Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - Setting Up E-commerce on Your Website
Currently companies are investing significant amounts of investment in distributed, mobile and remote workers the aim of reducing operating costs. This article details 7 proven ways to realise significant returns on these investment.1. Introduce benchmarks to assess/measure performanceIt is key before undertaking any business organisational change is to understand exactly what the objective of the exercise is and to set targets so that progress towards the objectives can be understood and measured. You should establish 'savings targets' a soon as possible, both for improvements in team efficiency, reduction of staff costs and cost of accommodatio
Sometimes a client may only have a handful of products, in which case, a shopping cart (either pre-developed or custom) is not necessarily the best solution.
What type of special features would you like your shopping cart to have (example: coupons, affiliate program, downloadable goods, etc.)?
This is quite possibly the mo
Years ago when someone was doing a business presentation for a network marketing business they would meet in a persons kitchen, or if the group was big enough in living room.You would get out a pad of paper or a white board, and show people the plan.There would be monthly meetings held at a local motel meeting room, and yearly presentations held at large conference centers.Where upline superstars, would get up in front of everyone and tell everyone their success stories.Three way phone calls are still the norm, as is weekly toll-free conference calls.Instead of drawing the business plan out on paper today network marketers are usin
However, creating an e-commerce website does not automatically mean website sales. In a future article I will focus more on the aspects of actually operating an e-commerce website, but for now, I will cover the basics that will answer most questions for businesses who are considering the move to selling online.
First Steps
Let's assume that your business already has a professionally designed website. We usually ask new clients with existing websites who would like to start selling on the internet a series of questions to help determine the best solution for selling online:
Who is your target audience?
It is important to know who your customers are when taking into consideration the design of your e-commerce website.
What type of web hosting do you currently have?
The type of hosting can determine what type of programming is used on your website. Also, if you do not have sufficient resources to have an e-commerce website, then it is important to know this in advance so that we may suggest a suitable host for a client's needs.
How many products are you going to be selling?
Sometimes a client may only have a handful of products, in which case, a shopping cart (either pre-developed or custom) is not necessarily the best solution.
What type of special features would you like your shopping cart to have (example: coupons, affiliate program, downloadable goods, etc.)?
This is quite possibly the mos
How many times a day do you read "to be really successful at internet marketing you need quality content"? Some days you want to slap the people that say this, some days you're inspired to higher imaginations of excellence and a desire to improve, and other days, well, you take care of the problem. Yes, you guessed it, I found a way to put great content on my site. Is it free? What, do you think it should be? No it's not free, but before you say you're not interested in paying for articles, decide what it's going to be worth to you. Then decide how much you're willing to pay for them.Personally I use need-an-article.com. I joined them when they first started a
However, creating an e-commerce website does not automatically mean website sales. In a future article I will focus more on the aspects of actually operating an e-commerce website, but for now, I will cover the basics that will answer most questions for businesses who are considering the move to selling online.
First Steps
Let's assume that your business already has a professionally designed website. We usually ask new clients with existing websites who would like to start selling on the internet a series of questions to help determine the best solution for selling online:
Who is your target audience?
It is important to know who your customers are when taking into consideration the design of your e-commerce website.
What type of web hosting do you currently have?
The type of hosting can determine what type of programming is used on your website. Also, if you do not have sufficient resources to have an e-commerce website, then it is important to know this in advance so that we may suggest a suitable host for a client's needs.
How many products are you going to be selling?
Sometimes a client may only have a handful of products, in which case, a shopping cart (either pre-developed or custom) is not necessarily the best solution.
What type of special features would you like your shopping cart to have (example: coupons, affiliate program, downloadable goods, etc.)?
This is quite possibly the mo
It’s a well known fact that all executives love to golf. It’s no wonder, then, that some of the most popular executive gifts are golf related. If your clients and CEOs of companies you do business probably own a complete set of club cozies, it’s time to consider promotional printed umbrellas.Those that play golf regularly have definitely been caught in their fair share of afternoon rain showers. Being prepared for these surprise storms can make a huge difference in ones game. Take a few minutes to put some thought into the promotional golf umbrella you choose and they’ll reach for yours each and every time the rain drops start falling.Size Matters
Who is your target audience?
It is important to know who your customers are when taking into consideration the design of your e-commerce website.
What type of web hosting do you currently have?
The type of hosting can determine what type of programming is used on your website. Also, if you do not have sufficient resources to have an e-commerce website, then it is important to know this in advance so that we may suggest a suitable host for a client's needs.
How many products are you going to be selling?
Sometimes a client may only have a handful of products, in which case, a shopping cart (either pre-developed or custom) is not necessarily the best solution.
What type of special features would you like your shopping cart to have (example: coupons, affiliate program, downloadable goods, etc.)?
This is quite possibly the mo
Borrowing words from Potter Stewart and applying them to junk mail, it’s often hard to define, but I know it when I see it. So do you.Junk mail is worthless, often gimmicky, riddled with hype, pushy in its call to action, and most often laced with bold type, highlights, and font changes. It is hard to define, but we see it before we even open it, sometimes :-)But don’t confuse direct mail with junk mail. While all junk mail is direct mail, not all direct mail is junk mail.I do a fair amount of direct mail, both in support of my client’s business and mine. And I’ve successfully used direct mail to generate leads and sales for B-B businesses sell
What type of web hosting do you currently have?
The type of hosting can determine what type of programming is used on your website. Also, if you do not have sufficient resources to have an e-commerce website, then it is important to know this in advance so that we may suggest a suitable host for a client's needs.
How many products are you going to be selling?
Sometimes a client may only have a handful of products, in which case, a shopping cart (either pre-developed or custom) is not necessarily the best solution.
What type of special features would you like your shopping cart to have (example: coupons, affiliate program, downloadable goods, etc.)?
This is quite possibly the mo
Your web site is your online face to the world. It needs to be an effective internet marketing and PR tool that gets return on your investment and produces qualified leads that turn into customers. Statistics show that over 80% of websites are frustrating to use and that over 90% of corporate websites have technology on them that prevents them from being seen by search engines. Since the purpose of most websites is to communicate with your target audiences, produce business leads and/or sell them something - an idea, a product or a service - these are scary statistics!Bill Gates said that soon there will be only two kinds of businesses - those with an effecti
Sometimes a client may only have a handful of products, in which case, a shopping cart (either pre-developed or custom) is not necessarily the best solution.
What type of special features would you like your shopping cart to have (example: coupons, affiliate program, downloadable goods, etc.)?
This is quite possibly the most important question because the answers to our special e-commerce website pre-development survey are usually the basis for understanding the specifics of a client's needs and for determining the price and time necessary to complete the project.
Explaining E-commerce
The next step in the process usually involves explaining to the client exactly how e-commerce works on the web. Below is a brief explanation of the technology behind the process and what is necessary to sell items on the internet.
The Process
Once a customer visits an e-commerce websites, adds product to their cart, and then clicks to check out, it official begins the transaction of the sale. Programming in the shopping cart enables the credit card information to be sent to what is called a payment gateway. The payment gateway's sole purpose is to offer a secure way to pass this information through the merchant account and on to the credit card processing bank. The processing bank sends the information to the customer's credit card issuer and the transaction is either approved or declined. From there, the results of the transaction are relayed back to the payment gateway where they are stored and sent to both the customer and merchant for verification. At this stage, the shopping cart usually issues a receipt to the customer and a notification of the order to the business.
A Merchant Account
The first thing a business needs in order to accept credit cards online is a merchant account. T
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/86880/casualarticles-Setting-Up-Ecommerce-on-Your-Website.html">Setting Up E-commerce on Your Website</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/86880/casualarticles-Setting-Up-Ecommerce-on-Your-Website.html]Setting Up E-commerce on Your Website[/url]
Related Articles:
How To Write Ads and Banners that Make People Click!
Photo Sharing Website Part II: Tips for Creating & Optimizing Your Flickr Account
Your E-Mail - Why Should I Open It?
Bookmark it:
|