Focus on E-Commerce

This is the first in a series of five articles which focus specifically on the topic of e-commerce. If you’re thinking about setting up an online shop, or are already marketing your business online, we hope it proves a useful overview of the subject.

E-Commerce – Before you begin…

A successful e-commerce website is the result of a long, hard think about your product and sales strategy. Technology is simply what enables us to get products in front of customers. It’s not the answer in itself.

That’s why we talk sales and marketing first and technology second.

Do you have the right product to sell online?
Can you offer it at the right price?
Are you clear about the benefits you bring to your customers?
What are your competitors doing?

Simply being online isn’t enough. You’ve got to give your customers a strong enough ‘why’ if they’re going to buy.

The good news is, if people find you through a search engine it means they’re already interested in what you offer. What you’ve got to do is make your offer so appealing they decide to buy from you, now.

Will you compete on price?
It’s a distinct possibility, given the fact you don’t need an expensive shop or physical outlet.

Can you make life easier for your customers?
Perhaps convenience can be your major selling point.

When you know why people should buy from you it makes it much easier to design an online shopping experience that meets your customers’ needs. It means you can give the right emphasis to price, convenience, product range, whatever you’ve decided are the reasons for people to shop with you.

Developing your site

Once you’ve decided that e-commerce is right for you, and you’re clear you’ve got a competitive edge for your online business, what next?

It’s time to begin developing your site.
A good e-commerce website is easy to understand, easy to navigate and easy to buy from. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? However, unless you’re offering an entirely unique service, customers won’t work too hard to figure out what you’re selling and why they should buy.

So there’s still more thinking to be done before you begin to physically develop your site.

Setting Up Your Online Shop

It goes without saying that to establish your online shop you’ll need to register a domain name (also called a web address or URL). Use the name of your business, if it’s available, or choose something that compliments the products you sell.

You’ll also need a company to host your website – also known as an Internet Service Provider or ISP. We can arrange cost-effective hosting on a dedicated server so your website is always available.

It’s also worth paying attention to the software used to build your site. Using a well-known development tool like Magento, means you’re working with proven technology that is already working on thousands of online stores including leading brand names such as Nokia, The North Face and Interflora.

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