Hi Guys
Just wanted to let you know that in the last week the email traffic from the web has gone crazy. I've had 2 more groups confirmed treks via the site and last night had people from Te Anau ring me asking for info!!
I wasn't sure what was happening - so had a quick search on the web tonight. In 3 out of 4 searches with different keywords perutrekkingclimbing.com was in the 1st page and on the 4th search it was on page 3. No wonder it's got busy!!
Anyway - thanks heaps for all the hard work - great effort. Things are going nuts here - looks like I'll have to give up my day job if it keeps up like this!
Cheers
Anne T
Anne Thomson
Peru Treks
E-commerce Website Design - by Altered Ego Design, Wellington, NZ
Many people purchase an e-commerce website without any real understanding on what sort of return to expect for your website investment spend.
The consequences of getting this wrong can be disastrous and end up costing you twice as much for a website that should be created right the first time!
Unfortunately this is far too common. People just don't know the questions to ask and what the answers should be. By the time people ask for our help, it is often too complex, too time consuming or too late to fix things. E-commerce in New Zealand is different to the other parts of the world so you want to ensure that your site is hitting the right mark whether your target market is New Zealand based, or you're exporting to an overseas market or both.
To help you avoid the traps, we have published this educational guide to ensure that your e-commerce website is created right first time, helping you avoid common mistakes, expensive rebuilds, loss of income and damage to your precious reputation. We've published an extract here, for your free copy, please get in touch.
Ensure you receive the best return for your money by using the New Zealand E-commerce Website experts
TIPS for E-commerce and Website design services published by Altered Ego Design - Wellington NZ
This is the third level of our Definitive Guide to Website Design and Development Educational series. This publication deals only with E-commerce Websites.
If you have not read the 10 Tips to Choosing the Right New Zealand Website Designer, please read this first. Then read about Search Engine Optimisation for New Zealand Websites (both .co.nz and .com) and then you'll be ready for this advanced level of educational information.
We'll just touch on the basics here as the successful ingredients for an e-commerce website can depend on what your business is and what you're selling.
- Rule #1. As per any website, you have designed, ensure your site is visible so customers can find you (ie Ranked on Page One in search engines - including Google). You would not buy a store in a back alley and expect foot traffic right away. That's the same as your online store, if you make it visible, you'll get more website traffic and therefore more enquiries. Can your chosen provider do this and are they doing it with their own website?
- Rule #2. Make it easy to find their information (easy to navigate). Another important rule repeated here. You must have the basics right before you start providing them with other features. If the basics are not right, then your site will fail and cost you a lot of wasted money. Look at their portfolio of websites - check they have designed an ecommerce website before as your business has too much at stake to be their first laboratory experiment!
- Rule #3. Engage the customer using the full visual and emotional experience so they enquire. Think about what is it that sets you apart from the competitors. Ensure this is clear online.
- Rule #4. Make it easy for them to purchase. Give them all the information they need to make a decision. This includes a good description and several views of the item eg side view, top view, back view, enlarged view.
- Rule #5. Make the checkout process easy. If you don't, then unless they really want the item you're selling, they'll close the site and find something easier. How easy is their checkout process?
- Rule #6. While they're browsing, cross sell. This is a great way to increase your revenue from each shopper. So for example, if they're purchasing shoes, sell them socks. Likewise, if it's a necklace a customer is buying, what about the matching earrings or bracelet to go with them! What could you sell your customers while they're purchasing something from your online store? Ensure that your website will allow for this.
- Rule #7. If they're first time buyers to the shop, it's a good idea to have a top 10 products or most popular products page. This enables them to see at a glance what you have on offer and get them into the flow of decision making.
- Rule #8. Another successful method is to have some of your most popular products for sale from your home page. But what if you don't know what your most popular items are online? Your website should tell you this information. Ask if your website can do this?
- Rule #9. Remember service service service! Just because you run an online store, people still want service. They're shopping online as it's convenient and maybe they think they are getting a cheaper price. A cheaper price is not always going to win the sale. If you can provide a better service online, such as a faster response to their questions, better guarantees and returns policies then 9 times out of 10, you'll be the one that gets the sale.
- Rule #10. Transparent postage costs = greater trust online. Altered Ego Design is part of the Wellington Website Useability Research Group. The latest research findings are that customers value transparency of costs (including freight costs) over cheaper prices and nasty surprises. This is how you build loyaly and repeat business online. How easy is it to find your postage costs before purchasing?
- Rule #11. For this last tip we'll play a true or false game. So the question is Does the Cheapest Price always win the Sale on the Internet?
- False! Yes you heard right - it is false! The myth of the cheapest price on the internet wins is well and truly busted. The internet is maturing and customers are demanding greater transparency and rewarding you with their business if you are an honest reputable supplier online. Customers are human and often make mistakes in their purchase and press the wrong button. If you can provide them with a sympathetic ear and exchange it happily for the right item (within reason) or sort something else out for them, then they'll be singing your praises. - Rule #12. Control over your shop. One great question to ask your website designer is, Can we update our online shop products ourselves? How easy is it? This is often called a "database website" and you may be familiar with this term. In plain English it means that you can update your website products - very easily - as simple as filling out a form. So you can change the price, tell your customers the item is temporarily out of stock or change the description etc.
- Rule #13. Ensure your chosen website designer adheres to the rules set down by the major New Zealand trading banks. Being an e-commerce provider on your website, you need to be a credit card merchant account (ie have the ability to take credit card). When you go online, you need to choose a website designer and developer that has a system that can interact with all major trading banks card processing facilities. This is very important. While we are on the subject, ensure you trust your web partner implicitly as they will have to work your merchant bank account information. You'd like to think integrity and principles are enough, however, at Altered Ego Design, we prefer total transparancy, so we sign a legal agreement with the major trading banks to cover you. This gives you total peace of mind in your dealings with us.
- Rule #14. Remember the web is a great leveler of companies so if you are a large company, you can be beaten by a smaller company on the web if your website is not up to scratch. Vice-versa, if you are a small company, you can portray a very professional image online and beat the big guns just by doing the right things right!
You need a provider who is an expert in the field of ecommerce to guide you through the process and work with your banking partner to ensure the process is smooth, stress free and successful.
So where do we start on your e-commerce project? Well that's simple, just talk to us about your individual situation.
We are the e-commerce and online marketing experts and have published an educational guide "E-commerce: Winning the Game Online ". If you'd like to know more information about how your e-commerce website can be a success story, please contact us and we'll post you one out.
