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What is eCommerce?
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What is an
On-Line Catalogue?
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Why would I use
an On-Line Catalogue?
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How will my
customers access my Catalogue?
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Orders - How do I receive
them - and what do I do with them?
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Payment - How will I get
paid?
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Delivery Costs - What about
shipping and handling?
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And what were
the benefits of eCommerce again?
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Question:
WHAT IS eCOMMERCE?
Answer:
Basically,
doing business-as-usual, but across the Internet.
You advertise your products or services on your
Web site, as you would in any other media like newspapers, TV or
brochures.
Advertising on your Web site can be done in two ways. The first is by use of a
relatively simple Web site consisting of a few pages whereby you tell potential
customers who you are, what you do, where you are and how they can contact you ( easiest done by giving them your email address).
The
second way of enabling world-wide customers to buy from you is to provide them
with an On-Line Catalogue of your products which they can browse at their leisure without
having to go to your place of business.
Question:
WHAT IS AN ON-LINE CATALOGUE?
Answer: A catalogue that people access via the
Internet.
But it is also a lot more than that. It enables
you to increase your marketplace to a global scale ... without
proportionately increasing your overheads. Your On-Line Catalogue is
an integral part of your website, enabling your customers to ...
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Browse
through your stock list, read about an item or service; |
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Look
at photographs of the products. |
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Select which items they want to purchase |
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And drop them into a shopping cart
as they go along.
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When
they have completed their shopping, they go to the Check-Out. |
The next step is to request the order by filling in
their details and method of payment on a form which is waiting for them at the Check-Out.
The form is already partially
completed with a breakdown of the items in their shopping cart, prices inclusive of tax, and
shipping & handling charges, if any. If they choose to pay by
credit card, the form includes a place for them to fill in their credit card number. And
then, with one press of a button, they send the order to you. It's as
simple as that.
Question:
WHY WOULD I WANT TO USE AN ON-LINE CATALOGUE?
Answer: To boost your sales! There is no simpler way to enable more people
- from all over the
world - to buy your products or services.
With the new Millennium here and all
fears of the dreaded Millennium Bug now allayed, everyone is rushing to exploit
the vast new frontiers of the Internet. It is a proven lucrative means of
conducting business. If you don't have your business on the Net, you are
giving your competitors a wonderful gift - an big advantage over
you!
Question:
HOW WILL CUSTOMERS ACCESS AND USE MY CATALOGUE?
Answer:
Very easily - by entering your Web address in their Browser.
All they have to do is
type your Web address into their Browser (www.YourName.com)
and they will be taken straight to your Web site. If your Web site is well
designed (read about our website design
service) then your customers will be
able to access your On-Line Catalogue with the click of a button and
place their orders quickly and easily!
Question:
HOW DO I RECEIVE THE ORDERS - AND WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM?
Answer: You download them from the Internet and then process them the same
as you would any other orders.
As soon as a
customer places an order via your On-Line Catalogue, it is stored in an orders file at your Web Site until
you download and process it. (Alternatively, it can be forwarded directly to
your email address.) On downloading, it is stored in a local
file on your computer designated for 'Outstanding Orders'. How you deal
with it once you have it is up to you, but generally people print it out and
hand it to the member of staff who deals with filling out orders. Once the
order has been sent to the customer, you merely mark it as 'Shipped' in your
Outstanding Orders file.
Question:
HOW WILL I GET PAID?
Answer: Much the same as you do normally.
Customers will have an option to submit their
credit card number (securely!), in which case you process the order the
same as you would normally, or follow it up with a cheque. Again,
you would wait for cheque clearance as per your normal practice.
Alternatively, you may choose to open an account for them. So as
you can see, there is very little difference in the actual sales process
between your customary way of working and selling on-line.
Question:
WHAT ABOUT SHIPPING & HANDLING?
Answer: Your shipping charges (if any) are
stated clearly in your on-line catalogue and automatically added to the
invoice for customers to view and agree to before they submit their
order.
Question:
AND WHAT WERE THE BENEFITS OF ON-LINE SHOPPING AGAIN?
Answer: The benefits below are some of the
more obvious ones:
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A world-wide
market instantly |
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No added sales
staff (although you might need extra in-house staff to cope with
orders!)
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A catalogue
which is
quickly and easily
updateable. This
means that when prices or stocks are changed, you don't have to have
hundreds or thousands of obsolete catalogues lying around. You don't
have to wait for the printer to deliver the catalogue before the new prices
can come into effect. (Also, there are no huge printing bills!) |
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The facility to advertise daily, weekly or monthly
'specials'
and sales, or any special discounts - and they can be changed within
minutes, when and if necessary.
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You can also add a
marketing
message which
highlights your strengths, such
as the range and quality of your products or services - or anything else you
want to tell your customers. |
For more information on how to get your
Catalogue up and running
- and out there where it can do you the most good - please contact
us! And don't forget, we love answering questions!
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