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E-COMMERCE IS MORE THAN A SHOPPING CART

How to sell online
You have had a website for a while and now it looks like time to make the step to selling online. Before you leap in, you need to understand how e-commerce works so that you can make sure you get the best from your e-commerce website. Too many businesses merely add a shopping cart to their existing website, or worse still a link to a third-party e-shop, and get very poor results. To successfully sell over the Internet you need to effectively integrate all elements of e-commerce.

This article outlines how e-commerce works, what your e-commerce website must do and how to integrate it into your business to successfully sell online.

Catalogue and product information
The heart and soul of an e-commerce website is the provision of information on the products or services you offer. Customers need to find products and they need to be convinced to purchase these products. All other functions are secondary to this.

To enable customers to easily find what they want to buy, your catalogue must be organised in a way that fits your products, and the way your customers think about them. Customers need to be able to search for specific items, and browse by category, size, region, style, or whatever makes sense for your products. How is your actual store laid out? What products do you put next to each other? Many of the principles behind the decisions you’ve been making for years still apply but a well-designed e-commerce website should offer customers even more flexibility.

The biggest problem for most e-commerce websites is they provide too little information. For most products the absolute minimum is an image and several paragraphs of text. Unable to pick up the product and look at it, customers will want detailed information such as size and materials. A clear description of the selling points and performance are also needed. Your yardstick should be that all the points you would make when selling a product in a physical shop need to be made in your online store. In addition, many Internet users want even more detailed information, so links to further information such as manufacturer websites should be given where possible.

A critical but often overlooked area is information on product delivery methods and shipping times. Internet customers want to be confident that the product will arrive promptly. A returns policy is also essential, as mail-order providers have long known. The essential element here is building trust.

The final component of the product information section is that it must be kept accurate and up to date. Too many e-commerce websites fail to keep their product information up to date. Any e-commerce system worth its salt will make it easy for you to update information or add products.

Shopping cart and order form
A shopping cart enables your customers to make multiple purchases by browsing the catalogue and adding products. For a very small product range, however, this is not necessary and a single order form may be enough to offer the customer the choice of product, size or other specification. The key is that your order form needs to be well linked to the product information pages.

A well set up e-commerce website allows customers to make purchases or add to the shopping cart from all pages which give product information. There should be no need to click to a new page once the customer has found what he or she is looking for. The shopping cart must have a layout and appearance consistent with the rest of the website - one of the main reasons for poor transaction completion rates is sending customers to different-looking pages. You take a lot of care with your brand and your website image for very good reasons and inconsistency here risks sales.

The shopping cart or order form needs to allow details such as size, weight, colour and quantity to be selected as appropriate. Good e-commerce systems allow the price to include discounts and members’ rates. Accurate calculation of shipping charges and tax is essential - customers will not complete a purchase if they do not know exactly what these will amount to.

Credit card processing
To complete the transaction you need to get credit card details, verify they are valid, and credit the amount to your account.

Credit card details are usually collected through the shopping cart or order form. The information should be protected using SSL encryption. In order to cater for more cautious customers, however, it is wise to also offer a fax-back form so that credit card details can be sent by fax.

To accept credit cards you will need to open a credit card merchant account with your bank and to use an online credit card validation service. Together these services check the credit card number is legitimate (not on a list of stolen/suspended cards, etc) and transfer the money into your bank account. Typically there are both set-up and per-transaction charges associated (which will vary depending on your transaction volume and relationship with the bank).

Alternatively, for low sales volumes the best option can be to use a third-party complete solution. Providers like Paypal or, in Australia, FasFind will accept the credit card details through a secure connection and deposit funds into an online account from which you can transfer to your main bank account. Typically the per-transaction charges are slightly higher than the lowest bank rate but the set-up can be much cheaper.

Order fulfilment
Rather than a resounding silence, on completion of the transaction a good e-commerce system immediately posts a confirmation of the order by email and on the website. The confirmation should also serve as a receipt or invoice. In Australia, the confirmation should qualify as a valid tax invoice.

The fulfilment of an order now proceeds and must be quick and efficient. The e-commerce system provides the order details and shipping address. A well set up e-commerce system can give very low overheads, but only if it is carefully integrated with your distribution system.

Integrate with your sales and marketing
Finally, remember that your website and e-commerce are just one part of your overall sales and marketing efforts. Your marketing plan should drive your website and e-commerce, not the other way around. Ensure that your brand images and key messages are used consistently on your website. Remember to promote your e-commerce website as part of your marketing - if the website is not promoted and supported you are unlikely to make many online sales.

Conclusion
In summary, setting up an effective e-commerce system is not complex, but it does involve several steps. Thinking through how the process works from the customer point of view will enable you to plan an e-commerce website that allows you to effectively sell over the Internet.

About the Author
Michelle Davis is Director of Websites at Work - a website design business that specialises in owner updatable websites which are tailored to the real needs of small and medium businesses. Call Michelle for a free initial consultation on 02 6161 9376 or email info@websitesatwork.com.au or visit www.websitesatwork.com.au.

© COPYRIGHT
All articles are copyright. These articles may be used for publication in magazines and newsletters with prior permission from the author and Samperi Consulting Group Pty Ltd. Please contact Samperi Consulting Group Pty Ltd for further information at karina@samperi.com.au.

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