The Internet revolution has caught commerce and trade by storm. Although the initial prediction of an instant e-commerce boom in the beginning of this century did not materialize, it is a well-known truth that e-commerce has slowly and steadily picked up pace and now is one of the prominent media of commerce and trade. If one wants to get on the bandwagon and make it big through e-commerce, here are a few important pointers.
1. Plan the product and e-commerce site. This is the first step in starting an e-commerce business. One needs to decide the product categories that will be offered through the e-commerce website, research the competition in the field, and determine what will be special or unique about this new site, what will make the customers visit it instead of the already existing competitors.
2. Decide on a unique name. Ensure that the names of your company and your e-commerce site are unique; something that can stay in customers’ minds and stand for the objectives, mission, and vision of your company; something that is special and helps the site stand out among the lot. eBay, Yahoo, and Bing are examples of special names.
3. Design the e-commerce website in a beautiful and informative way by ensuring easy navigation, easy search ability and floatability, and quick help. One needs to make sure the e-commerce package blends well with site design and information. Excessive information must be avoided by keeping it concise and clear.
4. Obtain a good e-commerce package. By obtaining a good e-commerce package, one has accomplished half the task. A well-designed, easy-to-use, no-hassle, and fraud- or fault-free e-commerce interface is every customer’s dream. The easier it is to purchase, the higher the number of sales. An e-commerce interface generally consists of shopping cart system and a payment gateway, which is generally offered by the bank.
The shopping cart system contains the inventory of all the products that the e-commerce website offers. It also comes with a search facility in order to locate the required items and add to the shopping cart.
5. Choose a secure payment gateway integration. An efficient and secure integration of the payment gateway is the most important aspect of an e-commerce website design. A secure integration helps in avoiding credit card frauds or any other type of identity theft. Having at least two payment gateways is recommended to avoid delay in payment processing.
6. Use a CRM database. A CRM database helps in providing quick support. Having an efficient CRM database helps in data updating, data mining, and data analysis for strategizing marketing policies and increasing sales.
7. Choose the right login system. Instead of using a proprietary login system, making use of open ID system not only reduces the login ID maintenance but also allows the prospective customer to use an existing ID, like an existing e-mail ID. This is easier for the customer to remember as well.
Continuous improvement and customer support is the last and most important step for the success of an e-commerce website. The company needs to continuously learn and optimize the customer interface and customer service, which can make the customer come back again and again.
Source by J M Dawson