Basic Rules for Any WEB site

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E-Commerce

If you're going to set up a way for your customers to purchase through your web site, here are some things you'll need to consider before opening your site for business.

Blue light special - shopping carts

Step into K-mart, Wal-mart, or any other fill-in-the-blank-mart, and your first thing usually is to grab the old steel wire mesh on wheels. On the Internet, shopping carts are similar - they hold items prior to completing the order (or "checking out"). The advantages of shopping carts are that customers can change their orders around without losing track, can change quantities of items, and automatically get a running total of how many bucks they'll be shelling out. Another great thing is that your customer can leave the site, go check out the competition's prices, then come back and find the items still in the trusty old cart. They won't get away that fast!

On the fly order status

When customers "check out," they want to know when they can expect their great big package from UPS. They want that email to confirm their order and tell them just what the heck they bought. Then they want to know when it has been shipped. Why, the nerve of paying customers!

Plastic cash

If you sell online, you have to give the option of paying by credit card. There is no such thing as impulse buying when you have to write and mail out a check. If I (as your customer) had to do all that, I might as well drive to the store (actually, I'm far lazier than that - I'd call the store, who would accept my credit card and have them ship it to me). The point is that people are on the Internet because they want an easy way to shop. So you have to make it simple for them to buy and give no reason to turn away and purchase that hand-carved cat box from your competitor. It is the way to set up shop online.

Hi [insert customer name] and welcome back

Sophisticated sites know who you are. No, they don't send agents out to run surveillance on your home, but they do use certain Internet gizmos to track you. These gizmos are normally cookies, small bits of computer code, that keep important information, like customer ID numbers, last sale items, and the last time you shopped. This way, when I (as your customer) sign back on, I get such a message as, "Hi Jim and welcome back! Here are some recommendations for new products that you'd be crazy not to buy!" Fancy sites can use these cookies to track all kinds of information. If you use this info correctly and create an interactive method of shopping, customers will be better served and purchase more.

The Power

The power of the Internet is the 24-7 nature of web sites - they don't close down when webmasters sleep. Well, e-commerce can take advantage of this to take orders anytime of the day, and if set up correctly, it's fairly simple to automate purchasing. Setting up a merchant account (to accept credit cards) is fairly simple, especially through many of the automated services out there.

Where's a salesman when you need one?

There are disadvantages in any system, and e-commerce is no different. In an online store, there are no frontline salespeople - the site tries to sell the product. In that way, a web site is similar to a fancy brochure that can actually complete the sale. Interaction with the customer is still fairly limited, even if you have all the bells and whistles (or cookies and scripts) to handle inquiries and pitch the product. Putting a customer service number online is not the same thing as providing salespeople in a store while a potential customer is circling the product.

Ok, how do I do it?

If you're ready to make the plunge into setting up e-commerce for your business, first consider consulting with a professional who has experience in developing similar sites. If you are the die-hard do-it-yourselfer, look into e-commerce solutions by iCat, Geocities' Geoshops, or Yahoo! Store.

Article by Jim Dattilo of FindYourDream.

Basic Rules
for
Any WEB site

• How to Start
  

• The 12 Rules
  

• Advertise More Effectively
  

• Web Page Traffic
  

• E-Commerce