Shopping for the right ecommerce partner is hard, see Audra Hajj’s experience and advice.
2008 was a hard year for all. But one thing that held its ground was online sales. We also saw many small to medium business excel. Why? Well the small to medium business is king in this economy.
You have the ability to look like a large company, you can sell products before you buy them, you can run a successful business with low overhead, and you can change quickly. With the right ecommerce partner you can keep up with the changes online, and never be left behind.
But the question how do you choose? I did a little test myself. I sent the same requirements to 20 ecommerce companies. I received only 12 Responses, guess the others had better things to do then sell. First warning sign! The price quote was $500-$15,000. I never changed one thing on the request for quote. With such a huge difference in price how do you know who to choose?
I did a process of elimination. My approach may seem strange to you but from my 12 years of experience in ecommerce and online marketing my approach was quick and to the point, and I felt confident with the choice I would have made.
Step 1 : I checked for negative business practices. I know you cannot make everyone happy, but I felt if I saw a huge amount of negative remarks. Well I would learn from their experiences. How did I do it?
1. I went to www.ripoffreport.com
2. I checked BBB ratings ( Better Business Bureau)
3. I checked for latest press releases.
4. I called some of their clients.
Step 2: After I did the business check in general I went into looking at the solution and offerings.
1. I started with the question on support. How much did I get? Was it unlimited?
2. I asked when their last update was?
3. Do I have to pay for latest features?
4. Can I get a fully custom design based heavily on CSS? (This is important for SEO, Search Engine Optimization)
5. Do they have an internal design department, online marketing department, and custom programming department? ( I want to know that one call does it all)
Step 3: I then looked at the solution itself. I requested a walk through. I was surprised to see how many companies did not give guided human tours.
1. I asked for a person to walk me through the same management I would be using.
2. I looked for training videos
3. I asked was sure to ask if there were features on the features page that were not standard in the solution. ( I don’t mind paying for them if I know ahead of time, I do not like surprises)
4. I asked about the design process, was it a template, or do I get a custom design?
5. I asked about SEO friendly features
6. I also asked about any SMO features. Social Media Optimization features. I asked about customer product reviews, RSS feeds, blogs and other new features that would boost my sites visibility.
7. Then I asked if I would have a dedicated consultant, this is where many companies dropped off. I want to work with someone who knows my business. Someone who will be dedicated to my success. Some who can work with me to create a custom design for my business, and also be able to help me bring customers to the site?
8. Who were they integrated with. Paypal, Buysafe, UPS companies like that. I needed to know.
Step 4: Now it was time to look at who remained on the list. I found that it narrowed down to just two companies. Now I looked at their pricing.
1. What was the set up fee?
2. What was the monthly fee?
3. Can I pay for custom programming if I need a feature?
4. Was there an additional support charge?
5. Was there a per module charge?
6. Was their a per seat charge?
7. Did they charge a percentage of my sales?
8. I also wanted to know about scalability. Can they move me to the right infrastructure when my business grows?
Step 5: The final step was a gut feeling. I had to go by my experience. Did I get a person who could answer my questions. Did they call me back when I asked? Did they email me info when I asked for it. Did I like the contract? These were my final thoughts as I put myself in the buying process.
I hope that this experience will help you in choosing your ecommerce partner. Remember any one can sell you a website. But are they willing to partner with you?
Audra Hajj
Flashecom Services Inc
601 Lunar Ave Unit B
Brea, CA 92821
Toll Free: 877-282-7001
Fax: (714) 256-9433
E-mail: sales@flashecom.net
Website: http://www.flashecom.net