Building Blocks of a successful Ecommerce
Website
 First
- Make a Plan
Generate a Requirements Document
Webtide
uses the summit approach at the very beginning. We meet with representatives
from all corporate areas to discuss the entire marketing, sales and fulfillment
cycle. A phased development plan is discussed, prioritizing essential events
and scheduling additional features as time and budgets allow.
Additional
features add value to your website environment. Enhance a customer's experience
with customized services such as an answers and advice area, install collaborative
filtering, where customers get the benefit of other customers' experience,
and cross-sell to customers with similar buying patterns. We begin by talking
to your salespeople; they are on the front line and know what customers
require and how best to communicate with them.
From
these discussions, essential events, innovative ideas, detailed timelines,
and realizable expectations are generated into a Requirements Document. |
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Next
- Design to Sell
Create a Storefront Design
Your
product will significantly determine the design of the site. Gift and Impulse
Products, Commodity Products, Considered Purchase Products and Configurable
Products each have unique design criteria. Webtide will design the storefront
according to what best suits your product, your company and your target
audience. Give your customers a pleasant purchasing experience and they
will return.
After
considering the product's characteristics, following advice offered by department
representatives and consulting the Requirements Document, Webtide will design
a storefront to meet the current objectives of the website, while planning
for future expansions. |
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Let
the Technical Festivities Begin!
Decide on Specialized Software
Once
the Requirements Document has been researched and developed and a site that's
in keeping with your product, your company and your customers has been designed,
you're ready to swim in the deep end!
No
matter how straightforward the design of a storefront, odds are that behind
it are some pretty complex back-office applications. In conjunction with
your ecommerce solution you may have to allow for the inclusion of specialized
software.
Ecommerce transactions rely on ordering, tax, shipping, security, payment
and banking applications that tie into the product and customer databases,
that may or may not have already been developed.
Specialized
tax, shipping and banking software may have to be incorporated into your
ecommerce solution. The online to physical fulfillment process must be streamlined
to ship quickly. Remember, you don't get the money til the product is shipped.
The same streamlined process must allow for processing of returned goods,
partial orders, and back orders.
For
security, many ecommerce solutions use the SET (secure electronic transaction)
standard which includes tight security measures and antifraud technologies,
but you may wish to invest in additional forms of security. Encryption technology
seals internet transactions inside encrypted code that can only be unlocked
with the matching key.
Webtide
will work from the specifications of the Requirements Document to decide
what specific software components need to be incorporated into the ecommerce
software. We will then return to your specific departments (legal, accounting,
fulfillment) for their approval of our recommendations. |
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May
We Have The Envelope Please
Choose the Best Ecommerce Solution
Okay,
we've got the marketing and sales people, the fulfillment crew, the legal
and accounting heads and the CEO on side with our thoughtful approach to
covering all the bases. Now we choose the ecommerce solution to tie it all
together.
The three options available are:
1. Third-party network based solutions
2. Packaged software solutions
3. Custom-designed database ecommerce solutions
(If you've been following closely you'll notice we're back where we started.)
Each
solution has it's pros and cons. If you can find a network based solution
hosted by a third-party and your requirements are basic this may be the
option for your business. These ready-to-go storefronts are usually inexpensive
and get you online in a hurry. The other side of the coin is that they are
restrictive in their customizing options and may not offer you expansive
features.
Packaged
ecommerce solutions that match your company's essential requirements and
many of the preferred features are worth a big look. Webtide will check
the package's list of features and supportable plug-ins to see if they will
accommodate present specialized requirements and still keep pace with your
growth potential. A packaged solution that works today may involve hidden
charges to keep it working tomorrow.
The
initial expense of building a proprietary ecommerce solution and customizing
an environment that satisfies the current requirements, while accommodating
your future goals, may be an investment worth making. Putting the dollars
down now for the expertise and time involved may return you with substantial
savings down the road, when your business takes off, customers are many
and the time to install a new system is non-existent. Then you'll be very
happy that you chose a custom design that grows along with your profits.
One
of these solutions will match the goals set out in the Requirements Document.
Webtide will add our internet and ecommerce experience and expertise to
your business acumen to create a uniquely designed storefront backed by
a sophisticated technical infrastructure.
Webtide
lives and breathes the internet. Our pool of technical and design talent
has one goal in mind - your success. When our clients succeed, we succeed.
And we like to be winners! |
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One
More Thing
Reports, Statistics, Advertising
Once
the store is online and customers are buying, the ongoing R&D kicks
in. You'll want to track customer orders, preferences and buying patterns.
Statistics
on referral sites, keywords used to find the site, length of time spent
by visitors surfing the site, entry pages and exit pages - basically, all
the stats you ever wanted to know are available in the log files.
Checking
the effectiveness of banner ads for your own advertising or advertising
by sponsors is important for marketing and revenue opportunities.
All
this information can be channelled into a database for multiple reporting.
Once you're in business on the net, the next step is to stay there. Webtide
will make sure you have the flexibility to generate comprehensive management
reports about the website.
 And,
the last word is - keep innovating. Keep your site fresh. A site that
continues to evolve customer services and concepts in a friendly environment
will have a positive effect on the bottom line. So shake it up, try new ideas.
Have
fun!
We
sure do. |
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