (HHI $100K+) use the Web to make or research their purchases. For automobile, computer and travel purchases, Internet use is extraordinarily high (over 90 percent of those surveyed)
When consumers go to the Internet, they use search engines because they are able to find the products they want, reviews, descriptions, consumer ratings, and the best price possible. Consumers are less concerned with where they buy their products as much as they are concerned with how much product they can get for their dollar.
Thus, each day millions of people use search engines to look for items they want to buy on the Internet. Those businesses that appear on the first page of these searches are getting 50% to 70% of the business from these customers. There is little doubt that potential customers are currently using search engines to search
for the products and services your company sells. The only real question is, What are you doing to help them find you, instead of your competitors?
There are two ways to have your web site to appear on the first page of any search. The first is to engage in a pay-per-click campaign. The second is to appear on the first page due to free or natural search results. Getting high, natural rankings in major search engines is one of the most efficient and cost effective ways to market and sell your products on the Internet.
Search engines use complex, mathematical algorithms to determine which web sites are ranked high and which are not. If your web site matches the criteria, youre ranked high. If it doesnt, then youre not. Its that simple.
Search engine optimization, then, is designing your website and all of your eCommerce actions so that when consumers search for keywords that are central to your company, your website will appear at the top of the search results.
For example, if your company sells running shoes (a keyword that receives 127,575 searches per month), it would be very beneficial to be one of the top websites on the search engine. If you received only a small percentage of new visitors each month from that top ranking, it would still result in a significant source of revenue.
It might help to think of it this way: At least 10 million Internet searches are performed every month within each major business category. If only 1% of those searches found your website, you would have over 100,000 new visitors to your site each month. If only 1% of those visitors purchased your products or services, you would be making more than 1,000 new sales per month. (The worldwide average is 2.5%, making these conservative estimates.)
The scope of this article is not to look at the methods behind search engine optimization. Instead, it is to look at the importance the Internet is playing in business development today and in the future. The traditional marketing schemes of the past still have their place, but advertising dollars must be allocated to Internet marketing.
As Bruce Carlisle, CEO of SFInteractive said, If you arent putting money into search engines you are letting business walk out the door.
This article was written by Mike Barton, of 10x Marketing. 10x Marketing provides companies with Internet marketing solutions that will increase consumer visits on a regular basis, thus increasing potential sales and revenue. Contact 10x Marketing today for more information about your companies Internet potential.
(link to: http://www.10xmarketing.com/res/internet-marketing-technique.asp)
mike@10xmarketing.com
Select a Niche Market for Ecommerce
Choosing a carefully pinpointed niche market should be one of the first steps that an internet business owner has to take. A very common way of describing a niche market is ‘a targeted group of individuals with very specific and similar needs or interests.’ These people engage in similar activities and hence they would most probably demand the same goods or services to cater to their needs. Online businesses that drop ship their products to their customers would thrive by focusing on a specifically targeted niche market. In this article, I would focus on the advantages a niche market can bring to an online Drop Ship business. This article also provides you with practical steps for you to select your niche market.
By focusing on a specific niche market, Drop Ship businesses gain an edge because they are like ‘monopolies’ for that particular niche. The ‘monopoly’ for that niche would be able to provide a much wider range of products and better services for that market, enabling it to dominate. Because there is a very large number of niche markets on the internet, most Drop Ship businesses are able to survive and thrive online by selecting a niche that no major competitor is targeting, and directing their marketing efforts to their respective niches. With limited resources, a small Drop Ship business just starting out cannot hope to sell ‘mainstream’ products that are also supplied by huge competitors like Wal-Mart.
It is critical to first establish a market with an unfulfilled need and then develop products or services to meet these needs. Most online ventures fail by first selecting a good product, and then looking for the market for that particular product. They fail when the product’s demand is insufficient, or when the product already has a strong competitor supplying to the market.
The internet is not the only medium where niche marketing dominates. In our corporate world, the majority of the successful companies also selects a niche market and develops products or services that cater to their specific niche. Microsoft develops software as operating systems and platforms for computers. Nike offers shoes and footwear targeted at the sporting population. This illustrates the importance of first selecting a niche market for your business to focus on.
There are a few simple stages in the selection of a niche market:
1) Brainstorm for niche markets that are related to your area of interest or expertise. It is simply easier to succeed if you focus on an area that you are passionate about and have the most expertise in. This way, along the learning curve of starting an online business, the frustrations that you face along the way will be reduced because whatever you are doing feels more like fun instead of work.
2) Research the market in detail. This involves producing a detailed profile of your market, including the estimated demand for your products, the products in the niche likely to have the highest demand, and where these prospects normally congregate online.
You can use the free Overture search term suggestion tool to gauge the market size for the products you have in mind. It is available at http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. Simply type in the product keywords and this tool can suggest more specific keywords, and also the number of times this word has been searched over a period of time.
Chat rooms, forums and newsgroups are where your target market normally congregates online. By monitoring these discussion boards, you should be able to determine the evolving needs of your target market, and what new product is likely to be in high demand soon. Forums can also be a good source of ideas for your products. Google Groups is a good place for you to start finding newsgroups or forums for your niche market. It is available at http://groups.google.com/.
3) Select a niche market that has a need not currently being adequately met instead of targeting a niche whose need a competitor can fulfill very well. From the newsgroups, discussion boards and forums, you can get
valuable information about business opportunities. For example, if consumers voice out their dissatisfaction about any unfulfilled need, you can quickly find and offer any product as a new solution to their problem. This fills a ‘gap’ in the market and your business is established.
4) For the niche markets that do not have their needs adequately met, conduct research on the major businesses in that field. If there are no major competitors, you can congratulate yourself on finding a suitable niche market for your Drop Ship business. If there are several major market players, you have to either develop a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to differentiate your products from your competitors, or you can narrow down the definition of your niche market to a more specific level. For example, if your niche market is the group of individuals passionate about oil paintings, you can narrow down your focus to abstract oil paintings by Rembrandt or Renoir.
If you want to be a retailer of Rembrandt oil paintings, for example, note that your competitors are not the websites selling oil paintings from all artists, but the websites that focus only on Rembrandt oil paintings. All things being equal, an online shopper will certainly choose a website focusing only on Rembrandt oil paintings, instead of a website selling paintings from all the famous artists. This is the edge that a niche market can give to a small Drop Ship business.
You can use the free Overture ‘View Bids Tool’ available at http://uv.bidtool.overture.com/d/search/tools/bidtool/ to gauge the competition for your products. Overture is a Pay-Per-Click search engine, which provides search results ranked in order of how much businesses are paying for every click-through to the business websites. This tool lists the amount that each business is paying for every click by visitors. The higher the bid for the keyword, the more popular the keyword, thus the stronger the competition you face for your products.
5) Test your market. Once you have confirmed your niche market, you must test your products for that market. Start off your business by selecting a few of the most popular products and placing them in your catalogue. Next, you announce your products to newsgroups and discussion boards and gauge their response to your products. Observe how well the individuals are reacting to the introduction of your products. If you did your research properly and fulfilled a need well, most probably you would receive a very warm response from forums and newsgroups.
Finally, as the online retailer for your niche market, you should aim to be the best online resource for the market. Articles, strategies and guides should be included on your website to provide your niche market with valuable information. For example, you can write your own guides on how to properly use tools for magician tricks if that is what you are selling. However, it is not advisable to start off by selling an enormous catalogue of products. You should first establish your credibility by supplying your market with useful know-how for the products, and recommending them a few popular products. As your business stabilizes, you can slowly expand your business catalogue to include other products.
Selecting a niche market is one of the most important steps for setting up a Drop Ship business. It lays the foundation for how your business will develop in future. Thus, spend some time carefully deciding on your niche market before taking the plunge into your business.
You are welcome to reprint this article as long as you include the Author’s resource box with the article and the entire article remains unchanged.
About the Author
About the Author: Ray Yee is the founder and president of Dropshipperscentral, a website which provides a wealth of informative articles, tips and resources on everything you’ll ever need to know about setting up a Drop Ship Business and marketing it. Click here for the Wholesale Drop Ship Directory from http://www.dropshipperscentral.com/
Small Business Ecommerce Web Design
If your small business is venturing into ecommerce, you may be daunted by the technical wizardry you think is involved. But fear not: complete web store software packages will keep all the technical wizardry safely behind the screen, so you don't have to worry about it. All you have to do is choose a design, stock your store, and promote it. Here's how to do that.
Designing Your Online Store: Choosing a Template
When starting a brand-new online store for a small business, you're better off choosing a pre-existing design template rather than having a design done from scratch.
* Templates. If you're not quite sure what kind of design you'd like, you can browse through the design templates included with most hosted online store programs.
* Themes. Some online store builders take the design template concept one step further, with "themes." Themes are essentially templates that include not only basic design elements but also text styles such as font faces and sizes. Themes also allow for slightly different pages across a website with a single unified design, without having to configure each page individually. For instance, a web store theme might include a product description page, a product category page, an "add to cart" page, and a checkout page. Just by choosing a single theme, you have all the pages in the shopping cart designed with a single, unified professional design, just like big, successful web stores.
* Theme builder. If you want to make changes to a theme-say a different font or a different color-some web store software packages make it easy with a "theme builder." With the theme builder, you can select values for features such as color and font. You can even choose to build a theme from scratch, though for most web stores this will be a case of re-inventing the wheel unnecessarily. You don't need to know anything about HTML; the interface is much like a word processing program.
* Professional design. Once you've created your store using templates or a theme builder, you can turn to a professional designer to make your site really special. Still, you may want to stick with the basic template or theme-builder site until you have a firm idea of how users are interacting with it and what elements are working. That way you'll have concrete requests to make of the designer.
Building Your Online Store: Inventory
The foundation of any online store is the products or services being sold. With most web store and shopping cart software packages, the functions for adding, removing, and pricing items are collectively called "inventory."
Even if you're selling intangibles such as downloadable software, you will use the inventory functions to specify how the items will
be sold. There are options for setting the available quantity in stock to unlimited, or handling just about any kind of permutation of selling products or services online. Web store software makers have seen it all.
One of the great things about using a hosted web store software package is that if you do have trouble setting something up, you can get help quickly from customer service.
Adding New Web Pages to an Online Store
If you want to add new pages to your online store, the store creator software can help. If all you want is to add a new product, you only have to use the "add a product" feature, which is often listed under "inventory." However, if you want to add pages for sales copy, manuals, privacy policies, terms and conditions, the store creator interface is the way to do it. Most online store creators have a way of adding pages to a web store without having to use HTML; you simply type in your text in the form and upload any images.
Getting Your Store Found in Search Engines
In order for your online store to generate the most business possible, you'll want to make sure that your store is easily searchable for Internet shoppers. Unfortunately, some web stores create pages using a dynamic script that search engines cannot index.
Often you can tell if a web store cannot be indexed by search engines by looking at the URL of an inside web page (the homepage, also called the index page or "front page," will usually be search-engine-index-able no matter what). If the URL is a long string of characters that is slightly different from one user to the next (say, when you open the page on your computer and someone else opens the page on another machine), that likely means the site is using "session IDs" which search engines have a notoriously difficult time interpreting. If the URL is something simpler, such as "domain.com/category-5/product-6.php", the page is much more likely to be search-engine friendly.
The best way to check whether a web store or shopping cart software produces "search-engine-friendly" pages is to check the documentation; software that's search-engine-friendly will usually say so.
Of course, as with any website, doing well in search engines still requires your site to have links pointing to it and some text on the pages. Just because search engines can index a page doesn't mean they'll return it for any searches.
About the author:
Joel Walsh is a web business owner and writer. For a hosted web store software package, check out this: online store builder: http://www.easystorecreator.com/
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Surviving the Ecommerce Competition
Just as putting up any other business, e-commerce has also its own trade secrets. Not applying those trade secrets could detrimental to the survival of an e-commerce site.While many webmasters believe that content is king, if you only depend on this one aspect of e-commerce, it is not the only factor that one should concentrate on. The uniqueness of the content of a site could attract visitors and for other sites to link to your site as well.
Another factor to consider is optimizing the pages of a site. Optimizing these pages include putting the right title tags, the right pictures, making these pages searchable by the spiders of the different search engines, putting the right navigation tools, and many more.
Marketing your site is also a critical factor to consider. This is your way of driving traffic to your site. Driving traffic refers to bringing in more visitors to your site - that is to let other people know what products or services you have from your site.
Driving traffic may take in many forms. Most webmasters compete for a particular keyword in the search engines. As of this writing, the three most popular search engines are Yahoo, MSN, and Google. Therefore, it is important that your site could be found by these search engines.
Submitting your site to the different portals is also a good factor to consider. Your presence in these portals is also important. As a reminder, marketing your site means making your site presence in as many sites as possible.Many other important marketing strategies do exist. These include linking exchanges, opt-in email marketing, viral marketing, and many more. It is important to note that you know the details of how to engage in these strategies to avoid being penalized. Most importantly, DO NOT SPAM.
Spamming can only make your site banned by the internet service providers (ISP's) and the search engines. Spamming can only make all your efforts useless; your time and money spent worthless; and most of all, your site may no longer exist.
While e-commerce has created some millionaires, not applying e-commerce strategies correctly has also made many broke. E-commerce has become a very highly competitive field of business. It takes time to make your site well established. E-commerce is not a quick-rich-scheme. On the average, it takes four to six months or more to make your site well established.
Should anyone try to venture in e-commerce, the most important virtues one should have is patience and persistence. Now that we have spilled some beans, it is up to you to make it in the world of e-commerce.About the Author
VMT Singuillo is a freelance writter and has written articles for http://www.zeusmarketingrobot.com/, http://www.grandfatherclock.biz/, http://www.cheaphotelsforyou.com/, http://www.sellrealestatenotes.org/ and more.
The Ecommerce Business Plan
Simply put, business plans can make or break your business. Starting a Drop Ship business online is no different from starting a traditional non-online business. With the strong emphasis individuals place on writing business plans for starting up non-internet-based companies, it is equally crucial to prepare a business plan for your online business.
A business plan serves many important purposes for the online business. First, because the business plan has a detailed list of the tasks to undertake, it is a call to action for you to promote your business actively and not procrastinate on your marketing efforts. Second, it provides a blueprint that describes your company effectively: the market, the products and the steps you need for effective marketing. This serves to guide your business through the months ahead.
Business plans normally comprise of five sections:
1) The Objectives. This section will describe the objectives for the venture, and the mission statement that defines the online business. It states both the financial and strategic objectives and is normally about one page long. There should be a concise description of the Drop Ship business at the start. A brief example:
‘Magical Stores Online is an internet company that provides quality tools and resources for magic tricks. We aim to consistently provide magicians with reliable tools for conducting magic tricks, and also accurate information and guides on how to properly perform the magic tricks with our tools. In our first year online, our target is to have U.S. $400,000 in revenues and $100,000 in profits. This can be achieved by attracting an average of about 5000 visitors to our website every month through effective internet marketing. Our strategy is to attract recurring traffic to our website by continually updating the useful resources and information on our website. Magicians will constantly return for more useful tips on magic tricks. This cuts our marketing costs drastically and adds to our profit margin.’
2) The Executive summary. The executive summary should contain a few important details. It should outline the basic model of the company, how the business functions, the market environment, and also the business opportunity in the market. A continuation from the previous example:
‘Magical Stores Online is a retailer of magic products on the internet. We specialize in card and coin tricks and stage magic, and classify our products according to age group, skill level, features, and the occasion they are used for. Magicians can browse the product catalogue on our website and buy their products with a shopping cart software. They can choose to pay either by credit cards or by checks. We use a third party credit card merchant to process our payments, hence eliminating the need to have a merchant account ourselves. A profit is realized whenever a sale is made, because we obtain our products at a wholesale price and we sell them at a retail price. Since our supplier, Company XYZ, drop ships the products directly to the customers’ address, we do not need to hold any inventory. Our market comprises of magicians of any age group who specialize in card and coin tricks and stage magic. The opportunity lies in the internet as a marketing medium for magic products. Since the rise of the internet in the mid 1990s, we find that the major magic product retailers do not use the internet effectively to market their products. With effective internet marketing skills, we believe that we can reach a wider audience than the other major players, thus claiming a large market share.’
*Note that in a real business plan, the business owner should aim to provide a more detailed version than the examples given above. The examples here only serve to illustrate an overview of what the basic business plan should encompass.
3) Marketing Strategies. In this section, you will describe the steps you intend to take in order to market your business effectively on the internet. There are a few basic marketing methods available on the internet. Mentioned below are three of the most popular methods.
- Email Marketing. Ezines and newsletters are powerful tools. It is simply the most cost-effective form of marketing on the internet. Sending out email promotions or newsletters to your subscriber base costs virtually nothing, except for the time you spend on writing your newsletter. With the web form on your website, you can capture the names and email addresses of the customers who subscribed to
your newsletter. I do not recommend that you send your subscribers with product promotions regularly, but you should continually provide them with useful tips and information. In this way, you establish your credibility as an expert and maintain a strong relationship with your customers, instead of appearing as someone just out to make money. Promotions for your products should only be sent out about once or twice a month.
- Search engine optimization. Optimizing your website for high search engine results on google, yahoo and msn, is a powerful way of getting large volumes of traffic at low cost. However, you have to put in a lot of effort for a long period of time, as top rankings do not appear overnight. There are two factors for search engine optimization: On-page or Off-page optimization. On-page optimization involves tweaking the page title, header and meta tags to include the website keywords. It also involves scattering the keywords throughout the page to improve the site relevancy. Off-page optimization, on the other hand, is much more important than on-page. It involves soliciting links from relevant websites. The more the websites that link to your site, and the higher the importance/relevance of the website linking to yours, the higher your website will be ranked on the search engines. Google places a very strong emphasis on this.
- Pay-per-click (PPC) Search Engines. This requires you to pay a sum of money for every visitor that clicks through the search engine to your website. The higher the amount you pay, the higher your website will be ranked on the PPC search engine. The basis for profiting with this marketing tool is by bidding less than the amount that each visitor to your website is worth. Overture is definitely the market leader for pay-per-click search engines.
4) Competitive Analysis. In this section, you have to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, and the factors that will differentiate your products or services from your competitors. You have to analyze your competitors and record what makes them so successful, and also the weaknesses you can capitalize on to get an edge in the market. For example, competitors may not be using email marketing effectively to promote the products to customers. You can capitalize on this by using newsletters more intensively, establishing your credibility as an industry expert. To differentiate an online Drop Ship business, it is more viable to provide a reliable service from your website. This usually means providing a wealth of tips, articles and information for your visitors. This will attract them to continuously return to your website for the latest tips and resources that will benefit them. Fast response to their email queries and also fast shipping are also good services you can provide.
5) The financial projection section. In this section you can project the profit-loss statements and the cash flow statements for your business. The profit-loss statement records the monthly profit/loss realized over the months, while the cash flow statement records the difference between revenue and expenditure over the months. The costs for an online Drop Ship business will include:
- One-time costs for software like shopping cart software, email marketing software, and also search engine optimization software.
- Recurring costs for the wholesale price of the products, web hosting fees, a proportion of revenue paid to your third party credit card merchant to process your payments, and also internet marketing costs.
This section will be useful for you to gauge how your Drop Ship business performs according to your expectations.
In conclusion, business plans do not only apply to real-world businesses, but are equally critical to online businesses as well. They serve as blueprints of the companies and also as strong calls to action for the aspiring internet entrepreneurs to achieve their success in ecommerce.
*You are welcome to reprint this article as long as you include the Author’s resource box with the article and the entire article remains unchanged.
About the Author
About the Author: Ray Yee is the founder and president of Dropshipperscentral, a website which provides a wealth of informative articles, tips and resources on everything you’ll ever need to know about setting up a Drop Ship Business and marketing it. Click here for the Wholesale Drop Ship Directory from http://www.dropshipperscentral.com/
The Ecommerce Myth
IntroductionEcommerce is growing rapidly. Besides the big players such as Amazon.com and Buy.com, small businesses realize that they can also increase their sales revenues by using the Internet. With this realization, more and more online stores are opened by the small business segment.
The goal of this article is to increase the ecommerce myth awareness and to show you how to deal with the myth. The definition of the ecommerce myth is: Open you online store and customers will automatically come.
Demystifying the MythUsing an online store to sell your products and services has great potential. Through the website of your online store, the entire world can purchase products and services from you. They no longer have to physically come to your store for purchases.
With the growing popularity of the Internet, the number of websites has increased exponentially. Unfortunately, this means that the chances of potential buyers finding your website have decreased and that competition is fierce. Visitors can stop by your competitor and perform price comparisons in a manner of minutes and from the comfort of their home.
Consider this and become aware of the ecommerce myth. Opening your online store is not enough for making it a success. A key factor to the success of your ecommerce ventures is to generate traffic to your website; you need web site visitors in order to make sales through your online store.
You can take several steps to create website traffic. The following list contains a summary of popular methods to increase
website traffic.
Online directories. List your site at online directories such as yahoo.com and business.com. Internet users use these to find companies. If you are not listed, they will not find you.
Link exchange. Exchange links with your partners and with sites containing content relevant to your business. Hint: You can find out who links to your competitors by performing a search on Google.com for link:http://www.yourcompetitor.com.
Keyword optimization. Find your niche keywords used by your visitors to find your online store using the search engines. Once identified, make sure they can be found on your webpage. Add them to your website's title, meta tags, and heading tags. You can use online tools such as Wordtracker.com to find your niche keywords.
Pay-Per-Click advertisements. Sign up for pay-per-click advertisements and optimize these advertisements using your niche keywords. Google.com offers an Adwords program that is popular and easy to use.
ConclusionBe aware of the ecommerce myth and take appropriate action to increase the success chances of your online store. Start monitoring your website traffic. Be patient and work on all the methods mentioned in this article on a regular basis.
About the Author
About the Author
Frank Voorburg is an ecommerce consultant and owner of Feaser LLC. Feaser LLC offers affordable ecommerce and webdesign services.
The Lowdown on ECommerce: Making All The Pieces Fit Together
The Lowdown on Ecommerce
Ecommerce is truly the most confusing aspect of purchasing web design services. This is unfortunate since most (if not all) businesses online would like to provide their customers and potential customers with easy access their products or services. In order to help make sure you get what you need to to set up an ecommerce web site, let’s look at the necessary elements of selling online.
A Web Hosting Provider
The most important things to look for in a web hosting provider with respect to ecommerce are Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) support, shopping cart software, payment gateway services and merchant account services. They are the pieces to the puzzle and you will not be able to sell online without all four of them. If you are working with a web developer who is not providing you with hosting, have them check out the features of the hosting plans you are looking at as well to make sure they will meet your needs.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Support
SSL is the internet protocol used to send information between a site visitor and a web server securely. If there is no SSL support, there is a risk that a user’s credit card information will be intercepted during the transaction. This process involves purchasing an SSL certificate. Many hosting companies offer use of what is called a “shared SSL certificate.” This simply means that instead of having your own, you will use one belonging to the hosting company and will store any secure pages on a directory of their server instead of your own web space. For people just starting out, this can be a very good solution and is often relatively inexpensive.
Another option is to buy your own SSL certificate. This is more costly, but also more professional. The visible difference to visitors of your site is that the checkout process will show your web site URL in the browser instead of that of your hosting provider.
For the lowest startup costs, check out PayPal’s merchant services. If you have a PayPal account, you can setup a basic shopping cart that will allow credit card transactions through PayPal. The downside is that your buyer will be taken to the PayPal site to enter in their credit card information, as opposed to the other two methods which can be integrated into your own site very easily. The major upside is that it is free with your PayPal account, excluding the fee per transaction.
Shopping Cart Software
If you are not going to go with the PayPal solution, you need to ensure that your hosting provider includes shopping cart software. As the name implies, shopping cart software allows a web site visitor to browse around your virtual store and place items in their cart. It also handles the final checkout process in conjunction with a payment gateway, which will be discussed below. There are many great shopping cart packages available, but they can be difficult to install and maintain on your own. Make sure your hosting provider offers good technical support before signing on, as their help will be invaluable when it comes to customizing the shopping cart software and integrating it with the rest of your web site. Some examples of good shopping cart software are Miva Merchant and OSCommerce.
Payment
Gateway
When a customer enters their information into your shopping cart, it connects to a payment gateway or payment processor to verify that the credit card is valid and has the funds necessary to make the purchase. If this does not come with your hosting package, the most important thing to verify is that your shopping cart software supports the payment gateway provider you choose. Your web host should be able to provide you with the information you need to choose. If you already have a merchant account, you need to also ensure that your payment gateway and your merchant account can properly interact with each other. Many payment gateways provide merchant accounts as part of their service, but if you already have one you need to make sure they will be compatible.
Merchant Account
A merchant account is a type of bank account that must be setup with a payment processor in order to accept credit cards. Many web hosting providers have partnerships with merchant account providers and provide discounts on acquiring merchant accounts. This is an important factor to look for, since many merchant account providers have high application fees and start up costs. If you currently run a business that already accepts credit cards over the phone or in person through a card swipe terminal, then you already have a merchant account and your cheapest option might be to consult with the current provider of your account to see what they have to offer in terms of processing transactions over the internet. These are known as “card not present merchant accounts” since the buyer is not present with their physical card when making the transaction. Keep in mind that although a merchant account is a type of bank account, you will need to provide information about your regular checking account so that your merchant account provider can deposit into it when a sale is made.
Conclusion
The process in any ecommerce transaction involves a few steps. The customer browses and selects the products they want, typically utilizing shopping cart software. When they checkout, they enter their credit card number which is sent over the internet using the SSL protocol. When the hosting server receives this information, it connects to a payment gateway to approve the sale. The payment gateway verifies the credit card and deducts the funds for the sale. The payment gateway then communicates with your merchant account provider, transferring the funds. Lastly, the merchant account provider deposits the funds in a place that is accessible to you, such as a regular checking or savings account.
When selecting a web hosting provider and a web developer, make sure that all of these elements will work together. Request support from any third parties involved in the project to ensure that compatibility will not become an issue. If possible, find a package deal where all of this comes together, as it could save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
Glantzman is the head designer and developer at JuiceBox Design, located at http://www.juiceboxweb.com/. Check out JuiceBox's Web Design Advice Forum to get advice from the pros before making web development or hosting purchases.
The Rumors of Ecommerce Death
As Nasdaq sputters along in dot com shame, a few million few dogged Internet consumers have ignored the crash. They continue to happily buy away. The good-news story is not popular with business writers, but Web retailing continues to grow seemingly unaware that the online mall is crashing down around them as they choose garden tools, sell sports cards and order vacation packages. Things aren't perfect. There has been somewhat of a dip since Christmas, but I think most Net retailers can live with a post-holiday. Retailers have weathered after-Santa blues since the English switched from wassailing to kids toys in the mid-1800s.
We decided to take a look at recent reports on Internet retail sales just to see if the Net stock gloom was blunting the steady expansion of online commerce. We found some softening in the rate of growth, but we certainly didn't find any contraction in consumer behavior. The shrinking effect right now seems limited to the number of dot coms rather then the number of consumers. In fact, if you subtract the bizarrely heightened expectations for the Internet, its growth is coming along just fine. By any standards other than the Net-boom mentality, Internet expansion continues to be fairly spectacular.
Net buyers hit ten quarters of continuous buying
Greenfield Online reported that for 10 consecutive quarters, 60 percent of U.S. Online consumers have made at least one purchase on the Web within a 90-day period. And 28 percent of these shoppers have clicked on Internet ads while shopping. Not surprisingly, those with an annual income of $50,000 and above are more likely to purchase goods (81 percent) than those whose income is below $50,000 (64 percent). Women on the Net buy at a slightly higher rate (74 percent) than men (71 percent). The top categories of goods continues to be books and CDs, followed by clothing, toys and computer software.
Rich buyers seek service basics online
Forrester Research looked at the shopping habits of rich consumers, those with investable assets on $1 million or more, and found that these shoppers are more interested in strong basic serve than they are in virtual exclusivity, extravagance and entertainment. Affluent shoppers have been buying linger, feel more comfortable buying, buy more frequently and, of course, spend more money," said Ekaterina O. Walsh, a senior analyst at Forrester. "They buy online for the same reasons for the same reasons that all online buyers do and care about price and positive experiences with Web stores." Forrester recommends that sellers of luxury goods should concentrate on purchasing ease and a convenience return process.
Visitor traffic dips
PC Data Online found that traffic to leading ecommerce sites declined about 4 percent in February following an 18 percent seasonal drop in January. Goldman Sachs analysts cited port-holiday seasonality, a slowdown in the rate on new consumer adopting ecommerce and slower overall consumer spending as the factors in the slower month-by-month growth of Internet retailing. However, this year's figures are up 63 percent over last year. Hey. Did anybody see that? I'll say it again. We're up 63 percent over last year! Some blues.
Features that will keep your sales growing
Consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers released a survey that identified the site features that are most likely to capture sales. The research found that with the exception of search capabilities and close-up product views, most Website features are never used by the majority of Internet shoppers. The search function is overwhelmingly the top feature used by consumers, with 77 percent saying they have used search functions while shopping.
Other site features such as wish-lists and personalization were found to be less important to shoppers. As a side note, we found a study by the International eRetail Association that listed wish-lists as a tool that works well for building loyalty, so go easy on making assumptions based on Internet studies.
The take-away on all of the recent information about Internet retailing is that it continues to grow rapidly in spite of the gloom that fills the business media. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the death of retail ecommerce have been greatly exagerated.
About the Author
Rob Spiegel is the author of Net Strategy (Dearborn) and The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide to the Best Home-Based Businesses (St. Martin's Press). You can reach Rob at spiegelrob@aol.com.
The Seven Pillars of eCommerce Defined
A study released by research firm "Gartner Group" predicts 75% of alle-business projects will fail due to poor planning and unrealisticexpectations of technology. In order for any company to conduct successfulbusiness on the Internet, a process of evaluation must be utilized. Oneframework to which companies often compare their business is "The SevenPillars of E-business equation".
Pillar 1) Online Marketing has been in existence since around 1994, when thefirst wave of mainstream companies jumped onto the web displaying theirrudimentary html pages containing product information. Still today, somecompanies do little more than place their information on the Internet usinga pleasing layout; in hopes that someone will stumble upon their site andbuy the product. Many companies have not yet reached pillar one. Accordingto the Yankee Group, only 31% of small business and 51% of medium-sizedbusinesses in the United States have a website.
Pillar 2) Online Ordering is the process of allowing a customer to submitorder information through a company website. Online Ordering is quite easyto set up through an online web-form created in static html. When thecustomer clicks on "submit", the information is forwarded to a company emailaddress. Customer follow-up and billing occurs offline through traditionalbusiness channels. Many tourism companies are at this level, receiving arequest forma and even a credit card number. They think that they are now inthe online business. However, all of the information has to be processed bythe vendor. In reality, this is another form of fax ordering.
Pillar 3) Online Selling takes the Online Ordering process one step furtherwhereby the customer's transaction is actually conducted online. For theease of the customer, credit card information is recorded and throughtraditional business channels, the company provides goods or services to thecustomer. Credit card information is authenticated directly online andcustomers are supplied with proof of payment. The vendor receives paymentdirect to its Merchant Bank.
The third pillar is a stage most companies cannot seem to master. Itrequires sophisticated database-driven websites, intensive strategicplanning, a large programming and insurance budget, and a bank that allowsonline credit card merchant accounts.
This is where http://www.travellersmall.com/ and its services becomes the enabler.We provide all of this capability without the individual problems that thevendor would encounter, at a very low cost.
Pillar 4) Online fulfillment happens after the customer has been marketedto, placed an order, and the financial transaction has occurred. This stepis divided into two categories:
a) physical products that cannot be distributed over the internet;b) non-tangible products and services that can be delivered to the customeronline.
For the travel and tourism industry the fulfillment process is theconfirmation of the reservation, booking and backroom movement of theinformation to the Vendor Databases.
Pillar 5) Online consumption is possible with only a few types of companies.It is not synonymous with travel. The closest use would be a virtual tour ofthe experience and the use of travel articles to satisfy the consumer'sinterest for information on destinations, activities, etc.
Those selling information can actually have customers consume purchasesonline. For example, someone subscribing to the Wall Street JournalInteractive Edition can browse various newspaper articles online.
Pillar 6) Online Support can be offered regardless of whether the product orservice is fulfilled and consumed by the customer online. Many companieshave an online support process in place. Customers can email or visit aspecial section of the company website for support. More sophisticateddatabase-driven company websites will allow users to track orders online andreceive support information through the use of a password or other form ofidentification code.
Pillar 7) Online direct one-on-one marketing. Once companies have got tothis level of use of the Internet, they should be using their customerdatabase and market data to continuously communicate and market theirservices to their customers. This requires planning and marketingmanagement. An example of this would be an online last minute club targetingspecific customers on seasonal or regional specials.
The power of being able to deliver direct marketing programs at the press ofa key has enormous cost saving implications versus the more traditional mailor general advertising mediums. It makes the necessary analysis of thereturn on investment of these types of programs much more favorable.
As you can see, there are several important steps in the equation to sellingonline. When planning an e-business strategy, it is necessary to take theseseven pillars of e-business into consideration. Ask yourself thesequestions:
How far do we want to take the e-business equation?
How far will our business model and the nature of our product offerings andservices allow us to take the e-business equation?
http://www.banff.com/ - The Canadian Rockies Internet Guide features the e-businesssolutions provided by http://www.travellersmall.com/Visit us to streamline your e-commerce solutions today!
About the Author
Stuart Martinstuartm@banff.comhttp://www.banff.com/403-609-7092Banff, Alberta, Canada"Where every day seems like a Holiday!"
Using eBay to market your ecommerce website
eBay is now the world’s largest marketplace, so why not use this to the advantage of you and your website? By creating an easy-to-use eBay Store and listing some of your more popular items at a small discount from the price on your website, you can drive traffic from eBay back to your website as well as creating sales and revenue for your company through eBay. eBay’s Store fees are nominal and can usually be paid off from the profit of just a few small sales a month. eBay's Stores are set up to where your item can be relisted automatically saving you your valuable time and making the maintenace of your eBay Store effortless.
eBay does have rules about advertising for a site outside of eBay within an Item Description, but with some creative writing and your imagination you should be able to work around these while still providing an outbound link from your Item Description to your own website. One way of doing this is to use a link to your website saying that eBay users can click on it for more product information about the item that is for sale on eBay.
You can be found by more eBay users by being as descriptive as possible in the Item Description and by using as many keywords as possible that describe your item and industry within the Item Title.
Not all eBay users search through eBay Stores for products, so I use a combination of eBay auctions in a bidding format and my Buy It Now eBay Store inventory so that my products are easy to find no matter how someone is searching on eBay. I also include my email address and toll free number in all of my Item Descriptions and on my eBay Store Front so that eBay users can contact us directly.
About the Author
Scott Touchton is an employee of http://www.specialtyhardwareoutlet.com/ which is a Birmingham, Alabama based decorative hardware outlet.
VictoryVisions >> Your one stop to build a successfull ecommerce website
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About the Author Nirmal Kumar CEO - Victoryvisions Softwares Chennai Tamilnadu, India. http://www.victoryvisions.com/
Web Design for Ecommerce
Your website is your tool for showing the online community an image of your Drop Ship retail business. Whether or not your business succeeds depends heavily on your website. If your website design is user-friendly, more visitors will purchase your products or subscribe to your newsletter. This will ensure that you are not wasting the time and money you spent attracting visitors to your website. It does not pay to drive large amounts of traffic to your website and have 99% of them leave due to poor content and navigation.
When designing your website, it is important that you switch from your own profit-oriented perspective to the prospective customers’ perspective. First place yourself in your customers’ shoes. After which, you should take some time to sit down and plan how your website should look like.
Below I will describe the factors that contribute to a successful sales-optimized website for a Drop Ship business.
1) The critical components of your homepage.
- Your title tag. It should describe your website effectively and concisely. For search engine optimization purposes, it is necessary to include your main keywords in your title, without it being unnecessarily long. For example, a good title would be ‘Renaissance Oil Paintings ½ Abstract Oil Paintings’.
- Your headline. Being one of the first few elements of your homepage that captures the attention of the visitor, it should clearly and concisely state what benefit your website can offer to the visitor. For example, your headline can tell your visitors how to earn extra income, how to lead a healthier lifestyle or how to save them time or money. In short, it should offer a solution to their problems, or address their needs. The headline should be placed strategically right at the top center of the page. You can also use the italics or bold functions to draw attention to your headline.
Internet surfers are not known for their patience. That is why it is crucial to capture their attention during the first few seconds of their stay at your website. Your headline plays the most important role, as it is usually the first thing that visitors see. Research has shown that you have about ten seconds to fully capture the attention of the visitors and compel them to read on, before they leave your site.
- Your content body. In your main body of your homepage, you have to describe in further detail the benefits your website or your products can offer to your visitors. Note that you provide the benefits, and not the features of the products you are selling. This is the basis of effective marketing: you tell the customers what is in it for them. You must also give strong directions to action in your content body and tell them the steps they need to take in order to benefit most from your website. For example, you can include links like ‘Click here now to discover why our oil paintings are among the best in Europe’, or ‘Sign up for our free newsletter now to get the latest tips and guides on good gardening practices.’ Note that you have to be concise in your content body so that you can include the most attractive benefits near the top of the homepage, without the visitor having to scroll down.
- Your opt-in offer. Ask for your visitors’ names and email addresses in your opt-in offer box. Email marketing is central to the success of your Drop Ship business. First-time visitors who leave your website without buying anything have a chance of signing up for your free newsletter. This allows you to keep in contact with them and send them promotions in future, and your effort and money in attracting them to your website would not be wasted. This feature should be placed somewhere near the top left or top right of your homepage because of its importance.
2) Professional look/atmosphere. Your website must not be full of graphics, banners or flashing advertisements. These only serve to distract your visitors from your main product offers. You should avoid flash animation as well. When formatting your text, use only a single type of font like Times New Roman, and two different colors at most. Page backgrounds should preferably be white or plain, and not be patterned or fanciful.
Another important factor to keep in mind is to minimize the time that your webpage takes to load. Since visitors are normally very impatient, they are likely to leave if a page is slow to load, hence the need to exclude large graphics or animation which slow down your loading speed.
3) Good content. Most online retailers sell products in a niche they have expertise in or which they are passionate about. For visitors to be convinced of your authority in the niche, you need to establish yourself as an expert in that area by providing useful, reliable content. Customers tend to trust retailers with strong background knowledge as they can recommend the best products for the customers’ needs, or answer any queries well. Fly-by-night businesses, on the other hand, are just out to make money, and normally do not have the necessary expertise to earn the trust of customers. It is thus critical that you make a consistent effort to update your website regularly with the latest tips, resources or articles to serve your visitors well. At least even if visitors do not buy from your website on their first visit, they would continuously return to your website for useful information. After a period of time, when you have earned their trust, they would feel more compelled to buy your products. This form of marketing, which develops an online community, is a very cost-effective method as it costs next to nothing to supply the necessary information.
You can find free articles for reprint at:http://www.ezinearticles.com/, http://www.ideamarketers.com/, http://www.goarticles.com/, http://www.freesticky.com/, http://www.amazines.com/.
If you would like to create a forum on your website, you can use this free forum software at http://www.phpbb.com/. It is very easy to set up and only requires you to create a database with your web host, with some customization.
Of course, you can also go for the option of writing your own content on your website. When writing your content, remember to include your keywords evenly throughout the content for search engine optimization purposes.
4) Good navigation. This is another strong determinant of the success of your website. For a website to look ‘professional’, it has to be well organized into categories, and the pages must be linked to each other and to the homepage. Your navigation bars must be placed consistently at the same area on every page of your website. Navigation bars are most commonly placed on the left hand side of the page or at the top of the page. If you have numerous different categories on your navigation, it makes sense to place them on the left of the page. However, if you have only about five to seven options, you can place your navigation bars at the top of the page.
Use text links for your webpages on your navigation bars instead of graphic links. One factor that search engines like Google use to determine the relevance of your webpages is by the inclusion of keywords in the text links to that page.
It is also crucial that you name your navigation accurately and descriptively. Visitors would instantly know which link to click on to find what they want. If your website is cluttered with many obscure links, visitors would feel lost and leave your site immediately.
Organize your content well so that your visitors can navigate your site easily. They should be able to find what they want with the least number of clicks possible. Research has shown that for any extra click that visitors have to take to reach their goal, the number of visitors leaving your site can reach as high as 50%!
When deciding what to include in your navigation bar, first place yourself in your customers’ shoes. Think about what they would be most interested in when they visit your site, and place these links near the top of the page. Other links, which are secondary in importance for the visitor should be placed nearer the bottom of the page.
5) The standard pages. Like every other online business, your Drop Ship business website should also include some important pages that serve the customer.
- Testimonials. This page is considered as a ‘must-have’ for many online businesses. When you display the testimonials of other customers on your website, your credibility is established. Testimonials are like votes or ratings for your business that shows the real value of what you offer. The better the comments from customers, the better your website would appear to prospective customers. You can choose to place a separate testimonials page, or you can select a few of the best testimonials and place them on your homepage.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). After you have described your benefits in detail, visitors would still have several queries about your products. It is thus useful to create an FAQ page to write down the answers to what your customers are most likely to ask. When visitors have questions, they can simply visit your FAQ page, instead of sending you their queries by email. This saves you a lot of trouble for answering individual emails. Remember that most customers are not willing to make purchases when their doubts are still unanswered.
- Contact Us. Having this page boosts your reliability as a business. Remember to include your email address, mailing address and telephone numbers on this page.
- About Us. Describe what your team and your business aims to do.
- Privacy Policy. Customers value their privacy highly on the internet. When they submit their personal information like email address or mailing address on your website, fears about privacy may arise. You thus need to include a privacy policy to reassure your customers that their personal information will not be abused or given to any other third party. Remember to place links to your privacy policy on your order pages and also your opt-in offers.
HTML editors like Macromedia Dreamweaver are useful for those unfamiliar with HTML. Dreamweaver can be found at: http://www.macromedia.com/dreamweaver.
In conclusion, whether or not your website generates sales determines heavily on the design and navigation ease. You should definitely spend more time planning on your web design and navigation well before plunging into constructing it.
*You are welcome to reprint this article as long as you include the Author’s resource box with the article.
About the Author
About the Author: Ray Yee is the founder and president of Dropshipperscentral, a website which provides a wealth of informative articles, tips and resources on everything you’ll ever need to know about setting up a Drop Ship Business and marketing it. Click here for the Wholesale Drop Ship Directory from http://www.dropshipperscentral.com/
Web Ecommerce: Where To Begin?
In web ecommerce, you are going to find a wealth of information about what it is and what it can do for you within minutes of looking on the web. The problem with this is, it is hard to sort out the good from the bad and the worthless from the maybe-worth-something options. Relying on the bad stuff will leave you broke and everyone is in search of the best options to make them a ton. So, where do you begin when it comes to web ecommerce?
In order to help you get started with web ecommerce, here are some of the things that anyone on the web selling can do to make their business more profitable and more potentially interesting to their buyers.
* Provide quality and something that is user friendly to the client. If you want to sell, you need to convince them that you have something that is better than what is out there or something that isn't out there at all. You need to provide for them a good experience as well.
*
Sales and promotions work as they would in the retail setting of a store. To get people in and buying, offering incentives can definitely help.
* Provide a great looking website for them to visit. Make sure that it is user friendly and that it is easy to navigate as well. Things like photos and graphics that are exciting and appealing are great tools to use as well.
* You can also do well by offering things like chat rooms and blogs that keep up the readership to your website. Allow them to play a role like this and they will likely book mark you and come back for more web ecommerce action!
Web Ecommerce can be a remarkable tool when you use it well. So, as your first step, take the time to explore what ways you can create a great place for your customers and how you can make sure that they come and come back.
About the author:
For more information please see http://www.web-ecommerce-shack.co.uk/
What Ecommerce Software Has to Offer
Setting up a website can seem a daunting task to many of us. Not everyone is proficient at building stunning, effective and dynamic websites; but if you have a product or a service to sell, then having your own website utilizing ecommerce software is one of the most fruitful methods of making sales. The Advantages of Ecommerce
Selling your product online means there are no geographic limitations. You can sit in your lounge in Texas and sell your home-knitted scarves to people living in Japan. The costs of setting up your business are comparatively non-existent. You don't need to purchase or rent a shop. You don't need to pay for decoration, you will undoubtedly be using less staff and the only utility bills are bills you would usually pay at your own home anyway.
About Your Ecommerce Website
Ecommerce software is any software used on your website to help customers easily shop and pay for their items easily, safely and quickly. In recent years, one of the many advances of the Internet has been the increase in publicity surrounding Internet security. It is absolutely imperative that as well as a good crisp and clean looking website you also offer and display high security on all of your online payments. If you don't you will undoubtedly lose customers and money.
Shopping Carts and Payments - The Essential Items
If you've done any shopping online, you will have probably come across shopping carts of varying levels of quality. When considering ecommerce software you need to pick shopping cart software for your site that is user friendly, stable and fits the design of your site. You should ensure that it can be used on any operating system and as many browsers as possible. Don't forget that not everyone uses Internet Explorer.
When a visitor is looking around your site at the items you have to offer, you are perhaps hoping that they will make a purchase. Making the buying process easy for them will encourage them to do that. An 'Add To Cart' button is virtually standard on any ecommerce site now, and clicking on this button should take you to a simple but effective looking shopping cart page. Shoppers should be able to select how many items they want and then add that to basket. Once they have selected that item, it may be a good idea to take them back to the page they were last on, encouraging them to continue shopping and spending more money. Offers
Everybody loves a good deal, and Internet shoppers are by no means different. Try to make sure that your ecommerce software allows you to give discounts under certain circumstances. Perhaps, a 10% discount for anyone spending over $200. Recent ecommerce software offering shopping carts will give you both product level and order level discount options, so you can have sale items as well as spend dependant discounts.
The Bottom Line
If you want to set up an ecommerce website, you will have to get some shopping cart software. Most surfers will simply look for another site if you don't give them the options they expect.
A good shopping cart will give you plenty of options and the opportunity to offer discounts and sale items. A reputable ecommerce software company will, at the very least, give you detailed instructions on installing this software onto your site and how to use it. Choose wisely. About the Author
Halstatt Pires is an Internet marketing consultant with http://www.marketingtitan.com/ - an Internet marketing firm in San Diego offering automated web site systems through http://www.businesscreatorpro.com/.
What Ecommerce Software Has to Offer
Setting up a website can seem a daunting task to many of us. Not everyone is proficient at building stunning, effective and dynamic websites; but if you have a product or a service to sell, then having your own website utilizing ecommerce software is one of the most fruitful methods of making sales. The Advantages of Ecommerce
Selling your product online means there are no geographic limitations. You can sit in your lounge in Texas and sell your home-knitted scarves to people living in Japan. The costs of setting up your business are comparatively non-existent. You don't need to purchase or rent a shop. You don't need to pay for decoration, you will undoubtedly be using less staff and the only utility bills are bills you would usually pay at your own home anyway.
About Your Ecommerce Website
Ecommerce software is any software used on your website to help customers easily shop and pay for their items easily, safely and quickly. In recent years, one of the many advances of the Internet has been the increase in publicity surrounding Internet security. It is absolutely imperative that as well as a good crisp and clean looking website you also offer and display high security on all of your online payments. If you don't you will undoubtedly lose customers and money.
Shopping Carts and Payments - The Essential Items
If you've done any shopping online, you will have probably come across shopping carts of varying levels of quality. When considering ecommerce software you need to pick shopping cart software for your site that is user friendly, stable and fits the design of your site. You should ensure that it can be used on any operating system and as many browsers as possible. Don't forget that not everyone uses Internet Explorer.
When a visitor is looking around your site at the items you have to offer, you are perhaps hoping that they will make a purchase. Making the buying process easy for them will encourage them to do that. An 'Add To Cart' button is virtually standard on any ecommerce site now, and clicking on this button should take you to a simple but effective looking shopping cart page. Shoppers should be able to select how many items they want and then add that to basket. Once they have selected that item, it may be a good idea to take them back to the page they were last on, encouraging them to continue shopping and spending more money. Offers
Everybody loves a good deal, and Internet shoppers are by no means different. Try to make sure that your ecommerce software allows you to give discounts under certain circumstances. Perhaps, a 10% discount for anyone spending over $200. Recent ecommerce software offering shopping carts will give you both product level and order level discount options, so you can have sale items as well as spend dependant discounts.
The Bottom Line
If you want to set up an ecommerce website, you will have to get some shopping cart software. Most surfers will simply look for another site if you don't give them the options they expect.
A good shopping cart will give you plenty of options and the opportunity to offer discounts and sale items. A reputable ecommerce software company will, at the very least, give you detailed instructions on installing this software onto your site and how to use it. Choose wisely. About the Author
Halstatt Pires is an Internet marketing consultant with http://www.marketingtitan.com/ - an Internet marketing firm in San Diego offering automated web site systems through http://www.businesscreatorpro.com/.
Using eBay to market your ecommerce website
eBay is now the world’s largest marketplace, so why not use this to the advantage of you and your website? By creating an easy-to-use eBay Store and listing some of your more popular items at a small discount from the price on your website, you can drive traffic from eBay back to your website as well as creating sales and revenue for your company through eBay. eBay’s Store fees are nominal and can usually be paid off from the profit of just a few small sales a month. eBay's Stores are set up to where your item can be relisted automatically saving you your valuable time and making the maintenace of your eBay Store effortless.
eBay does have rules about advertising for a site outside of eBay within an Item Description, but with some creative writing and your imagination you should be able to work around these while still providing an outbound link from your Item Description to your own website. One way of doing this is to use a link to your website saying that eBay users can click on it for more product information about the item that is for sale on eBay.
You can be found by more eBay users by being as descriptive as possible in the Item Description and by using as many keywords as possible that describe your item and industry within the Item Title.
Not all eBay users search through eBay Stores for products, so I use a combination of eBay auctions in a bidding format and my Buy It Now eBay Store inventory so that my products are easy to find no matter how someone is searching on eBay. I also include my email address and toll free number in all of my Item Descriptions and on my eBay Store Front so that eBay users can contact us directly.
About the Author
Scott Touchton is an employee of http://www.specialtyhardwareoutlet.com/ which is a Birmingham, Alabama based decorative hardware outlet.
Why Ecommerce is Not Ready for My Daughter or Me
As the mother of a teenage clothing fanatic I'm often at my local mall. It occurred to me that the shopping experience for my daughter is attractive to her not because she wants to spend my money, but because the experience of buying itself is so rich to the senses.
For example, when we enter her favorite stores the first thing that hits me is the music. If it's her kind of music, we're in the right place for her. If the signs near the front of the store have sale prices and notices about markdowns, we're in the right place for me. Immediately there are two user needs met. Mother's and daughter's.
Next, for me, is how products are displayed. I look for orderliness and logical groupings such as jeans in one place, the teeny tiny things she calls shirts in another place, "hoodies" in every possible color in another section. I also look for clean dressing rooms and clues as to how many items she can load up on before she meets their limit. Meanwhile, she's looking at colors, sizes, textures, and styles. She glides along in her beat up sneakers touching the items as she passes by. Her hands drift along piles of sweaters as if walking through a field of daisies. A certain texture will stop her dead in her tracks and I'll get that "Mom, look!" expression from her.
It strikes me that some of the stores she insists we stop into don't offer much for me to do or look at. The décor is dark, black, and limited to a few racks mixed with hanging things on the walls separated by posters of half naked teenagers standing next to cars they can't possibly afford to buy. Clothing prices are hidden inside sleeves. Sale signs are taboo. But the music is hip, the salespersons are scary-looking and the smell of leather mixed with hair gel is making my wallet itch. Their website, I bet, has but one click-path designed for teens and their parents must be blindfolded so as not to read the content before handing over their credit card.
Finally in a store where I feel welcome, my daughter is admiring the merchandise and starting to find what she likes in her size. I'm avoiding the mirrors and marveling at the sales personnel with their size 3 bodies, smudged eyeliner and 35 bracelets on each wrist. For my daughter, who looks just like them, this is confirmation she's in the right store. I, on the other hand, will stop holding in my stomach when we get back out to the parking lot, or when we grab our lattés in Starbucks on the first floor.
While other mothers and myself are holding piles of clothes in our arms, or running back and forth to get something in different sizes, my mind drifts to all the ecommerce websites I find in search engines, but don't purchase from. For starters, most of them think I'm going to read 35 links in their navigation, plus their ads, before deciding which is the right path to follow. Some of them will tell me about one sale, but if I want to know more, I have to figure out where they stuck that stuff. There's nothing I can physically touch and the images are usually tiny. Sure, I can click to enlarge but how many times have I done that only to find a bigger view of the same boring, unattractive picture?
Most shopping carts don't give me shipping dates or availability information as I make my selections. (Just recently I ordered something, only to hear from the merchant via email that their software wasn't working and the color and size wasn't recorded, so they had to contact me for that information.)
We assume ecommerce have functional websites. We assume incorrectly. We assume they built them for many types of customers, but again, we've assumed wrong. We assume that the top 20 sites in search engine results are the best of the best based on our search keywords. That, I'm afraid, is the saddest shock of all. Top rank doesn't equal the best online experience once you click into that website.
That part of usability wasn't tested for you by the search engine or directory. That's not their job.
My daughter looks good in everything. So did I when I was a teenager. If I still had that body I could order from any lingerie site on the Internet and feel quite sure I'd look as fantastic and sexy as their starving models do. But, I never buy sexy lingerie on the Internet because quite frankly, they're not selling it to me. One look at their models, their poses, their ages and their airbrushed faces tells me their target market is men who dream of making their women look like that too, if they just buy that lacey thing for them.
Fortunately I have a levelheaded daughter who loves to hunt for bargains. The last time we shopped at the Mall together was because I wanted to get her a gift for making the Distinguished Honor Roll that marking period in school. She found something at her favorite teen store for under $20. We splurged at Starbucks on our favorite chocolate coffee fixes, which was the logical choice after doing so well at the clothing store.
Online, after a sale, I'd be alone staring at my monitor at a "Thank you screen" and likely not directed to go anywhere interesting next. This is another common ecommerce practice; dumping the customer off after the last screen of a shopping cart. Instead, they should try suggesting a related site (via paid sponsored link?) or a reminder to bookmark the site for later shopping or better yet, how about a quick "Did you find what you were looking for?" survey. One quick question, one button click is all it takes to say "We hoped you like your shopping experience but if not, please tell us how to make it better."
This is what the cute pierced nose sales clerk said to us when I handed her the $20 for my daughter's new shirt. I gratefully accepted the receipt from the nail polished hand attached to the 18 year old face with a pimple on the forehead, multi-colored hair and glittered eye shadow. You just can't get mimic that kind of user experience on the Internet yet.
About the Author
Usability Consultant, Kimberly Krause Berg, is the owner of UsabilityEffect.com, Cre8pc.com, Cre8asiteForums.com and co-founder of Cre8asite.net. Her background in organic search engine optimization, combined with web site usability consulting, offers unique insight into web site development.
Why VPS is Perfect for eCommerce Hosting
I want to preface this little article with this fact: The optimal environment for an ecommerce website is a dedicated server. Nothing else offers you the level of control, security, and customizability as a dedicated web appliance for the simple fact that the entire server is yours. Unfortunately, dedicated servers are expensive. You either need to lease them, Co-locate your own server in someone's datacenter, or pay for a huge internet connection to your location where you host your own. I understand that $250-$8000 a month is not in the startup budget of most new ecommerce sites, so here is the next best thing:
Virtual Private Servers.
Virtual Private Servers, or VPS, are an intermediate service between shared hosting (where you get one domain account) and dedicated hosting (where you get the whole server). With VPS, the actual server hardware and resources are partitioned up into several isolated environments which each act as their own "mini" dedicated server. Each VPS maintains its own control over server software, mail servers, and independent software resources, parsers, and programs such as PHP and BIND. VPS minimize the drawbacks that shared hosting has and gives you guaranteed resources, a secure operating environment, and distinct advantages in performance and security.
The advantages of VPS are clear:
Control. While you can not usually change system-wide configurations such as the base operating system, you are free to update your PHP version, Apache configuration, MySQL version, or whatever application related change you want to make. Unlike a dedicated server where you can really, really screw something up if you don't know what you are doing, VPS don't really allow you to break something really important that keeps the server running. This makes it a great intermediate step in learning web server administration before graduating to a full, dedicated server appliance when your business needs to.
You can have more than one website. You can have multiple domains, subdomains, IP addresses, whatever. Some web admin panels have restrictions (like 25 or 100 domain licenses) but others like my personal favorite, cPanel, allow you to run hundreds of sites if you want off of one account.
Security. Each VPS acts like its own isolated environment, and as such your system and data files can not be seen by any other VPS account on the server. This is not always the case with some insecure shared hosting setups, where insecure permissions or scripts on another shared site can open the whole shared box up to attack. Also, if another VPS user leaves an SQL loop open and locks up the database server on their account, your account and resources continue to operate without interruption because your resource allocation is completely separate from theirs.
Cost. While VPS solutions cost more than shared hosting (most are in the $29.99-$99.99 price range), they are much more affordable than leasing a dedicated server appliance. The fact is, even the most mediocre dedicated server is oversized for a startup ecommerce site, and VPS represent a great value for the new internet entrepreneur.
VPS are not without disadvantages though, abet small ones. Here are the main ones:
It does take a higher level of technical savvy to maintain a VPS solution than a standard shared hosting account. I don't really buy into this one though, because when I ran my first dedicated server when I was 15 years old (yeah, it's so easy a 15 year old can do it) I only had one learning resource: The Internet. Everything you ever need to know and more about running a web server can be found for free on the internet. Add to that fact
that most VPS plans come with an easy to use web administration interface that is fully supported and documented and you got it made.
Your VPS host has a lot to do with the quality of your VPS account. Mismanagement of VPS appliances by your hosting company may land you with too many accounts on one server and as a result you may experience performance hits. Choose your VPS provider wisely.
Depending on your plan, it may be a lot of work to setup. Once again, this is all related to finding the right VPS provider. A comprehensive VPS plan will include a ready to go, setup environment with a name-brand web management console like cPanel or Plesk. These easy turn-key solutions will have you serving pages in an hour or two.
I was thinking about writing a big section on "How to decide if VPS is right for you" but I couldn't really make any arguments for not going VPS. Virtual Private Servers are superior to shared hosting in every way, and frankly if you are running an ecommerce site where your livelihood depends on your site being available and making sales you would be a moron not to investigate VPS hosting. The price point is there, the features are there, and the security and availability are there.
In my experience, this is what I think a VPS account should have for an ecommerce setup (let's use a heavily modified osCommerce setup for example):
It should be based on the Virtuozzo VPS system. These guys invented VPS, and they do it the best.
It should have at a minimum 256MB guaranteed ram for MySQL database driven sites, and at a minimum it should be burstable to 512MB for the occasional memory intensive query. The size of your database and traffic should dictate this number.
Disk space is trivial- I have not seen many ecommerce sites go over 3-5GB with thousands of products- make sure you get at least 5-10GB so you have plenty of room for expansion.
Bandwidth is kinda trivial too- you have to have a lot of traffic to exceed the 100-250GB bandwidth packages included with most VPS plans, and lets face it- if you have that much traffic you are going to be making money hand over fist and move up to a managed dedicated appliance anyway.
Get some sort of automated backup. If your host does not include it, it's usually a $10-$15 option that is completely worth it. That way, if you are learning how to administer your VPS and you break something, your site can be restored and running again in an hour or two.
Make sure you are getting it from a reputable company that has 24/7 support. There are lots of places to save $5 when you are setting up your business but the hosting that runs your lifeblood is not one of them. Get your hosting from a big company- they have the experience, the staff, and the systems in place to keep you running.
Make sure you get a VPS account with a name-brand web administration panel as this will smooth out your learning curve. I personally recommend cPanel as it allows unlimited domains, has its own name servers built in, and has two levels of admin- appliance control through the Web Host Manager, and individual domain control panels for each site. I can't say enough nice things about cPanel.
Whatever company you choose, I hope you will take a look at VPS hosting. This is your business, and you owe it to yourself and your customers to have a hosting account that is quick, responsive, and powerful.
About the author:
Jason Chance is a full time Online Product Manager and contract developer for the SMB market. He maintain's a site at http://www.jccommerce.com/ where he shares what works when trying to sell and promote online.
hy You Should Use Turnkey Websites To Jumpstart Your Ecommerce Activity
Most people looking to do business online have heard of turnkey websites. They seem to be a one stop solution to getting an online business going without all the usual hassles associated with an online startup. Take a look thought the business & industry section of eBay and you'll see thousands of turnkey sites, sometimes going for hundreds of dollars.
Turnkey sites are ideal way to start or grow your ecommerce activity, below are just a handful of reasons explaining why.
1. Design
Ever tried to design a site yourself. Did it go well? Or were the results not as expected. Designing and building a site from scratch can be difficult work if not impossible to finalise your desired look. Turnkey sites already have been designed by full time graphic designers to look professional and more importantly to achieve maximum sales conversions from your end users visitors. Why spend hours trying to get that look right when you can buy an existing proven design ready to go.
2. Functionality
All our sites at Trading-Web-Solutions are tested constantly for days before they are released. Each site needs to be tested in every browser, not just Internet Explorer but Netscape and browsers growing in popularity such as Opera or Firefox. Other things to test on your site include scripts, databases & different screen modes. Will the script work with UNIX and windows servers? Does the javascript function in both Netscape and Opera? Even a small fault that occurs when using another system could cost you many visitors and more importantly orders. Testing a site is the most time consuming process of getting any online businesses running.
3. Easy to modify
The majority of turnkey sites are very easily to modify, just by opening your control panel or by loading the site into Frontpage. This is necessary, as you should personalise your site with your welcoming text and sales message to make the site yours. You don't want your site to be exactly the same as someone else's does you. With all the hard work done by someone else, just personalise your site to complete it and make it stand out from
the crowd.
4. Trusted Partners
Affiliate Marketing is made easy by turnkey websites. If you want an affiliate relationship with another online organisation you need to be careful whom you choose. But by purchasing a turnkey site already affiliated with another party, all the research has already been done for you. Everything will have been examined about the affiliate program in detail, to make sure they are reliable, secure, pay out on time, offer excellent support to affiliates, and offer flexible linking methods. And if your site is not affiliated to another party but a stand-alone site it will be setup with the other payment links to a trusted payment processor such as Paypal or Nochex.
5. Cost
Turnkey websites are very cheap. For roughly $200 you can get one setup including one years hosting or pay monthly hosting and get one setup for about $100. Try getting a new site developed for this cost and you won't get very far. Most web developers charge from $85 per hour, so you'll be lucky if you get one page done for the same cost.
6. Quick Setup
Sellers who setup turnkey websites normally do it for a living on a full time basis. They've done it many times before so they know exactly what they're doing. Usually your site will be setup and live within 24 - 48 hours. You shouldn't have any problems after your sites been setup, after all they livelihood depends on it and if a seller makes any mistakes during the setup it can be very costly if not financially, then certainly towards their reputation and feedback.
7. Support
Want promotional advice, or to change the style of your site. Who better to ask than the people who created or installed your site? After sales support is normally included by email or a support ticket system and is a valuable source of information. Just one of the benefits of purchasing a turnkey website.
About the Author
Mark Kenny is an online entrepreneur who specialises in developing turnkey websites in niche and profitable markets. You can see a selection of the work he is involved in at: http://www.trading-web-solutions.com/
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