E-COMMERCE PITFALLS

Most e-ventures fail because they do not understand the critical steps in creating and running an online business. Here are the basics:

 • Planning, designing and creating an online store or e-business
 • Establishing an online payment processing system
 • Establishing shipping and order fulfillment
 • Providing customer service
 • Promoting your online business

Sounds deceptively simple, doesn't it? Most people do not realize the potentially complex issues associated with each and every one of these steps.

Many people tend to believe that e-commerce is the 21st century's "genie in a bottle". Setting up and running a successful e-business however can be a daunting, confusing and costly experience if you don't know what you're doing. Many people try. Many people fail.

Never fear. There are a tremendous amount of resources out there to help guide you through this process. With a little foreknowledge of what to expect and the proper questions to ask, you can avoid the pitfalls that ruin many promising e-commerce ventures.

DEVELOPMENT PITFALLS

Many people believe that e-commerce is a "magic bullet" … That there is little to do except get your e-commerce site developed, online and running. Big mistake.  

      You need a business plan or model.

Is it formal? Written down? What type of products will you offer? What is your strategy? Who are your suppliers? What kind of agreements do you have with them? Have you planned for growth? Tentative timetables? What is your projected revenue? Do you have a budget planned? How are you going handle shipping and handling if you receive a thousand orders in one day …from Australia?

      You need to establish realistic business goals.

You must have goals. It is vital to measure your sales and site traffic against these goals to see if you need to make any changes.

E-commerce is an excellent way to supplement business growth, but you need to be realistic as well. E-commerce is very competitive. Just because a product sells well in a store does not necessarily mean that it will sell online. Evaluate your products suitability for online sales carefully. You also need to assess shipping costs, maintenance and upgrade fees, liability issues, etc. in your goals and projections.

      You need to promote your online business.

Contrary to popular belief, e-commerce sites rarely "take right off". Few people get rich from them overnight. Advertising is still a necessity. There are many online venues for promoting and marketing your business whether it is e-commerce enabled or not. Use them.

      You need to defer to the experts.

Few e-business entrepreneurs have the skill to design an effective "pro-business" Website, handle complex information-technology issues and have the savvy to run and promote a business as well. Trying to do it all yourself is a recipe for failure.

There are many competent and highly qualified service providers out there that can help you establish your e-business. Don't go it alone. Concentrate on selling your product while delegating most of the technical tasks to others.

USABILITY PITFALLS

General usability issues can be subtle and complex. When it comes to e-commerce however, the biggest pitfalls are clear.

   "Over-tech"

E-commerce can involve highly complex combinations of equipment and choices, Website building and hosting issues as well as security and billing technologies, ad infinitum....

Keep it simple. You can always add features later. Development can be exorbitant and tremendously slow. You can encounter costly and unexpected delays. You can quickly go out of business before you are even in business.

      Basic Site Usability

One of the most common problems online shoppers encounter is poor navigation. You must provide a direct and clear route directly into your product descriptions and directly out to the "confirm order" button.

You must do this with as few steps as possible. The more screens a customer has to get to go through as part of your "shopping cart", the less sales you will have. "Buyer's remorse" occurs online as well. Choose your "shopping cart" software and setup wisely.

      Service Providers

Choose service providers with a reputation for being reliable, who's servers don't crash, who are not tremendously slow. Choose service providers who will not charge you excessively for surges in traffic and that will provide you with FAST customer service.

Look for integrated solution providers, companies that offer "turnkey" solutions. There are e-commerce solutions providers out there that will handle everything for you: design your site, host, set up your Internet Merchant Account with reputable financial institutions, custom integrate your "shopping cart" and offer you online promotional services as well.

CONFIDENCE PITFALLS

Not everyone feels comfortable conducting business online. Recognize this.


Here are 5 things that will scare your customers away fast:

1. Asking for too much customer information.

A lengthy purchase process will discourage your online shoppers. The process should be quick and painless. Customers also worry about their personal information being sold, shared or intercepted by hackers. They worry about being spammed or "tele-marketed". Their concerns are justified. Many online businesses practice very bad ethics.

2. Neglecting security.

"Hacking" is a household word. Hackers are becoming smarter, faster and more numerous. Unless you are an expert in data encryption, make your service providers responsible for these issues. Customer transactions must be secure.

3. Limited payment options.

If you only accept Visa and MasterCard you are sending a clear message to your potential customers that you are not a serious e-business. Online purchasing is about speed and convenience. Although it may cost more for you to accept American Express, debit purchases, Paypal or e-checks ...It is better for your business in the long run.

4. Inadequate information about your product or services

Full product and service descriptions should be mandatory. You simply cannot provide potential customers with too much information about what they want to buy online.

The one advantage that retail stores have over e-commerce is tangibility. A customer can hold, touch, smell or even taste what they are going to buy before they buy it. They know precisely what they're getting. Not so on the Web. You must do everything you can to describe exactly what the customer can expect.

5. Poor Customer Service

People do not like doing business with "robots". They want to know that real people are behind the scenes somewhere. They want to complain when they are not satisfied. They want their e-mails returned promptly and personally … by human beings. Good customer service plays a huge part in repeat purchasing.

Here are 7 simple things you can do to increase credibility and customer confidence online:

• Always include a phone number on every page .... of every transaction a customer has to go through. A toll-free '800' number is a sign that your customers are free to contact real human beings.This is a critical part of confidence.

• List your credentials and affiliations. Become a member of the Better Business Bureau Online, your local Chamber of Commerce, Professional Association or Guild, etc. Make certain this information is prominently displayed somewhere on your site. You are not a "fly by night" operation.

• List your service providers
and direct contact information to their customer service departments next to your own.

• Update your site with new products, services, information, etc. as frequently as possible.

• Follow through with customer inquiries and complaints as quickly and personally as is possible.

• Remind your customers whenever possible and appropriate that they are making a SECURE transaction.

• E-mail confirmations are excellent for generating confidence.

There are obviously MANY more considerations that must be reviewed, but these are some of the important basics that should help you get started.