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Online selling is by no means
a simple task. To sell products online not only requires
making use of high end marketing strategies but also
involves lots of planning. This article is meant for those
of you who intent to start an online store. It is intended
to give you a fair idea of what you would need to do and
what you need to avoid while planning an online selling
business.
The following are the
various steps that you would need to take in order to open
a successful online store.
1.) Designing a website
that sells
The first most important
aspect of online selling is to have a professional looking
website that is designed to sell. You can go about
creating the website from code up using web designers or
simply go for readymade website templates. If you are
purchasing website templates, be sure to go for templates
that are professionally designed and have the option of
shopping carts. Buying templates from providers who offer
allied services like template customization, web hosting;
SEO etc would be even better. Some template providers like
‘buytemplates.net’ offer allied services irrespective
of where you actually purchased the template from. To get
a rough idea of how your site should be designed you can
take hints from successful online stores like http://www.ishopage.com
, ‘gap.com’ and ‘bestbuy.com’.
2.) Hosting your store
online
There are many factors that
you need to take into consideration before selecting your
web host when it comes to online selling. Some of the
major factors are discussed as follows.
a.) Secure servers
Firstly you got to make
sure if your web host offers you with SSL encryption which
is very important for secure money transactions online.
Most web hosting companies would offer you with SSL secure
server facilities along with a regular package whereas a
few would charge you an extra amount for the service.
b.) Up time guarantees
Your business is only as
good as it remains online. Make sure to go for web hosting
service providers who promise you an uptime guarantee of
99 %. Also check to see as to how they back up their data
and what kind of back up systems they have in place in
case of emergencies.
c.) Private CGI-BIN
A CGI-BIN directory is a
location on your web server where you can upload your
binary scripts or interactive programs. This is very
important for payment processing and shopping cart
management. So be sure that the hosing company gives you a
private CGI BIN directory.
d.) Web logs and web
statistics
Web logs and statistics are
vital for your online business. Studying the web logs can
give you much needed information about your customers and
your sales records. Understanding your customer behavior
can help you retain customers and attract new customers.
e.) Customer support
Get as much information
about the hosting company’s support policies and the
type of support they offer. Go for web hosting companies
that offer 24/7 customer support.
f.) References
Most web hosts promise you
lots of goodies but may not live up to it. Make sure to
test the web host’s credibility by asking them for
references. The existing customers of the hosting company
can give your first hand information on the service that
you can expect to get. In addition to this you should also
look for services that offer you Mysql database and PHP
scripting, unlimited emails and a minimum space of 10GB.
3.) Deciding on shopping
carts
If you are selling more
than a handful of products then having a shopping cart on
your site is a good idea. You have three major options of
getting yourself an online shopping cart. First one is
buying a shopping cart software program, the second is
using services of an ASP and the third is programming it
yourself.
Your best option as a
beginner would be to go for ASP services. These services
are cheap and come with flexible options. As time passes
and you online business develops, you can hire programmers
to design yourself a customized shopping cart or buy
shopping cart software programs that can be set up in your
server. Some good ASP’s that offer shopping cart
services are ‘SecureNetShop’ (SecureNetShop.com) and
‘GoEmerchant’ (GoEmerchant.com).
Shopping cart software
programs are a costly option for beginners and can cost
you anything between $ 150 - $ 800. Some good shopping
cart software programs are ‘shopfactory 6’
(shopfactory.com) and ‘storefront’ (strorefront.net)
One more option as already discussed above is making use
of ecommerce website templates. These ecommerce templates
have pre installed shopping cart systems and can help you
set up a store in minutes. Some of these template
providers also offer template customization services that
would allow you to get your ordinary templates in selling
modules.
4.) Deciding on how to
accept payments
No matter what the
speculation, credit cards are still the best way to accept
payments. So make sure that your online business has
facilities to accept credit cards. There was a time when
you had to have a merchant account from a bank or
financial institution to process credit card payments. But
today there are enough options available that allow you to
accept credit card payments even without a merchant
account.
Paypal (paypal.com) is
perhaps the best payment gateway and has no initial
joining fees. Their service fees, per-transaction is very
low and they allow you to accept payments from all over
the world. In addition to Paypal some other good payment
gateways are ‘2checkout’ (2checkout.com), ‘clickbank’
(clickbank.com) and ‘paysystems’ (paysystems.com).
Payment options other than
credit cards
It is by no means necessary
that all your customers will have credit cards. As a
matter of fact many of your customers don’t have credit
cards, many don’t like to use credit cards, many have
credit card phobias and the remaining may not wish to
share their credit card information online. Under such a
situation it would be best for you to provide alternate
payment options.
Internet checks
Internet checks are as
popular as credit cards when it comes to paying online.
Internet checks are comparatively safer and are best if
your customers are from international destinations. This
technique would involve your customer’s to make payments
by an online blank check provided by an internet check
service provider. This information is sent to the service
provider for authorization. The merchant can also print
the check on his printer immediately afterwards. Some good
service providers who can offer you internet check
services are paybycheck (paybycheck.com) and cross-check
(cross-check.com).
In addition to internet
checks there are some other options of accepting online
payments like money orders and electronic checks. But
these methods are suitable only if your customers are from
nearby locations.
The best way to decide your
payment options is analyzing your customer behaviors. You
can also have online check boxes or feedback forms on your
website to collect information about your customer’s
payment preferences and act accordingly.
5.) Promoting your online
store
No promotion equals to no
sales. You can promote your store using online marketing
strategies like search engine optimization, email
marketing, banner advertisements and affiliate marketing
among others. While promoting your business you got to
make sure to stay clear of any kind of illegal methods
like spamming, cloaking etc. Your promotion activities
should create a positive awareness about your online store
that leads to trust building.
6.) Assuring your Customers
The customer is the king
and just as in any other type of business here again you
need to give your customer what he wants. To do this you
got to be sure of your customer’s preferences. Basically
you need to address the following doubts that your
customers are likely to have in their mind while buying
online
a.)
Is my credit information safe?
b.)
How will the products be delivered to me and how long will
it take?
c.)
Are their any additional costs associated with the item?
d.)
What kind of guarantees come with the product?
e.)
Are there any discounts if I purchase multiple goods?
f.)
What kind of customer service does the online shop have?
g.)
What happens in case the goods are damaged or of low
quality?
These questions in
particular and many more questions in general can arise in
the minds of your customers depending on the type of your
products and your online store reputation. You can address
these issues by providing valuable information in your FAQ
section. Providing an online live chat on your website
would be a great way to deal with your customer queries.
There are many services that offer free online chat
software programs; for instance ‘boldchat’
(boldchat.com).
Even after all this is over
there is no word like ‘remaining stagnant’ in online
marketing. You got to keep on moving and adapting yourself
to newer technologies and better marketing techniques to
stay ahead and abreast of all those pesky competitors.
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