Internet
The Internet (at least the simple version) is an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world.
You’ll find articles on setting up your first e-commerce site, handling taxes based on internet transactions, increasing sales, attracting an audience and online legal issues.
By J.L. on November 20, 2008
Another requirement for efficiently running your online store is a virtual shopping cart. This actually is an electronic order form that serves as the first step in the fulfillment process. Its purposes are to:
Posted in Internet | Tagged e-commerce, internet sales, online business, online sales, online shopping cart, shopping cart
By J.L. on November 19, 2008
If done correctly, e-mail marketing can deepen customer relationships and add a personal touch to the sales process. Carried out improperly, an e-mail campaign can turn a customer off to your business forever. E-mail newsletters for customers who “opt in” (request or otherwise sign up for them) are a terrific marketing tool for online businesses. [...]
Posted in Internet | Tagged e-commerce, email, email newsletters, internet sales, online business, online sales
By J.L. on November 18, 2008
With hundreds or thousands of competitors, how can a business get its product upfront in online search engines? Gaining a listing in the first page or two of a search engine’s results is often considered the “Holy Grail” of e-commerce. So, how do you get to the front of search results? There are two approaches [...]
Posted in Internet | Tagged e-commerce, internet sales, online business, online sales
By J.L. on November 17, 2008
Now that you’ve gotten this far and you have a business plan and a strategy for your online store, what do you need to build it? Just as with a brick-and-mortar store, the first two lines on the checklist are a name and a location. In cyberspace, they’re usually the same thing. The address of [...]
Posted in Internet | Tagged domain name, e-commerce, hosting, internet sales, online business, online sales
By J.L. on November 15, 2008
Good websites begin with a good design that is simple to use. The graphic design and content on the homepage should grab the consumer’s attention, and the interior pages should be easy to navigate. Information must be easily found and should be expressed in the “language” of the customer, rather than the company’s internal lingo. [...]
Posted in Internet | Tagged design tips, e-commerce, internet sales, online business, online sales, web design, websites
By J.L. on November 13, 2008
What about shipping charges? Online shopping breaks down most often over shipping charges. Imagine this: A customer sees a great price for just the product she’s been searching for. After entering the information on the electronic order form, she is startled to see a huge shipping fee tacked onto the price. The result? By barely [...]
Posted in Internet | Tagged e-commerce, internet sales, online business, online sales, shipping charges
By J.L. on November 12, 2008
What will the elements of your customer service policy be? Because customers expect to be able to contact a company with questions, special requests or problems related to ordering, online businesses should offer an e-mail address or phone number for customer service inquiries. Not only is customer service a great way to build loyalty, but [...]
Posted in Internet | Tagged customer service, customer service policy, e-commerce, internet sales, online business, online sales
By J.L. on November 11, 2008
The most important step merchants can take to sell almost any product online is to include a lot of photos. Online shoppers expect to see what a product looks like, especially since they can’t pick it up and examine it before making their purchases. Merchants should use photos showing their items from a variety of [...]
Posted in Internet | Tagged ecommerce, internet sales, online business, online sales, target market, web design, websites
By J.L. on November 11, 2008
You’ve read the first two articles in my “Online Business” series and you’ve done the preliminaries. Now the first major choice you’ll have to make. Will you do all the work yourself or will you outsource it? The doors of an online business never close. By not running a 24/7 operation, online business owners may [...]
Posted in Internet | Tagged e-commerce, Internet, internet sales, online business, online sales
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