Saving Money On Your E-commerce Site

After building and transferring many e-commerce sites it still amazes me that owners of e-commerce businesses are still wasting money in three basic ways. For fear of stating the obvious, saving money is the same as making money $100 saved is $100 added to your profit margin. Here are three basic ways to save money on your e-commerce site and increase your profits. While they may be simple we know they are overlooked time and time again resulting in thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

ABORTED SALES While most modern shopping carts come with many features, they all involve the collecting of information from clients. Name, address, telephone number, user name, password, email address and so on. Yes we understand that these details are only required for the first order but let's take a look at the new buyers experience.

They have browsed your site and found a product they wish to buy, they begin the checkout process and input all the details above. Your cart then builds the order and transfers them to paypal 2 checkout or what ever payment gateway you use. What happens next? "Please input your name, address, email, telephone number......" The result? Lost and aborted sales, surfers are lazy creatures we know that. In an ideal world your cart would have passed all those variables to the gateway and the user would not have to input them again, however because there are so many gateways and they all require different variables this is difficult.

So now you log in to the admin section of your cart and see an order only to find there is no matching payment. Thje solution is simple, fire up your email program and send them an email. "We noticed that you placed an order for our xxxxxxx however unfortunately we did not receive payment for that item so were unable to despatch it. Did you have difficulty with our ordering system? Is there anything we can do to help you? If so please contact us in one of the following ways....."

Taking a few moments to send them an email can recover the sale, or at worst you can find out which part of your ordering system isn't working for them and have it worked on. If you have your own merchant account you could have them call you and take their order by phone. Customers like to feel like customers not numbers, the fact that you took the time to contact them to find out what was wrong will give them confidence in your store and may recover the sale.

CHARGEBACKS The curse of any e-commerce store the dreaded chargeback. We are sure you have all experienced it. You take an order, despatch it and a few weeks later get a chargeback. The result you have sent goods and have to refund the price of the product and pay a chargeback fee normally around $15.

Firstly make sure your payment gateway offers some sort of seller protection. aypal for example have a full seller protection policy. This is useful to prevent fraud. It is totally unfair that some dishonest people initiate chargebacks after receiving goods, however as long as your gateway has seller protection and you have saved order details and proof of despatch you can go someway to protecting yourself against that.

Surprisingly most chargebacks are not fraudulent, they are caused by the seller forgetting who they bought from, especially if your registered company name with your gateway is different from that of your site. An example your company is called freds enterprizes but your website is widgetsgalore.com, the client buys a widget and at the end of the month sees a charge to their card from freds enterprizes. They don't recognize it they contact their card issuer and chargeback.

This is very easy to avoid. Before they get transferred to payment sate clearly in your cart "Please remember you will be billed by freds enterprizes not widgetsgalore.com". When they are returned to your site thank them for the order then remind them again, "Please remember you will be billed by freds enterprizes not widgetsgalore.com"

When you send them an email telling them their order has been dispatched tell them again "Please remember you will be billed by freds enterprizes not widgetsgalore.com" By now they should be getting the message. However, and this alone has reduced the number of chargebacks to many of our clients, we recommend that you FOLLOW UP YOUR ORDERS and a couple of weeks after the purchase send the client another email. Thank them for their purchase, tell them you hope they are enjoying your product and once again remind them "Please remember you will be billed by freds enterprizes not widgetsgalore.com"

Repetition is the key the more you tell them the more chance they have of recognizing your company name on their credit card statement.

HOSTING The money being wasted on inflated e-commerce hosting is incredible. Many of our clients have moved to our service due to the limited and very expensive packages of many so called e-commerce hosts. Let us be very clear on this, if you have your own store this is what you should have.

1. Your own design. Your store should not look like everyone elses, or be template built. If you used an online store designer to build your site we guarantee there are 100 other stores that look just like yours only with a different name. Hardly good for your online image.

2. You should have your own hosting. Not a sub folder of some larger site or virtual hosting. You should be able to add things like a links directory, message boards, support forums, guestbooks and what ever else you think would enhance your site. You should be able to have features added or removed from your cart so that it operates as you want it to. To find out if you have your own hosting email your host and ask them if you can add any of the above. It never ceases to amaze us how many store owners do not even have access to simple things like MYSQL or ftp.

3. There should be no fees payable by you other than a monthly hosting fee. Incredible as it sounds we have seen sites charge a monthly fee, plus a per item listing fee, a per item maintenance fee, commission on sales and other such ridiculous charges.

Many e-commerce hosts charge inflated prices for what is nothing more than virtual hosting (a sub folder of someone elses site) It never ceases to amaze us that most online stores are paying upwards of $50 a month for a restricted and sub standard service. E-commerce hosting is no different than regular quality web hosting. It requires only mysql and php capabilities. Of course stores can use up more space than an information site for example, however in our opinion you should not be paying more than $30 a month to host your store. For $30 you can get ample web hosting for a fairly large store. If you are paying $50 plus then change your host, this can be done without interruption to your site by a competent host.

A saving of $20 a month either adds to your profit or gives you $240 extra per year to spend advertising your site.

Just like a major corporation as an online business owner you need to look at your bottom line, it affects profit. You need to monitor and improve the shopping experience of your clients.

Gary McHugh is SEO of http://www.2001web.com . A design and hosting company specializing in e-commerce. Their service is a complete solution for webmasters including design, building, hosting, editing, programming and ongoing support. They also have a very reasonably priced site transfer service for new clients.

---

Google News Updated : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:51:51 GMT Hunt begins for Karadzic helpers - BBC News BBC News Hunt begins for Karadzic helpers BBC News - 1 hour ago Officials investigating captured Bosnian Serb ex-leader Radovan Karadzic say they will track down and punish those who aided his false identity. Video: Karadzic plans to defend himself in The Hague RussiaToday Kenya: Karadzic's Fate a Lesson AllAfrica.com AFP - Telegraph.co.uk - International Herald Tribune - Hartford Courant all 5,884 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:47:45 GMT US cancer boss in mobiles warning - BBC News CTV.ca US cancer boss in mobiles warning BBC News - 2 hours ago The director of a leading US cancer research institute has sent a memo to thousands of staff warning of possible higher risks from mobile phone use. Cell phones: The next cigarettes? The Week Daily Group sees possible link to brain cancer Baltimore Sun ABC News - Los Angeles Times - dBTechno all 549 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:35:11 GMT Aurilia, Vizquel help Giants rally for win - San Jose Mercury News Washington Post Aurilia, Vizquel help Giants rally for win San Jose Mercury News - 4 hours ago By Andrew Baggarly It would be difficult to claim that the Giants improved their playoff hopes when they rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night. Aurilia gets key hit, makes pitch for old guys San Francisco Chronicle Giants rally in eighth to edge Nats Sports Network Washington Post - The Associated Press - Washington Times - BlueRidgeNow.com all 455 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:43:04 GMT Obama to demand more from Europe in Berlin speech - Reuters BBC News Obama to demand more from Europe in Berlin speech Reuters - 26 minutes ago By Caren Bohan and Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - US presidential candidate Barack Obama is expected to call on Europe to do more in hotspots like Afghanistan when he speaks in Berlin on Thursday in his only formal address of a week-long foreign tour. Berliners welcome Obama as they did JFK Christian Science Monitor Obama Starts European Trip With Stop in Germany Wall Street Journal Voice of America - The Associated Press - AFP - Washington Times all 686 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:25:11 GMT Finding Bale's dark side - Chicago Sun-Times Times Online Finding Bale's dark side Chicago Sun-Times - 3 hours ago BY BILL ZWECKER Sun-Times Columnist 'The Dark Knight'' star Christian Bale's alleged ''assault'' in London against his mother and sister is part of a long-simmering family feud. Batman star stays silent in Spain BBC News Christian Bale's lady sidekick: Sibi Bale Los Angeles Times E! Online - hecklerspray - Times of the Internet - New York Daily News all 2,556 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:08:50 GMT Sudan's president boogies on last Darfur pit stop - AFP BBC News Sudan's president boogies on last Darfur pit stop AFP - 36 minutes ago EL GENEINA, Sudan (AFP) - A dancing Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir paraded as a man of peace on Thursday during a heavily protected tour of Darfur defying accusations that he masterminded genocide in the region. Sudan counters charges with diplomacy Los Angeles Times Al-Bashir in Sudan peace pledge The Press Association Bloomberg - Monsters and Critics.com - New York Times - Workers World all 1,767 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:15:43 GMT Day After, WNBA Untangles Brawl - New York Times ChattahBox Day After, WNBA Untangles Brawl New York Times - 7 hours ago By MIKE OGLE Some of the WNBA’s biggest stars commanded national attention Tuesday night and into Wednesday - but not in a way their teams or the league wanted. Don't count on fights becoming WNBA trend USA Today WNBA may have a fighting chance Los Angeles Times ESPN - Detroit Free Press - Hartford Courant - Denver Post all 876 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:06:48 GMT Add RSS Feeds To My Web Pages More Web Site Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Precautions Necessary for an Online Brokerage Business

Maybe no business requiring little or no capital pays as... Read More

Intranet Portals ? Collaboration through Team Rooms

Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More

Intranet Portal ? Business Case ROI

The days of easy money are overIn these post-dot-com days... Read More

Cheap Cigarettes, Discount Tobacco and Cigars Online - Is It Legal?

Many people online today still believe that buying tobacco products... Read More

Accepting Credit Cards For Your Online Business

Did you know that one of the best ways to... Read More

Dont give up on your business!

Summer must be when many work at home Mom start... Read More

How to Gain Your Visitors Trust

If you are serious about selling on the world wide... Read More

Grow your Business with Emarketplace - Part III

Increase Company ProductivityAfter years of hard work, finally your business... Read More

Online Merchant Account - Costs and Alternatives

Merchant Account BasicsA Merchant Account is a commercial bank account... Read More

How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy - Part Two

Why time spent on your site is importantAll websites regardless... Read More

Mr and Mrs Smith Go Online, as Internet Technology Moves from Fantasy to Normality

According to NOP World, 48% of all Internet users have... Read More

Do You Need A Merchant Account?

Deciding when to get your own merchant account for internet... Read More

Web Users Crave Familiarity

The sad truth is, general Web users would love it... Read More

How To Eliminate Credit Card Refunds From Digital Thieves

Can you encounter the number of times where a Credit... Read More

Online Lead Generation: Can it Work for My Business?

Business-to-business service providers have a wide range of tactics they... Read More

Choosing on Order Fulfillment Service

When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you... Read More

Leveraging Open Source Technology

Open Source applications can bring unique value to business owners.... Read More

Accept Credit Cards Online Without A Merchant Account

It is often assumed if you want to accept credit... Read More

Gooooooooooogle It!

....there's much more to Google than you thought:With the wealth... Read More

One Point Two Billion

In this surreal world of the internet, anyone, even you,... Read More

Set Yourself Apart From The Ordinary

I have written at length about the need to anticipate... Read More

Drop-Shipping ? A Great Way of Making Money Online

Using the Internet to sell products and services to ever... Read More

Working With Drop Shippers

Drop Shippers, the manufacturers or distributors who are willing to... Read More

Managing Project Risks and Issues

Inherent (or Business) RiskInherent Risk is the risk that exists... Read More

Online Consumers ? What Are They Complaining About?

For many businesses, e-commerce represents a tremendous method for generating... Read More