GoECart Ecommerce Blog

5 Postcard Marketing Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Postcards have proven themselves to be highly effective for marketing in the 21st century. But marketers often sabotage their own success with postcards by making some common mistakes in using them.

Here are 5 postcard marketing mistakes many marketers make ...and some easy ways to avoid them.

1. Not Defining a Specific Goal for Your Postcards

You can't get the best results from marketing postcards if you don't have a clear understanding of what you want them to do for you.

Do you want to attract new customers to your website? Do you want to generate phone inquiries you can use as sales leads? Maybe you want to get more foot traffic into your store ...or something else.

Always define a specific goal for your postcards before you do anything else. You'll save a lot of time, avoid unnecessary mistakes - and maximize your results.

2. Using a Cheap Mailing List Instead of the Best List

Postcards produce the biggest profit when you send them to prospects likely to be interested in what you are offering. They produce even better results if those prospects also have a proven history of acting on things they are interested in.

Don't settle for a mailing list just because it's easily available or cheap. The most effective mailing lists generally involve a little bit of research to uncover - and they're usually not the cheapest. But the extra time and cost involved will reward you with a much bigger response.

3. Attempting to Close Sales Instead of Generate Leads

Many marketers try to close sales with postcards. But it's a lot easier to generate website traffic or sales leads than it is to close sales.

Design your postcards to generate website traffic and sales leads instead of trying to close sales.

For example, send the readers to your website or wherever you normally deliver your sales presentation ...a presentation you've already refined to produce the most sales.

4. Trying to Say Too Much on the Postcard

Postcards get delivered open and ready to read. That's one of their major advantages. It guarantees that nearly every recipient will see your message. But many marketers forfeit this advantage by cluttering their postcards with too much information.

You'll get the best results when readers can glance at your postcards for just a few seconds and completely understand what it says. For example, some of the most profitable postcards include no more than:

A short one line headline to get the reader's attention
A bulleted list (like this one) of 3 or 4 major benefits
A brief motivating offer
A website address or phone number to respond to the offer

5. Not Including a Motivating Offer

Just because you targeted the right prospects with your postcards, don't assume they will automatically take action to seek you out - at least not immediately. Many will intend to do so later but then get caught up in other things and forget all about you.

You can overcome this natural procrastination by including on the postcard exactly what you want the reader to do ...and why they should do it now instead of later.

For example, don't just list your phone number or website on the postcard. Specifically tell the reader to call you or visit your website - and offer them a special incentive for doing it right now.

Marketing with postcards is a simple process. But you can still make mistakes in using them that will sabotage your results. By knowing the 5 mistakes revealed in this article ...you can easily avoid making those same mistakes yourself.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://www.bobleduc.com/ or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

GoECart and Merchant Focus Processing Partner to Bring Dramatic Cost Savings to Merchants on Credit Card Processing

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:30:00 +0000

At GoECart, we're absolutely committed to helping our merchants Sell More, and part of that includes cutting costs on transactions without sacrificing quality or service. Recently, we've partnered with Merchant Focus Processing, a full service Ecommerce Merchant Account and payment gateway provider, to bring our merchants two different enrollment programs:

Competitive fixed-rate pricing for new merchants or those processing less than $250,000 per year in Visa/MasterCard transactions. This is a significant boon to small and growing merchants.
"Interchange-Plus" pricing with no monthly fees of any kind for established merchants processing more than $250,000 per year.

The quality of service does not change whether you've chosen the first or second plan. Like GoECart, Merchant Focus prides itself on superior customer service. For more information, please contact your account manager or Sales@GoECart.com.

With the holiday season coming, it's important to explore your options when it comes to payment processing so that you can truly get the most out of your busy season. If you're interested in learning more about how to prepare for the holiday season, please attend our upcoming joint webinar with Endicia.

GoECart Strategic Partner Webinar: Endicia Integration

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Did you know that GoECart now integrates with Endicia Internet Postage? You can leverage this integration to automate and streamline your domestic ecommerce postage needs, right from the GoECart Administration Panel. This includes real-time postage rates for USPS shipping, the ability to generate shipping labels on demand, void shipments easily, and much more.

For GoECart merchants interested in exploring this highly beneficial integration, we are pleased to offer a 30 minute webinar about this topic on:

Wednesday, September 23, 2009
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT

Interested merchants must use this form to reserve your Webinar seat.

The webinar will teach you how you can integrate Endicia's Internet postage solution directly into your ecommerce workflow to provide cost-effective order fulfillment services for the 2009 holiday season and beyond. In the webinar, you will learn about:

The basics of Endicia integration and the benefits for merchants

Endicia's XML interface - which allows you to integrate Endicia's desktop shipping solution, into your ecommerce operation for all your USPS® shipping and mailing needs.

Endicia's Label Server API - which provides real-time USPS solutions for high-volume shippers.

The multiple advantages of integrating with Endicia with GoECart.

Participants are invited to type in questions via the chat window during the webinar. Our speakers will provide live answers at the end of the presentation during the Q&A session. This webinar is provided free of charge and registration is required to attend. Please note that listed times are Pacific Time and long-distance charges may apply.

About the speakers

Richard Perry is the Sr. Manager for Endicia's Business Development team, which is responsible for building and managing the relationships between Endicia and its various integrated partners. Drawing from over 13 years of experience in the logistical industry working for companies such as DHL and Neopost, Richard will share information on today's technologies that will allow shippers, software developers, corporations and web sites to easily integrate Endicia's USPS shipping solutions into their workflow or even applications.

GoECart is a leading ecommerce solutions provider that serves a variety of clients, which range from small- and medium- sized retailers to divisions of Fortune 500 companies. As its founder and CEO of GoECart, Manish Chowdhary provides business and technology leadership to his company, drawing from more than 10 years experience in the eCommerce industry. Manish holds a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

GoECart's Shopping Cart Abandonment Solution Featured in Retail TouchPoints E-Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:46:00 +0000

Retail TouchPoints is a leading online information network and weekly e-newsletter focused on helping retailers optimize the customer experience across all channels. One of their primary goals is to provide retailers with cutting edge insight into how to address some of their biggest challenges, and a hot topic of interest is shopping cart abandonment. Not surprisingly, their search led them to GoECart. One major way GoECart Ecommerce Solution helps merchants tackle shopping cart abandonment problems is through its unique One-Page Checkout capability. GoECart's One-Page Checkout addresses the challenges associated with shopping cart abandonment, the online shopping phenomenon where shoppers get to the checkout step of online shopping but then fail to follow through with a purchase. Further, GoECart's Rich Remarketing Emails further help merchants recover abandoned shopping carts by encouraging customers to come back to the site and complete their abandoned orders.

Retail TouchPoints newsletter circulates to approximately 15,000 subscribers comprised of retailers who are focused on strategies to acquire, service and retain customers across all channels. Read more...

Welcome to GoECart's New Website!

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:01:00 +0000

After a series of usability studies and focus groups, we have been working arduously to update our web presence, combining the efforts of professional copy writers, graphic designers, information architects, business analysts and web programmers to bring the site to market using the latest Microsoft .NET technologies.

Our new site features an intuitive information architecture to make it easier for merchants to learn about our award-winning ecommerce solutions, depending on the size of their operations: The site includes two sub sites--one for small business ecommerce solutions and another for the middle market merchants.

Other features include:

This frequently updated ecommerce blog!

A Podcast library of ecommerce resources

A sign up facility for our new and improved ecommerce newsletter

An ecommerce resources center - which provides a variety of information for new and existing merchants "make the most of the their ecommerce endeavors"

A new careers section that highlights GoECart's innovative culture and underscores our commitment to recruiting top industry talent

A section dedicated to tradeshows and events, including video coverage of recent appearances and speaking engagements

Information about a variety new technical support options for existing customers
Information for current and potential partners

We hope you enjoy our new site, and we look forward to your feedback in the weeks ahead.

[Manish Chowdhary, GoECart]

Offer Multiple Payment Options to Support Sales Growth and Profit

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:37:00 +0000

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Alternative payment systems are on the rise, and it's turning out to be a win-win scenario, with multiple payment options boosting sales and increasing revenues for ecommerce merchants, while at the same time, opening up payment options and increased privacy for a wider variety of consumers.

GoECart remains at the forefront of this area of ecommerce, boasting an extensive payment support approach that is fully compatible with all leading payment gateways and processors. In addition to standard payment methods including real-time credit cards, major credit and debit cards, and e-gift certificates, GoECart supports TeleCheck and PayPal Express Checkout, with Google Checkout integration in the works and expected to be announced soon. GoECart merchants can accept virtually any form of payment in any currency.

What the Experts Are Saying

Forrester Research, in their recent report, The Checkout Tools That Boost eBusiness, states, "As online businesses struggle to find ways to maintain double-digit growth year after year, a slew of options that aim to boost checkout conversion have emerged as promising tools in the quest to grow sales. PayPal, Bill Me Later, and Google Checkout, as well as a few other upstarts, are solutions with the potential to address eCommerce dilemmas of stagnant conversion and shopping cart abandonment rates."

According to research firm CyberSource (a payment option supported by GoECart), merchants who support payment types beyond credit cards (gift certificates, e-checks, etc.), typically see significant increases in online sales. And merchants who offer more payment types have lower shopping cart abandonment rates and up to 20% higher order conversion on average.

MarketingSherpa's Ecommerce Benchmark Guide 2007 reports that shopping cart abandonment rates have dropped because consumers have more options from which to choose. A few years ago, online purchases were paid solely by credit cards. Today, these choices have multiplied: 17% of the large eCommerce web sites they studied in their audit between Dec'06 and Jan'07 accept PayPal and Bill Me Later options.

This is good news for merchants, says MarketingSherpa, because the service charges of the new payment providers are lower than the amounts charged by credit card companies, and, because it has sprouted new groups of potential customers, namely those who wish to defer payments and those who are concerned about privacy (which may account for up to 30% of the online population).

PayPal is the easiest way for web merchants to accept credit cards on the Internet. PayPal allows businesses and customers to securely, conveniently, and cost-effectively send and receive payments online. PayPal offers a global, real-time payment solution built on its existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards. GoECart was one of the first shopping cart solutions to receive PayPal certification. GoECart's integration with PayPal allows online merchants to accept secure payments from their customers using any of PayPal's payment options.

Because of GoECart's special partner relationship with PayPal, GoECart merchants would soon qualify to receive massive discounts on payment processing via PayPal. Please send e-mail to mailto:Sales@GoECart.comto inquire more.

With Bill Me Later, customers do not need to provide a 16-digit number when making a purchase, nor do they need to set up an account in advance. Using minimal information provided by the customer at point of sale, a real-time credit decision is made. Once the purchase is authorized and settled, Bill Me Later sends the customer a bill with flexible payment terms similar to those of a credit card.

Bill Me Later allows merchants to offer a better buying experience while enjoying increased sales, average order value and repeat usage, and lowering transaction costs.

Additionally, Bill Me Later gives merchants access to previously unreachable customers: those who, because of security concerns, are reluctant to use their credit card for phone or web shopping; those who do not have their credit card at hand at the time of transaction; and, in some cases, those who do not have credit cards.

Google Checkout is a checkout process that you integrate with your website, enabling your customers to buy from you quickly and securely, using a single username and password. And once they do, you can use Google Checkout to charge their credit cards, process their orders, and receive payment in your bank account.

Online shoppers often start with a Google search. Google's search advertising program, AdWords, helps them find you through targeted text ads that appear beside Google search results. Now you can add the Google Checkout badge to your AdWords ads, which highlights your store and tells potential customers that shopping with you will be convenient and secure.

Lengthy checkout processes frustrate online shoppers who then frequently abandon their shopping carts. When your store accepts Google Checkout, your customers needn't be among them. The purchasing information of every Checkout user is stored in a single account, so they can buy from you by simply providing their username and password

From November 8, 2006 through December 31, 2007, Google Checkout merchants can process their Google Checkout sales for free.
Click here to sign up for your FREE Google Checkout Account.

Boasting nearly 40 years of experience, TeleCheck (a subsidiary of First Data Corporation) is a leading Check Payment Processing company that offers a range of eCheck payment options to customers. Their expertise in the field has enabled them to create products and services that empower customers by reducing their operating expenses and enhancing cash flow, resulting in greater sales.

Online shoppers often start with a Google search. Google's search advertising program, AdWords, helps them find you through targeted text ads that appear beside Google search results. Now you can add the Google Checkout badge to your AdWords ads, which highlights your store and tells potential customers that shopping with you will be convenient and secure.

With the industry's most comprehensive risk management and recovery programs backing up their products and services, TeleCheck also offers unmatched security to its customers.

In line with GoECart's commitment to build partnerships with industry-leading service providers that offer the highest grade of service, this integration enables merchants to securely and conveniently accept electronic check payments in real-time over the Internet.

Increase Your Sales and Profits

If increased sales and profits along with a growing and satisfied customer base are among your top priorities, web merchants would do well to look into expanding your online payment system options.

With the industry's most comprehensive risk management and recovery programs backing up their products and services, TeleCheck also offers unmatched security to its customers.

Did you know that GoECart offers unbeatable rates on merchant accounts and online credit card processing solutions?

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Comparison Shopping Engines Bring Customers Who Are Ready To Buy

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:33:00 +0000

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A new breed of web search engines with cool names like Froogle , Nextag , Pricegrabber , and Shopzilla , have become increasingly popular with online buyers in recent months. Unlike their better-known, search-the-entire-web colleagues, these specialized comparison shopping engines focus on listings from online stores, and they include key product details such as price right in the search results. Product information is often placed side by side in a grid-like format, which helps shoppers easily compare features and pricing from multiple vendors.

As an online store owner, if you're not already leveraging listings in one or more of these comparison shopping engines to help drive new (and interested!) buyers to your site, consider this statistic: one in three Internet users now visits a comparison shopping site in a typical month.

A boon for merchants

The benefits of getting your products listed in these engines are two fold. First, they provide increased visibility and brand recognition for your online store. After all, having your items featured side by side with major web properties looks impressive! The second and perhaps greater benefit is that they tend to bring highly focused customers to your site who are looking for something specific and are often ready to purchase that item. According to one Forrester Research study, around 18 percent of America Online's shoppers are using comparison search engines, but the comparison shoppers spent a 24 percent more than those using traditional search methods.

Popular Comparison shopping engines

For online store owners wanting to get listed in comparison shopping engines, the number of engines and choices can be overwhelming. While a few shopping engines allow merchants to list their sites for free, each engine uses its own algorithm for ranking and displaying search results, and most charge merchants fees for prominent listings.

To help you decide which engines may be right for your business, a comparison of several major engines is provided below. Remember that fee structures and policies are updated regularly, so you'll need to stay on top of these to maximize your return on investment.

Search Engine	Pricing Policy	Product Update Method	More Information
	Free	Merchants register through a Google e-mail (Gmail) account and upload products through a comma separated value (CSV) product data feed file.	Froogle FAQ
	Pay-Per-Performance. Listings are based on bids set. Catalog divided into varies categories. Minimum Bids set for each category.	Contact Nextag for details.	Nextag.com
	Registration is Free. Offers 2 types of accounts - Storefront & Merchants Storefront members pay commissions on each purchase directed to there site. Merchant members pay for every click that comes to the store.	Members can update one product at a time; bulk update through CSV files also available.	Help Section
	Contact them for details.	Contact them for details.	Contact them for details.
	Members pays a fee for orders that comes through Shop.com.	Complex Integration of your catalog with there system.	Shop.com FAQ
	CPC rates start at only $ 0.05. Min CPC varies for type of product to be listed.	Register and Submit the products through feeds (CSV files).	Shopping.com is a GoECart partner. Contact us for details on the program.
	Register for free. Pay minimum refundable deposit of $100 to get started. Bid and decide CPC to get listed.	Update products through Product Feed (CSV files).	ShopZilla.com is a GoECart partner. Contact us for details on the program.
	Register for Free through Yahoo ID. Pay-Per-Performance for product inclusion.	Update products through Product Feed (CSV files).	Yahoo Shopping Search Engine FAQ for details on the program.

More than a fad

There's no doubt about it, comparison shopping search engines are here to stay. Be sure to watch future issues of this e-newsletter for analysis of additional engines, more tips, and advice about how to leverage the benefits this new medium can bring for online store owners.

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What Every Merchant Should Know About the Leading Web Marketplaces

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Online Marketplaces - The Landscape at Glance

Online Shopping Destination	Pricing Policy	Notes
Comparison Shopping Engine	Registration is free.	Merchants register through a Google e-mail (Gmail) account and upload products through a comma separated value (CSV) product data feed file.
Online Payment Processor	$10 bonus to consumers on orders over $30 at participating Google Checkout merchants. Free processing for merchants until 2008.	Simple HTML and advanced XML integration methods are available for payment processing integration.
Comparison Shopping Engine	Uses a pay-per-performance model. Listings are based on bids set. Catalog is divided into various categories. Minimum bids are set for each category.	Contact NexTag for details.
Comparison Shopping Engine	Registration is free. Offers two types of accounts: Storefront and Merchant. Storefront members pay commissions on each purchase directed to their site. Merchant members pay for every click that comes to the store.	Members can update one product at a time; bulk update through CSV files is also available.
Comparison Shopping Engine	Members are charged pay-per-click (PPC) fees.
Online Marketplace	Members pay a fee (6% to 20%) for orders that come through Shop.com.	Supports complex integration of your catalog.
Comparison Shopping Engine	Cost-per-click (CPC) rates start at only $ 0.05. Min CPC varies for types of products listed.	Members must register and submit the products through feeds (CSV files).
Comparison Shopping Engine	Registration is free. Members pay a minimum refundable deposit of $100 to get started. Bid and decide CPC to get listed.	Products are updated through product feed (CSV files).
Comparison Shopping Engine	Register for free through Yahoo ID. Pay-per-performance on cost-per-click basis for product inclusion.	Update products through Product Feed (CSV files).
Online Marketplace	Commission of 6% to 15% of the sales price, a per-transaction fee of $0.99, and a variable closing fee ranging from as low as $0.70 per item to several dollars per item.
Online Marketplace	On eBay.com listing / insertion fee ($0.20 - $4.80) plus percentage of sale (5.25% and up). On eBay Stores, subscription fee ($15.95 to $499.95/month) plus listing fee plus percentage of sale (10% and up).
Online Payment Processor	Standard payment processing fees comparable to merchant account discount rates.
Online Marketplace	Sets a base price for its products which Sellers markup and sell. Does not accept Merchant base inventory.

Online Marketplaces: Market Outlook, Revenue Models and Recent Trends

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:05:00 +0000

The forecast is bullish. Experts predict that by 2008, 27% of all e-commerce sales will be generated by multi-merchant product aggregators. Shoppers are expected to use Comparison Shopping Engines to the tune of $54.3 billion in revenues by 2008.

There are primarily two types of prevalent revenue models among online marketplaces - pay per click (PPC) and percentage of sale (POS) or cost per order (CPO) as a means of paying the marketplace. There is also a third type: Froogle.com. Offered by Google, Froogle.com is free. The rest charge merchants based on visits or sales.

Pay per click is how it sounds. Each time a potential shopper clicks thru to your site, you pay a fee. While the fees can be very low per click, it is crucial to monitor your visits closely. If your conversion rates on certain products are low, that is if shoppers are looking but not buying, the clicks are costing money and you may want to discontinue listing those products. That can be a real headache. For instance, if you have 500 products and you're listed on three PPC shopping search engines, you could be monitoring 1500 products. That's a lot of man hours. And in many cases it is difficult to get that specific click information from the comparison search engines. In essence, you could be draining significant profits from your business while shoppers visit who have no intention of buying.

Cost Per Order (CPO) Revenue Model on the Rise

Shopping.com will begin testing a universal shopping cart feature over the next couple of months. The service allows shoppers to add products from multiple merchants to a single Shopping.com cart and purchase those products through Shopping.com. The payment system will be powered by PayPal. Merchants participating in the test will be charged on a revenue-share basis as opposed to the standard cost-per-click model. Shopping.com / Paypal will process the transaction and send the necessary information (name, shipping address, quantity ordered, etc.) to the merchant for order fulfillment. There are two ways merchants can receive this information: via FTP and via the Merchant Account Center. The merchant will then send Shopping.com a status update when the order is processed and Shopping.com will relay an order confirmation to the buyer. Buyers can find out about their order status from their cart account on Shopping.com. The buyer will receive one order number even if she buys from multiple retailers. The test isn't live just yet.

Positives from the Merchant Perspective

Shopping.com's universal shopping cart should increase conversion rate. Merchants only pay on a CPA basis thus removing all risk from the marketing channel (merchants should now feel comfortable listing entire product databases)

Negatives from the Merchant Perspective

Ceding customer ownership to Shopping.com (Shopping.com controls all communication with the customer. Merchants can't access a customer's e-mail address or phone number. Merchants lose ability to upsell/cross-sell other products during the buying/checkout process which lowers the average order size. ]

Concern about Ceding Customer Ownership in CPO Model

In a proprietary survey of more than 30 online retailers at the 15th Annual eTail Conference in Philadelphia, 81% of the online retailers indicated that they probably will not implement Google Checkout primarily due to the concern about ceding customer ownership to Google. Specifically, online retailers were concerned that Google limits online retailers' ability to market to customers directly. The online retailers also expressed concern about disintermediation, lack of system flexibility and the perception that Checkout provides Google too much visibility into their business, especially relating to Google search-driven conversion rates. Online retailers were concerned that Google stores all customer information, and Google Checkout limits an online retailer's ability to directly market to a customer via e-mail. Given the low cost of e-mail marketing once a customer has been acquired, the e-mail marketing limitations placed on online retailers who implement Google Checkout may slow the rate of adoption of Google Checkout.

Online retailers also expressed concern that Google undermines the ability of an online retailer to directly connect with a consumer by requiring Google Checkout users to go to Google Checkout to make changes to orders and transactions instead of to the online retailer's site. This requirement once again prevents an online retailer from marketing or cross-selling to a user when they return to the site to check order status or to make changes to an order. Similarly, some online retailers did not like how a Google Checkout transaction ends with a Google Checkout page instead of on the online retailer's web page.

M&A Activity in this Space is Very Vibrant

Shopzilla est. 2006 earnings = $50m
Shopzilla (acquired by Scripps) deal value = $560m or 11.2x est. 2006 earnings

PriceGrabber est. 2006 earnings = $35.25
PriceGrabber (acquired by Experian) deal value = $485m or 13.8x est. 2006 earnings

Shopping.com est. 2006 earnings = $22.8m
Shopping.com (acquired by eBay) deal value = $476m or 20.9x est. 2006 earnings

Internet Retail Marketplaces - The Landscape at Glance

Importance of Customer Tracking: The Fine Art of Website Analytics

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Web analytics defined

Online dictionary Webopedia.com defines web analytics as "the study of the impact of a Web site on its users." For online store owners, this definition should be broadened to include a study of website's impact on overall return on investment (ROI). While the science of measuring trends in web traffic has been around for some time, the latest web analytic offerings have really evolved. You can now track not only who is coming to the site but also how they found you and whether your efforts to attract customers are paying off. In the fiercely competitive online marketplace, web analytics can help better inform decisions to improve customer service and attract new business.

Track traffic trends

Usage patterns that can be examined using Web analytic software include statistics about new vs. repeat visitors, how long visitors stayed on a given page or the entire site, what links were clicked (i.e., the "click-stream" used), exit pages (including shopping cart abandonment rates), most frequently used keywords entered into the site's search engine, and much more. Typically, reports can be customized to rank statistics on a quarterly, monthly, or even daily basis. Many programs also let you mine technical data to assist with site maintenance (e.g., broken links and performance) or to gage which the web browsers and platforms visitors are most frequently using to access your site.

Gage effectiveness of campaigns

Perhaps even more importantly, today's web analytic solutions can be used to gage the ROI of online advertising and promotion campaigns. Reports can be obtained about:

Ratio of visitor click-throughs from pay-per-click vs. natural search results.
Success rates of pay-per-click based campaigns vs. organic search engine listings
Keywords used in major search engines
Conversion rates of customers
Most frequently clicked banner ads
Search engine robot / spider visits

Analyze - then optimize

Once pertinent data is collected and analyzed, it is important to make adjustments as needed. For example, webmasters can use data from traffic usage patterns to determine which areas of the site are popular and then streamline a site's design to create a better user experience.

At minimum, site owners and administrators will want to review key marketing metrics regularly to optimize the success of fee-based online advertising campaigns. Monitoring pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns, such as Google AdWords, will help you determine which keywords are (or are not) driving traffic to your site so you can fine-tune as needed. Conversion ratios-or the percentage of users who visit your website and complete your primary objective (i.e. purchase a product)-should also be carefully tracked. Some online vendors are even finding web analytics as valuable way to combat fraud. For example, careful inspection of PPC reports could help you detect whether a competitor is falsely inflating your click rate (and thus driving up your advertising costs) for a particular service.

Tools of the trade

Many paid services, like Google AdWords and Yahoo Search (Overture), include basic tools that show advertising performance data. There are also many free or open source general-purpose solutions. Google Directory provides a list of such tools.

More advanced commercial Web analytics tools range widely in price and features. Programs such as Sane's NetTracker allow for deep mining of data on many levels.

Viral Marketing 101: Let Your Customers Promote Your Online Business!

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:17:00 +0000

A good virus

Everything that we've been taught online and off says that we should prevent rather than spread viruses...right? Well, when it comes to creating a buzz about your online business, spreading a virus-or more accurately-everaging the power of viral marketing, could be just what the doctor ordered. Like a sneeze transmits the common cold, viral marketing entices Web sites or users to pass along a marketing message, escalating the growth of the message's visibility and influence. This type of "stealth" marketing can be very cost effective in reaching a large number of people about your website, product, or service

Already an epidemic

Chances are you've already been exposed to one or more viral marketing methods. Countless organizations have already put a wide variety of innovative strategies to work. The ground-breaking example of a viral marketing success story is Hotmail, the Microsoft-owned company that promotes its popular email service by appending an advertising teaser to the end of its user's email messages. Amazon.com, another great purveyor of viral marketing, uses many tactics. For example, the site's order confirmation page let's you input the email addresses of your friends/family and invite them to save 10 percent on an item you just bought. If they go to the site and buy the item, not only do they get a discount, but you get an Amazon store credit for the dollar value of their 10% discount!

Common tactics

Thankfully, you don't need a Microsoft- or Amazon- sized bankroll to deploy viral marketing tactics in your e-commerce site. Many leading e-commerce vendors have begun bundling some of the more popular features into their online store offerings. (GoECart has offered these features for some time.)

Email-a-friend (e.g., "Recommend it" links)
Electronic gift certificates
Gift wrap (i.e., encourages customers to present gifts to friends)
Customer reviews (e.g., ability to provide recommendations right on the order page)
Asking customers to enter the details like birth date or important events upon checkout can also aid in personalizing viral marketing messages and building customer relationships.

Credibility is key

Viral marketing is becoming increasingly popular because of its low-cost (especially when compared with traditional advertising methods), high response rate from targeted users, and ease of execution. The obvious advantage is its ability to obtain a large number of interested people at an affordable cost. Its main weakness is that some tactics and/or overuse can come across as "spam", risking damage to your brand. To avoid appearing as spam, companies should limit the number of techniques they use and choose the ones they do employ wisely.

Here to stay

With its proliferation on many popular e-commerce sites, online shoppers will use (and even come to expect) relevant viral marketing features. Online storefronts should be ready with the features that are most appropriate to their business.

7 Simple Marketing Tips

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:13:00 +0000

Here are 7 simple marketing tips to help you boost your sales and profits quickly. All are easy to use and work for any business.

Tip 1:

You can constantly improve the effectiveness of your advertising by allocating 80 percent of your advertising budget to proven promotions and 20 percent to testing new things. When something new works better than your proven promotions, move it to the 80 percent group and start testing something else in the 20 percent category.

Tip 2:

Customers are usually receptive to more offers from you immediately after they buy. Follow up every sale with another offer for a product or service related to the one they just bought. Many will accept your offer ...producing an easy sale for you.

Tip 3:

Make your sales presentation more believable (and more effective) by converting general statements into specific descriptions. Instead of "quick and easy", explain exactly how quick and how easy. Also, reduce round numbers like "15 pounds" into specific odd numbers like "13.7 pounds". It sounds more authentic.

Tip 4:

Most people are more interested in getting value for their money than in getting a bargain. Find some low-cost ways to enhance the perceived value of your product or service. Then test raising your price. Don't be surprised if both your sales and your profit margin go up.

Tip 5:

Search for and test some alternative marketing methods you may be overlooking. That's how one internet marketer discovered direct mail postcards. They proved to be a highly effective and very low-cost way to generate traffic to her web site. Plus they conceal her marketing efforts from competitors who can see (and copy) what she does online.

Tip 6:

You can make your sales message more effective by presenting everything in terms of the benefit it provides to customers. For example, don't just list testimonials from satisfied customers. Point out that those testimonials prove you have an established history of delivering what you promise.

Tip 7:

Include a Questions and Answers page on your web site with the answers to frequently asked questions. It enables prospective customers to get instant answers to their questions ...and reduces the number of questions you have to answer yourself.

One More ...A Bonus Tip:

Avoid making any sales claim that sounds exaggerated ...even if it is true. A bold claim creates doubt in your prospect's mind and jeopardizes the sale. Reduce any bold claims to a more believable level. Each of these marketing tips reveals a simple, proven tactic you can use to boost your sales and profits quickly. All 7 are easy to use ...and have proven highly effective for any type of business.

About the Author: Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://bobleduc.com/ or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Secure Your Online Store with SSL

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:06:00 +0000

The threat is real

These days, you can't turn on the television, pick up a newspaper, browse your favorite news website, or flip through a magazine without learning about the latest security threats plaguing online businesses and consumers. And last month's disclosure by major credit card companies that over 40 million cards may have been compromised is evidence that even the leading financial institutions are not immune to the threats. Clearly, it's more important than ever to secure your web storefront-to safeguard your customer's private information and ultimately protect your bottom line! As an online store owner, one of the easiest and most responsible things you can do to secure the data submitted via your site is to implement secure sockets layer or SSL.

SSL to the rescue

The SSL protocol allows client/server applications to communicate in a way designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and data forgery. SSL protects network access, online communications, and digital transactions by enabling a secure channel between your servers and your users. With SSL in place, information transmitted from your online store (e.g., via web forms) is encrypted before it is sent over the Internet.

When you connect to a secure web server such as https://www.domain.com/, the server authenticates itself to the web browser by presenting a "digital certificate". A digital certificate is an electronic file that uniquely identifies individuals and servers. Digital certificates allow the client (i.e. web browser) to authenticate the server prior to establishing the encrypted SSL session. Typically, digital certificate requests are reviewed and approved by an independent and trusted third party to ensure their validity. This "signer" of the digital certificate is known as a certification authority (CA). Popular CAs include Geotrust(http://www.geotrust.com/) and VeriSign(http://www.verisign.com/). A valid, signed certificate gives consumers confidence that they are sending personal information securely and to the right place.

Instill confidence

SSL certificates provide non-forgeable proof of your website's identity, and they are a great way to instill customer confidence in the integrity and security of your online business.

Without SSL security in place, information is transmitted in "clear text". This is practically an open invitation for hackers, script kiddies, and other mischief makers to use commonly available "packet sniffing" software to snatch the information while in transit.

Customers are becoming increasingly aware of the advantages of SSL security and will often (and with good reason) not purchase online from stores that have not implemented digital certificates and SSL. All major web merchants now use SSL security to encourage customers to buy online.

Thankfully, all credible e-commerce offerings, including GoECart, provide an option to secure your site (e.g., secure checkout via https://) through digital certificates. In GoECart, there is a single setting that needs to be configured once the SSL has been set for your server/site.

For more information

Two additional resources to help you get better acquainted with SSL, digital certificates, and e-commerce security are provided below:

VeriSign's Secure Socket's Layer: How it Works

GeoTrust's 10 Best Practices for Securing Your Enterprise

Is Your Online Store Search Engine Friendly?

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:57:00 +0000

Listen To This Article

Vital statistics

Consider the following:

IMT Strategies reports that prospective customers find websites 10 times more often through search engines versus magazine ads, 38 times more frequently than direct mail, and 40 times more often than banner ads.
Over 85% of the respondents to a Georgia Tech study indicated that prospects most often find websites through search engines and have intent to buy.
More than 200 million searches are performed each day using the Google alone!

With information like this, it's obvious that you can't run the risk of your store not being ranked higher by the major search properties. Now consider these statistics:

78% of users will abandon their query if the first three pages of results do not yield an answer to their query.
Fully 33% of users believe companies whose websites are found in top results are a major brand in their specific product/service category.

But with literally billions of pages indexed how do you make your site get higher rankings in organic search listings? This article summarizes some effective tactics you can employ for search engine friendly ecommerce.

Keywords are key

Your first step is to identify the major keywords that your customers will use in looking for your products and/or services. Tools like Wordtracker® (http://www.wordtracker.com/) and Overture® (http://www.overture.com/) can help you identify top keywords. Once keywords are established, you need to integrate them into the content present on your webstore and underlying code of the web pages in your site. This includes optimization of:

Title Tags: A brief description, that includes keywords, should appear in the tag for each page. Since search engines look in this tag and compare it with the content of that web page, all pages in your webstore should have unique titles. Your title tags should contain one or more keywords that are a reflection of what the web page is all about. Never use long, irrelevant titles.

Meta Tags: Meta tags, especially meta keyword and description tags, should be optimized with keywords that are consistent with the content of the web page. Again, you should write page specific meta tags optimized with right keywords for all the pages of your store.

Page Content: Content of the page plays a important role for generating search engine friendly ecommerce store. Your keywords should also be included in the text of your web pages that is visible to site visitors. However, this should be done in an optimal manner-instead of overloading the text on the page with keywords or not using them at all.

Filenames and URLs: It can really boost your rankings if your filenames contain important keywords. Note that most search engines are not able to index dynamic pages with variables like "%", "&", "$", " =", "+", or "?" in their web address. Therefore, if you have dynamic pages in your site make sure that you have mechanism to that make the dynamic page URL's appear to search engines as static pages.

ALT tag: Search engines rely on alt tags to understand the contents of the images in your site. Always use alt tags wherever images are used.

Other tactics

There are a variety of additional tactics you can employ to make your website search engine friendly and get it ranked in organic listings of search engines. These include developing an effective site map and adding H tags to the breadcrumb trails that guide search engine "crawlers" through the key pages in your site. Getting quality links to your site from other sites such as online directories, link exchanges, and other websites can also boost the "popularity" score of your pages - in turn giving you better rankings. Search engines also assign greater value to sites that update content frequently, so be sure to keep your site fresh to help it get noticed by the engines.

Don't get penalized

A word of caution: there are some technical factors that can prevent your web pages from getting a good ranking and in some cases may even result in your entire site being banned from a particular search engine. Things to watch out for include:

Overuse or misuse of "doorway" or "cloaking" pages
Slow web page loading time
Junk code (such as overuse of keywords)
Improper web page coding structure (e.g., bad HTML, CSS)

Listen To This Article

12 Reasons to Market With Postcards

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:51:00 +0000

If your marketing activity doesn't include postcards, you're overlooking a highly effective and very low-cost sales tool. Here are 12 of the many reasons postcards should be part of your marketing program...

1.Postcards Work for Any Business
Postcards can produce all kinds of sales activity for all types of businesses. For example, they can produce web site traffic for online marketers, floor traffic for retail stores, sales leads for direct marketers ...and just about any other type of sales activity a business wants.

2.Designing Postcards is Simple and Uncomplicated
Designing an effective postcard is not complicated. It can be as simple as printing your best small ad on a 4 x 6 card and sending it to a list of potential prospects. Postcards usually work best when the message is brief and the postcard looks at first glance like a message from friend.

3.Printing Postcards is Easy and Inexpensive
You can print postcards with your own computer for about 1 or 2 cents each ...or have them printed professionally for about 4 to 8 cents each.

4.There's a Special Low Postage Rate for Postcards
You can send any quantity of postcards by First Class Mail in the US for only 23 cents each. The only requirement is that your postcards must be at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but no larger than 4 1/4 x 6 inches.

5.Postcards Nearly Always Get Read
Because postcards are delivered "ready to read", almost everybody will read it - even people who usually throw out other types of direct mail without opening it.

6.Postcards Produce Fast Results
Because postcards are simple and easy to use - they produce results fast. You can mail postcards within a few days of deciding to use them ...and you'll start getting sales activity 2 or 3 days later.

7.Postcards are effective for Generating Web site Traffic
One of the most effective postcard formats simply lists a few benefits of a product or service on the card and tells the reader to where they can get more information. This makes them ideal for generating traffic to a web site.

8.Postcard Multiply Themselves
Postcards are like small billboards - and they are easy to handle. They often get saved by recipients or passed on to others ...providing additional exposure of your advertising message.

9.Markets Can Be Precisely Targeted With Postcards
You can accurately target your best markets by sending postcards only to mailing lists of prospects likely to be interested in what you're offering ...and who also have a history of acting on offers that interest them.

10.Postcard Marketing Results Are Easy To Measure
Postcards normally generate over 90 percent of their total response within 7 to 10 days. This enables you to quickly and accurately evaluate the results of a postcard campaign.

11.Postcards Put You in Control of Your Sales Activity
You can quickly boost (or reduce) your sales activity anytime you want by simply regulating the number of postcards you mail and how often you mail them.

12.Postcards Conceal Your Marketing from Competitors
Most advertising uses mass media where your competitors hear or see what you are doing - and copy it. Postcard marketing is personal. Only you and your prospects are aware of what you are doing.

Postcards may be one of the best kept secrets of modern marketing. They're highly effective, very low-cost, simple to use ...and they work for any business. You're overlooking a profitable marketing tool if don't use them.

About Author: Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://bobleduc.com/ or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Increase Your Profits With An Upselling Offer

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:46:00 +0000

Upselling is a procedure designed to get more money from customers at the point of sale. It's a simple approach any business can implement quickly and get immediate results.

Customers will never be more receptive to an attractive offer from you than when they're paying you money. Develop the habit of offering your customers or clients an upgraded product or a related item at the time they make their first purchase.

Some businesses avoid upselling because they're afraid the customer may get irritated and not buy at all. I found the opposite is true. Customers appreciate your thoughtfulness in offering them an added benefit they didn't know about.

What to Offer

Think about your business. What else can you offer customers or clients while they're making their first transaction with you? Can you offer them...

A discount on a related product or service?
A volume discount if they buy more now?
A special priced combination package including the initial product or service?

How to Present An Upselling Offer
Upselling has none of the characteristics usually associated with selling. It's simply offering an already receptive buyer an opportunity to enhance the value of his or her purchase.

Present your upselling offer casually, as an afterthought. For example, someone selling web site hosting might say the following when speaking in person or by phone with new customers:

"Your website will be up in 48 hours. If you'd like, we can double your server space, include unlimited autoresponders and a shopping cart for secure online ordering. The regular price for all of this is an additional $40 per month. But I'll give it to you for just an additional $25 if you order it today."

Most businesses report acceptance rates between 40% and 60% for their upselling offers. This is a big increase for so little effort. Plus, the profit from the upselling portion often exceeds the profit from the initial product or service because there is no advertising expense.

If you're not making upselling offers to every new customer or client, start doing it now. It's an easy way to boost your profits fast with little effort and no expense.

Improve Shipping Options to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Imagine the following scenario: you visit your local supermarket, only to find that more than half of the shopping carts in the store have been left there in the store aisles, abandoned by their owners. Sounds a bit eerie, doesn't it? Well, according to current industry research, this is the sad reality for many e-commerce sites.

Recent reports from trusted sources such as the Yankee Group and DoubleClick show that more than 50 percent of online shopping cart sessions are in fact deserted. Among the top reasons cited for shopping cart abandonment: shipping options that are either too confusing or too expensive. Online store owners can improve their chances of order completion and get their e-commerce sites in "ship shape" by following this simple advice.

Five tips to streamline shipping options

1. Present shipping calculations to customers before check out.
Show the calculated shipping charges on pages that list the amounts of products purchased or on pages that appear even earlier in check out process . The goal should be to inform customers about shipping costs as early as possible. You should also ensure that all relevant shipping rates and information are placed in a prominent location in your store so visitors can review the shipping information anytime.

2. Provide real-time shipping calculators.
Offer web-based calculators from shipping providers so your customers can calculate shipping rates. Ensure that the calculators are linked prominently from the appropriate areas in your site.

3. Provide a variety of choices from popular shipping vendors.
Offer shipping services from reliable and well-recognized shipping carriers, such as UPS, DHL, and Federal Express. Show the rates for each delivery option like two-day shipping, overnight delivery, etc., and allow customers to choose the option which best meets their needs. A brief description of the features of each option should also be provided.

4. Offer live order tracking from your website.
Provide functionality that will let customers track the status of their orders right from your website. Shopping carts integrated with tools like UPS Online Tools offer more than just convenience-they also make the store look impressive and encourage visitors to spend more time on your site.

5. Streamline back-end order processes.
Unfulfilled orders do not promote a respectable image for your business. Streamline your supply chain, inventory levels, and order fulfillment systems before you begin taking orders. Then, follow through with each sale by ensuring customers get their merchandise in accordance with selected shipping and handling methods.

If it's free....

InternetRetailer.com informs, "This holiday season, free shipping tops the list of marketing promotions retailers plan to use, with 63 percent saying they expect to offer them."

If you decide to offer free shipping, it's important to do the math before you roll out a free or reduced shipping offer. For example, free shipping for a limited time on minimum order quantities and within a specific geographical region may help to entice new customers and increase sales.

Regardless of the type of promotion however, a careful profit analysis should be done to ensure that free shipping and other promotions will not adversely impact your online store's bottom line.

Are You Prepared for the 2005 Holiday Season?

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Early this year, it was widely reported in the media that 2004 online holiday sales were up dramatically from 2003. For example, e-commerce data from VeriSign, Inc. showed that the 2004 holiday shopping season (Thanksgiving Day through Monday, December 27) yielded a 24 percent increase compared to the same period in 2003 for its customers. The trend will likely continue: a recent study by market research firm Forrester Research, reported that online retail sales will grow by 22% to a whopping $172 billion in 2005.

If you were in business last year, did your holiday sales perform in a manner consistent with the reported increases? Is your site ready for the increased demand of the 2005 holiday season? This article provides insights to help you prepare your webstore for the 2005 holiday shopping rush and beyond.

Provide secure ordering

If you're not already offering a secure shopping experience for your customers, the 2005 busy holiday season is a great time to begin. More and more customers now understand that https:// protected order forms mean that a site is secure, and many will not order unless your site is protected. If you have not yet set up your online store for SSL, you can purchase an SSL certificate from providers such as GeoTrust and VeriSign. For more information about the features and benefits of SSL, see last month's article on SSL (August 2005) issue of this newsletter.

Offer gift certificates

Did you know that gift certificates were among the most purchased items online during 2004 holiday shopping season? Offer gift certificates from your online store to promote brand awareness and increase sales. (GoECart's Gift Certificate module makes this easy.)

Test key features, such as site search

The pre-holiday season is also a great time to double check key functionality of your webstore, especially the "Search" button. Since many customers will be doing their holiday browsing and buying with shopping list in hand, many will use your online store's search functionality to look for specific items in your website. Try doing a search for items using the same keywords that you would expect to be used by customers. If the product doesn't appear at or near the top of your search results, optimize keywords and make other adjustments as necessary.

Design your site for success

If you're offering specialized holiday promotions, you may wish to rework the site design to "guide" customers to specific items or more information about the promotions. Be sure content is written in clear and concise language and images are optimized for download speed and placement. Test your site design on multiple browsers and platforms-especially the most popular browsers such as Internet Explorer and newer browsers gaining popularity like Mozilla's Firefox and Apple's Safari. Since increased foot traffic is practically a guarantee over the holidays, you may wish to seize the opportunity to get customer feedback on your site design by running a small survey.

Optimize email campaigns

Without a doubt, thousands of e-merchants will be conducting targeted email campaigns this holiday season. Combine these legitimate campaigns with "spam", and you've got a holiday email overload problem waiting to happen. Make your holiday email campaigns stand out with these simple tips:

Run campaigns early to beat the holiday rush.
Customize and personalize emails for existing customers.
Offer discounts to existing customers.
Inform customers about recent changes made to improve customer service.
Generate excitement with free shipping and other specialized promotions.

The Happy holidays

This busy holiday season may very well generate the highest demand since the birth of e-commerce. If you're the last-minute-shopper type, don't delay in optimizing your online store!Start your planning now to give yourself the gift of e-commerce success this holiday season

How To Reverse A "Slump" In Business - Fast

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:18:00 +0000

Every business experiences cycles of heavy sales volume and light sales volume. Periods of light sales volume are called business "Slumps".

Some business slumps are predictable. Every landscaping service expects a slump in landscaping jobs during winter months. Their usual strategy to maintain a flow of business in the winter is to promote a different service such as snow removal. For most businesses, however, slumps occur without warning and for no apparent reason.

Some slumps occur when you're spending the most time, money and effort on promoting business. When that happens, it's easy to panic and start replacing proven methods of promoting business with speculative ideas.

This reaction is especially hazardous for a small business struggling to grow. I know a business owner who almost lost her business when she panicked and reacted to a slump in business by suddenly changing all of her proven advertising messages.

I've experienced many business slumps over the years. Eventually I developed a simple procedure I can implement quickly to replace the business lost during a slump. You can copy this same procedure to reverse your business slumps when they occur.

The first thing to do when a slump occurs is to accept it as part of a normal business pattern. It isn't signaling the end of your business. Don't panic. But don't be complacent either. Give the problem your immediate attention. Begin by taking the following steps.

Try To Identify A Cause For The Slump

Determine if you can identify something specific likely to be causing the slump. For example:

A recent change in your advertising or promotional activity.

A direct competitor recently rolled out a huge new advertising campaign.

A major news event had a negative impact on your industry ...such as the announcement of a government investigation of business practices in your industry.

You can develop a strategy to reverse the effects of a slump when you can identify a specific cause for it. Usually you won't be able to identify a specific cause. That's because there is none.

Most slumps are temporary and will eventually reverse themselves. However, don't ignore the problem and wait for it to go away. It may take a long time and you can lose a lot of business while you're waiting.

When There Is No Obvious Cause For The Slump

When a slump doesn't have an obvious cause, it's what I call a "normal" business slump. I've found the best way to overcome a normal business slump is to take immediate action to develop additional business fast.

The additional business supplements the current light flow of business and eliminates the impact of the slump.

Here are 4 actions I take immediately when I realize I'm in a slump. You can implement these same 4 actions in your business to reverse the effects of a business slump.

Develop a special offer for existing customers/clients. Use a short deadline so they must take immediate action or forfeit the special offer. Advise them of the special offer using a fast but inexpensive method of communication such as email, faxes, postcards or even phone calls.

Advise your recent prospects who did not take buying action of the same special offer. Use the same fast, inexpensive methods of communication listed above.

Call your best customers and ask for their help. Explain that business is slow and you want to use the time to approach some potential new customers/clients. Ask them for referrals.

Temporarily increase advertising in media where it is seen immediately (or almost immediately). For example, website and ezine ads, newspaper ads, First Class direct mail or postcards, radio spots, etc.

Business slumps can be beneficial. Sometimes a temporary action you take to reverse a slump is so effective you decide to continue it after recovering from the slump. The result is a permanent increase in your volume of business.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://bobleduc.com/ or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Countdown to Holiday Shopping Season 2005: Four Things NOT To Do

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:59:00 +0000

With the 2005 holiday shopping season nearly upon us-and poised to be the biggest e-commerce success story of all time-the importance of ensuring your online store is ready for the anticipated surge in demand cannot be overstated.

Last month, we offered some practical advice to help you prepare your web storefront for the flurry of holiday shoppers. (See "Are You Prepared for the 2005 holiday season?,") This month, we provide some additional guidance with four things you should refrain from during this holiday season.

Don't...work with second-rate systems

The holiday shopping season provides a great opportunity for you to earn new customers who will return to your online store time and again. And if you act now, there is still time to conduct a proper assessment of key systems and services and make necessary adjustments. For example, you still have time to upgrade a shopping cart that is laden with bugs or hosting services that are lacking in performance. At minimum, you should ensure that:

Your website and servers are equipped to handle foreseeable spikes in traffic. The amount of activity will, of course, depend on the overall level of demand for your products and services, but generally anything less than a Tier 1 ecommerce hosting environment could cause you to lose business. (Note: GoECart provides Tier 1 ecommerce hosting services.) For larger sites, load balancing and testing solutions can also be explored.

Online ordering is safe and secure. (See Secure Your Online Store with SSL)

All key functionality of your online store has been thoroughly tested and is working properly. Features should be tested from the customer's perspective. If you haven't yet gotten around to making a "purchase" from your web store, order something today!

Don't...fail to advertise your store

The days of "build it and they will come" are a thing of the past. The importance of properly marketing your website in the "organic" (e.g., Google, Excite) and paid (e.g., Google AdWords, Overture) search engines cannot be overstated. Beginning a search engine optimization and submission campaign now could have you seeing traffic gains just in time for the peak holiday rush. (For more information see,"Is Your Online Store Search Engine Friendly?")

Don't...take orders but not fulfill them

This should go without saying, but statistics about online orders that invariably go unfilled each holiday season are sobering. Analyze your ordering mechanisms and workflow before you start taking holidays orders, and ensure deliveries arrive on or before the dates promised. An analysis should be done not only of order processing systems, but of inventory management, shipping, and fulfillment systems as well.

Don't...avoid listening to your customers

Customers are your best source of feedback. The "quiet period" before the holiday rush is an excellent time to review feedback collected during the previous year and to implement any suggestions that could lead to improved customer service. Further, by deploying rating and review features, such as GoECart's "Product Reviews" functionality, you can ask customers to leave feedback about products on your site to generate "viral marketing" buzz about your products. (See "Viral Marketing 101: Let Your Customers Promote Your Online Business!") Contact forms and focused usability tests with key customers are two other great ways to collect feedback.

The gift that keeps on giving

In summary, your goal should be more than about simply "making a sale" this holiday season. Seek to win customers who will also shop with you all year long-and over the holidays in 2006, 2007, and beyond!

Offer Online Gift Certificates to Ring In Extra Holiday Sales

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:52:00 +0000

According to recent data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and other sources, sales of gift certificates and gift cards have experienced explosive growth over the last few years. No longer thought of as a "lazy shopper's" gift the stigma once associated with offering a certificate or card instead of a traditional present is a thing of the past. A staggering 73 percent of shoppers surveyed by the NRF last year said they expected to purchase one or more gift cards during last year's holiday season.

Major online retailers have taken notice: Amazon.com, L.L Bean, BLOCKBUSTER, Eddie Bauer, Overstock.com, and hundreds of others now offer the ability to purchase some form of a online gift certificate through their website. To stay competitive, smaller e-tailers are advised to consider supplementing existing product offerings with gift certificates too. The benefits are numerous, and when implemented properly in the online storefront, gift certificates can help the online store owner ring up additional sales-directly impacting the bottom line.

Quick and convenient

For the gift giver with increasingly less time to shop and more people to shop for (i.e., just about everyone!), online gift certificates offer a quick and convenient solution to what can often be a stressful shopping task. With web-based options available for just about every product category imaginable, gift certificates take most of the guesswork out of finding a gift for just about anyone. They can also reduce the chances of embarrassment on the part of the gift giver and disappointment on the part of the recipient. This can be especially relevant for shoppers seeking specialty and personal items. For example, a shopper may know that the recipient enjoys red wine but doesn't know whether they drink Shiraz, Merlot, or Zinfandel. In this case, a gift certificate from an online wine store bestows a simple yet thoughtful present.

Many happy returns

Industry experts also believe that some consumers are choosing gift certificates as a result of stricter return policies, which often deter shoppers from taking chances with their purchases.

Advantages for ecommerce storeowners

So what advantages do online gift certificates carry for online retailers? For starters, they provide one more channel for the retailers to generate business.
Other benefits include:

Zero inventory overhead.
Easy to sell (i.e., no shipping required - can be distributed via web page or email).
Perception of providing quality customer service through convenience.
Opportunities for up selling and other promotions (with both certificate buyer and
recipient)
Additional profit associated with partially claimed certificates (unclaimed balances equals
added profit for the store owner)

Features to look for in Gift Certificates Software

If you are considering adding gift certificate capability to your online store, look for a Gift Certificates Software that lets you:

Fully automate the process of gift certificate issuance and redemption.
Distribute online gift certificates securely (i.e., to deter fraud)
Customize the design of the online gift certificate (e.g.., ability to incorporate your store's logo to extend your brand).
Personalize online gift certificate with the recipients name, customer-selected amount,
and possibly a custom message.
Accept multiple forms of payment for gift certificate purchases, including all forms of
payment currently accepted for other products in the storefront.

Note: GoECart's online Gift Certificate module offers all of the above features and more; for more information visit http://www.goecart.com/ or

How To Boost Sales During The Holidays?

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:14:00 +0000

You can maximize your sales during the Holidays ...even if you have to deal with more intense competition - or if you normally experience a drop in business because your products and services are not commonly used for "gift giving".

What's the best way to get the attention of prospective customers and clients during the Holiday Season - and to motivate them to buy from you?...

...Give Them an Irresistible Offer They Cannot Refuse

Everybody wants to get a "special deal". Most people don't expect to find one during the Holiday Season. Surprise them with a Special Holiday Offer.

Make your Special Offer as attractive as you can afford. The greater its value to customers the more sales it will generate.

Here are 5 different offers you can use for almost any product or service.

1.Special Holiday Discount:
People don't expect discounts during the Holidays. Surprise them with an unexpected Holiday Discount Offer. It gets attention - and motivates many prospects to buy.

2.Special Combination Price:
Combine several products or services for a price that's lower than the total cost of buying each item separately. A combination offer increases the number of orders you get and the size of your average sale.

It increases your number of sales by generating orders from prospects who were only "shopping around".

It increases the size of your average sale by motivating buyers to spend additional money to get the "good deal" of your Special Combination Package.

3.Complimentary Bonus
Offer to include a complimentary bonus with each purchase. It doesn't have to cost you very much so long as it has high perceived value to your customer.

For example, I recently visited a web site offering special interest travel books. They offered a map of any country as a complimentary bonus with each order. I'm sure the map cost the site owner much less than its perceived value to the customer.

4.Complimentary Fast Delivery:
People want to receive something immediately after buying it ...especially during the Holidays. You can motivate them to buy by offering complimentary fast delivery. For example, a company selling personalized desk accessories offers complimentary overnight shipping during the Holidays.

5.Bill Me Later or Bill My Credit Card Later Option
This offer generates many sales you normally wouldn't get during the Holiday Season. It removes the customer's concern about spending too much money right now.
Tip: Always include a deadline for your offer. Prospects are more likely to take immediate action when faced with the risk of missing your offer.

Advertise Your Special Holiday Offer

Your Holiday Offer is short-lived. So use advertising methods that produce fast results. For example, send a brief email or postcard announcement to your customer or prospect list. Place online and off line ads that will run immediately after you place them.

Tip for Internet Marketers: Announce your Special Holiday Offer prominently near the top of your home page. Something as simple as the words, "Special Holiday Discount", will grab your visitor's attention and draw them into your web site.

Everybody likes to get a "special deal". But they don't expect to find one during the Holiday Season. Surprising them with a Special Holiday Offer will motivate many hesitant prospects to buy.

About Author:
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://bobleduc.com/ or call: 702-658-1707. After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Practice Customer Segmentation for More Targeted Marketing Campaigns

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:34:00 +0000

Customer segmentation, also referred to as market segmentation, is the practice of segmenting customers into groups of individuals with common characteristics. By gaining a better overall understanding of customers, then grouping them into categories, companies are able to better optimize marketing programs and allocate marketing dollars more effectively. For example, you wouldn't want to advertise beach balls to customers living in the North Pole, but you might offer a specialized promotion to your "best" customers (e.g., those who spend over a certain amount per year).

For online store owners, a baseline segmentation analysis can be accomplished using data points that have already been collected from existing customer registrations, order checkout information, and other sources.

Their can be two approaches to segmentation. The first approach, traditional segmentation, organizes customers by key variables such as demographics. The second approach, value-based segmentation, looks at customer needs as well as the costs of establishing and maintaining customer relationships. A brief introduction to each approach is provided below.

Traditional segmentation

Traditional approaches to customer segmentation group customers based on a number of variables that include:

geographic variables, such as region of the world or country, country size, or climate
demographic variables, such as age, gender, sexual orientation, family size, income, occupation, education, socioeconomic status, religion, nationality/race, and others
psychographic variables, such as personality life-style, values, and attitudes
behavioral variables, such as benefit sought, product usage rates, brand loyalty, product end use, readiness-to-buy stage, decision making unit, and others

Value-based segmentation

Today, the most successful companies practicing segmentation carefully consider overall customer needs and segment customers based on those needs and overall business value. While this strategy is less scientific than the traditional approach, companies that have been successful at assessing groups of consumers both in terms of the revenue they generate and the costs of establishing and maintaining relationships have been reaping great rewards. See How to Do Customer Segmentation Right? from CIO Magazine.

Software and solutions

Tools used to assist with segmentation analysis can range from multi-million dollar customer relationship management (CRM) software implementations to smaller software packages that can be used to important and analyze data from spreadsheets.

For the online store owner, the practice of web analytics can be a useful resource for profiling and segmenting your customer base.

Note: Also that GoECart's "Advanced Customer Group Module" (available as an add-on module to GoECart) provides features that let the storeowner segment its customer base into different groups. (See the Know Your GoECart section of this month's newsletter for details.)

Seven Small Business Marketing Tips

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:30:00 +0000

Here are 7 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help any small business find customers and generate sales quickly.

1. Don't Advertise Like a Big Business

Big businesses advertise to create name recognition and future sales. A small business can't afford to do that. Instead, design your advertising to produce sales ...now. One way to accomplish this is to always include an offer in your advertising - and an easy way for prospective customers to respond to it.

2. Offer a Cheaper Version

Some prospective customers are not willing to pay the asking price for your product or service. Others are more interested in paying a low price than in getting the best quality. You can avoid losing sales to many of these customers by offering a smaller or stripped down version of your product or service at a lower price.

3. Offer a Premium Version

Not all customers are looking for a cheap price. Many are willing to pay a higher price to get a premium product or service. You can boost your average size sale and your total revenue by offering a more comprehensive product or service ...or by combining several products or services in a special premium package offer for a higher price.

4. Try Some Unusual Marketing Methods

Look for some unconventional marketing methods your competitors are overlooking. You may discover some highly profitable ways to generate sales and avoid competition. For example, print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your website or generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.

5. Trim Your Ads

Reduce the size of your ads so you can run more ads for the same cost. You may even be surprised to find that some of your short ads generate a better response than their longer versions.

6. Set up Joint Promotions with Other Small Businesses

Contact some non-competing small businesses serving customers in your market. Offer to publicize their products or services to your customers in exchange for their publicizing your services to their customers. This usually produces a large number of sales for a very low cost.

7. Take Advantage of Your Customers

Your customers already know and trust you. It's easier to get more business from them than to get any business from somebody who never bought from you. Take advantage of this by creating some special deals just for your existing customers ...and announce new products and services to them before you announce them to the general market.

Also, convert your customers into publicity agents for your business (See "ViralMarketing 101: Let your Customers Promote your Online Business"). Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them is more effective than any amount of advertising - and it is much cheaper.

Each of these 7 marketing tips provides a simple, low-cost way for any small business to find customers and generate sales quickly.

About Bob Leduc
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://bobleduc.com/ or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Comparison Shopping Engines: Five Success Tips for Merchants

noreply@blogger.com (GoECart Ecommerce Blog) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:21:00 +0000

This is the second article in our series about the wildly popular union of search engines and e-commerce: comparison shopping engines. Last month, we provided an analysis of the pricing policies of several major comparison engines (see "Comparison Shopping Engines Bring Customers Who Are Ready To Buy"). This month, we provide five tips to help your online store get the most from this new medium.

Tip #1 - Size up the competition

Comparison shopping engines allow visitors to compare the product listings of multiple online stores from a single screen. Since your products are being directly compared (often side-by-side) with the products of your competitors, it is imperative that you do your homework and price products competitively! One of the benefits of the grid format used by many of these engines is that it makes finding out what your competitors are charging easy.

Tip #2 -Write attractive product descriptions

The way you word the descriptions of your products is second only to price in your quest to get visitors to click through to your site. Be clear and concise in describing product features. For highly competitive product categories, review competitor descriptions carefully and determine how you might set yourself apart. If you have the resources, consider outsourcing the writing task to a professional copy writer.

Tip #3 - Link to the right place

Many online storeowners make the mistake of directing the comparison shopping engine user to a suboptimal page in their website. Be warned: repeating this mistake is a surefire way to discourage visitors from buying your products. Visitors rely on comparison shopping searches to lead them directly or very close to the "buy now" page for products. Make sure you bring them there! A visitor looking to buy a particular widget wants to be take to a page where they can buy that widget-not to the site's home page or "gateway" page in the site.

Tip #4 - Perform web analytics for ongoing improvement.

As with any properly executed online marketing strategy, you'll need to stay on your toes and monitor the return on investment (ROI) of your comparison engine advertising regularly. Always keep tabs on the expenses and the income you received from each click-through from these shopping search engines and make adjustments accordingly. (For more information about web analytics, see "Importance of Customer Tracking: The Fine Art of Website Analytics")

Tip #5 - Follow the rules.

Each shopping engine has its own rules and guidelines for submitting, processing and displaying your items in their catalog. Failure to adhere to these guidelines closely could result in you being penalized or wasting time performing manual submissions that could otherwise be automated. Pay special attention to guidelines for "product feeds;" properly configuration of the feeds will hasten the process of going live.

The bottom line of any search engine marketing strategy is to increase qualified leads so that you can reap a solid return on your investment. However, continuous involvement and ongoing improvement are both essential in order for you to be successful. If you are a new to search engine marketing or lack the time required to effectively monitor and manage a comparison shopping initiative, we encourage you to seek advice of professional firms.

Note: GoECart's sister division, MachInteractive, provides professional search engine consulting services.