| Holiday
Checklist |
 |
Pangea
Design Offers '12 Ways of Christmas E-Retailing'
The holidays are
a time for lists. Santa makes his, and checks it twice. Meanwhile, children
are making theirs, hoping that the latest toys turn up under the tree Christmas
morning. But for e-retailers looking to maximize sales during the gift-giving
season, it's the perfect time for another kind of list: A checklist to ensure
that their websites are ready to handle the traffic that comes with increased
Internet buying.
A recent study
by Yahoo-A.C. Nielsen estimates that consumers will spend about $12.4 billion
online on Christmas gifts during the fourth quarter of 2001. With that kind
of activity, says Jeremy Wessels, president of the Houston-based web development
firm Pangea Design, companies are well advised to make sure their sites are
up for the task.
"Obviously, this
is an important time of the year for a lot of businesses," Wessels said. "And
while your site may have worked fine for the first nine months of the year,
an increase in activity makes some demands that many e-retailers may not have
anticipated or are not prepared for. And the sad fact is, if your site isn't
ready, consumers will quickly find one that is."
With that in mind,
Wessels has developed the "12 Ways of Christmas E-Retailing" for companies looking
to maximize web profits this season:
Put
yourself in the shopper's shoes.
A guiding principle of effective e-commerce is this: It's about the audience.
Do you like being frustrated? Confused? Delayed? Ignored? Of course not. Neither
do web shoppers. Successful e-retail sites aren't simply about making an impression.
They're about making a sale. And that means thinking like your customer and
doing whatever it takes to make the online experience as fast, easy and convenient
as possible.
Be
prepared, Part 1.
Sites that expect high amounts of web traffic should be hosted on a dedicated
server or several load-balanced servers. A single server can host about 700
simultaneous connections. A good hosting facility will have several different
fiber optic connections to the Internet and be outfitted with large power arrays
and back-up generators.
Be
prepared, Part 2.
Bad things can happen to even the best of sites. The last thing you want to
happen during the height of holiday gift-buying is for your site to go down.
So make sure you know how to reach your host 24/7 - - not just online support,
but office phones, cell phones, pagers, home phones, everything.
Holiday
helpers.
Where would Santa be without his elves? All by himself out in the cold -- the
same place your customers will be without support. So set up the best possible
"help desk" operation you can. Anticipate every possible problem shoppers may
encounter and be ready for it. Post service- related FAQs or troubleshooting
advice, and always have a customer service email address. Don't let email inquiries
get lost in cyberspace, either. Make sure there is a mechanism in place for
fast response and follow-up.
Be
easy on the eye.
Web sites are not brochures, and people read 25 percent slower on a monitor
than they do on paper. Verbiage should be kept to an absolute minimum, and pages
designed so consumers can scan without reading -- and still get all your major
marketing and sales messages.
Don't
overdo the graphics.
A site's graphics should be fresh and fun but at the same time simple, professional
and quick to load. Remember that the e-shopper has come to your site for speed
and convenience. Anything that gets in the way of that -- and too-complicated
graphics are the biggest offender -- gives buyers a reason to take their business
elsewhere.
Faster,
easier, cleaner.
In the same way web graphics need to be quick to load, web site content needs
to be fast to access and easy to follow. People don't want to spend a lot of
time looking for what they want. If they did, they'd be at the mall. So when
your home page pops up, the menus should be clean and clear, and provide the
shortest route possible for buyers to get what they want, as fast as they want
it.
Deliver
on your promises.
Delivery times can be affected by increases in web traffic. Be realistic about
your delivery time frame -- but when you make a commitment, meet it. Having
a clearly posted delivery date can prevent costly credit card charge-backs and
order cancellations. Offer options, too - - from next day air to standard ground
transportation -- and provide shoppers a way to track their orders.
Be
careful on shipping charges.
Be
clear about shipping charges. Be careful, too. During the holidays, some shippers
raise rates to handle the large increase in traffic and increased labor costs.
This will cause shipping costs to rise -- and if you're not charging appropriately,
you'll end up paying the difference.
Security
matters.
This is absolutely important not only to ensure the protection of the customer
information and credit card numbers but also to give peace of mind to the online
shopper. Some simple and inexpensive security software can help to turn every
potential e-shopper into a satisfied -- and loyal -- customer.
Be
open about privacy.
Include a privacy statement that tells customers if or how whatever data they
give you will be used. Assurances that data will not be provided to anyone for
any reason is a good way to build customer loyalty and confidence -- both of
which are important for long-term profitability.
Happy
returns.
The very nature of online buying means that consumers are purchasing material
they have not tried on, held, examined closely, smelled or touched. So returns
aren't unusual. But that makes it imperative that your return policies be clear.
If you charge a restocking fee, say so. If you do not allow items to be returned
to a physical store location, say so. If you require defective material to be
returned in its original packaging, say so. If you don't make it easy or try
to hide your costs, you won't just lose the sale. You'll lose the customer forever.
About Pangea
Design
Pangea Design provides a full range of Web services, including design, programming,
hosting and architecture. Its Webware solutions have helped companies like Dell
Computer and Ernst & Young establish an effective, creative Web presence that
has supported their business objectives and added value to their Internet strategies.
For further information, visit http://www.pangeadesign.com/.
Source: Pangea
Design press release -- November 06, 2001
More
Key Studies, Reports, Surveys and News
| 
| 