Last year I bought around
50% of my Christmas presents online, saving me precious time, money and the inevitable frustration that accompanies battling high street or supermarket shoppers for
trolleys and products.by Sali Earls
Last year I bought around
50% of my Christmas presents online, saving me precious time, money and the inevitable frustration that accompanies battling high street or supermarket shoppers for
trolleys and products.
This year, I intend to buy everything online, from gifts to food and drink to Christmas crackers.
In a surprisingly short space of time, the internet has gone from being a new and dubious technology to something that is accepted as part of everyday life. There are still problems and doubts concerning the security of online life, as the daily news stories show, but in recent years the internet has become the fastest growing sales channel in many business sectors.
A survey of small and medium sized online retailers in January 2005 revealed that ecommerce growth for Christmas 2004 had grown. The companies surveyed reported an average 60% increase in web sales during November and December 2004, compared with the same period in 2003. In 2003 the corresponding year-on-year increase in orders was 30%. Companies surveyed ranged from 2004 startups taking a handful of orders, to mature ecommerce sites processing several thousand. The average number of orders over the period was 1520.
The question of "Can we afford to start selling online?" has changed to "Can we afford not to start selling online?"
In light of this, leading ecommerce solution provider Actinic, have released a book of "Top Tips" offering guidance to would be eretailers. Advice ranges from the basic steps of setting up and ecommerce business, to straightforward and common sense assistance on subjects including marketing, security and legal issues.
"If you are selling goods that customers do not need to touch, taste or smell before buying, at a fixed price, then the web is the place to be - especially if your products are hard for customers to find by conventional means."
The chapter goes on to cover subjects including the tricky issue of accepting online credit card payments, in a comprehensive manner, providing examples of Payment Service Providers from WorldPay to PayPal.
As well as obvious tips including getting a web address that makes sense, Actinic suggest conducting marketing activities via forums and newsgroups where prospective customers may be discussing products like yours.
"Provided that you participate responsibly and provide genuinely helpful advice, you can get the change to talk about your company, products and offerings. In fact, done skilfully, people will end up asking you for information on your products and services, and that is really powerful."
While creativity is critical to marketing, the measurement of results is vital to the success of an ecommerce website. Actinic go on to suggest that eretailers should find out where all leads and customers come from to find out what is working.
A startling statistic quoted in this chapter is that 80% of users do not look beyond the first page of search engine results; Actinic respond to this fact with some hard and fast tips that can help eretailers achieve greater success with search engines.
I really liked this chapter - here you're getting to the important part of running a successful ecommerce site, but you are still offered common sense advice to act as something of a wake up call.
A tip like "Keep your site up to date" should be a no brainer, but it's surprising and frustrating to order products from websites in good faith only to be told later that the products are out of stock. If you have goods out of stock, make a note on your site to let customers know how long they will have to wait.
Online security is a big issue, with fraud and identity theft at an all time high. This issue is handled with sensitivity and common sense, and Actinic suggest that customers must have confidence that the retailer is "real" - so many sites offer no contact details beyond an anonymous email address.
Professional schemes such as IMRG's "Internet Shopping is Safe" carry weight with consumers and could mean that customers would shop from you rather than sites without such a chartermark.
Actinic point out key ecommerce facts without patronising the reader - something like "...under the EU Distance Selling Directive, you must accept goods for return within 7 working days." This is something that eretailers must be aware of, but perhaps many do not know. Actinic soften the blow, and offer a top marketing tip by suggesting "Why not make this a selling point?" By offering a no quibble guarantee to customers that they can return goods can boost your image as a customer service focused company.
Stores like Amazon make their shipping terms a key part of their marketing message - looking at the site today and I'm offered "FREE UK delivery now on orders over £15". This offer is emblazoned on the home page, but is offered under certain conditions.
As Actinic say, eretailers must "Manage customer expectations". If you can ship within 24 hours, say so - if it takes longer, say so. If your customer expects their order the day after delivery and doesn't receive it, they may not come back to your store.
Another top tip Actinic offer in this section would solve a personal gripe of mine. There is nothing more frustrating that ordering something, being out when it arrives and then having to locate the Post Office depot, or courier office the following day to pick it up. "Will your customer be in when it arrives?" ask Actinic, then provide some suggestions about offering alternative drop off points, or delivery within precise time periods.
Actinic offer advice such as immediate order acknowledgements, so that customers know that orders are being processed. This "personal touch" can even be sent individually or as an automated response to received orders.
Customers must be kept informed of the progress of their order - should things change, Actinic suggest that the customer expectations are managed, and if things do go wrong, they should be corrected at the highest level.
"Customers appreciate it when a manager calls, rather than the most junior person - it makes them feel important to the company. Also the manager has more power to offer compensation or to rectify the problem. An apology works wonders, especially if it is accompanied by a token to acknowledge the problem, such as a discount voucher against future orders."
Actinic finish this section by suggesting that customer complaints are an opportunity rather than a problem, enabling organisations to hone and better their customer service offering, and pat themselves on the back when things do go well.
The point that I liked, and I think all organisations should consider is "If you can't get big, get niche". The internet is a big place, and not every company will be the next Amazon. By offering products that are hard to find elsewhere, eretailers can become extremely successful.
Actinic was founded in 1996, and are the leaders in ecommerce software solutions for SMEs. When I first found out that this book had been published, I admit that I was sceptical, thinking that it could be a cynical bit of self promotion.
While Actinic are promoting themselves with this publication, they are positioning themselves as experts in the field of ecommerce. Their software solutions are not mentioned throughout the text, and the tips and advice offered are first rate.
The book is written in a style that is simple and easy to understand, and there is no jargon of any kind.
If you are considering an ecommerce venture, whether you will be using Actinic software or not, this book is an invaluable source of support, and at only £5.99 it's something that every business should read and take on board.
"Selling Successfully Online: Over 120 Top Tips" costs £5.99, and is available from Actinic Software at www.actinic.co.uk/shop/acatalog/Top_Tips.html, or call 0845 129 4800.
Chris Barling, CEO of Actinic, and co-author of this book, will be speaking at "Open All Hours - Trading in the Information Age", on 23 November during ict forum wales 2005. Book your place now.