Selling on the Internet

Source: www.clickz.com

90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
82%
41%
60%
78%
1999 2000 2001 2002
Source: Virginia Microenterprise Network Regional Conference

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
37%
58%
72%
8%
1999 2000 2001 2002
Source: Virginia Microenterprise Network Regional Conference

$ billions
250
229.8
200
150
100
50
0
135.8
72.8
35.4
14.9
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Source: Virginia Microenterprise Network Regional Conference

While developing an E-
Commerce presence, it is important to know where you are now as well as the appropriate destination for your business.
Level 3
Level 5

End-to-end

Fulfillment

Workflow
Level 4 Integrated

Online orders, payments


Order tracking, queries
Funds transfer
Transactional
.
com



Seamless connectivity to back-end system(s)
Minimize/eliminate manual input on transactions.
B2B automated processes
Level 2

Advertising


Marketing
Information

Registration

Forms

E-mail
Static
Level 1

No company web site

Can access other sites
Interactive
Access



Secure transaction processing
Online payment authorization
Authentication and validation
 Web site connectivity to database application(s) and email accounts


Web site
Content development & updates
No
Capability


Internet access through ISP
Email accounts
Legend

- Functions at Level
 - Requirements to achieve next level
Adapted from:www.mepcenters.nist.gov/public/ecommerce-summit.nsf

Know why you are on the Web???

To make money!!!
Web design is not about art, it's about making money!!!

What people are buying on the Web . . .
• Airline tickets
• Hotel reservations
• Computer hardware
• Apparel
• Consumer electronics
• Car rental
• Health/Beauty
• Books
• Music
• Computer software
• Jewelry
• Toys/Video games
Reference: Forrester
• Food/Beverages
• Office supplies
• Flowers
• Linens/Home decorations
• Sporting goods
• Videos
• Appliances
• Furniture
• Tools/Hardware
• Footwear
• Small appliances
• Garden supplies

Examples of Mississippi E-Tailers ...

www.jubilations.com

www.pleasantgrovesoaps.com

www.pennysanford.com

www.dirty-hippie.com

www.iceboxframes.com

www.mscheesestraws.com

www.ebicom.net/~bbj1

www.dixiesnow.com

www.spirit-song-studio.com

www.pashapillow.com

www.deltapecan.com

www.cjsbows.com

Who is going to design, build, and maintain the site???
In-house vs. Outsourcing

 E-business Template Site
– Yahoo Web Store
 Contracting / Outsourcing
– Individuals or companies
 Do it Yourself
– From scratch, combination of the above

 Advantages
– Easy to use: browser based interface
– All-in-one solution: domain registration, website design, administration, and hosting
– Relatively fast setup, do not need extensive technical knowledge
– Browse before buying (can look at other sites and available templates)
– May list in online categories and directories

 Disadvantages
– Limited flexibility in store design and layout
– Your store looks very much like other stores developed with the template service
– Additional features, bandwidth, or support may be extra
– Costs usually increase as additional items are added
– Limited support (may be web only)


Advantages
– Increased complexity and customization available
– Experienced individuals can guide your online business and goals
– Technical translation and increased support


Disadvantages
– May take hours or days to make changes
– Requires time for meetings and reviews
– Contractors differ with services, support, professionalism and assistance
– Pricing system may quickly escalate costs


Considerations
– Always have a contract signed by both parties with complete disclosure
– Contractors will often retain the code, design, features, images, or even content until payment is received
– Make sure you have agreements on the length, limits, and rates or total price


Advantages
– Customization limited only by your time and financial resources
– Unlimited and free updates (instantly)
– Wealth of software and design support available on the Internet
– Easy to incorporate site and business for continuity


Disadvantages
– Time investment: learning software
– Time investment: designing site
– Time investment: troubleshooting, updating
– May require initial upfront costs (often used as business investments)
– Must learn Internet marketing and search engine techniques


E-business Template Site
– $40 - $200 (monthly)

Contracting / Outsourcing
– $500 - $15,000

Build it Yourself
– $0 - $3000 (depends on current situation)

Other Needs:
– Domains ($15-$35 annually)
– Hosting ($15 - $200 monthly)
– Secure Connection ($200-$400 annually)

• Bad domain names
• Somebody’s cousin built it
• Somebody’s cousin hosts it
• Only webmaster can make changes
• Hokey unprofessional design
• Too slow to download
• Not organized properly
• Stale content

• Domain name
• Web site/store
• Web server/host
• Site marketing

• Domain name
• Web site/store
• Web server/host
• Site marketing

www.yourname.com

Domain Names
– Should be your website name (ex. acme.com = ACME, Inc.)
– Shorter names are usually easier to remember
– Avoid hyphenated names
– Avoid plurals, “the”, and “my” if possible
– Easy to remember, type and promote
– Remember! You can have more than one domain for your website: amazon.com, amazonbooks.com, amazonvideos.com, amazonndvds,com, amazonkids.com

• Domain name
• Web site/store
• Web server/host
• Site marketing

• Web site/store
• Online product catalog
• Shopping model/Ordering system
• Merchant account/Payment processing
• Customer communication system
• Tracking system

Shopping Cart, SSL, & Online Payment Methods

Shopping Carts/Bags
– Must be easy (intuitive) to use
– Support common functions (add, remove, modify, clear, save, checkout)

Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
– Provides a secure transaction link
– Gives buyer and sellers confidence

Online payment processing system
– Standard: credit cards
–
Alternatives: PayPal

Methods . . .
 Snail Mail
 Telephone
 Fax
 Online

With . . .
 Check
 Money Order
 Purchase Order
 Credit Card
 Intermediary

www.paypal.com

What do you need for an e-commerce site . . .
• Domain name
• Web site/store
• Web server/host
• Site marketing

 Hosting Company - MUST HAVE!
– Easy to use interface, navigation, support
– Telephone support number (try it out!)
– Reliable hosting (99.999% uptime guaranteed)
– Support for the features of your website
(ASP/PHP, FrontPage extensions, SSL, database support)
– Clear pricing structure, quick turn-a-round

 Setup fee

Monthly fee
 Domain name

Storage space
 Website builder
 Operating system
 Provider History
 Technical support
 Site traffic report
 Technical support
 E-mail addresses
 E-Commerce capable

Business management tools
 Portfolio

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/merchant

Merchant Starter
$50 start-up; $39.95/month; 1.5% transaction fee
Merchant Standard
$50 start-up; $99.95/month; 1% transaction fee
Merchant Professional
$50 start-up; $299.95/month; .75% transaction fee

What do you need for an e-commerce site . . .
• Domain name
• Web site/store
• Web server/host
• Site marketing

Reasons Why People Shop the Web . . .
• Easy to place an order
• Large selection of products
• Cheaper prices
• Faster service and delivery
• Detailed and clear product information
• No sales pressure
• Easy payment procedure
Reference: www.useit.com

Factors driving repeat visits to a Web site . . .
• High quality content
• Ease of use
• Minimal download time
• Updated often
Reference: Forrester Survey; 1999

The key is consumer confidence . . .
 Fun and easy to navigate sites
 Pages that appear professional
 Clear and accurate product information and representation

Real time answers through self help features, e-mail, and a toll-free telephone number

The key is consumer confidence . . .
 Good prices and clear representation of all charges
 Payment options

Secure transactions

Easy to use return or exchange policy

Quick processing time and delivery
 Shopper privacy


Always present (located on every page – possibly more than once)

Intuitive menu names

Interactive effects (highlighting, changing sizes, shapes, or colors)

Compatible with audience viewing level (text, images,
JAVA, Flash)

Minimal searching (approximately 13 “clicks” for any location on your site)

 Navigational Tools
 Location
 Consistency

 Where am I?
 Where have I been?
 Where can I go?

 Content should be:
– Clear, concise and complete
– Bold, italics, and underlines for quick searching
– Descriptive and dynamic (changing to the user’s needs)
– Grammatically correct

“People want to do business with people they believe to be professional.”
Reference: Flanders/Willis; Web Usability Specialists

Contact Us:
 E-mail
 Telephone number
 Fax
 Snail Mail

Elements to consider . . .

Bandwidth
 Browser compatibility
 Color palette
 Continuity
 Frames

Homepage

Elements to consider . . .

User Interface
 Screen compatibility
 Readability
 Text only default
 Accessibility

Download time . . .
 1-2 seconds
 < 13 seconds
 > 20 GONE!

Decrease download time by . . .
 designing for 56k modem
 keeping page sizes <50k
 applying the KISS rule

“Remove graphic; increase traffic.
It’s that simple.”
Reference: Dr. Jakob Nielsen; Web Usability Specialist; www.useit.com

NETSCAPE
EXPLORER

NETSCAPE
EXPLORER

Browser Testing - view your site in as many browsers as possible:
 Netscape
 Explorer
 AOL
 Web TV

Lynx

Color Considerations . . .
 Artistic
 Cultural
 Sales
 Technical

– United States & Europe
– China & Japan
– Egypt & Burma
– Thailand
Blue – Iran
Red – South Africa

www.nwa.com

Recommendations . . .

Good background/text contrast
 Avoid patterned backgrounds

Easy to read fonts
 Make words count

Short paragraphs
 Bulleted lists

www.cedcc.psu.edu/ritter/web-demo/elements.html

www.cjsbows.com

www.cjsbows.com

www.cjsbows.com

www.cjsbows.com

The Bottom Line . . .
 Getting customers to come to your site,
 Getting customers to make a purchase once they get to your site, and
 Getting customers to return to your site and purchase again, again, and again!

Business to Consumer E-Commerce:
Selling on the Internet www.msucares.com/business_assistance/homebusiness/ecommerce.html

Beth Duncan, Ph.D.
Small Business Specialist
Mississippi State University Extension Service bethd@ext.msstate.edu

Selling on the Internet

http://www.personalizedboutique.com

http://www.satellitediscountstore.com

http://www.bagpipesonly.com

http://www.atouchof-elegance.com

http://www.vermontteddybear.com