Tag: Canton MA Web Design

Not selling online… Why?December 26th, 2013

The numbers are in for the XMAS season, online shopping is up again. Brick and mortar shopping is down.

So the question is this: why aren’t you selling online?

Now obviously not every business has goods to sell online, but if you are a retailer (or wholesaler for that matter), you are missing the boat without an online component. I hear some people say, we have too many items, it would be too hard to put everything online. Ok, if you don’t want to put everything online, how about a list of special items for the web? Think of items that are reasonable to ship and that are a bargain online. People search online via Google Shopping and other comparison shopping tools. So if your price isn’t competitive, you won’t sell too many items. Can’t think of what to sell, how about offering a gift card for sale online?

eCommerce gets easier and easier to add to your website. If you have a WordPress site for instance, you can use WooCommerce, an excellent eCommerce plugin. Only want to sell one or 2 items? Just add PayPal buy now buttons.

One of the benefits of eCommerce is that it really is inexpensive to sell online. If you already have the items in stock, the cost to run an eCommerce site is only marginally higher than a regular website. You have to have a secure certificate, and be ever vigilant updating software. Other than that costs are few. Now of course if you small business starts selling an inordinate amount of goods you may need to hire fulfillment people. But what a great problem to have!

Online shopping will continue to increase. Stores with no ability to sell online will continue to decline. Companies with a dual strategy will have a chance to survive and flourish. The question is, which will you be?

Great customer service improves bottom lineDecember 2nd, 2013

Great customer service is something you never forget. Recently my wife and I tried a sauce, Hissho Japanese BBQ Sauce. It was delicious so we wanted to buy more when the bottle ran out. Unfortunately we could not remember where we got it. So my wife sent an email to the company and asked them where she could buy their product in our area. Well, first off the company marketing person wrote back immediately. A very good sign, that this company cares about customer service. They told my wife where can buy the product, and mailed us two bottles and a T-shirt. (All of this was free of charge) We were so impressed that not only will we continue to support this company, we will tell everyone the story. Their great customer service gained a customer for life, and perhaps more due to our recommendations. (and my blog post :))

I always tell my clients, you may not be the biggest, you may not even be the best, but you can always give the best service. That is a lesson I learned a long time ago in this business. Answer emails right away. Don’t make people wonder whether you’re going to help them, let them know, and reassure that you are there and willing to help. For my business this what separates me from my competition. I answer all emails the same day, and if possible complete support requests the same day as well.

People appreciate great customer service.  They are quick to refer you to friends and associates. No matter what you do for a living, this is something within your control. You can beat larger competitors by providing better service. I would pay more to do business with a smaller company that provides better service rather than a big faceless corporation with outsourced customer service.