The inner workings of e-commerce, part two
The biggest needs in online retail? Here they are:- Navigation. Customers have to find what they're looking for. They have to find it where they think it belongs, not (necessarily) where you think it belongs. Many grocery stores carry nuts in "candy and nuts" and in "produce." How do I know which nuts are which? If I am confused in the store, I may head for "customer service". If I am confused online, I head for another site.
- Interface. Customers don't want to have their senses assaulted. You may be able to sell something else besides what a customer wants to buy, but that's no excuse for pop-up ads or blinking images. If your Web site is database-driven (and in retail it should be), then when an item is picked that database entry should suggest others to put on the screen. Amazon is very good at this, and I liken this behavior to seeing the Weekly World News in the grocery-store checkout line. Only without "Batboy". And as long as you are considering your customers' senses, choose site color combinations that make it easy to shop. Test your site on multiple browsers, not forgetting Mozilla Firefox.
- Interactivity. Customers are willing to give feedback. So you want to solicit it at every opportunity. Feedback on the shopping process and feedback on product quality or variety -- those are the big issues. They want their opinions heard.
- Credibility. We all know your primary goal is to sell what you're selling. But in-person sales often works because the sales reps have personality and use it. So you will too. Your Web site will reflect your personability and approachability, and you'll be seen in other places too. That means being seen in blogs and discussion groups relevant to your industry. It also means use of some otherwise dated promotional techniques, like reciprocal linking. What are you willing to do for customers who have links to you on their sites? What can you do to get vendors and business partners to give you the same consideration?
- Security. There are still a few people out there who rank this as the most important thing, but I think that number is shrinking. The use of tools like PayPal for collecting payments is helping.
Labels: internet
posted by Ron @ 12:03 PM
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