DTI Top Tips For Selling Successfully online brochure graphic design brand by Stuart Lee

TOP TIPS FOR SELLING SUCCESSFULLY ONLINE

Infoline: 0845 715 2000 Web site: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

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TOP TIPS FOR YOUR E-COMMERCE WEB SITE This booklet was developed as part of UK online for business – a partnership between industry and government to help British business thrive in the information-based economy. UK online for business offers support to encourage businesses to use information and communications technologies. A nationwide network of UK online for business advisers has been created to give you impartial jargon-free advice, help you with training and getting hands-on experience, and to give guidance tailored to meet your individual business needs. Find out how your business can benefit by: Calling the UK online for business infoline on 0845 715 2000 Visiting the web site at www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

WHAT IS UK ONLINE? UK online is a partnership between government, industry, the voluntary sector and consumer groups to make the UK one of the world’s leading knowledge economies. UK online for business is a DTI-led industry/government partnership. It offers expert, impartial, jargon-free help and support to businesses that need and want it. UK online centres are run by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to provide people with access to new technologies and help to develop skills to use the Internet. UK online public libraries offer people access to the Internet and learning opportunities. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will have all the UK’s public libraries online by the end of 2002. www.ukonline.gov.uk provides a single online point of entry to government information and services. It provides people and businesses with a 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Actinic Software Ltd, Locke King House, 2 Balfour Road, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8HD Tel: +44 (0)1932 871000 Fax: +44 (0)1932 871001 email: enquiries@actinic.co.uk www.actinic.co.uk ©Actinic Software 2001. Actinic Catalog and Actinic Business are registered trademarks of Actinic Software Ltd. All other trademarks are acknowledged. Toptips01

Contents Ten frequently asked questions about selling online

Ten tips for attracting people to your commerce site

Ten tips for search engine results

Ten tips for turning browsers into buyers

Ten tips to avoid abandoned shopping carts

Ten tips to convince visitors their transactions are safe

Ten considerations for shipping and distribution

Ten ways to show customers you care

Five tips to cope with peak periods

Further information and advice

1 YOUR LOCAL UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS ADVISER CAN HELP YOU ESTABLISH WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Ten frequently asked questions about selling online According to an Office for National Statistics survey of businesses with 10 or more employees, nearly £57 billion of sales were made over the Internet in 2000. And people are getting more and more used to the idea that Net shopping is convenient, safe and often cheaper.

Businesses that don’t sell online could really be missing out. So, read on for the low-down on setting up a successful online store.

How can you take credit card payments over the Net?

You can take credit cards across the Net in three ways. The first is by capturing card details securely, transmitting them to your desktop and then processing them through a normal PDQ facility. This option is only open if the e-commerce software has the appropriate security and is bank-approved. This costs the least and minimises change and hassle for an existing business. The second option is to process card payments in real time on the Internet. Service providers include NetBanx, Secure Trading, WorldPay, Secpay, Datacash and many others. You pay more and generally have to wait for the money, but they process everything on your behalf. This is more suitable for medium and high-volume sites.

How should people promote their online webstore?

The first step is to promote the site to all existing customers. If existing customers don’t know about the ability to buy online from you, they’ll go elsewhere. So, ‘Order online at’ and the web address should be on everything your company produces. The second is to register with search engines. Just remember that your e-commerce site will register more effectively if the pages are generated in HTML, rather than being dynamically generated from a database. This can affect traffic to your site by around 50%.

What key things turn browsers into buyers?

In short, you need to remove the reasons for not buying. When prospects have reached your site, the marketing process is complete. So, show them the products immediately – don’t hide them behind acres of marketing copy. Provide full terms and conditions. Give your contact details, including a telephone number. Explain your guarantee and returns policy. Finally, explain your security, encryption and privacy policies.

What one thing can impress buyers?

Make the buying steps as easy and as fast as possible. Customers can change their minds at any stage – and nothing puts them off more than over-complex forms and long delays. Use graphics effectively, not for the sake of it. Make the checkout process as easy as possible. Again, ensure that the site is not dynamically database driven unless this is essential.

How much will the software cost to set up a site for selling on the net?

The answer varies according to the sophistication and volume of the site. Professional e-commerce software is available for under £1,000, even under £500, and you can rent web space capable of running such software for under £300 per annum. Professional site design will increase your costs, but you can still expect to pay less than £3,000 for an average number of products.

Can I compete with the big boys?

The beauty of the Internet means small businesses can compete. Ensure your site is attractive, fast and easy to use. Make sure too, that you can fulfil the orders very promptly – people expect delivery within a day or two.

What security risk does transacting online involve?

The security risks run by webstores are similar to those of mail-order companies. Just like them, it’s sensible to put anti-fraud policies in place, such as phoning to confirm high-value orders.

Should I provide e-commerce through a browser interface?

Application Service Providers or ASPs can run the guts of your web operation, with you working through a browser interface. But, if you have to use your e-commerce site a lot – for processing orders, changing products and prices and so on – you may find it cheaper and quicker via your own local PC.

Should vendors maintain their own sites?

Some companies supplying solutions for selling online keep all maintenance of e-commerce sites under their direct control. This means that if you want to change a price, you have to go through the supplier, potentially delaying your site updates. The best way is to have a means of directly updating your site.

Is e-commerce profitable?

Selling online can be done on a small (under £1,000) or large budget. As with all business expansion, do your research, get advice from trusted sources, decide what you can afford to spend, test the waters – and then go for it. 2 RING THE UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS INFOLINE ON 0845 715 2000 OR VISIT THE WEB SITE: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Businesses that don’t sell online could really be missing out. So, read on for the low-down on setting up a successful online store.

How can you take credit card payments over the Net?

How should people promote their online webstore?

What key things turn browsers into buyers?

What one thing can impress buyers?

How much will the software cost to set up a site for selling on the net?

Can I compete with the big boys?

What security risk does transacting online involve?

The security risks run by webstores are similar to those of mail-order companies. Just like them, it’s sensible to put anti-fraud policies in place, such as phoning to confirm high-value orders.

Should I provide e-commerce through a browser interface?

Should vendors maintain their own sites?

Is e-commerce profitable?

Ten tips for attracting people to your commerce site 1 Creating an online site for selling on the Web is not enough on its own – that would be like getting a new telephone number and waiting for it to ring. To attract visitors to your web site and convert them to customers, you have to market the site. Here are some pointers on how you can persuade your prospects to visit and buy your products.

Start with your existing marketing

You should put your web address on your existing brochures, advertising and business cards. Wherever you promote your company name, you should also promote your web address.

Either research the most effective way to do the registration yourself, or employ a professional. If you use the free, automatic registrations without any thought or investigation, your company will be lost in the crowd. Search engines can provide considerable traffic, so it’s worth investing time in learning about them.

Use newsgroups, AOL chat, Compuserve and CIX

There are lots of places where people hold online discussions. Some of these forums will be talking about your speciality. If you sell yachting gear, for instance, there are plenty of specialist boating forums. If you participate responsibly, you can get the chance to talk about your company, products and offerings. This has the added benefits that it can be enjoyable and is likely to provide lots of useful tips.

Target your customers

There are lots of opportunities to advertise online – banner advertisements, e-mailing lists, directories and so on. Before parting with your cash, you should use the same judgement that you’d use when deciding whether to advertise in conventional media. Who looks at this medium and are they in your target market? Getting your message out to large numbers isn’t the issue – you need to target interested prospects and potential customers for your products.

Find out what works

Measure everything you do. That means finding out where your leads and customers come from. Use questions on your web site to ask buyers how they heard about your site.

Stories about the novel ways companies use the Internet are interesting and can often win coverage in local, regional or national media. If you’re in business-to-business, trade magazines may be interested too. If you can get the press interested, it’s worth a fortune in marketing.

Find sites that are complementary to yours, and offer mutual links

Look for specialist sites that cater for your particular niche and get them to either link or put you in their search results. In return, put a link back to them. This can offer added value to your visitors as well as boosting your traffic.

Get a web address that makes sense

It’s worth spending some time thinking about your web site address (URL). Ideally, it should be easy to remember, stand out from the crowd and communicate your message. This will take some time and probably a lot of investigation, as many good URLs have already been taken.

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Use interest in the Internet for PR purposes

Use multiple URLs

If you can think of different but interesting web addresses, they can all point to your one site. Having more than one web address gives you lots of extra options. You can register multiple times with search engines and you can emphasise different aspects of your products.

Give extra value at your site

Can you come up with services that could attract visitors? If you sell accessories for musical instruments, for example, you could offer online guides to care and maintenance, or even a gig guide. Think about the extra services your target market is interested in. They may come to you for free information and leave as customers. 4 YOUR LOCAL UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS ADVISER CAN HELP YOU ESTABLISH WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Start with your existing marketing

You should put your web address on your existing brochures, advertising and business cards. Wherever you promote your company name, you should also promote your web address.

Use newsgroups, AOL chat, Compuserve and CIX

Target your customers

Find out what works

Measure everything you do. That means finding out where your leads and customers come from. Use questions on your web site to ask buyers how they heard about your site.

Find sites that are complementary to yours, and offer mutual links

Get a web address that makes sense

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Use interest in the Internet for PR purposes

Use multiple URLs

Give extra value at your site

Ten tips for search engine results Seventy five per cent of users don’t go beyond the second page of search

engine results. That means if your site isn’t in the top 40 results, you probably won’t be noticed. Make sure at least one page on your site – preferably your home page – is set up as described here, to give yourself the best possible chance of getting noticed.

Choose two or three key phrases that you think customers will use to search for a product or service like yours

Avoid single words like ‘shoes’ or very broad terms like ‘ironmongery’. There will be so many sites in these kinds of category you’ll be very unlikely to get ranked on the first or second pages.

Don’t cover too many phrases in a single page

If you need to use more phrases, set up separate pages for them.

In the header section of your home page, include meta-tags (description and keywords) that contain your key phrases

Use lower case. Over 80% of people search entirely in lower case.

Include the same key phrases in the title tag

Suppose you’re running a sailing site and you have decided that ‘boats for sale’ and ‘yachts for sale’ are the search phrases your potential customers are most likely to use. You would set up your meta tags something like this: <HEAD> <TITLE>sailing on the seven seas: boats for sale, yachts for sale</TITLE> <META NAME=“description” CONTENT=“boats for sale, yachts for sale and everything you need to know about sailing”/> <META NAME=“keywords” CONTENT=“boats, sailing, sails, boats for sale, yachts for sale”/> </HEAD>

6 RING THE UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS INFOLINE ON 0845 715 2000 OR VISIT THE WEB SITE: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Repeat the key phrases about four times near the top of your web page

If your page is based on a table, this will mean placing them near the top of the left-hand column.

Repeat the phrases in comments

And also in Alt text attached to images, for example: <IMG SRC=“yacht.gif”ALT= “boats for sale, yachts for sale”/>

Get as many links to your pages as possible from other sites

This can affect your ranking in some major search engines.

Don’t make your text small, white or the same colour as the background

If you do, you’ll be penalised by several search engines.

Don’t use frames

Several major search engines won’t link through them. However well your pages are optimised, they won’t get ranked if the search engines can only find the frameset page.

Manually submit your pages to the major search engines listed below

Re-submit on a regular basis – you can get software to help you do this. Some of these engines do make a charge.

• AltaVista • AOL • Excite / Webcrawler • FAST (http://www.alltheweb.com/) • Google • GoTo • HotBot • Infoseek • Inktomi • Looksmart • Lycos • MSN • Netcenter (Netscape) • Northern Light • Open Directory (http://dmoz.org/) • Yahoo Several of these share the same underlying database.

Ten tips for search engine results Seventy five per cent of users don’t go beyond the second page of search

Choose two or three key phrases that you think customers will use to search for a product or service like yours

Don’t cover too many phrases in a single page

If you need to use more phrases, set up separate pages for them.

In the header section of your home page, include meta-tags (description and keywords) that contain your key phrases

Use lower case. Over 80% of people search entirely in lower case.

Include the same key phrases in the title tag

6 RING THE UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS INFOLINE ON 0845 715 2000 OR VISIT THE WEB SITE: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Repeat the key phrases about four times near the top of your web page

If your page is based on a table, this will mean placing them near the top of the left-hand column.

Repeat the phrases in comments

And also in Alt text attached to images, for example: <IMG SRC=“yacht.gif”ALT= “boats for sale, yachts for sale”/>

Get as many links to your pages as possible from other sites

This can affect your ranking in some major search engines.

Don’t make your text small, white or the same colour as the background

If you do, you’ll be penalised by several search engines.

Don’t use frames

Several major search engines won’t link through them. However well your pages are optimised, they won’t get ranked if the search engines can only find the frameset page.

Manually submit your pages to the major search engines listed below

Re-submit on a regular basis – you can get software to help you do this. Some of these engines do make a charge.

Ten tips for turning browsers into buyers

The Internet is a good sales medium for products where you can make a judgement based upon sight or sound, but poor where smell, taste or touch are important. If you need more than sight or sound to sell, you’ll need to build trust – customers will need to have confidence that fruit will be ripe, clothes will fit and so on. You can build trust by establishing a reputation, or by reducing the risk to the buyer by offering no-quibble guarantees.

The key to sales is offering what the customer wants, at a price they are happy to pay. In your e-store, the buyer cannot easily ask questions of you, so you need to provide all the information they require to make a decision. It’s very easy to drive someone away on the Web – the rest of the world is only a click away – so minimise the barriers to buying.

Selling successfully to people who browse on the Internet has many of the elements of ordinary sales and marketing, but there are some subtle differences. For a start, the demographics of people who shop on the Web can be quite different from those who stick to bricks and mortar retailing, unless you happen to be selling hi-tech equipment or gadgets.

Don’t ask them to log in or supply any details before they can look at your catalogue

There will be plenty of time to get their name and address once they’ve decided to buy something. It’s sensible to offer regular customers some form of recognition, like showing their name, but if you ask for it too early, it’s like an over-familiar salesman. Most buyers will leave your site rather than fill in a form.

Don’t use Flash, large images, front-doors or other gimmicks

If you really need a short introduction, then offer a ‘skip intro’ link. Otherwise, 80-90% of your visitors will leave without opening the door. The rest will watch the animation and then leave. Ask yourself what’s more important – impressing people with your technical wizardry or selling them something?

Make sure it’s obvious how to add something to the shopping basket and use common metaphors. If they can’t see how to buy, they won’t – there’s always another store to go to.

Make it easy to find your products and services

If you have a home page, have a clear link such as ‘Shop Here’ in large letters. Don’t rely on clever graphics or animations. Flashing and blinking images and text can be distracting.

Make it easy to recognise what you sell

Have pictures of the sort of products you sell in each category – some of your buyers may not speak your language, but they know what they want to buy. If you sell branded goods, use the brand logos (get permission) to reinforce your credibility and to speed people through. Link logos to the relevant sales section. 8 YOUR LOCAL UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS ADVISER CAN HELP YOU ESTABLISH WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Provide good searching

Provide attribute-based searches as well as keywords. If someone is looking for a four-door car on your site, they don’t want to have to guess if you called it ‘four-door’, ‘4-door’ or ‘4dr’. Create a drop-down list of the common attributes of your products and supplement your normal keyword searching. Make sure that searching is fast and accurate.

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Keep it simple

Keep your site up-to-date

If goods go out of stock, take them off the site or mark them as ‘Temporarily out-of-stock’. Make sure your terms and conditions explain what happens if you do run out. The Internet is very good for disposing of ‘dead stock’ at discount prices, but keep this in a separate section from your regular items, where it can be updated easily.

Show special prices and your fastest-moving goods on your entry page

Provide hot-links through to the main part of the catalogue, but avoid having a ‘Buy now’ link on the entry page. It’s better for customers to have a look round at other items, just in case they buy more. However, every item in your main catalogue should have a ‘Buy and checkout’ link for the buyer in a rush. If it’s difficult to buy, they’ll be gone.

Offer to keep the name and address of buyers – you can use a cookie on their browser to avoid security issues

This will allow your customers to check out without having to type all their details in again. They’ll appreciate it, and it’s an incentive to shop again. Give them the option to not store the cookie – they may not be using their regular computer.

Make your promises and guarantees clear and unequivocal

Include your guarantees in the checkout process, even if they appear elsewhere on the site. You need to inspire confidence in buyers. If you ever have an issue, just make the refund – unhappy people tell two or three times as many other people as happy ones do.

Ten tips for turning browsers into buyers

Don’t ask them to log in or supply any details before they can look at your catalogue

Don’t use Flash, large images, front-doors or other gimmicks

Make sure it’s obvious how to add something to the shopping basket and use common metaphors. If they can’t see how to buy, they won’t – there’s always another store to go to.

Make it easy to find your products and services

If you have a home page, have a clear link such as ‘Shop Here’ in large letters. Don’t rely on clever graphics or animations. Flashing and blinking images and text can be distracting.

Make it easy to recognise what you sell

Provide good searching

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Keep it simple

Keep your site up-to-date

Show special prices and your fastest-moving goods on your entry page

Offer to keep the name and address of buyers – you can use a cookie on their browser to avoid security issues

Make your promises and guarantees clear and unequivocal

Ten tips to avoid abandoned shopping carts Customers put products into carts for many reasons. They may be competitors checking out your site, consumers comparing prices or finding out your trading policies or novice shoppers who find your site

And keep your site simple and easy-to-use.

too difficult to use. Some customers may use your site and then place the order by telephone. Abandoned shopping carts aren’t necessarily

Build trust – and more trust

negative. Browsing your site is just like browsing a store.

Provide your contact details throughout the site, including a telephone number and physical address

Promote confidence, respond quickly to e-mails, and answer the telephone professionally.

Explain your postage and packing costs early in the transaction

If the customer proceeds to checkout and decides the postage is too expensive, you lose the sale. However, to justify a single postage charge, a customer may buy more than one product.

10 RING THE UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS INFOLINE ON 0845 715 2000 OR VISIT THE WEB SITE: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Explain your guarantee and returns policy

A rock solid guarantee goes a long way to persuading people to buy.

Describe your terms and conditions and privacy policies

Explain your security and encryption process

Credit card information is fully encrypted by virtually all vendors as it travels over the Net. Provide details of your security method. This could come from using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or bank-approved software.

Provide alternative ordering methods

Even if you would prefer your customers to buy through the site, give them the alternatives by fax or telephone. A few people will take advantage of the facility – the rest will order online, feeling confident that you’re contactable.

Make the site fast

Use graphics effectively, not for the sake of it. Make the checkout process as easy as possible. Again, ensure that the site is not dynamically database driven unless this is absolutely essential.

Manage customer expectations

In an e-store you need to make sure that customers know exactly what they’re getting and when. Amazon tell you that a book ‘normally ships in 2-3 days’ so you aren’t too upset if it takes four days. If you offer delivery in 24 hours, you need to be clear about any time cut-offs, such as ‘orders received by 4pm normally ship the same day’.

Remember customer service is key

Encourage repeat business by going out of your way to meet customer needs. A happy customer will tell their friends, but an unhappy one will tell anyone who’ll listen.

And keep your site simple and easy-to-use.

too difficult to use. Some customers may use your site and then place the order by telephone. Abandoned shopping carts aren’t necessarily

Build trust – and more trust

negative. Browsing your site is just like browsing a store.

Provide your contact details throughout the site, including a telephone number and physical address

Promote confidence, respond quickly to e-mails, and answer the telephone professionally.

Explain your postage and packing costs early in the transaction

If the customer proceeds to checkout and decides the postage is too expensive, you lose the sale. However, to justify a single postage charge, a customer may buy more than one product.

10 RING THE UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS INFOLINE ON 0845 715 2000 OR VISIT THE WEB SITE: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Explain your guarantee and returns policy

A rock solid guarantee goes a long way to persuading people to buy.

Describe your terms and conditions and privacy policies

Explain your security and encryption process

Provide alternative ordering methods

Make the site fast

Use graphics effectively, not for the sake of it. Make the checkout process as easy as possible. Again, ensure that the site is not dynamically database driven unless this is absolutely essential.

Manage customer expectations

Remember customer service is key

Encourage repeat business by going out of your way to meet customer needs. A happy customer will tell their friends, but an unhappy one will tell anyone who’ll listen.

Ten tips to convince visitors their transactions are safe Scare stories abound and you need to be able to reassure your customers that the Web is a safe place to shop.

Credit card companies protect buyers

Many people don’t realise the extent of protection provided by their credit card companies. It’s simple: if you get transactions charged to your account, which you didn’t authorise, you can request a refund from your credit card issuer.

Buying online is as safe as buying by mail order

Risks on the Internet are the same as in mail order. If you feel confident to buy by phone, fax or mail, you should be confident to buy on the Internet. In fact, your rights are the same whether shopping on the Net or in the high street. You’re covered by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Trade Descriptions Act 1976. If you receive faulty goods, you have the right to a full refund. The only exception is when buying from abroad.

The fraud myth

People should be careful with credit card details in any transaction – and using the Internet is no exception. Despite all the press hype about Internet fraud, though, real-life examples are amazingly hard to find.

Encryption is the key

Remember that credit card information is fully encrypted by virtually all vendors as it travels over the Net. Provide details of your security method. This could come from using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) of bank approved software. 12 YOUR LOCAL UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS ADVISER CAN HELP YOU ESTABLISH WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Weigh up the risks

Make sure you are aware of the possibilities for fraud, but always weigh up the risks before you invest in software or services.

Buying online is no riskier than many personal transactions

The risk of fraud is actually no greater than using your card in a supermarket where the person behind you can read it. The risk is no greater than in a restaurant, where the card often disappears and any member of staff could run off copies of the slips.

Reassure visitors that you’re real

List your actual address and phone number and provide contact details for a real person. Say on the site: ‘If you’re concerned about security, call us’. Provide facts, and maybe pictures, about your business, as this will promote confidence. You can also join schemes, such as the Which Web Trader Scheme (www.which.com/webtrader/), designed to make sure consumers get a fair deal and to provide them with protection if things go wrong.

The big boys do it

Millions of pounds of transactions are now being conducted across the Internet every day. Thousands and thousands of purchases are taking place, and multi-billion pound companies such as Cisco are making the Web their main ordering mechanism. Would they do this if it was fundamentally insecure?

Offer alternative ordering methods

Think twice about orders from outside Europe and North America

The few cases of reported fraud on the Web have been at the seller’s expense, not the buyer. Vendors need to beware of orders coming from jurisdictions where it’s particularly hard to act against fraud. Countries outside Europe and North America seem to pose the main risk.

Ten tips to convince visitors their transactions are safe Scare stories abound and you need to be able to reassure your customers that the Web is a safe place to shop.

Credit card companies protect buyers

Buying online is as safe as buying by mail order

The fraud myth

Encryption is the key

Weigh up the risks

Make sure you are aware of the possibilities for fraud, but always weigh up the risks before you invest in software or services.

Buying online is no riskier than many personal transactions

Reassure visitors that you’re real

The big boys do it

Offer alternative ordering methods

Think twice about orders from outside Europe and North America

Ten considerations for shipping and distribution

Distribution is an area where bricks and mortar companies may have an edge. If you already have a warehouse and you already make mail-order sales, then you’re better placed than a pure dotcom company which only has a web site.

1 If you want to get rich from the growth of the Internet at minimum risk, then invest in a reliable carrier company. People who buy in a hurry expect the goods to be delivered in a hurry too. This is great for products like music and software, where delivery can be made electronically. It’s harder when you have physical goods to be shipped to the customer.

Manage customer expectations

In a physical store, you can chat to the owner and look around. If you can see what you want on a shelf, you can be reasonably sure that it’s in stock and in reasonable condition before you hand over your cash.

Placing an internet order feels risky for the buyer. Make sure your buyers are told that you’ve received the order and keep them up-to-date on the progress of that order. If you have to make a back-order, let the buyer know when the rest of the order is expected.

5 2

No surprises for the customer

Make sure that you calculate shipping charges as part of the whole deal. You may need to charge by weight, by volume or by value of order. If you offer free shipping on orders over a certain value, make it clear whether that value includes VAT.

Living with back orders

Back orders are a fact of life if you accept fax or mail order, so expect them in internet selling too. Only charge shipping once – it’s irritating to be charged extra shipping when it’s the merchant’s fault that the item isn’t in stock. Make it clear on the site how you’ll deal with it. Allow the buyer the choice of waiting for a complete shipment or taking part-orders.

Give plenty of feedback

Be clear about returns and guarantees

Sadly, some of your sales will come back to you. Some may be your fault, but others may be beyond your control. Publish your returns policy and include it as part of the ordering process at your site. Work out who pays for return carriage – if it’s you, then make sure your carrier can collect.

Say what you mean and mean what you say

Don’t over-promise. Repeat customers are much more valuable than one-offs. Make it clear when you’ll deliver and then stick to it – even if it costs you more. Customers appreciate merchants who go out of their way to meet their commitments.

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Selling overseas

There are extra considerations when exporting. Who’s responsible for any duty or taxes on the goods, for example? A new EU Directive is setting out a legal framework for shipping within the EU. Most large carriers can collect duty on goods when they arrive but you need to be sure who’s going to pick up the tab.

Pick a reliable carrier

There are lots of carriers and they compete heavily. Value reliability over price. A lost buyer will probably cost you more than the difference in shipping cost. Pick a carrier who can track goods online. Give the tracking reference to your customer as part of the order processing feedback. Monitor the performance of your carriers.

You need to be clear with your customers about what you offer and then live by it. If you outsource, be aware that you can’t outsource responsibility. Buyers don’t care why you’ve failed or whose fault it is – all they care about is getting what they’ve bought.

Will your customer be in when it arrives?

Customers usually have to go to work, so there may be problems in receiving your goods. Many companies are experimenting with deliveries to workplaces or to known drop-off points like petrol service stations. If you can offer this, make sure that you can deal with goods that ‘go missing’ en-route.

Can you outsource it all?

Outsourcing fulfilment can be attractive – letting a warehousing company store and ship the goods. Make sure that it’s clear who bears the risk of stock in the warehouse, both for fire and theft. If the warehouse contents vanish, who’s left with the bill? If rats nibble your CDs, who pays? Check you’re properly insured if it’s your risk. Insure it anyway if it’s theirs – who knows if they’ve paid their premiums? Check on their performance – it’s your reputation at stake.

Ten considerations for shipping and distribution

Manage customer expectations

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No surprises for the customer

Living with back orders

Give plenty of feedback

Be clear about returns and guarantees

Say what you mean and mean what you say

14 RING THE UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS INFOLINE ON 0845 715 2000 OR VISIT THE WEB SITE: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Selling overseas

Pick a reliable carrier

Will your customer be in when it arrives?

Can you outsource it all?

Ten ways to show customers you care Selling online is very similar in business terms to selling by any remote route. When a customer sends a cheque in response to a mail-order advertisement in a newspaper, they are extending the same trust as any

Put your business details on your site

You need to show that you have some tangible presence. If all they have is an e-mail address, don’t be surprised if they don’t rush to hand over their credit card details. It’s amazing how many sites lack basic details – under the EU Distance Selling Directive, it’s actually a legal requirement.

buyer on your web site. It’s a risky business for them, so you need to provide a service that makes them confident about you.

Send an immediate acknowledgement of receiving an order

This can be automated by your e-commerce package or you may choose to send a personal note. Small companies can do this more easily than corporates with their larger volume of orders.

Set expectations and then beat them

Often, mail-order companies give themselves room to beat their targets – that’s why mail-order adverts say ‘you may wait up to 28 days for delivery’. You probably won’t get away with that on the Internet (unless it’s built to order) but you also don’t want to make a rod for your own back. Unless you’re going to pick up and process orders at 11pm, don’t tell people that you normally ship the same day. And keep your customer up-to-date on the progress of their order. Tell them when you have shipped it, and you may even supply a courier’s tracking reference so that they can follow it on the courier’s site.

A customer who’s just ordered? Sell them more

They’ve just shown they trust you enough to place an order, so it’s a good time to offer them more. Look at what they ordered: is there anything else they might like from your range? If so, why not contact them and suggest it? This gives a personal touch to your operation as well as generating additional revenue. You could offer the extra items post-free as an incentive. You may want to identify your bestselling lines, or to look at links between items (batteries with toys, for example, or a case with a laptop). If you have a printed catalogue, ask if they’d like it when they order. Don’t feel that the Web is your only channel – you have multiple routes to your customer and it’s much easier and cheaper to sell more to an existing customer than it is to win a new one. Use any sale as a chance to get further customers. Ask for recommendations – you’re much more likely to make a sale if recommended by someone trusted. If you get a sale as a result – say thank you personally and send some form of reward, perhaps a voucher that can be used at your store or a small gift.

Look for every opportunity to personalise your service

The Internet is generally very impersonal, so you need to communicate that your business is run by human beings who care about their customers. This also reassures them that they have a contact in case of problems.

Image is an issue when a customer has never met you

Take all the chances you have to exceed expectations. If the credit card and delivery addresses are different, you could call the buyer to offer a giftwrap service. This also helps protect the vendor from fraud without offending the customer. 16 YOUR LOCAL UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS ADVISER CAN HELP YOU ESTABLISH WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS

If there are any problems, like out of stock items or a delivery delay, tell the customer immediately and take full responsibility

Never, ever blame anyone else – even the courier. Nothing is more infuriating for the consumer than when a supplier blames some third-party over whom they have no control.

When a mistake happens, correct it at the highest level

Customers appreciate it when a manager calls, rather than the most junior member of staff. It makes them feel important to the company. And the manager has more power to offer compensation or to rectify the problem.

Review your service continually

Call customers a week or so after delivery and check they’re happy with what they bought and with your service to them. You can do this by e-mail or by telephone. This gives you feedback on your operation and another legitimate chance to sell something. Your customer may have ordered one of something to try it out – if they’re happy, you may get a larger order immediately. If they have any problems, apologise and deal with them. If a junior made the follow-up call, still get a manager to make the apology.

And finally, remind everyone in your organisation that you are one company – it’s everyone’s problem if a customer is unhappy

Never let one department criticise another. Customers will not be reassured about a company that is warring with itself. Focus on beating your competitors, not your staff.

Put your business details on your site

buyer on your web site. It’s a risky business for them, so you need to provide a service that makes them confident about you.

Send an immediate acknowledgement of receiving an order

This can be automated by your e-commerce package or you may choose to send a personal note. Small companies can do this more easily than corporates with their larger volume of orders.

Set expectations and then beat them

A customer who’s just ordered? Sell them more

Look for every opportunity to personalise your service

Image is an issue when a customer has never met you

If there are any problems, like out of stock items or a delivery delay, tell the customer immediately and take full responsibility

Never, ever blame anyone else – even the courier. Nothing is more infuriating for the consumer than when a supplier blames some third-party over whom they have no control.

When a mistake happens, correct it at the highest level

Review your service continually

And finally, remind everyone in your organisation that you are one company – it’s everyone’s problem if a customer is unhappy

Never let one department criticise another. Customers will not be reassured about a company that is warring with itself. Focus on beating your competitors, not your staff.

Five tips to cope with peak periods

Whether it’s a seasonal rush for Christmas presents or a post-promotional flurry, be prepared.

Getting no orders would be a disaster. But, believe it or not, getting more orders than you can handle can be just as bad. For every order you can’t fulfil, there’s an unhappy customer who won’t come back. And criticism travels further and faster than recommendation.

Make sure you can handle the traffic

Anticipating demand is vital. If you’re selling products or services that traditionally have peaks and troughs during the year, you need to plan ahead – getting in more stocks and, perhaps, more people to cope with the extra processing. The same applies if you’re running an advertising campaign or promoting your store through partner sites. Be prepared for a sudden burst of activity. Successes tend to get more successful, because it’s so easy for people to spread the news by e-mail.

Make sure your e-commerce system is properly supported in the UK

Sod’s law states that problems will occur at the least convenient moment. So, you’ll always get an issue at your busiest time of year. It’s the wrong time to be trying to telephone a developer who’s asleep in San Diego. Work out your worst case scenario and put your system to the test – and do it before you have to.

Make sure that you control the store

In peak periods, you can have a rush of new goods and they can go out of stock very quickly. You need to be able to respond quickly too. You don’t necessarily want a web developer setting the priorities for what products are online. Only you really know your business. You may want to change prices to clear slow-moving stock, or to substitute products when you get alternative supplies. You need to be able to add, modify and delete at any time – even late at night. So, your e-commerce software needs to be in your hands and under your control. That also means a bit of planning – the time to experiment with the software is when things are quiet.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

You need to make sure that your delivery methods can meet the customers’ requirements. That means only offering shipping that will work. Over holiday periods, especially Christmas, make clear when is the last day you can deliver. Ideally, put this on the header or footer of every page in your online catalogue. Once the deadline’s passed, change your message to make it clear that you’re sorry, but orders can’t be fulfilled in time. Be proactive with your regular customers – forewarn them about delivery deadlines and give them a chance to get their orders in earlier. It’s also an ideal way of encouraging them to shop with you again.

Customers are in a hurry

Shoppers are usually in a hurry. At Christmas, for example, you’ll get those who buy in September and those who buy after the 20th December. Most internet shoppers are in the latter category. When they come to your site, it needs to be well laid-out and all the links must work. Most of all, it must have a lightning-fast search capability that can match both by category and by price range. Your e-commerce product must integrate the two: search engines may be fine for text-based searching but they’re very poor when you want a gift for an eight-year-old girl that’s under £25. Set yourself some typical customer scenarios and test out the site for yourself – did you find what you wanted and did you find it quickly enough?

18 RING THE UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS INFOLINE ON 0845 715 2000 OR VISIT THE WEB SITE: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Five tips to cope with peak periods

Whether it’s a seasonal rush for Christmas presents or a post-promotional flurry, be prepared.

Make sure you can handle the traffic

Make sure your e-commerce system is properly supported in the UK

Make sure that you control the store

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

Customers are in a hurry

18 RING THE UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS INFOLINE ON 0845 715 2000 OR VISIT THE WEB SITE: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Further information and advice UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS ADVISERS

DOING BUSINESS ONLINE

A network of several hundred UK online for business advisers is available throughout the UK, in partnership with Business Links in England and the equivalent in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Practical advice on spotting the uses and benefits of information and communications technology in your business – from marketing to sales to training.

UK online for business advisers can help you make the most of information and communication technology. They provide impartial help and advice tailored to your individual business needs. You can try out technologies and find out how to work electronically with your customers and suppliers. The kind of services your UK online for business adviser can offer include:

HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN WORK FOR YOU Our technology guides provide step-by-step, straightforward advice on how to develop and implement technology in your business. They’re easy to understand and contain information on products and costs, and handy checklists.

Ring the UK online for business infoline on 0845 715 2000 to find out how to contact your local adviser.

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WEB SITE

GENERAL BUSINESS ADVICE

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impartial, expert advice consultancy and IT audits signposting to training hands-on access to equipment forums for talking with other business people Internet and world wide web services

Visit the web site at www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk for up-to-date information and advice on getting the business benefits from technology. Whether you’re a new web user or a more seasoned surfer, moving around the site is easy – and you’ll find something of interest with every visit you make.

PUBLICATIONS UK online for business produces a wide range of practical, jargon-free guides to help you.

Mobile Communications and E-mail Video and Data Conferencing Networking E-commerce and the Law ASP – Application Service Providers Broadband Doing International Business Online E-Security Linking for Success

England

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Call the National Business Link line on 0845 600 9006 Visit the web site at www.businesslink.org

All UK online for business booklets can be obtained by:

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Calling the UK online for business infoline on 0845 715 2000

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E-mailing info@ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk Visiting the web site at www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

20 YOUR LOCAL UK ONLINE FOR BUSINESS ADVISER CAN HELP YOU ESTABLISH WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS

TOP TIPS FOR SELLING SUCCESSFULLY ONLINE

Infoline: 0845 715 2000 Web site: www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk

Printed in the UK on recycled paper with a minimum HMSO score of 75. February 2002. Department of Trade and Industry. http://www.dti.gov.uk/ Â© Crown Copyright. DTI/Pub XXXX/XXk/02/02/NP. URN 02/580