One of the most (happily) frustrating parts of my job is often trying to convince business owners that setting up an online shop is not only easy, but profitable. There are so many people who equate online shopping to identity theft, who equate technology to Big Brother, and who equate online stores to spam sites that I spend a good chunk of my networking time trying to convince them otherwise.
And while I can say a million times, No, it really IS easy! they always retort that I’m online all the time, so of COURSE it’s easy for me. Or if I say Look at the minimal amount of start-up costs! And how there’s little maintenance! they always say you get what you pay for, and that’s why there’s little money directly involved.
For example, there is a very nice lady in a networking group that I’m a part of who sells ladies’ accessories as part of an in-home sales team. She’s rated one of the highest regionally, and she does extremely well with her in-home and book shows.
BUT.
She handed me her business card one day and, being a girl, I went online to drool over her wares. Her website was down. I figured, meh, I’ll try again later.
I ran into her at our next function and mentioned it to her and she said, “Yeah, it’s down more than it’s up. But what can you do?”
?!?!
I quickly scheduled a one on one meeting with her to discuss that YES, there’s a lot that she can do. And SHOULD do. Because that’s basically free money for her.
“But I don’t understand all of that computer stuff.” she told me, wearily.
Here’s what I plan to show her. That you don’t have to understand COMPUTER stuff, you merely have to understand MONEY. Research marketing firm eMarketer announced that eCommerce has risen sharply since the first quarter of 2010; retail (brick-and-mortar) shopping is making a slow comeback. The difference is night and day: eCommerce has risen 15%. Retail has risen 3%.
Now, having said that, the slice of online shopping is still a smaller piece of the pie than the retail side of things, but if .. like in the case of this business owner .. you’ve already got one slice, wouldn’t you want that rapidly growing other slice too?
Last week, I told you about a revolutionary (and tricky!) experiment that was held at he prestigious IDM B2B Marketing Conference. John Bottom, a British social media “pioneer” from the company Base One, proposed that he could launch an eBook during his keynote address and by the end of the day, have garnished 1000 downloads of the previously unreleased material.
It was a startling claim to make, and I know many (INCLUDING ME!) were hoping he would not only meet that, but exceed it. Because we at SimpleHelix believe that the social media revolution is just now beginning to find its feet, and will soon become a far more accessible and profitable platform than our traditional methods of print and tv.
I jumped online and googled how the experiment turned out, and .. honestly .. was a little disappointed.
From Base One:
Now that the dust has settled I can report back on the whole experiment… The final count, including pdf and video views, was 570 downloads – and while I’m a little disappointed we didn’t make 1,000, I’m still delighted that the experiment worked by proving clearly how content can spread if it is interesting.
570 people voluntarily accessed a piece of information – a fact that one member of my audience put into context by saying that it would cost thousands of media dollars to achieve the same effect by interruptive advertising.
I totally agree with John’s overall take from it .. it was a very pointed experiment, and even if they fell short of the goal, I think that it’s fair to say that gathering even half of the goal’s downloads would’ve taken quite a chunk of change to happen in the traditional media. And keep in mind that this was merely HOURS .. not weeks, not a month .. just around twelve hours.
So if you, as a business owner, had been on the fence about jumping into a new foray with social media .. maybe this will be the push you needed.
And if you so desire, there’s a GREAT eBook available at Base One called Opportunities and Threats: the Future of Social Media as Viewed by Senior UK Marketers for download.
I like working here. I like it for a lot of reasons. And it isn’t (always) about the paycheck, lemme tell you.
One of the reasons I really, really like working here is our support staff. Far different from your usual “outsourced” support, our guys are a tight-knit bunch. They really enjoy their work, and they REALLY enjoy the problem-solving aspect of their jobs. They take each support ticket as a challenge, a chance to best the other guys in going above and beyond when it comes to service. And while it’s sometimes an internal battle for the MOST EPIC SUPPORT EVER, I often find results that prove that our customers see the effort as well.
Take, for example, this great RatePoint Review we received this week, from Hank:
Their servers are amazing, their support is FAST AND ACCURATE, and they articulate every point precisely and accurately. If you have questions they walk you through every step of the way instead of simply sending you to an “article” or “faq” section of the site. Special *Kudos* to MICHAEL for his knowledge and prompt and accurate help in regards to all my countless questions and concerns. I have been with simplehelix for over a year now and have not had 1 single issue. I have tried others such as bluehost, hostgator, 1&1, however nothing compares to their “light speed” servers and quality human customer service. I never had a Magento site run faster than on SimpleHelix. Thank you guys for all you have done for my websites. It is greatly appreciated.
I also really enjoy how our team is very flexible about trying new things, and they adapt quickly to change. It’s necessary when you work in technology; what’s hip and new one day is completely obsolete a week later. It takes an amazing and dedicated team to stay on top of the new gadgets and gizmos out there. Staying on top of hardware and software changes are often what keep our customers up and running, and you’ll see that as a customer as well.
A great shout-out about this same issue came from Martin Dean in a RatePoint Review:
It is hard to fault the level of support that Simple Helix Provide. As a responsibly technical user, working with a complex Magento deployment I have frequently approached SH with quite detailed queries. Justin, Scott and the whole team are always quick to respond – and if they don’t know they find out. As with all technical services, occasionally things can go wrong – with Simple Helix whenever we have had a glitch (usually down to Magento not them!) the response has always been first rate. In a nut shell, I continue to trust them with our mission critical e-commerce web-servers and have no issues recommending that you do the same.
But I think what sets us apart, aside from our 24×7 support, is the fact that you connect with a live, actual, human being when you call us, Tweet us, or send us a Support Ticket online. You aren’t talking with a bot or a scripted pass-thru; you’re talking with someone who is held accountable for the support they provide you. They take PRIDE in that, and it’s what helps our support excel.
We noticed this in a great Twitter response from our new design partner, Allan MacGregor:
@SimpleHelix technical support was excellent once more ! One of the best hosting companies I have tried so far …!
We are incredibly proud to be your internet host provider. We know that there’s a lot of choices out there, and it’s easy to get caught up in the noise of SERVERS and SPEED and GREAT DEALS! and all of those are important factors, no doubt. But we really, really take YOUR opinion seriously, and we’re more than thrilled to be the hand that helps you up when something catches a snag. There are no “support points” needed to call us. You don’t have to hope that your issue only crops up during office hours. You don’t even have to know how to properly articulate your issue using “tech speak”. You just have to be able to use a phone, send a tweet, or click a link.
We’ll take it from there. And be proud to do so.
1. Non-compliance Isn’t an Option
If your site accepts, processes or stores credit card information, you have to take on the responsibilities of being PCI compliant. A large part of that has to do with the security of your site’s infrastructure and the manner in which your customers’ data must be secured. Internal processes and data accessibility also factor in and can influence your ongoing operations. Utilizing a 3rd party payment gateway, and delegating the strictest requirement to another provider, is a common means for getting an E-com site up and running quickly. This is complicated stuff though, so at the end of the day, if you have questions, be sure to ask an expert.
2. Always Expect (and Plan for!) the Unexpected
Say one of your products is touted by a movie star, talk show host or super athlete. Would your site be ready? Could it handle the traffic or quickly scale up to handle it? Whatever kind of hosting solution you choose, make sure you have a plan in place, so you can build up your configuration and architecture to deal with this kind of unusual demand. And if you have seasonal spikes, sales or promotions, enact your plan and test it weeks before the onslaught.
3. Keep Your Eyes on the Shopping Cart
Online shopping carts are the cash registers of the online world. They ring beautifully when a sale is completed but have a tendency to get jammed on occasion. And when they do, you need to know quickly. Since there isn’t a clerk available on the Internet to inform you of such issues, it is critical to have a robust monitoring solution in place. From basic site availability monitoring to custom URL monitoring and Synthetic Transactions, a multitude of tools are available to ensure your shoppers will be able to complete their transaction on your site.
Wow, you know, I ran across something today that I had not even really considered: businesses considering social media as an actual threat.
I mean, once I looked at what businesses considered the “top threats of social media”, I can KIND OF see where they’re coming from, but really? It just kinda looks like The Old School looking afraid of The New School.
That’s probably easier to gather when you’re solidly in the front row of The New School.
So, anyway, there’s a really great experiment being run right now by John Bottom of Base One. During the prestigious IDM B2B Marketing Conference in London, Bottom is going to run an experiment. He’s going to launch his new eBook, Threats & Opportunities: the Future of Social Media as Viewed by the UK’s Most Senior Marketers, live during the conference and then use ONLY social media to promote it. His goal is to receive 1000 downloads by the end of the day to prove that social media is not only a prominent form of free media, but it’s also an incredibly effective one when used correctly.
You? Can play along in this little game and download the eBook here. (I will be doing the same.)
I’m interested to see what his results are, but really, really hoping he meets his goal real-time. How incredibly telling would that be if you can make a sales goal WHILE giving a presentation and demo of a newly-launched product?
I ran across a very well-written blog today that made the argument that online advertising is much like dating. You need to know what you’re looking for, and then woo your client.
Well, okay, so THAT’S not news. Duh.
But it went on to provide a study that actually proved this point.. especially among women. I found this interesting being, you know, a woman myself. It’s been no secret for years that women LOVE online shopping; it’s like window shopping, but without the added guilt of having to hang all the stuff back up. You simply fill your online cart with everything you want, look at your total, and at that point sparse it down until you can afford it or abandon it altogether. It’s awesome, and yes, I do it. A lot.
So what can we take from this?
Online advertising is the cheapest and most effective way for our businesses to make money. 98% of our clientele here at SimpleHelix that participate in eCommerce are using an online storefront ONLY; brick and mortars are proving too costly and out-of-reach for the common business owner, especially in the face of our economic downturn. So it makes sense to advertise online.. you know, where your store is.
Let’s plan out your advertising like a date:
* Look nice. Not over-dressed or too professional, but polished and approachable.
* Be timely. Ads at three o’clock in the morning may not be your best bet. Think daytime and early evening.
* Keep constant (and productive!) small talk going. Customers like communication, and they like it to be personable. AUTOMATED RESPONSES ARE NOT APPRECIATED.
* Bring a small token. Although the survey pointed out that great giveaways and bargains are not the main focus of the ads, they certainly don’t hurt, especially if you’re targeting the female sect.
* Follow-Up. Again with the communication. Support, emails, and utilizing social media avenues are quick and simple ways to always be in touch with your clientele.
Many thanks to Scott for the on-the-mark consensus!
May 25th, 2010
Posted in Uncategorized
(0) Comments
Share This
