MightyMerchant Services & Features > Resources > Articles > Critical Factors For Online Success

Critical Factors For Online Success

Critical Factors For Online Success By Vanessa Salvia, 10/1/06

Today’s consumers are technologically savvy and often eager to spend money online. More people than ever before are doing their shopping from the comfort of their own home, in pajamas and slippers, with coffee cup in hand. The public marketplace has been replaced by a computer screen, where almost anything can be purchased at any time of the day or night. That doesn’t mean these are easy times for online retailers, however. If anything, e-commerce merchants must work harder than ever to distinguish themselves and earn the trust of consumers.

Success in today’s Age of E-tail, doesn’t come easy for anyone, but identifying your strengths and weaknesses can maximize your chances of success. MightyMerchant understands the benefits and pitfalls of running an online business, and we believe there are a few critical factors that must considered, no matter where you are in your business development cycle.

Build up an already established business or find a good niche market.

Ask yourself a few key questions about your business. For instance, is your product or service already widely available? Have you found something unique that few other online merchants are offering? In today’s world, it’s very hard to stand out amid thousands or hundreds of thousands of other websites if yours is not unique in some way. Even the best design or SEO (search engine optimization) can’t help if there’s so much competition that potential customers can’t find you or don’t immediately see what makes your business stand out. If your product is well-suited for a web presentation, is not widely available and is offered at a good price point, you’ve got a head start.

Is your product easy to ship?

This may seem obvious, but consider how big, bulky or expensive your product will be to ship anywhere a potential customer might want. Most online shoppers know that shipping is an added expense in purchasing from a website, but there’s a limit to how much a customer will want to pay, even for a rare and unusual item. If your product can’t be shipped fairly easily and for a reasonable price, it may not be suited for online sales. If your products would be hard for a customer to find locally, then the cost of shipping will be less of an issue

Have a quality web site.

Customers prefer a professional looking and functional website. When we walk into a brick-and-mortar store we can use touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing to determine if the store is selling something we want to buy or if we trust the store enough to shop there. Obviously, a website can’t appeal to all the senses, so you must make the visual and audio presentation count for everything. Strive to provide answers to every possible question consumers might have about the items you’re selling.

Have a marketing plan.

Having a website doesn’t guarantee business, so a marketing plan is a must. It is important to consider offline marketing as well, such as radio or print ads. Educating yourself about SEO is imperative. MightyMerchant will work with you to develop the SEO of your site, and help you develop a reasonable marketing budget and sales expectations for your site.

Provide good customer service.

Good customer service seems like a simple concept, but it’s something that can be difficult to put into practice. A successful online business needs to be responsive to e-mail inquiries, use technology like Live Help, and post FAQ’s (and update them frequently when necessary!). Customer service can be the one thing which distinguishes you from your competitors, so making a good impression in that department means a great deal.

When dealing with order distribution, send out e-mails informing customers that their order has been received. Let them know when it’s packaged, when it ships and when they can expect to receive it. If there is a delay, or if an item is out of stock, let customers know. MightyMerchant’s Order Manager makes managing these tasks easy.

Use web site tools for managing your store.

Have a system in place to keep your site up to date. MightyMerchant has a system which stores all the information on your site in a database and makes website updates and modifications quick and easy. This means that all of your product information — including description, size, availability and anything else — is stored in a database that can be easily maintained by you, even if you have no technical know-how.

We’re not saying that mastering all of these factors guarantees you a successful business, but they sure won’t hurt your chances. At MightyMerchant, our success comes with your success, so we will work with you to achieve these goals. However, putting as much thought as you can into your business before you make the decision to partner up with an e-commerce development firm means you are poised to benefit the most from the help. To find out more about what MightyMerchant can do for you, please contact us.

MightyMerchant has developed a 10-step guide to lead you through some of the decisions involved in setting up a website. Please check out our helpful Website Planning Guide.

About MightyMerchant

MightyMerchant specializes in developing e-commerce and database driven, content-rich websites for small business customers across the US. The company was listed as one of Practical eCommerce Magazine’s “Top 100 Notable Shopping Carts” in September/October 2007. Hundreds of site owners use MightyMerchant to quickly and easily manage their online stores. For more information visit www.mightymerchant.com, and for ecommerce knowledge and tools visit the MightyMerchant eCommerce Blog.