Creating a UK Shop that Never Closes for Lunch
| Category: E-commerce | Date: 2003-10-23 |
With a thousand-and-one conflicting views on the subject it is easy to be disillusioned by e-commerce, writes Jeffrey Stevens, but it neednt be.
Twelve months ago I used to teach in seminars that the only way UK businesses could make money from the Internet was through its ability to put you in touch with people, ideas and information. E-commerce, I said, would never take off until the UK had free local telephone calls and two phone-lines in every home. I was wrong.
I didnt take into account Freeserve (the free Internet Service Provider) and the army of others that followed soon after, nor did I see the advent of new software that would make building online stores cheap and simple.
E-commerce has taken off in the UK, and retailers and entrepreneurs around the country are making a small fortune by selling their products 24 hours a day on the Internet. The only problem is that until now no-one has yet come up with the bare-bone facts that tell you in a nutshell just how easy it really is.
So if you are interested in seeing what it takes to set up this must-have business resource, read on:
What do I need to set up a shop on the Internet?
1. You need something to sell.
If you feel you have a got a great product, and one that you would like to sell to people not only in your own town but to the rest of the world too, then you ought to be selling it online. Remember, the best products to sell are the ones you can easily ship. Producers of armoured military vehicles would do best to seek alternative business opportunities.
2. You need a connection to the Internet.
These days connecting to the Internet couldnt be easier or cheaper. There are literally hundreds of UK-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who will provide you with a connection to the Internet, e-mail addresses and space to house your web site. Several of them even offer their services for free.
3. You need to own some web space where your shop web site will live.
Web space is a bit like a virtual plot of land where your shop web site will be built and will eventually sit. Most Internet Service Providers offer free web space when you connect with them. Make sure though that you can operate a commercial web site from that web space.
4. You need some shop-building software.
Your online shop will just be a web-site with some clever programming behind it that allows people to select your products and then pay for them over the Internet. To build a shop web site you will have to use special software such as Dreamteam Designs EROL (Electronic Retail Online). Good software like this makes it easy to build the shop and it builds your web site for you at the same time.
Believe it or not, that is all you need to build an online shop. Anybody with a computer and some creative spirit can do it and if done well, you could literally be expanding your customer base by millions.
How do I take payments on my online shop?
The most common way of taking payment is by credit card. Before citing any scare stories you may heard, the good news about the Internet is that it is now considered completely safe to transfer credit card details online. Internet security technology has improved to such a degree that this is arguably the safest way of transferring credit card details.
A good shop-building package will automatically create the correct secure environment for receiving and sending credit card numbers.
Although taking payment by credit card is the preferred method of conducting Internet business, it is not true that you need to have a merchant account (in other words, able to accept credit card payment) to sell products over the Internet.
I dont have a merchant account but I still want to sell online Fortunately, there are companies now such as NetBanx who offer to handle all transactions for you in exchange for a small percentage of every product you sell.
Alternatively you can opt to receive orders via e-mail (a good shop building software will provide you with the facilities to do this securely). You can then accept the order and sort out the payment using more traditional means such as getting back to the customer by phone or by ordinary mail.
Fortunately many UK banks are making it easy for people setting up stores on the Internet to achieve merchant status, so if you are serious about selling online and you dont yet have a merchant account, speak to your bank about the opportunities and facilities they provide for Internet business.
Do I have to handle all credit card payments myself or can that all be done for me?
The great thing about selling on the Internet is that all your orders can be processed, cleared and paid for without you having to lift a finger. In fact it can all happen while youre asleep, while youre eating lunch or while youre mooring your yacht in Antibes. Companies such as the well-known Secure Trading will collaborate with your credit card company and make sure that payment is made before you even receive the order from a buyer. They will normally charge a small commission for this service. If youre worried about setting all this up, a good shop-building package will automate all of this for you.
And is that all there is to it?
Well yes and no. The bad news is that building the store is only half the battle. If you want shoppers crossing your cyber-threshold 24 hours a day you are going to need more than just an online store wandering around aimlessly on the outskirts of cyberspace with its hands in its pockets. Promoting the site like a raging PR demon, making sure the content is good, the products amazing and the design of the site impeccable are all sure-fire ingredients for a successful online business.
With revenue from e-commerce by 2002 estimated to be almost Ј5bn this is no time to be heeding the shoddy advice I handed out a year ago. The e-commerce bull is stamping at the gates of the arena and it is probably worth grabbing his horns before the real games begin.
Continue: Resources
About the Author
Copyright 1999, Jeffrey Stevens. Formerly a radio journalist, Jeffrey Stevens is now an independent Internet trainer as well as project manager for top creative new media agency, Dreamteam Design Ltd, www.dreamteam.co.uk. For the last two years he has been sharing his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Internet by teaching Internet-related courses in the UK and abroad. He can be reached by e-mail: jgstevens@hotmail.com.
jgstevens@hotmail.com.
Twelve months ago I used to teach in seminars that the only way UK businesses could make money from the Internet was through its ability to put you in touch with people, ideas and information. E-commerce, I said, would never take off until the UK had free local telephone calls and two phone-lines in every home. I was wrong.
I didnt take into account Freeserve (the free Internet Service Provider) and the army of others that followed soon after, nor did I see the advent of new software that would make building online stores cheap and simple.
E-commerce has taken off in the UK, and retailers and entrepreneurs around the country are making a small fortune by selling their products 24 hours a day on the Internet. The only problem is that until now no-one has yet come up with the bare-bone facts that tell you in a nutshell just how easy it really is.
So if you are interested in seeing what it takes to set up this must-have business resource, read on:
What do I need to set up a shop on the Internet?
1. You need something to sell.
If you feel you have a got a great product, and one that you would like to sell to people not only in your own town but to the rest of the world too, then you ought to be selling it online. Remember, the best products to sell are the ones you can easily ship. Producers of armoured military vehicles would do best to seek alternative business opportunities.
2. You need a connection to the Internet.
These days connecting to the Internet couldnt be easier or cheaper. There are literally hundreds of UK-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who will provide you with a connection to the Internet, e-mail addresses and space to house your web site. Several of them even offer their services for free.
3. You need to own some web space where your shop web site will live.
Web space is a bit like a virtual plot of land where your shop web site will be built and will eventually sit. Most Internet Service Providers offer free web space when you connect with them. Make sure though that you can operate a commercial web site from that web space.
4. You need some shop-building software.
Your online shop will just be a web-site with some clever programming behind it that allows people to select your products and then pay for them over the Internet. To build a shop web site you will have to use special software such as Dreamteam Designs EROL (Electronic Retail Online). Good software like this makes it easy to build the shop and it builds your web site for you at the same time.
Believe it or not, that is all you need to build an online shop. Anybody with a computer and some creative spirit can do it and if done well, you could literally be expanding your customer base by millions.
How do I take payments on my online shop?
The most common way of taking payment is by credit card. Before citing any scare stories you may heard, the good news about the Internet is that it is now considered completely safe to transfer credit card details online. Internet security technology has improved to such a degree that this is arguably the safest way of transferring credit card details.
A good shop-building package will automatically create the correct secure environment for receiving and sending credit card numbers.
Although taking payment by credit card is the preferred method of conducting Internet business, it is not true that you need to have a merchant account (in other words, able to accept credit card payment) to sell products over the Internet.
I dont have a merchant account but I still want to sell online Fortunately, there are companies now such as NetBanx who offer to handle all transactions for you in exchange for a small percentage of every product you sell.
Alternatively you can opt to receive orders via e-mail (a good shop building software will provide you with the facilities to do this securely). You can then accept the order and sort out the payment using more traditional means such as getting back to the customer by phone or by ordinary mail.
Fortunately many UK banks are making it easy for people setting up stores on the Internet to achieve merchant status, so if you are serious about selling online and you dont yet have a merchant account, speak to your bank about the opportunities and facilities they provide for Internet business.
Do I have to handle all credit card payments myself or can that all be done for me?
The great thing about selling on the Internet is that all your orders can be processed, cleared and paid for without you having to lift a finger. In fact it can all happen while youre asleep, while youre eating lunch or while youre mooring your yacht in Antibes. Companies such as the well-known Secure Trading will collaborate with your credit card company and make sure that payment is made before you even receive the order from a buyer. They will normally charge a small commission for this service. If youre worried about setting all this up, a good shop-building package will automate all of this for you.
And is that all there is to it?
Well yes and no. The bad news is that building the store is only half the battle. If you want shoppers crossing your cyber-threshold 24 hours a day you are going to need more than just an online store wandering around aimlessly on the outskirts of cyberspace with its hands in its pockets. Promoting the site like a raging PR demon, making sure the content is good, the products amazing and the design of the site impeccable are all sure-fire ingredients for a successful online business.
With revenue from e-commerce by 2002 estimated to be almost Ј5bn this is no time to be heeding the shoddy advice I handed out a year ago. The e-commerce bull is stamping at the gates of the arena and it is probably worth grabbing his horns before the real games begin.
Continue: Resources
About the Author
Copyright 1999, Jeffrey Stevens. Formerly a radio journalist, Jeffrey Stevens is now an independent Internet trainer as well as project manager for top creative new media agency, Dreamteam Design Ltd, www.dreamteam.co.uk. For the last two years he has been sharing his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Internet by teaching Internet-related courses in the UK and abroad. He can be reached by e-mail: jgstevens@hotmail.com.
jgstevens@hotmail.com.
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