|
Get the right e-commerce solution for your business!
|
|
How to build a successful online catalog!
|
|
Being successful with an online catalog
requires more than just a shopping cart. Like
any business it requires merchandising,
marketing, sales and service.
Before you even begin to think about building
an online catalog you need to understand that it
is going to take a considerable amount of work
to be successful. The list below describes some
of the most important
things you need to consider before creating your
online catalog.
|
|
- Is there a market: Search the web
for other companies that sell the same
things you do. Look at the features they are
offering on their site, the pricing,
delivery costs, etc. Remember, price is not
necessarily the deciding factor for making
an online purchase. Trust, simplicity and
convenience play an important role.
- What competitive advantages do you
bring to the table: Don't consider
price, service or product quality as
competitive advantages unless you are the
clear leader in the market. Look for ways
you can give your customers additional
value.
- What are the marketing costs for your
market: Do your keyword research to find
out what keywords are being used and what
your chances are of getting top 10 position
with natural keyword searches and the cost
of pay-per-click. Remember, online marketing
is different from marketing a physical
business.
|
- Can you afford the opportunity costs:
Starting a professional e-commerce site
requires an investment in the site and an
investment in time to manage and market
the site. Do you have the resources to
give your e-commerce site an opportunity
to succeed.
- Do you have access to the necessary
expertise: Operating a successful
e-commerce site requires technical and
online marketing expertise in addition to
your business expertise. You will need
access to that expertise to be successful.
- Register Your URL: Your URL is
your web address. If you don't already
have one you need to register one. You can
do this through one of the many URL
registration companies online. We prefer
to use the Network
Solutions registration service. While
it is not the least expensive registration
service, we have found that they are easy
to deal with and you can get a LIVE person
on the phone if you need to. Check
out our brief article on choosing a URL.
 Choose an E-commerce
Solution Provider:
- Is it easy to maintain?
- Is it easy to process orders?
- Does it provide the most important
marketing processes?
- Can it be customized if necessary?
- What kind of support do they offer
after the sale? In addition to
technical support do they provide:
- Marketing help
- Search engine positioning help
- Promotional help
- How long will it take you to learn
how to use the solution?
- Is it flexible enough to be able to
add custom features when you need
them?
- Establish a Merchant Account: To
take orders over the Internet you need a
credit card merchant account. This account allows you
to receive credit card purchases and
transfers the money to your checking
account. Many retail merchant accounts do
not allow you to accept "remote"
payments (mail order or online orders). If
you already have a merchant account check
with your account manager to see if they
allow orders that originate online. If you
need a merchant account for online orders,
see our Merchant
Account page.
- Choose a Payment Gateway: An
online payment gateway automatically
processes credit card "sales" and
"authorizations" online. A
payment gateway is not required with
LetMeShop but in many cases a gateway will
dramatically reduce the processing time
for each order. LetMeShop can also be
customized to export orders to your
back-end billing program if necessary. If you are considering a
payment gateway see our Payment
Gateway page.
 Key Word Research:
Key word research is absolutely
necessary if you plan to optimize your
site for search engines or use
pay-per-click advertising. For more
information on key word research see our Key
Word Research page.
- Create a marketing plan: Like
your physical location, your online
location will require advertising and
marketing. There are thousands of online
advertising opportunities. However, your
primary marketing focus will probably be
getting listed in the major search
engines. Since this can take months of
continuing effort you need to understand
the search engines and what you need to do
before you open your site. For more
information on optimization see our Search
Engine Optimization page.
- Create Product Descriptions: This
will be one of your most time-intensive
processes. Once
you have your list of the most popular key
words you need to include those keywords
in your product names and descriptions.
- Design a Shipping Process:
Shipping can consume a lot of time if you
don't have an established process.
Research and decide which shipper you are
going to work with and establish an order
fulfillment process.
- Making the decision: Review
our pricing options and request a
proposal.
- Call Web Transitions, Inc. - (888)
397-2474
|
|
|
|
|
