Steps to Opening a Successful Web Store is written for the small business person as well as those who want to start a new e-commerce business. It starts by taking a look at the importance of retail e-commerce and differentiates between the marketing of products and the marketing of services. It then covers Electronic Data Interchange (EDI); the role of Trading Partners and how to adopt EDI. It reviews the status of worldwide business-to-business e-commerce today.
This book points out the advantages of operating out of your own home and some of the tax advantages you can obtain.
It suggests numerous ways to find products to sell, such as attending foreign trade shows, using the Internet and many more. It then shows you how to ascertain whether there is a market for the products that interest you. This includes performing market surveys and conducting Web searches.
The next part of this book is devoted to setting up your business and selecting a computer and the software you will need to run it effectively.
The chapter on creating your own Web site starts by showing you how to register your domain name and select a Web hosting service. You are cautioned about browser compatibility, screen resolution, load times, copyright, spelling, layout and the colour scheme you propose to use. You get advise on your home page and tagline together with the use of multimedia and splash pages. You are recommended to observe the "3-Click Rule" and incorporate a site map and search tools. It shows you how to use referrals and testimonials and ways to create a "Sticky Site". It recommends that you include your contact info as well as answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ).
You will learn about the use of cascading style sheets as well as the difference between static and dynamic Web authoring software. You are provided with reviews of eleven different software packages.
Find out about the essential ingredients of an e-commerce site: the shopping cart; the checkout, methods of payment and payment gateways. Think about offering your customers alternative ways to order and pay. Consider some of the challenges presented by international transactions, fulfilment and the security of transactions. Finally, you can read reviews on six different e-commerce software packages.
The chapter on online advertising shows you how to improve your ranking on search engines. It reveals the role of spiders, crawlers, meta tags, title tags and keywords. It shows you how you can use pay-per-click and other methods to drive traffic to your Web site. It defines Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Finally, it gives you a sobering look at your average cost-per-order and your return on advertising spending.
You will learn about other ways to drive traffic to your Web site by using links to other sites, Web banners, pop-ups, Web rings, permission-based e-mail and e-newsletters. Read about how to use online and offline advertising to drive traffic to your Web store.
Take a look at selling at eBay auctions and what's involved in opening your own eBay store.
Figure out how much all this is going to cost and some of the factors you will need to address if you need to raise money.
Finally, establish your marketing strategy, prepare your marketing plan and incorporate it into your business plan. Then monitor your progress and modify your plan until you succeed.
