So you want to setup an online store!
Ok.Well that is a huge statement and one that is worthy of great consideration and research before you head out of the gate. There are many factors to consider in this minefield of available options. The internet is a wonderful and yet also a very tricky place and there are many out there who will support you and many whowill just take your hard earned and give you an online shopfront with no value or possibility of success. As this is a very new area of business endeavour the onus really does fall on the business owner to ensure that their research is up to date and thorough, before they commit to a system or service.
In this series of articles I wish to share with you my experience not only as an online retailer and web designer but also my experience in over 30- years of retail and wholesale business supply. There are a number of questions that are paramount in the beginning stages of an online store design. Questions which can make or break the cost of your setup procedure and ongoing maintenance. What you decide now can have major ramifications on the cost of design or maintenance of your online store down the road. Costs that do not go away once you are committed and up and running.
I wish to discuss the many different platforms that are availableto the online retailer, including Windows, Mac, Android phones and tablets,iphone and ipad, Internet Kiosks and Instore Kiosks. Is your website ""responsive""?This means does it react and display well across all of these platforms, or in simple terms, does every user have the same satisfying experience when browsing your site on any device? This is a very important question.
I will also explore the many facets of online retailing and the mechanics of this machine including, Products, Departments, Categories, Sub Categories, Variations of the products that you will be selling. The Management systems, CMS (Content Management Sytems), existing financial software integration, delivery and postage systems, payment gateways, secure transactions, payment guarantees, retailer and statuary warranties.Advertising, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation),Customer reviews and testimonials, affiliations and partnerships, email marketing campaigns, discounts and coupons. And the list goes on, and on and on...
If any of these topics posed evOKe lots of questions that have no easy answer from you then you have more work to do, and I'd like to help.But for now lets go back to the basics and concepts of online retail and online stores.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) e-commerce figures for small business
ABS online sales data released for the first time: reveals spending of $2.738 billion
Thursday, 09 January 2014 1:16 (courtesy of ABS_)

Now I know from conversations with many of my colleagues and clients that there is a great fear out there amongst small businesses that if they don't go online then they will be swallowed up or run out of business by the large companies that are already successfully operating online. One major fear concerns losing their existing customers to the big gun retailers because of the ease and convenience of online shopping and the ability to offer lower prices and faster delivery services due to the reduced costs of online retailing. Also that they will lose their existing customers to international retailers because of favourable exchange rates and lower wage costs for workers and services.

Don't Panic..,. Think, Plan, Act...
Firstly the costs are not all that drastically different to running a brick and mortar store if you plan to be successful at online retail as they can be absorbed into the everyday running procedures that you now have if you are smart. Secondly, the online retailing workload isn't really easier, its just different.

The advice that I give all of my clients and colleagues is simple -its effective and its pro-active. I will end my first article with this advice and give you time to consider what I have already presented.

The Advice.
Create your online store, start small and market the store to your existing customers, let's get them safe first, then we go after the rest of the world.

In my next article"What is my online stores address?"I will cover the basics of the different styles of online store platforms and the basics of a press release that lets your existing customers know that the future is coming with your online store. The way I see it we may as well involve our loyal customers in the building of the project as well. Any publicity is good publicity... or as the great Oscar Wilde said -
"There is only one thing worse than being talked about and that is NOT being talked about."

Till next week
Jon Hunt
Proprietor
CoastWebMedia

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