Is Your Ecommerce Web Site Design Individualistic?

I think the single most important thing that merchants should look into when coming up with a top rate ecommerce web site design is to put themselves in their customers' shoes. I know there may be a hidden artist/individualist in every single one of us, but the businessman facet should balance that streak of individualism.

For example, you may want to come up with unique design that you hope your customers will appreciate. Complexity in ecommerce web site design requires that you use Flash and other programs that may cause lag time. Can your customers afford to wait for a website to load in exchange of a good design that you hope they will appreciate?

Ecommerce web site design isn't also just about the graphical aspect of an online store. Whatever content you put in it matters. Veer away from what your customers think as relevant to what they need, then your traffic will go down. That includes, among other things, written content.

Building an Ecommerce Site to Sell Barbie Dolls for Christmas

The charm of Barbie dolls never fades. Even at this era, when young girls go to play videogames or roleplay adult acts that they see on TV, Barbie dolls are still in high demand online. Collectible Barbie dolls are great for auction ecommerce sites such as eBay because people can buy, sell, or trade their collectibles for a good profit.

The only fault I find at banking on collectible Barbie dolls online is that sometimes they are only bought or sold in certain territories such as Asia or Europe. Real collectors would go all the way to asking for help from a friend who lives in another continent to be able to buy the dolls. Any chance however, you might spot a good item on an ecommerce site so you should keep looking.

Vintage Barbie dolls are my favorites. Though I don't sell them, I've done a good deal of collection when I was a kid. I didn't put up my own store to auction it though, because I can easily do it on eBay and Amazon. I've seen a lot of good ecommerce sites specializing on trading Barbie dolls also. It doesn't take a genius to build one, but it takes insight to realize that these holiday season, you might just make good money off selling these girly toys online!

How to Deal with Lazy Shoppers

Okay, I know this is little too fussy on my part, but blame the forum people for coming up with this idea. Nothing wrong with taking time to look at your ecommerce shopping cart. In fact, I still believe in the adage "Simplicity in structure is a true masterpiece and is really deceptive because one doesn't see the hard work behind it." If you can exert more effort to make things simple for your store shoppers, then you score plus points from them.

Much has been said about making the ecommerce shopping cart efficient and so many techniques have been devised to make this happen.

The process of filling up credit card details is a good example. Imagine yourself typing in all the numbers and realizing the fields are separated every 3 digits. Or, if you are required to format the date. Or, if you typed in the wrong details and went all the way till the last page before you got a "Ooops, error in xxx field. Please fill up entire form again!" message. These little things may cause annoyance and even ecommerce shopping cart abandonment. Do you have an excuse?

Can Your Ecommerce Store Offer More?

Recent statistics say that more and more (or most) users online are largely the rich and upscale shopper types. They book flights, buy jewelry, or transact their bills through the Internet. An ecommerce store may likely be populated with the rather deep pocketed buyers. I'd say this is practically obvious, since you cannot buy unless you have funds to pay for your goods.

My case is different, however. When I'm out to buy jewelry in the malls, I get frustrated by the fact that jewelry stores close shop rather too early at night. Of course, they do it for security reasons. An ecommerce store selling gems and silver earrings is open 24 hours a day. If you wish to order from the catalog, you have the option to pick it up their landbased store or have it delivered to you.

This is a good example of the shift of purchase from brick and mortar to an ecommerce store. Whether buyers are rich or poor, online purchase offers far more options and availability for everyone. The same goes for travel booking and transacting bills online. Instead of going to the landbased bank, bills can be automatically paid online and funds can be transferred easily.

Eventually discount stores such as Wal-Mart will have to offer more high end versions of products to the richer shoppers while still selling low-priced but quality items to the more frugal.

ECOMMERCE SOLUTION 16 - Can You Really Make Money Having Fun Online?

When you work for money, do you work for fun? Okay, let me put it this way. If your goal is to make money, do you have fun in the process of achieving it? Is it part of your ecommerce strategy to mix business with pleasure?

In the online business industry, there are two types of people. Those who work too hard and forget to play, and those who play too much and forget to work. Which one are you between these two? They say too much of everything isn't always healthy and can get you to the psychiatric ward in no time. And dig this, have you heard of an Internet user in China who actually died after three days of using the Internet nonstop?

If your ecommerce strategy is to earn money online, then get to work and focus on work. If you work to earn money online though, don't take it all dead serious! A lot of merchants get distracted by the entertainment they get in the Internet. But there's a fine line that separates fun and making money. Balance and discipline are the key.

If you're not sure how you're meeting your goals in terms of having fun while going after it, check your hours. Do you spend more time surfing online for games, jokes, and gossip more than working? Do you spend more time getting all geeky than taking a break for outdoors? Create a balance and stick to your schedule. An ecommerce strategy like this is the basis of success, and, well, keeps you sane.

ECOMMERCE SOLUTION 12 - Keep Notes and Stay Alive

Enough said about knowledge being power. The Internet is actually a neural network of gazillions of information, information makers, and information takers that without delving into this aspect of doing honest to goodness research, you will be left in the station when the train starts to chug away. An excellent ecommerce solution is to create space and time where (and when) you can dedicate a part of your online efforts to stocking up on knowledge.

Information doesn't come naturally to most merchants. In fact, some merchants say they're too busy to read or learn anything else outside their business. If you're working as your own boss, spend a day just reading and taking notes, talking to people, listening to seminars, and generally ingesting information relevant to your business. If you have a staff, assign this task to one of them. This ecommerce solution will work miracles on your business.

When I was younger (and until now), I learned the art of keeping notes just enough to remind me of things I encountered, things I might want to do someday, and things that may be useful to my life in the present or in the future. I didn't know this was one hell of a life-changing survival technique. As a consultant for merchants seeking an ecommerce solution, I let them know how learning and note-taking can raise their potential success faster than most merchants in the industry.

How to Build Your Ecommerce Name - Step 4 Should You Spam?

Spamming brings to my mind an ex-business colleague that I met last year. He began his business entirely by spamming. Asked whether he felt guilty of it, he said no. He used major auction and free advertising sites to solicit clients. His ecommerce strategy is to let people know what products and services he is selling while exerting only the minimum effort.

Could this be the perfect model for succeeding in ecommerce? I doubt it. This ecommerce strategy does look efficient -- it saves time and money and does work. People do check their spam folders and sometimes get attracted to deals that merchants offer. But in the long run, if you have built a name for your business online, spamming may become a stigma to your online business.

Imagine getting unwanted e-mails from companies you never heard of. Sure, you may find their product offers great and their services timely. But if you go check out their websites, what do you see? Do you even find a decent "About Us" description or an office address? Do you know the person behind the spam e-mail? My ex-business colleague, despite getting clients, eventually saw the effects of his "smart" ecommerce strategy. Word spread that he was spamming, not fulfilling the agreed services, and hiring semi-skilled employees. Before he got out of the trouble he made, everyone already had the impression that his business was a scam. Don't let it happen to you!


Other articles:

How to Build Your Ecommerce Name - Step 1 Domain Name
How to Build Your Ecommerce Name - Step 2 Web Hosting

ECOMMERCE STRATEGY 12 - Show Off Your Secure Ecommerce Logos

People don't normally look for credibility seals when they shop online. I don't. I must admit I get lazy when I have to check whether a company has a Hackersafe, Verisign, Better Business Bureau or TRUSTe logos. I am aware though, like other shoppers, that these logos do help increase credibility and shows that your company uphold secure ecommerce transactions.

But since people don't care too much about secure ecommerce until they get their credit cards hacked, what can the merchant do? Inform everyone. No, drill your customers about how safe buying your products and services are. Providing articles and newsletters that remind them your company is registered with trade associations such as BBB or Hackersafe can actually make them realize they can trust you, and therefore can buy without worrying about online fraud.

Displaying the credibility logos are not enough to show how safe your ecommerce store. Merchants should make it a point to make customers realize it. Create press releases, write blogs, and occasionally inform about security tests made on your site. No online store is safe from credit hackers and identity thieves. Even the most secure ecommerce retailers can be victims, so keep a close watch, and keep your buyers informed!


SEE ALSO!

ECOMMERCE STRATEGY 10 - “About Us” Gains More Trust!

ECOMMERCE STRATEGY 11 - Selling Online is Like Hiring

WEB OPPORTUNITY 3 - Can you Provide Information?

The part that I like best about ecommerce is that it levels the ground between the haves and the have-nots. People who don't have much capital but have expertise in a certain subject can easily create informational materials such as e-books that they can sell online. They can set up their own ecommerce store that focuses solely on these digital files or they may also advertise their product on various public auction sites or merchant malls such as eBay.

I must agree with Scott Lindsay that this is a low-key way of making money online, knowing how little capital is being invested (financially). However many online merchants have made considerable profit off selling e-books, webinars, and other downloadable digital files. In fact, most people who don't have much time to go to brick and mortar bookstores need only browse an ecommerce store such as Amazon to shop for books and have them shipped.

Despite the boom of e-book selling, merchants should also be aware that download security is an issue among e-book sellers. Unless they put up or advertise in a secure ecommerce store where they can send the file to the buyer without being defrauded, hackers are likely to steal the files. One of the best ways to protect merchants from download fraud or identity theft is to send only the link to the file via email as soon as the buyer has paid for the product.

ECOMMERCE WEB SITE SUCCESS TIP 4 - Web Metrics are the Necessary Evil

Google has created net addicts in all of us. Having to comply to SEO standards that result in your ecommerce site being part of top 10 in the first page of Google's search results has become an obsession for many merchants and online analysts. Some think Google is unfair, but others think the giant search engine is only doing its best to see all websites equally.

But these metrics we employ in order to track the online success of our ecommerce site are crucial. Think: without Google Analytics or other software that show details on visitor number, page clicks, or other essential technicalities, no one will figure out whether the business is taking off and whether it has a potential to do so.

The little things are the big things in the web. Your ecommerce site isn't built to merely sell products. The more you know about how it is running, the better you can create solutions to improve it. Eventually, the more likely your sales will increase.

ECOMMERCE WEB SITE SUCCESS TIP 1 - Three Rules of Thumb
ECOMMERCE WEB SITE SUCCESS TIP 2 - Build networks, Build Backlinks
ECOMMERCE WEB SITE SUCCESS TIP 3 - Use Your Backend Design to Your Advantage