From practicalecommerce.com
Practical eCommerce asks industry insiders each month to share a great, innovative idea that could help an ecommerce company. Here’s what ten of them had to say for the October 2009 installment.
The Power of Product Reviews
"Use the power of product reviews and motivate your team to do their best work. Instruct your employees to route satisfied customers to the most important online sites for leaving feedback, and give your people a bonus if a referred customer writes a review about your company there."
Alex Mulin
Director of Sales
X-Cart
--
Only Ask For Information You Absolutely Need
"Ask your customers only for the information you absolutely need. If you are selling digital products, do you need the customer's full address? What about the phone number? Most customers dislike giving their precious personal information away until they get to know your company better."
Roy Andre Tollefsen
Managing Director and Lead Designer
Silverthemes.com
--
Grab Your Market Share Now
"A recession is no time to reduce your marketing and advertising budgets. Manage expenses according to ROI, but this is a good time to grab additional market share."
Brad Yeager
Certified Business Intermediary
Ecommerce Exit Strategies
--
Improve Rankings With Press Releases
"Press releases provide an opportunity to provide high-quality content within your press-related pages. Many merchants disassociate the importance of marketing activity from their websites. But each press release allows the opportunity to increase your keyword density and improve your rankings."
Anthony Vitro
Account Manager
Sage Tree LLC
--
Deploy Decision-making Widgets
"When selling big ticket items or products that require research, deploy merchandising widgets to aid in the decision-making process. Customers who interact with online merchandising widgets will generally view more products per session and are more likely to add a product to their shopping cart, increasing conversions, repeat visits and customer satisfaction."
Carl Prindle
President and Chief Operating Officer
Blueport Commerce
--
Add Unique Content to Improve Product Descriptions
"Improve your product descriptions by adding informative and unique content. The more descriptive and unique you are in your product descriptions, the better the chance that someone will buy from you. Figure out a way to make your product descriptions unique to differentiate you from the competition."
Stephen Enfield
Vice President
POS Supply Solutions
--
Hire Interns With Advanced Skills
"Utilize local high school and college student’s talent for jobs whenever possible, including paid internships. You will be amazed at the talent you can find, such as advanced skills in programming, photography, blogging etc. And the interns can gain necessary experience in a practical environment."
Elizabeth Bighorse
CEO
Moodswings Inc.
--
Step Up Security Accreditation
"Go one step further than SSL or 'McAfee Hacker Safe' certifications on your site. Try to get industry-endorsed accreditations such as the 'Good Web Shopping Guide' or 'Governed by the Internet Shopping Code of Practice.'"
Kate Holroyd
Marketing Manager
Tiger Commerce
--
Earn Trust By Keeping Your Promises
"Be honest with your customers and never promise anything that cannot be accomplished. Once you make a promise you must keep it. Earning a customer's trust is the best way to get a lifelong partner."
Anna Semshchikova
Chief Sales Executive
Qualiteam
--
Spread the Word on Facebook
"A Facebook page is a great way to promote your online store. Not only does it give you customized presence and branding, it also gives your customers a channel to interact with you. And, it provides great SEO value, too. Set up a Facebook page now and spread the word among your friends and customers."
Navaneeth Krishnan
Founder
Netcarnation
Very helpful post, a friend told me about this service to set up ebay stores and make some extra money. I read about it and seems to be really profitable, check it out if you are interested http://www.inventorysource.com/
Posted by: Drop Ship Services | October 19, 2009 at 07:01 AM