E-Commerce

A phrase I often hear from my clients who want to sell items from their stores is, “I have no idea where to begin.” I usually smile and say, “Do you trust me?” When they affirm that they do (of course!), I begin about the business of “the checklist.”

“The Checklist” is very simple. I make sure that the client knows from top to bottom what they’re embarking upon, why each step is so important, and why it’s sometimes a much more difficult setup than with a brick & mortar establishment.

The first element of The Checklist is to develop an understanding. Of what, you may ask? Of e-commerce. Selling online is basically the entire definition of e-commerce, which is short for “electronic commerce.” You want to sell your products online instead of in a brick & mortar store. E-commerce generally becomes an accessory to the ‘full outfit’ ? the ‘full outfit’ being an actual store ? so to speak, therefore efforts to advertise are minimal. The website would, in theory, already be advertised along with any advertising done for the store. If the website is your only marketplace, however, a different approach is necessary. That’s a big part of the “understanding” mentioned earlier.

The second concept on The Checklist is figuring out a platform. What do I mean by platform? A platform is the means by which your e-commerce website is run. Think of it this way. Chances are, just about everything installed on your computer right now is there because it serves a purpose (or you’ve yet to sit down and uninstall it.) Your calculator is installed because it serves the purpose of helping you with mathematics. Your platform would be installed because it would serve the purpose of managing your [as well as your customers'] buying/selling experience. As far as platforms go, you have many options, but that’s a topic for another article.

The third section of The Checklist is determining what kind of payments you’d like to accept, and how you’d like to accept them. As a consumer, you know that there’s cash, check, money order, and that dreaded credit card. (Yes, I said dreaded. You might love it as a consumer, but it is quite the headache for sellers.) Do you want to deal with the headache that may accompany mail-in orders? Will you deliver to people - thus leading to the cash-on-delivery? And how will you accept those payments? These are all things that you should definitely think about. If you have an e-commerce specialist, like us (of course,) they should be well prepared to share these things with you.

The fourth element is wholly legal. Think about what you’re doing, here - you’re accepting money to transfer goods [potentially] across state lines. What tax implications are there? Are you allowed to transport the goods you’re selling into all 50 of these United States? Would your items be seized by customs? This is research that MUST be done in advance before development even begins. Why? Tax code concerns can be addressed after your site is running, but the damage done to your reputation for selling a product and illegally shipping it to the wrong state… only to get yourself in trouble and cost both you AND your customer money can not. Research, research, research.

The fifth and final item on The Checklist is simply defining your ultimate goal. Do you want to take an entire niche by storm? Do you want to overthrow a competitor? Be a household name? Are you satisfied with local sales, or would you rather go national? Do you run a brick & mortar establishment, and your goal is to eventually move the entire store to online-only? Set your ultimate goal, and the rest falls into line. All of your other efforts must eventually lead you steps closer to your ultimate goal.

By all means, The Checklist is a consistent work in progress, but those are the absolute basics. It’s always modified for each individual client, and an e-commerce specialist - such as myself (of course) - should be able to aid you in making sure that all current concerns are addressed, and as many potential issues are managed as possible.