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E-Commerce advice |
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If you're lucky enough to have a product that you can sell on the Web, there are a few factors to take into consideration before you start and although it all seems a bit complicated, it really isn't and a good Web Company will help you out and/or manage the whole process from start to finish. Things to consider:
Bespoke or off the shelf E-Commerce solution? it is extremely important that you get the right solution for your business and a good investment up-front should give you a fantastic return going forward. With this in mind, you have a choice; 'Off the shelf' E-Commerce solutions are cheap and although they will get you up and running quickly, they are not built for your particular business and they are sometimes 'fiddly' so if you are not technically minded, you may have problems with installs, set-up and management etc and need help. Pro's of an off the shelf E-Commerce solution:
Con's of an off the shelf E-Commerce solution
Although more expensive, a bespoke solution should be tailored to your individual requirements and installed for you thus making it easier to use. In our experience, a bespoke solution will pay dividends in the short/long term.
Pro's of a bespoke E-Commerce solution:
Cons of a bespoke E-Commerce solution:
What Payment Gateway will you use to collect money? There are many Payment Gateways to choose from and it really boils down to what you are comfortable with, for example, you may already have a PayPal account and are used to the way it operates, or you may have a Business Account with a High Street Bank who can offer you a similar solution. We have installed multiple Gateways over the years and although some are harder for us to implement than others, they are all secure and stable. One of the main factors we have noticed with our existing customers is price i.e. how much of a cut do they take for each transaction? It is well worth doing your research as it could save you money over time. Also, how long do they hold on to your money before they credit your account? In some cases this happens to prevent fraud and to make sure the transaction clears with no problems. What Hosting services do you need? If you are planning on having lots of products and visitors to your Website, it is important to choose a Hosting provider that is fast and very reliable. You may also need high Bandwidth (how much data is transferred to and from your Website) as some Hosting providers put a monthly limit on this. You will almost certainly need Hosting that includes MySQL which is used to manage your Shop Database. How are you going to get the goods to your customers? Choosing the right Courier solution is very important and don't forget, your customer only wants 3 things from you:
If you are unfortunate enough to receive a customer complaint, it stands a good chance that it will be related to the delivery of the product in one way or another so it's very important that you find a reliable Courier and offer good support to your customers if the worst happens by being proactive and not reactive. To minimise damage to your products on-route, your products should be packaged extremely well and don't forget, once your packages has been picked up and taken to the Courier's HUB, they will be put amongst thousands of other packages. How do you assure your customers that their shopping experience is secure? All popular Payment Gateways are secure and you should be able to place a 'Security Assured' logo (or similar) on your Website. It's also a good idea (and sometimes required by law) to include a Privacy statement on your Website which assures your customers even further. Summary As you can see, there's a lot to think about, but don't let it put you off as you should only have to do the above once and if you choose Subliminal to be your E-Commerce providers, we will go through every step with you. If you need any further advice or more information about our Bespoke E-Commerce Solution, please feel free to contact us for an informal chat. |
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