How to succeed in e-commerce

The secrets of achieving e-commerce success lie in addressing the following points:

1. Established marketing methods are still sound, and they can work on the Internet
Make your website part of your traditional marketing mix. You do not have to learn a new marketing language, but keep your copy simple on the website. Keep in mind two acronyms: KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) and WIIFM (What's In It For Me). All customers want: simplicity and, above all, benefits for themselves.

2. Keep your website design simple
Again, look at the website from your customers' point of view. Can they read and understand your message? Too many sites are top-heavy with gimmicks and gizmos. If your website is complex, it will not download quickly enough; 10 seconds is a long time on the Internet; and a busy surfer is likely to click through, and move on. So you have lost a potential customer, perhaps forever.

Make sure you stay in charge of your design, as well as your content, especially if you outsource some of the online work, as many companies do. Keep the creativity of your designer (and copywriter) under control, and be sure that the words and graphics work in harmony so that they make sense to the viewer, your customer. Check that your site is easy to read on a variety of web browsers, especially for AOL, which has 18 million users, and for Macintosh users, of which there are 31 million.

3. Get hold of your visitors' email address for your database
This is crucial. Email is highly valued, as we saw in the sceptical American small business community, who still value email - the most popular online activity with 71% making regular use of email

So, make sure that your site has a guest registration box, or better still an "Opt-in" box. Position the opt-in box on several pages. In that way you get permission from the visitors who "opt-in" to send them marketing messages informing them of new developments and offers on your site. It absolves you of being accused of "spam", or sending unsolicited email (like junk mail); spamming is generally despised by the Internet community and it will undermine your credibility.

4. Give visitors reasons to stay on your site and to return
Remember, hits alone do not add up to sales. The few successful e-commerce marketers all advise offering free information, reports or products as promotional tools to support your paid-for products and services. You will give customers a reason for returning, again and again, with news and free advice. Keeping visiotrs on you rsite is known as making it "sticky'.

It is basic relationship marketing: building your customer's trust sothat, in time, they are more likely to become buyers, not just once but on a repeat basis. A valuable promotional tool is to offer your opt-in customers a free e-zine, delivered via email, on an industry topic which is important to them.

5. Contact your opt-in list regularly
Remember to keep customers happy with plenty of free, focussed information; the more tailored it can be to the customers' wants, the better. Take action today to contact your list.

6. Stay in touch with business boards
Follow discussion forums, which are a source of free advice on e-marketing. Directories can be found at: http://www.looksmart.com/ 3 good boards are:

• Tony Blake, mainly for marketers ablake.net
• Friends in business, for friendly business people www.friendsinbusiness.com
• Taylor Trump, for e-commerce www.the-illuminati.com

• post points
• get questions answered
• promote a website
• start debates on key issues

A discussion board on your own site can deliver traffic, but, to make it effective, you will inevitably need to set aside some of your time every day. The best boards have a moderator (or more than one), who is an active player and commentator.

You may reckon either that that you still have more questions than answers. That is why we have set out specially for you a series of solutions to e-commerce.

To succeed at e-commerce you need the following:

   1. A website
   2. Good content and copy
   3. Simple design
   4. Easy navigation
   5. Stickiness
   6. Fast fulfilment
   7. Great customer service
   8. Insider information from the e-xperts

Here's e-commerce success to you