9 Tips Before Hitting the E-Commerce Highway
To follow on from yesterdays post about ecommerce here are 9 tips (why 10?) that I would recommend anyone follow before they spend money on investing in a site and spending money on an online sales solution. This is very high level and I will be writing a post on each of these areas over the coming weeks. These tips could just as well apply to any business venture.
1. Look at the Competition
Spend some time checking out the competition. First look at your online selling competition in Ireland then look further afield. Make up a list of what you consider to be the best and the worst features of their sites. Think of what your potential online sales site would look like Get a piece of paper and list Likes and Dislikes. It can be as long or as short as you like. Think as big or as small as you want it to be. Work out what sort of product offerings you would offer. See how the best sites position their products in terms of images, logo positions, and sales paths.
Try out their shopping experiences. Try and buy a product and step through the purchase process and see what appeals to you. You don’t have to buy anything just experience it.
See how hard or easy it is of find the product you want. How is the product positioned? Are there simple pictures of the product or are they shown in use? Are there alternative images of each product? Can you look at different colours or camera angles.
2. Drop them a Note
Drop there people a note. Say you were thinking of getting into this line of business and have they any advice. They can either delete your e-mail or reply. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Don’t just e-mail people in Ireland email UK, US China!!. Tell them a little about yourself make it personal. There is so much spam out there that a nicely thought out mail works wonders. Keep in touch with them regularly.
3. Read Magazines
Pop into Easons. Look at the magazine rack in there. These days there is a magazine on nearly every topic under the sun. Pick up a few in the niche you are in. Read the articles and look at the messages that the advertisements in these magazines are giving. Make sure the Easons lady doesn’t throw you out for reading! If some of the businesses are local drop in and have a look at the competing products. Ask the business owners why they didn’t setup an online presence. They may have and failed !
4. Understand the Banking Side of it
Read about the technologies behind ecommerce. Read about how banks actually process and charge for the services. Ring the banks and ask questions – they will send you borchures or look at some of the links belowYou could go the Paypal route or use a merchant bank option. Realex offer a fine service but they also have terms and conditions. Again read their websites, drop into the bank and ask and drop Realex and the other merchant bank providers an e-mail. You will need a merchant bank account for the Realex option.
- Paypal
- Realex
- RBS Worldpay
- AIB (just a phone number to call)
Google Checkout is worth looking at as well
5. Understand the Technology
No I do not expect you to be come a coding, web expert but at least browse through the wide range of shopping cart solutions that are out there. They are many ranging from the free open source to complex paid solutions. Understand the rich range of features that come with ecommerce. Decide which ones you think would be useful for you and your customers.
Think scale. If you only want to sell one item versus a huge catalog then you need to pick a solution that suits you. Think of security against fraud and how you will manage inventory from day one
6. Ask questions on the Web
There are many excellent forums in Ireland and beyond filled with people more than willing to help you with your questions. The Irish Webmaster Forum has a lot of great helpers from the get go (I might even try and answer!)
7. More Confused than Ever?
If you are more confused than ever then that is not a bad thing as it helps to show you that it is not just a matter of setting up a site and having a great product. Yes your product may be great but there is more to making money than having a great product. I mean Ireland is filled with great houses newly built but nobody wants them.
8. Don’t spend a penny for a while
Before you put money into a solution take a step back. Follow steps 1-8 above. Then you follow the next 9 steps I will publish soon on how to slowly start. Talk to your own bank as you will be investing in products and inventory. Think about testing the waters on ebay for a little and see if your product actually sells.
9. Last but not Least – Think Logistics
Do not think these sites will run themselves. You will need to be very active in maintaining the site, keeping it fresh and alive with new content and being very aware of the potential for fraud as online stores are a big magnet for people trying to scam you.
If this is going to be a part time money earner it might end up being a full time time eaterf and you may not have the time to support this if the product actually takes off (which I hope it would).
And even though you might be passionate about this be aware that others may not and your idea just might not work. But if you follow the steps above you will know this by now I hope!
Related posts:
- 5 Simple Website Design Tips
- Spring Clean Your Website Today!
- 5 Items that Everyone Should Have on Their Site
[...] link: 9 Tips Before Hitting the E-Commerce Highway | Grange Web Design Blog Share and [...]