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The Art of
e-Commerce
So you've got your website, and people can email you about your
products and services. The next step, if your home business is
suitable, is to start selling them directly online.
Why E-Commerce?
E-commerce can be a massive business booster. If you sell
reasonably small, easy-to-ship products (or services that don't
need shipping), it can expand your market from your local
neighborhood to the whole world! You will also find that you
get more repeat business, since people can easily re-order from
you without having to call you again, and you might find that
you can afford to sell lower-value things in your web store
than you could in real life, thanks to the reduced
overheads.
Setting Up E-Commerce
If you've already got a website, setting up e-commerce can be
surprisingly easy. The only real requirements are that you get
some e-commerce software (it's not that expensive, and some
like OScommerce are even free), and that your web hosting will
support whatever programming language the software is written
in.
If you think that sounds a bit too technical, just take a look
through the help section of your hosting company's website --
you should find something there that explains your specific
situation. You never know: some hosts already have everything
set up for you, and all you have to do is press a
button!
Consistent Design
It is important for the e-commerce section of your site to
appear to be integrated into the rest of it. You should have
clear links to your store on each page of your website, and the
design of the store itself should be consistent with what has
gone before. If your store looks out of place, it shouldn't be
too expensive to get whoever designed your website to quickly
adapt that design as an e-commerce template.
A Matter of Inventory
Once you've got your 'shop' up and running, the next step is to
configure it. This mostly involves telling it what you plan to
sell, i.e. entering descriptions and prices for the items, as
well as uploading pictures. Take some time with the pictures,
and make them large and easy to see on the screen. The
descriptions should list every feature and benefit each product
has, and you might wish to set the prices 10% or so below your
normal levels, as an 'online discount'.
It is important, though, that once you put your items on your
e-commerce website you do not allow them to go out of stock.
There are few things more frustrating for a customer than
seeing something they want to buy and not being allowed to buy
it -- or, worse, paying for something only to be told that
it'll take weeks to arrive. Think like a customer, don't forget
about your website, and keep things running smoothly.
Delivery
Depending on what you sell, your delivery methods can vary. We
could be talking about a package in the mail, or perhaps just a
follow-up email. Whatever you're doing, though, make sure you
do it quickly. Customers will get very nervous waiting, and
won't appreciate it. Keep your customers 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 is simple
enough that it can mostly be left to run itself. It's like a
system of inputs and outputs that multiplies everything put in:
you spend an hour or two telling it what you've got, and out of
the other end come orders and money. You'll find that almost
all e-commerce stores easily pay for any time you put into them
as soon as you make one or two sales.
Don't Forget to Advertise It
You won't usually need any separate campaign for your
e-commerce operation, but it's well worth mentioning its
existence on your marketing materials. A few simple words
before your web address on anything you hand out can work
wonders: 'visit www.yourwebsite.com' becomes 'learn more and
order online at www.yourwebsite.com'. You'll find that many
customers will be more eager to check out what you're selling
when they can do it as easily as typing in a web address.
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