Steven Brown

Technology has come a long way since “e-commerce” first became a buzz word, but most businesses are finding it hard to take advantage of all the features on offer. It can be easy to be caught up in all the hype and try to go all out in the hope of boundless rewards. The truth is, most online business ventures will not result in millions of dollars and untold growth.

My suggestion: start simple and take it slow.

Start with the basics your customers need, a simple site, some information and possibly a way to order. Then, as cash flow allows, follow demand and add the highest priority features first. Always look to add the features that will provide the greatest return.

That said, it is good to have a plan to begin with, so you know where you might expand in the future. For this you need to think of your customer’s experience from A to Z (or 1 to 10 as I will show below).

1. Attract customers to your site – the two main ways to do this are real world advertising and online advertising. This will depend a lot on what your business does and who your market is. Your website name should be everywhere, on products, invoices, advertising, everywhere.

2. Provide an informative, trust-building environment where they can learn about the solutions you provide – a well designed site with a clear path to information is key. If they can’t find what they are looking for they will leave. If the information does reach out to them they will leave. By the way “About Us” might make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside but it does nothing for your customer – if your site doesn’t convey trust then nothing you say on this page will help.

3. Provide a quick and easy ordering process – if they can’t place an order then what’s the point? This really can be an artform, especially if your products or services have several options or components. A step-by-step ordering process can help in this situation.

4. Support your customers – before, during and after ordering, provide clear communication channels to your customers. Let them know what is going on at all times and answer any questions they may have. This is the critical point – if a customer has a bad experience here they will not return and they might even turn away others.

5. Encourage return customers – keep in touch with your customers and provide incentives for them to return. This might be in the form of discounts or automated re-ordering processes. It costs you less to keep customers than it does to get new ones so it is important not to let them go.

6. Encourage word of mouth – this is the best form of advertising and it’s free – but it’s not easy. Customers are more likely to talk about bad experiences than good ones. While word of mouth can be encouraged with referral commissions and tell-a-friend systems your best bet is to simply provide the best customer experience possible.

7. Refine internal processes – a lot of businesses find their time is occupied answering the phone and emails, or doing the accounts. Use technology to your advantage here – provide as much information as possible on your site and update it when you get asked a question. Streamline the order process so they can be imported directly into your accounting software. Automate the payment process using an online merchant facility. Automate the communication process – have the system automatically send an email when an order is received, filled and delivered. Automatically send a follow-up email a short time after the customer has received their order. Implement a newsletter system so everyone can add themselves and you can market to them all without having to manually keep a list.

8. Get feedback - ask your customers about their experience and request honest feedback. You don’t have to do everything they say but some gaping holes may be revealed that you never considered. Use the automated follow-up system to send a short survey.

9. Keep improving – your site will never be complete, your business will continue to evolve and your site should follow suit. Always be looking to make improvements and refinements. It may even be necessary to budget and schedule ongoing maintenance so that you don’t get stuck in a rut.

10. Consult a specialist – no I am not talking about a doctor (although this web stuff can send you a little bit wacky), I’m talking about people who have experience with online businesses. If they have helped a large number of businesses with their online ventures they will have experience, knowledge and ideas from different industries and business sizes, some you may never have thought of on your own.