The Art of e-Commerce

Posted on: 2005-11-04 18:51:14
Author: Eric White

So you've got your website, and people can email you aboutyour products and services. The next step, if your homebusiness is suitable, is to start selling them directlyonline.

Why E-Commerce?

E-commerce can be a massive business booster. If you sellreasonably small, easy-to-ship products (or services thatdon't need shipping), it can expand your market from yourlocal neighbourhood to the whole world! You will also findthat you get more repeat business, since people can easilyre-order from you without having to call you again, and youmight find that you can afford to sell lower-value things inyour web store than you could in real life, thanks to thereduced overheads.

Setting Up E-Commerce.

If you've already got a website, setting up e-commerce canbe surprisingly easy. The only real requirements are thatyou get some e-commerce software (it's not that expensive,and some like OScommerce are even FRE'E), and that your webhosting will support whatever programming language thesoftware is written in.

If you think that sounds a bit too technical, just take alook through the help section of your hosting company'swebsite -- you should find something there that explainsyour specific situation. You never know: some hosts alreadyhave everything set up for you, and all you have to do ispress a button!

Consistent Design.

It is important for the e-commerce section of your site toappear to be integrated into the rest of it. You shouldhave clear links to your store on each page of yourwebsite, and the design of the store itself should beconsistent with what has gone before. If your store looksout of place, it shouldn't be too expensive to get whoeverdesigned your website to quickly adapt that design as ane-commerce template.

A Matter of Inventory.

Once you've got your 'shop' up and running, the nextstep is to configure it. This mostly involves telling itwhat you plan to sell, i.e. entering descriptions andprices for the items, as well as uploading pictures. Takesome time with the pictures, and make them large and easyto see on the screen. The descriptions should list everyfeature and benefit each product has, and you might wish toset the prices 10% or so below your normal levels, as an'online discount'.

It is important, though, that once you put your items onyour e-commerce website you do not allow them to go out ofstock. There are few things more frustrating for a customerthan seeing something they want to bu'y and not being allowedto bu'y it -- or, worse, paying for something only to be toldthat it'll take weeks to arrive. Think like a customer,don't forget about your website, and keep things runningsmoothly.

Delivery.

Depending on what you sell, your delivery methods can vary.We could be talking about a package in the mail, or perhapsjust a follow-up email. Whatever you're doing, though,make sure you do it quickly. Customers will get verynervous waiting, and won't appreciate it. Keep yourcustomers updated at all times on how things are going --never leave them hanging.

Inputs and Outputs.

Once you get these things down, though, e-commerce issimple enough that it can mostly be left to run itself.It's like a system of inputs and outputs that multiplieseverything put in: you spend an hour or two telling it whatyou've got, and out of the other end come orders and money.You'll find that almost all e-commerce stores easily payfor any time you put into them as soon as you make one ortwo sales.

Don't Forget to Advertise It.

You won't usually need any separate campaign for youre-commerce operation, but it's well worth mentioning itsexistence on your marketing materials. A few simple wordsbefore your web address on anything you hand out can workwonders: 'visit www.yourwebsite.com' becomes 'learn moreand order online at www.yourwebsite.com'. You'll find thatmany customers will be more eager to check out what you'reselling when they can do it as easily as typing in a webaddress.

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Eric is the creator of the exciting new e-biz Site for newbieshttp://first-steps-online.com