E-commerce shopping cart is helping small business recover from the deep recession of 2008-2009, by helping them sell products through e-commerce websites and reduce the overhead costs resulting in extracting healthy profit margins. The crash of 2009 saw almost $44 billion spent on e-commerce shopping carts. And this astonishing figure is still growing at a rapid pace. The success of e-commerce as a business model can be attributed to the efficiency and convenience in buying online.

Increasing number of businesses are launching e-commerce websites as the internet is an ideal sales channel requiring no administrative staff, real estate or sales personnel. E-commerce web hosting services take away the IT overhead by offering pay as you go services for data storage and management while e-commerce shopping cart solutions handle transactions and payments.

E-commerce websites work perfectly in all markets

Most businesses have suffered the consequences of the economic crisis and are running low on funds and resources. It is to the business’ advantage to save on infrastructure and administrative costs. The internet has made the market global and competition is fierce. Businesses are compelled to tighten profit margins to stay in the market. E-commerce websites offer the perfect solution for businesses to increase sales while reducing costs.  E-commerce solutions allows businesses to be flexible where they can alter the offers, product combinations, and advertising strategies on the website at the drop of a hat.  E-commerce hosted solutions help internet businesses take advantage of evolving technology and changing internet models with minimal investment.

Hosted e-commerce solutions offer holistic e-commerce services

E-commerce website design is critical as it is the gateway through which customers can access business products and services. E-commerce companies work with businesses to create a professional website design. Apart from providing online advertising services and designing the structure of the web outlet, e-commerce hosting providers:

1. take over IT and administrative operations
2. deal with warehousing and inventory management
3. offer afforable web design quotes
4. search engine optimization tips
5. search engine optimization pricing

E-commerce companies allow businesses to focus their time, effort and money on the improvement of their goods and services.

Maturing of e-commerce business models

E-commerce businesses have shown remarkable strength in the global economic slowdown. E-commerce websites have supported businesses by ensuring a revenue stream at a time when funds are low and costs are high. Web outlets help save further by taking away IT and administrative overheads.

Customers turn to e-commerce websites looking for competitive rates.  E-commerce outlets are cheaper as they offer more compelling bargains than their retail counterparts do. Customers also save on the time and cost of driving to retail store fronts.

The upward swing in e-commerce shopping during the 2009 slowdown is an indication of the success of e-commerce solutions and their arrival in the market.  At a time when many businesses are bearing the brunt of the credit squeeze, e-commerce businesses are growing at around 15%, a figure that promises to keep going up.

Building an e-commerce website doesn’t mean inventing a new business model, hiring new staff, or even spending a lot of money. In fact, with the help of affordable web design and e-commerce solutions, you can add just the right e-commerce website design elements  to attract new customers and convert them into sales.

1. Leverage Website Design and Search Engine Optimization to Attract Customers

Many small businesses rely exclusively on storefront signage or traditional advertising to attract new customers. Yet, a recent study reports that more people look for prospective vendors online instead of through traditional phone directories or printed community guides. A web site design that has been optimized for search engines can help your business attract new customers at the very moment when they’re ready to make a purchase.

Web design companies that focus on online shopping cart solutions and search engine optimization understand how to turn a static website into a vibrant sales channel. Engaging content such as blogging or adding regular videos about your small business keeps your busness website fresh, increasing its seo ranking on major search engines. Injecting more of your personality into your e-commerce website makes your small business more attractive to customers who value personal relationships and local connections.

2. Automate Reservations and Placing Orders With E-Commerce Website

Building an e-commerce website really means giving your customers the ability to get their needs met more quickly, at the moment that they’re ready to buy your products or services. Retail storefronts can use innovative, new inventory management software that interface with e-commerce solutions to check real-time inventory online. Stores that offer online ordering and in-store pickup enjoy a competitive advantage over Internet retailers with delays related to shipping and returns. Retailers offering specialty products can also create a strong revenue stream by shipping orders outside their local areas. In both cases, online credit card processing enables your business to book revenues immediately.

E-commerce isn’t just limited to retail businesses, though. Service businesses have discovered the power of offering self-service reservations and credit card payment processing online. Hair salons, doctors’ offices, and other service providers can use “plug-in” tools to automate the process of scheduling and canceling appointments. Restaurants can offer online reservations and catering orders, and accept credit cards to collect deposits or pre-payments. As more customers discover the convenience of self-service reservations, your front-line staff can spend less time on the phone and more time helping customers.

3. Make Online Customer Service Easy

It’s not enough to simply beef up your online presence without emphasizing your online customer service. An e-commerce web page design that lists a phone number and no e-mail contact is just as effective at courting web-savvy customers as having no website at all. During the website development process, make sure to add a “Contact Us” link to a prominent part of your e-commerce website. On that page, list how you can be contacted, when, and why. Letting customers know that, for instance, you’re able to answer the phone from 8am to 5pm can prevent disappointment. Even better, you can post an e-mail address or a contact form for customers to use, with the assurance that they will receive a reply within 24 hours.

However, to really set yourself apart as a web-savvy business owner, you can market your website using social media marketing that your customers already inhabit. For instance, it’s easy to create a Facebook page for your business that includes contact details and links to your website. Launching a Twitter feed for your company allows you to address customer service issues in real time. A strong web presence appeals to online users that like to spread the word about good customer service.

Making Baby Steps with Web Design and E-Commerce Solutions

It’s an exciting time to move your business online because you don’t have to commit to an expensive web design overhaul. Most of the e-commerce website features that make up this three-part plan can be implemented using subscription-based service that plug into existing websites. Of course, getting help from a web designer can make the process easier for small business owners with limited online experience. The best website designers can help you unify different open source solutions with a consistent look and feel, so web visitors don’t feel like they are being shunted to unfamiliar providers. This hybrid of high-touch customer service and low-cost guerilla marketing is fast becoming a best practice for many successful small businesses.

E-commerce fulfillment is just about the most important service within an e-commerce operation that will have a defining impact on customer relationships. From the customer’s point of view, the person who delivers the order to her door is representing your business. As the owner of an e-commerce business, you need to ensure that this person represents your business in the right light.

The number of E-commerce websites have grown in number and many home businesses have come up that use selling portals such as eBay to advertise and sell products from home. The burgeoning need for efficient e-commerce fulfillment is met by logistics companies who not only deliver the products but also take care of warehousing, packaging, distribution and storage.

An e-commerce website should verify a few key things before partnering with logistics providers. Longevity and experience in a business is a definite advantage as these providers have faced and sorted out many process glitches and made a name for their company. Checking references is also a must. Once the preliminaries are through, you need to match your needs with the services offered by the e-commerce fulfillment provider. Some specific factors that you must verify are:

1. Location of the warehouse: A fulfillment provider that has warehouses nearer your customer locations will enable faster shipping and enhance the customer’s experience.
2. Scalability: Does the fulfillment provider have the necessary resources to service daily order volumes or unexpected spikes in demand?
3. Turnaround time of orders: Some logistics providers offer same day shipping for orders placed before a fixed time of day. Work this out and make sure your customers are aware of the timelines.
4. Order entry: For the sake of faster delivery, many fulfillment providers offer a web interface that allows direct order entry from customers. Based on your budgetary allowance, you can choose to e-mail the provider on each receipt of orders or collate them all in a file and send it over at the end of the business day.
5. Communication: You should be able to communicate with the fulfillment provider easily and effectively to ensure cancellations or changes in order are processed immediately.
6. Error correction: While it is unrealistic to expect 100% accuracy in fulfillment services, errors should be minimal. More importantly, the fulfillment provider should work to correct the error immediately to recompense the customer. At your end, you should communicate the snag to the customer and inform her of the new delivery schedule. This is a vital step in winning customer’s goodwill to ensure repeat visits to the website with an online shopping cart.

The economic recession has hit businesses of all sizes and industry. There is no scope for businesses to dive into ventures in better faring industries to shore up their revenue. A majority of companies are cutting costs to maintain their corporate profit margins. While this is an understandable move, it is crucial to cut the right costs to avoid deterioration in the quality of services and reduction in sales.

Businesses should take planned steps to minimize expenses and maximize savings. Many businesses are closing down their physical locations and moving towards e-commerce to sell products and services online. Within an e-commerce business too, there are some business decisions that help businesses to optimize their profits.

Here are five e-commerce strategies that can reduce costs without affecting the business’ online presence and sales negatively:

1. Increase sales capacity through an e-commerce website

Having physical retail stores involves the overhead costs of salaried staff, real estate, utilities, shipping, supervision, and additional warehouse and inventory management tasks in case of distributed locations. Business owners may worry over losing sales capacity by closing a retail store. However, an e-commerce website can increase the sales capacity of a business.

2. Make the e-commerce site a self-service storefront

The e-commerce website must include convenient and easy to use self-service features that enable customers to place orders, make payments, schedule appointments, and troubleshoot common problems without requiring the intervention of customer service personnel. This will help dramatically reduce your overhead costs. However, customer service is still important and should be available to customers for processing returns, placing orders for out of stock items etc.

3.  Use online marketing to attract new customers to the e-commerce website

Traditional advertising on media such as television, newspapers, magazines and radio is not as effective as online advertising. 50% of your advertising spend is wasted using traditional channels such as TV, radio, newspaper etc. In contrast, online marketing can be more targeted to attract visitors looking for your products and services, resulting in a higher conversion into sales.  

4. Give customers incentives to shop on the e-commerce website

Businesses can offer their retail store customers incentives if they use the online shopping cart to purchase items. This way, businesses retain their existing customers and can convert them to using a more cost-effective sales channel. Customers also enjoy the convenience of shopping on an e-commerce website rather than spending valuable time travelling to the retail storefront.

5. Outsource e-commerce website design and development for better results

Professional web designers can build an attractive e-commerce website design with relevant features including an online shopping cart and credit card processing solution resulting in higher sales conversions.  Thay can also help reduce the overall costs of maintaining an e-commerce website by providing simple web tools to help update the product catalog and website content frequently. 

Businesses that have followed an unplanned growth phase involving indiscriminate ramping up and cutting down of capacity, are hit the worst by the recession. It is vital that businesses follow a planned approach, such as the aforementioned e-commerce website strategies to reduce the effects of a recession.

Even with the ongoing recession, building an ecommerce business remains a viable approach for any new start-up. Why? Well, while even e-commerce website retailers are feeling the pinch of a tight economy, they are also expected to pick up market share at the expense of brick and mortar retailers during this deep recession. So, an e-commerce approach is both more sustainable during a slowdown and a way to get more out of the next economic recovery.

First, the bad news: according to a recent Forrester study of 122 e-commerce retailers, most expect growth to be flat over the next year, and most have seen the deep recession impact their bottom lines. Now the good news: roughly 80 percent of survey respondents see online e-commerce solutions as better equipped than traditional retailing for countering the effects of the on going recession. This is why e-commerce websites should continue to take market share from more traditional competitors.

However, that does not mean that all e-commerce websites will succeed. There are some fundamental ingredients that will help an e-commerce business get off the ground more smoothly.

Five Basic Ingredients

1. Research Your Market. Market research should help you determine several quantitative facts about your potential market, including overall size, demographic makeup, growth rate, and income level. These facts can serve as an initial reality check on your e-commerce business plan, as well as help you make initial projections about the scope of your business. Beyond the quantitative benefits though, some fundamental market research should help you form a mental picture of your typical customer. This mental picture can subsequently inform a variety of other business choices, from E-commerce Website design, to where to promote your site, to what range of related products or services to offer.
2. Research Your Competition. Your market may look attractive in isolation, but next you need to assess the competition. Who are the market leaders, and what are their strengths and vulnerabilities? Who are the new entrants into the market, and which ones are picking up market share? Knowing your competition will help you determine where you fit into the marketplace, and this in turn will influence your product, promotion, and pricing strategies.
3. Prepare Your Back-Office Infrastructure. This is a key. For one thing, an e-commerce business relies on a technology infrastructure that is affordable and yet will stand up to spikes in volume due to seasonality or successful promotions. Then there are key details such as credit card processing — things that make the buying process as seamless as possible. For most start-up businesses, basic infrastructure issues such as e-commerce solutions and credit card processing are outside their primary areas of expertise, so outsourcing is a good option.
4. Create an Attractive Online Place of Business Through Web Design. Now you can think about setting up shop. That’s precisely how you want to think about E-commerce Web design–it is your place of business. The look and navigation of that Web site help you project an image to your customers. Are you hip, or are you traditional? Are you complex, or easy to access? Different positioning calls for different images, but there are two universal rules to e-commerce website design: don’t look amateurish, and don’t make it difficult for visitors to make a purchase. This is another area where outside, specialized help can make a big difference, as opposed to spending time on something beyond your reason for being in business.
5. Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Promote Your Web Site. An online business should focus its promotional strategies on capturing an online audience. This means some non-traditional promotional strategies, such as SEO search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising. Search Engine Optimization helps associate your product or service with Internet searches on related topics. Pay-per-click allows you to pay for Internet advertising according to the amount of activity it generates, and to monitor the results of that activity. Because the Internet is still a relatively new business medium, promotional techniques and consumer behaviors are changing rapidly. Fortunately, there are specialists who can help you stay abreast of evolving strategies in Internet marketing.

Conclusion

Overall, there are two major principles to apply when starting an e-commerce website:

1. Your e-commerce business plan should represent a combination of traditional business methods and techniques specific to the online channel
2. You should identify the tasks where your organization can add value, and outsource functions outside your primary expertise

Applying these principles step-by-step, as described above, should help you get your e-commerce website off to a successful start.

The deep recession is compelling small businesses to operate within tight budgets and cut overhead costs. E-commerce websites can significantly increase your revenues by expanding your business’ reach and saving on overhead costs such as retail real estate, inventory and sales staff. 

Small businesses owners and entrepreneurs ready to launch an e-commerce website should ask themselves three important questions before emabarking on this business venture:

1. Will the business benefit from an e-commerce website?

This is a very important question. Studies reveal that e-commerce websites see greater number of sales transactions for products or services that cost less than $1000. Today, customers are very comfortable paying for these items online instead of standing in lines at the shopping mall. For higher priced ticket items it may be better to build your website to generate sales leads and hire an inside sales team that is comfortable cold calling these leads and closing them into sales.

2. How long will it take to set up the e-commerce website?

E-commerce websites are easy to setup and configure. Experienced e-commerce companies can launch an e-commerce website in five days or less, provided the backend is already setup and products are ready to be shipped. For a novice web designer, it will take longer as they will need to spend time in building the components from scratch.

Small businesses should be aware about what’s happening on the world wide web such as online consumer trends and shopping habbits that can make the e-commerce website more attractive and user friendly. Furthermore, internet marketing strategies such as search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising are going to be very important to drive potential customers to the e-commerce website.

3. How much will the e-commerce setup cost?

Advertisements that claim businesses can earn millions by setting up a free e-commerce website in one day or less, are talking through their hat. There is no shortcut to making millions – It involves hard work, innovation and investments. Do not delude yourself into believing that all you need is a computer and an internet connection to get you started on an e-commerce business venture. Though e-commerce websites are much cheaper than maintaining a brick-and-mortar retail store, there are some minimal investment associated with it such as costs of merchandise, standard storage, fulfillment, and marketing. Add to this the price of the e-commerce website design and the total initial investment can add up to between $5,000-$10,000.

After answering these questions to their satisfaction, small business owners and entrepreneurs should chalk out an online business plan. The first step is to outline all that will be needed for the e-commerce website to perform, such as:

1. products and services to sell
2. e-commerce website design
3. a shopping cart feature and secure check out
4. a merchant account for credit card processing
5. a database
6. an order fulfillment process

Small businesses can get started with e-commerce using the above checklist. E-commerce solutions serve as cost-effective sales channels and companies should consider using them if their business has the potential to benefit from an increasing number of potential customers that are researching and buying products and services online.