| DEFINING YOUR E-COMMERCE
NEEDS...
What type of e-commerce solution do you require?
Flat file page, non-interactive. Visitors must
print and fax order or phone order in. Single page secure
order form that sends each order as an e-mail. Multi-page
secure order form with shopping cart, visitors can pick
products while continuing to look at the site, change
their order, preview order and submit on-line.
Order sent as e-mail or downloaded via FTP from the
server.
Full e-commerce shopping cart with automated real time
credit card processing, integrated with back end database.
List all credit cards the site will accept.
(Visa, Master Card, AMEX, Discover). Merchant accounts
should allow for taking on-line orders from the Internet.
Please check with your bank as violation of these policies
can result in termination of your merchant account.
Policies differ from bank to bank. List all of methods
of payment options (money order, check, internet check,
various credit cards, etc.). List any special shipping
and handling charges or constraints on international
orders.
How will shipping and handling charges be automatically
calculated for on-line domestic and international orders?
Will international order shipping charges be calculated
manually? List information such as harmonized codes,
taxes, duty, etc. which can help expedite orders and
reduce international costs. Shipping products internationally
can be complex and costly. Will a consolidator or international
tracking system be helpful? How will sales tax be calculated
for on-line orders? Will you need to know the tax rate
for multiple states?
Do you have a business slogan or catch phrase?
Give reasons why your business clearly beats the
competition?
What is your USP (unique selling proposition)? Customers
tend to look for information as a priority over shopping
on-line. They may surf at other sites, but they will
continually return to the sites they trust intuitively
and can solve their problems. A visitor may need to
return many times before making a purchase (studies
suggest as many as 5 times). What can you do to encourage
customers to purchase now and abandon the need to continue
to search?
Web surfers have short attention spans.
Web surfers may not remember your site and will probably
not return unless you give them a compelling reason
to do so. How can you encourage repeat visitors and
referrals? Every measure should be taken to encourage
visitors to voluntarily submit their e-mail address.
Free offers, contests, referral forms, surveys and requests
for information forms can be useful tools to encourage
e-mail signup's. What can you offer that can be digitally
delivered on site (computer wallpaper, screen savers,
special reports, on-line coupons, affiliate programs,
etc.) and is free?
Include unique content on your site. Partner with
a content provider to update content.
Since most surfers are seeking information, the best
sites are those that become hubs or portals. A site
that contains large amounts of information (not readily
available elsewhere) directly related to the product
or service being sold may be far more successful than
one that that only offers a product or service. When
coupled with a quality design and competitive products
and services and outstanding customer service the site
becomes a winner.
Will you use an affiliate program?
Affiliate programs are useful for any or all of the
following: allows 3rd parties to market your products
and services for a commission, tracks effectiveness
of individual advertisements and marketing campaigns,
some allow customization to manage signup of individuals
or companies with personalized self replicated web pages.
Other companies use them to allow customers to create
self-replicated web pages which link to the new mini-cd
style personalized business cards.
It is very important to have a plan to control on-line
fraud.
Too many charged back fraudulent orders might result
in termination of your company's merchant account. The
possibility of blacklisting by other merchant account
providers can be a serious problem. Use manual AVS authorization
and accept no unmatched orders (even if there is an
approval code). Call to authorize international orders,
ship only to billing address listed on credit card,
double check on large orders with overnight shipping,
refuse on-line orders from customers with free e-mail
domains.
What can be done to add value to products and services?
If your prices cannot be competitive, what other methods
will showcase your products/services? The addition of
free bonuses, lifetime warranties, free shipping and
handling, upgrades, etc. will often be perceived by
the consumer as value-added especially if a dollar value
can be attached to these extras.
Will you use a survey form to gather information
from your visitors?
What questions would be included on this survey?
Will you offer an incentive to customers for taking
part in this survey? Surveys can also be used as exit
strategies to gather useful information as visitors
leave the site. A cookie can be used to eliminate seeing
the form for repeat visitors.
What are your delivery policies?
Customers will probably buy if there is immediate
delivery. How long does it take for an order to be received?
A customer will not buy from a site if it does not show
a complete cost breakdown of their order (price, tax,
shipping, etc.) on-line. Will you join any affiliate
programs and link those sites to your web site? You
can signup on related sites programs and get a commission
on sales made on your site. This works best when other
sites are directly related to your web site and affiliate
links are worked into your site in context. Third party
product endorsements work better than simple links to
other sites.
Will there be password protected areas for dealers,
members and/or downloads?
Will your site use any digital delivery systems
to individually password protect each customers download?
Are wholesale prices, drop shipping arrangements or
other standard agreements put into a dealer section?
Will you allow others to offer your products or services
directly on their sites?
Will low price lead in products be followed with sales
on the back end for higher priced products and services?
Products up to $20.00 meet little resistance while products
in the hundreds or thousands of dollars may require
a longer sales process. Complex services might only
be closed using real salespeople. Is a plan in place
to secure and qualify leads? How can you remove as much
risk from the buyer as possible (warranty, return policy,
etc.)? What is your sales cycle? Can you close sales
on-line without human interaction or do you need to
follow-up on leads generated?
Do you have a brick and mortar or other off-web locations
or contact point (like a mail order catalog)?
How do you see the web site and off-line business
working together? What are the weak points of each and
the strong points that can be exploited? Don't try to
recreate a catalog showroom on the web. Use the web
site to drive people to your physical location. To handle
customer service support after hours, offer on-line
coupons that can be printed and redeemed at the physical
location (and vice versa) use the physical location
to promote the web site.
Is this a new market you are trying to create for
your product/service or is there already an existing
market?
Selling in an existing market is easier and less risky.
The understanding of what you are offering already exists
since other companies have paved the way. What existing
distribution channels are you able to tap? Are there
any 800-pound gorillas and if so, how can you compete
against them? Microsoft and Toy's R Us are considered
to be gorillas in their markets. |
