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sort of product, and many customers have technical questions after a repair is completed.
Traditional items (for example, a sack of potatoes from the grocery store) generally require
less support than modern electronic items.
In addition, there is often a strong desire to integrate other business functions or practices
into the e-commerce offering. An extremely simple example—you might want to be able
to show the customer the exact status of an order with an order login link. Nifty!
There are so many examples of good businesses running successful e-commerce cam-
paigns, it's hard not to notice and get excited. Know now that a good website cannot be
created overnight and will take time. A careful and well thought out approach will pay off
once you can get your website to work for you.
There is a “lure” of e-commerce and it clearly affected me and my way of doing business.
The bottom line is that it provides me with lower transaction costs, and I've found a
well-implemented website will significantly lower order-taking costs, personnel costs, and
customer-service costs. The web is an amazing thing and when you automate some of these
functions, you'll see profits rise.
The next lure is that traditionally you will see larger purchases per transaction. You can add
suggestions to the bottom of each service you offer, like cases, power
Make Your Website Work
my business takes orders over the phone. I have a straightforward electronics repair com-
pany that offers repairs on a multitude of items, and I offer simple mail-in and delivery
options to any location in the united states. Initially, I placed ads in magazines, newspapers,
and really pushed my customers to call in to speak to a live representative so that we could
fulfill a repair order. mail-order and “catalog-order” sales are standard ways of doing busi-
ness that have been around for over a century. sears after all was originally a mail-order
company that touted their catalog for decades. About 75 percent of my business's orders
move over the web instead of through the telephone. What's the big deal? Does it really
matter?
The answer is yes. Even if I moved all 75 percent of my e-commerce business back to
phone sales, I would have to hire ten more people. These ten people would need phones,
workstations, training, insurance, vacations, and sick time. These ten people would raise
the payroll of my small business to a new height. I would need to absorb the costs asso-
ciated with these ten new employees and that would be damaging to my business. Quite
frankly, my e-commerce solution converts more accessories and specials into sales, so I
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