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Backgrounder
Selling Online[Notes: Journalists are invited to quote and use comment and information from the backgrounder below but all comments should be attributed to Andrew Fassnidge, UK Marketing Manager, Amenworld.com]Selling on the Internet is big business. Whether consumers are buying holidays, DVD’s, music or car insurance, they are rapidly seeing the convenience and value of e-commerce. In 2006 £30.2bn was spent on online goods and services by consumers Steve Gill, the Managing Director of Hewlett-Packard said, “Anyone who fails to become an e-business will soon become an ex-business.“ There are a number of options available for selling online. At the most basic, you can trade by email. A step up is creating a shop on an auction site. However the most professional solution to give complete control is to build an e-Shop on your company’s website. In 2006 the typical spend of an online shopper was £606. This is expected to grow to £1,056 per year by 2011. Amenworld’s e-Shop customers can benefit from this growth by having their e-Shop in place now. A Level Playing Field The Internet offers an environment that no other market can provide, a place where individuals can compete with global organizations. In the offline world companies are able to spend millions building the latest city-centre store while smaller companies struggle to afford such a prestigious location. On the web things are different. Online shops use web pages made out of text and images, allowing anyone to compete. People that have never built a website before can use tools like AMEN’s Website Creator to create a complete and professional website. The Right Tools For The Job Almost anything can be sold online but not every site is equipped for the perfect sale. A site with a difficult sales process is likely to lose customers. A good e-commerce tool is essential. Amenworld has a simple professional e-Shop solution that guides customers through the process and results in a satisfied customer willing to purchase from the site again. Safe And Secure Security should be a priority. Potential customers should be assured that their details will be kept safe from unauthorized people. A secure connection which encodes credit card details before they’re sent will keep data safe until it reaches the merchant. A properly setup payment system makes it almost impossible to steal a customer's credit card number. Merchants are responsible for all customer details and should always keep multiple back-ups of essential information stored safely off-site. Don’t Lose Visitors Although a good homepage is important it is not necessarily going to be the first page that visitors will see. Surfers that arrive from search engines may land on the particular product page they were searching for. Buying the product should be made as easy as possible for the visitor with the option to purchase in a prominent position. Websites should be easy to navigate so that users don’t get frustrated and leave without making that vital purchase. Using Auction Site e-Shops Many small businesses use auction sites to dip their toes in the e-commerce water, however there are many pitfalls to be aware of. An e-Shop on an auction website may seem like a good idea but very little customer loyalty is built up and the purchase is likely to be a one off. The e-Shop’s web address must also start with the auction site’s address which doesn’t look very professional. Amenworld.com’s customers don’t have this concern as they can choose and register the web address that best suits the business (providing the address is still available). Different shops within an auction site often look the same. If companies want to look professional and differentiate themselves from competitors, auction site shops offer very limited customisation. Amen’s customers have secure dedicated web space which they can use to create their very own individual e-Shop using their own text, images and design. Negative User Feedback Auction site feedback systems are far from perfect. Buyers can post comments which damage a shop’s reputation regardless of the quality of service provided. Although a feedback section on a website is useful for potential customers, it should be one which the online shop has control over. Auction website shops offer no control over the comments that are posted, which could be dangerous in the hands of disgruntled customers. Money, Money, Money A monthly fee has to be paid to open an auction site shop. However the outgoings don’t stop there. On top of this there are listing insertion fees and then finally a percentage of the sale price is taken. Once an Amen hosting package has been purchased there is a fixed monthly fee leaving the buyer with space to host their shop, display as many products as they want and receive all the profit. Designed for small business people with no technical or computer skills, Amenworld.com makes building an online shop easy. ----------------------------------------------------------ends------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes to editors For further editorial information or to arrange an interview please contact amen@pwkpr.com or telephone 020 7609 1900. About Amenworld.com Amenworld.com – a leading provider of services to get businesses started on the Internet - understands how to make online business simple. Amenworld’s experience and range of easy to understand packages provide the perfect platform to launch businesses on the web. For more information please visit: http://www.amenworld.com |
