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Eight Unconventional Ideas for Web Store Profitability
by Kim Free, VP of Product, OrderMotion, 2008
1. Don't wait for customers ... just ship it!
Although it may seem risky, automatic shipping has become very popular with both consumers and merchants. Known
as recurring order programs, this process puts a new spin on continuity and has become the norm for merchants selling
products where consumers might wish to purchase at regular intervals, like vitamins, cosmetics, and specialty foods. Even
if you don’t sell these items, you can still take advantage of this new style of purchasing. If you sell unique products or high-demand brand merchandise, many customers will want to plan ahead so they never run out or miss an opportunity to
buy. OrderMotion includes all you need to easily setup recurring order programs to instantly offer the convenience of
automatic shipping to your customers. This key feature gives you a creative and convenient new service and generates
significant new revenue at virtually no additional cost!
2. Let customers help themselves!
Implementing self-service on your Website will dramatically reduce your headaches. If you’re not there yet, act now to
enable your customers to look-up their own order status, search a product for availability without placing an order, or
track a shipment’s delivery status. Offloading these activities back to the customers will improve your service levels and reduce your overhead, as customers will have less reason to contact you directly.
OrderMotion comes with all the tools needed to implement customer self service on your Website through our open
interfaces that easily pass order and tracking information to your storefront in real time.
3. Talk back to your customers!
When your customers talk to you, talk back. Consumers who shop online often complain about the lack of service and
timely response to their questions and requests for assistance. Consumers shop online because it is convenient and there are many choices. If you’re not responsive to your customers' needs, they will simply go elsewhere. Building a quality service reputation is vital to your continued growth. First, let your customers know there are real people in your company that can help. Offer the option to contact you via email, phone or even chat, instead of generic electronic forms. Second, keep a correspondence record of customer interactions to eliminate frustration and provide insight into recurring service issues. And third,create an order process that enables you to easily make adjustments to an existing order after it is entered via the Website. OrderMotion has an integrated customer relationship management solution (CRM) that easily manages and stores all correspondence to and from a customer. Automatic responses are built from templates and customized as needed to make most responses simple and easy. OrderMotion also has a powerful offline order entry and maintenance capability that permits you to respond to even the toughest customer service request. Promptly responding to your customers' needs insures high levels of customer satisfaction, and builds brand loyalty to keep those customers coming back.
4. Take your customers on vacation!
Wouldn’t you like to keep track of your business from anywhere in the world, at anytime of day, even if you are on
an island taking a break? You can with OrderMotion. Because OrderMotion is Webbased and requires no installation, all you need is an Internet connection to log-in and manage your business. Having the flexibility to be on the move with your business means you never miss a beat, whether you’re on vacation, checking out next season’s new merchandise, or networking with other entrepreneurs. All because you can take your customers with you, no matter where you go.
5. Spend time with good customers and ignore the rest!
Ignoring any customer is a new concept for most merchants. This is especially true if you are just getting started. But the reality is that some customers are profitable and will come back to you again and again while others seem to never quite work out, returning products and demanding refunds. Why invest in a bad relationship? It’s important to know your
customers and recognize the good ones who make you money from the bad ones who cost you money. With the right information in hand, you can nurture and encourage the right customers to come back with targeted marketing promotions and relevant new services. OrderMotion provides the information needed to analyze your customers and identify those who are the most profitable, those who have an affinity to specific brands, and those that have responded favorably to a similar promotion in the past. This type of analysis lets you get the best possible response for your marketing dollar and makes sure you are spending your time and resources with the right customers–the profitable ones!
6. Sell it all to the highest bidder!
Thinking outside the box is the primary trait of every great entrepreneur. Leveraging online marketplaces to build your
business is not a new idea, but what about other ways of leveraging these marketplaces? What about using eBay to auction off your off-season merchandise or to test market next season’s new products? Consider how easy and costeffective it is to start a new brand concept through Yahoo! Stores. Then add these new customers to your house list and market directly to them in the future. OrderMotion works with both Yahoo! and eBay making it simple to capture orders from these selling channels and seamlessly process the orders, while combining inventory and back office all in one place.
7. Let someone else run your business?
Is it possible that other people can care about your business as much as you do? It seems counter intuitive, but many
entrepreneurs have found that it is best to outsource those things that they know the least about and focus on the things
they know the most about…which is selling great products and servicing the customer. Some merchants are more
comfortable using a fulfillment provider to handle their pick, pack and ship operations or an accountant to manage their
books and tax filing. Most e-commerce merchants use a service provider to manage their Website and hosting.
Outsourcing means a fixed cost that is predictable and easily managed; it also means you don’t need to use up a lot of
capital on things that don’t directly grow your business. OrderMotion offers an on-demand service accessible over the
Web with no investment in hardware or software required. It’s likely that we already partner with most all your existing
services, so simply point us to your e-commerce website and we will provide software services that run the rest of your ecommerce business. You don’t need technical resources and you don’t have to worry about system and network management, software upgrades, technical support or security. We handle it all over the Web for a service fee that matches your volume.
8. Listen to your Mother!
Your mother probably told you to be good, helpful and spend time socializing with others. That is good advice for anyone,
but it is great advice for an e-commerce entrepreneur especially given that online social networks are all the rage.
There are social shopping networks that present opportunities to attract new customers to your site, customer feedback and reviews that you can add to your site to leverage one customer's experience to assist another, and many great blog
sites that share expertise within a given industry. One of the great advantages of using OrderMotion is the power of our community - made up of entrepreneurs like you (more than 300 companies representing over 1000 retail
brands), value-added partners (Like eBay and Yahoo!), and the OrderMotion team with more than a decade of experience
serving the retail industry. This community provides a forum to exchange ideas, leverage your successes and discuss your
challenges. But best of all, the community helps you to make the most of the OrderMotion software and services.
So, are you ready to talk?
We’d love to talk with you, if you’re ready to talk with us. We have a variety of tools and resources available to
determine if OrderMotion is right for you.
Browse our Website at www.ordermotion.com. On the site is an on-line demo of our product. If you want more in depth
information, please join our twice-weekly live product demonstration. Instructions for sign up can be found on our
site.
Just have a question or ready to make the move to a best of breed order management system? Call us at 877-755-3718.
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+1 (800) 307-3997
