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How to Implement an ecommerce System

Whether you've decided to build your e-commerce system from scratch, contract it to a third party or customize a package, you've probably run across a mind-boggling array of implementation issues. In an effort to streamline the list of implementation topics, we'll address them in five general categories:

      •  pre-sale tasks
      •  the user experience
      •  post-sales support
      •  security
      •  risk management.

You'll soon see why so many books have been written about implementing an e-commerce system. Go ahead and read a few, but make sure they're current. Much has changed even in the past two years.

If You Build It, Will They Come?
You wouldn't think of having a big garage sale just by setting out your sale items in your driveway and waiting for customers to find you. Of course, you'd put signs out in the neighborhood, take out an ad in the paper and let all your friends know you have some great stuff for sale.

You can't expect visitors to just appear on your web site without some advance work either. You may be surprised at how many ways you can put up signs in your electronic neighborhood to attract visitors. Of course, not every visitor will buy once they arrive at your site, but that's another topic. Here are a few ways you can build your presence on the internet:

• Send out promotional materials. These can be flyers in the mail, press releases or even billboard ads (if you can afford them). Discount coupons work well. Everybody loves a bargain.
• Advertise on other people's websites. High traffic areas like browsers get you a lot of visibility, but you'll pay large sums for those ads. Look for related businesses that aren't in competition with you. If you sell garden planters, buy ad space on a patio furniture web site. Better yet, you can offer to place an ad on your site in exchange.
• You can conduct an e-mail campaign, but be realistic. Perhaps you bought a list of school e-mail addresses so you can send them an e-mail describing your educational supplies business. What are the chances that your e-mail will be treated as spam? You need more than a gimmick; you have to have face validity so that you appear legitimate and professional. You might be better off mailing them free pencils with your web site address so they can come to you willingly.
• Find a way to attract visitors and some of them will turn into customers if they like what they see. One way to do this is to have some well-written text that they'll want to read. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of writing relevant text that search engines will find when users type a key phrase into the search box. For example, you might write a back-to-school essay that gives advice for parents, and use "school supplies" as your key phrase. The search engines will direct traffic to your site if the SEO was well done. You may have to contract the writing to an SEO specialist, as the process is quite complex.
• Make sure that you're listed in the major directories, and that potential buyers see an accurate description of your products or services when you're listed among the search engine results.
• Provide incentives for visitors. Free shipping is a popular one when orders reach a certain threshold. Newsletters and free e-books are also good incentives as they're tangible resources for your customer but cost you very little to send out. If you sell any type of household item, for example, your customer is probably interested in interior décor. Send along a link to your beautifully illustrated e-book on patio gardens or decorating kids' bedrooms.
• Join a chat room or start a blog. Write about your products with great enthusiasm and include pictures. Building a relationship takes time, but if the competition is fierce, you may have several hundred new online friends who prefer to do business with someone they've come to know.

The Customer Experience
Much has been written already about ease-of-use issues and credit card security, so we'll give you a very brief rundown of the implementation issues related to the customer experience. Once the customer has entered your online store, how will he or she respond to these questions:

• Are products easy to find? Is there a search function when the store has a large number of products? Did I get what I expected?
• Was I able to check what was in my shopping cart as I went along? Was it easy to put in items and take them out if I changed my mind?
• Did I have a good idea of shipping costs as I shopped? Was I able to check the running total?
• Did I have to wait? Did I leave in frustration? Was I ever left hanging, not knowing whether to click again or lacking feedback on my actions?
• Was I able to view the product I wanted in the color or style that I wanted?
• Was I able to check prices in my own currency (British pounds, for example)?
• Were the vendor's policies easy to access and clearly written?
• At any point, did I feel like I may be ripped off? Did I have confidence in the vendor, or did this seem like a fly-by-night operation?
• Did I expect to receive the goods in a reasonable amount of time? Do I know what to do to return an item that's damaged or doesn't meet my expectations? Is there a restocking fee?
• Was I able to contact the vendor directly on the phone or by e-mail? Did I receive a timely response? Was the vendor's representative courteous and well-informed?
• Was I nervous about entering my credit card information? Did I see any security assurances on the site?

Post-Sales Support
Your customers will know immediately whether you're washing your hands of them once you have their money. The following is a minimal list of post-sale services for paying customers:

• Provide our e-mail address and/or phone number so they can let you know about product problems, shipping delays or payment errors. This is your chance to right the wrongs of the shopping experience.
• An FAQ (frequently asked questions) page can save your employee time if you get the same questions over and over.
• Allow your customers to do some free marketing for you. Give them a tell-a-friend option in which they can mail all their friends a picture of the wonderful baby quilt they just purchased.
• No matter how much reassurance you provide, some of your best customers won't give you their credit card number online. Provide an easy system for phone orders.
• Give them a reason to return. Incentives such as discount coupons, follow-up e-mails to announce new related products or a free newsletter are ways to keep you fresh in their minds.

The All-Important Security Issues
The worst thing you can do as an online business owner is to stick your head in the sand and ignore the thousands of ways that crooks, hackers and competitors can damage your business. The theft of credit card information is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some of the ways your business can be damaged or even fail because of security breaches:

• Viruses, Trojan horses, worms and other invaders can paralyze your site. Hackers can send fake orders to empty your warehouse before you know it. Denial of Service (DoS) attacks can flood your networks with information or disrupt your services so that your customers can't gain access to your site. Your customers might see fake error messages that turn them away.
• You're more vulnerable to corporate espionage than ever. Competitors can hack into your site and gain access to your networks. Worse, your pricing structures and marketing strategies are out there for all to see. They don't have to do anything illegal to start a price war or undercut the prices on your best sellers.
• Of course, any security breeches that put your customers' personal or credit card information at risk can be devastating. You might never recover from a tarnished reputation once that happens.
• Your image can be damaged in other ways. Smear campaigns are effective because people love corporate gossip and bad news scenarios.

Your best protection against incursions is a current, bullet-proof security system, including encryption, user authentication (both a username and a password, for example, with authentication keys growing in popularity) and 24/7 checks for intruders. Ironically, protecting yourself against criminals is easier than guarding against unscrupulous mischief-makers or competitors who can sabotage your operation in many ways that aren't illegal. Vigilance is your only defense. E-Commerce Risk Management
Online vendors have learned through bitter experience how vulnerable they are to crashes, outages and the dynamics of cultural change. These are the risks you can anticipate and prepare for:

• power outages and rolling blackouts
• acts of God like hurricanes, tornadoes and floods
• system crashes (both in-house and hosting service)
• government regulation and taxation
• security breaches, sabotage, phishing and other criminal activity
• corporate espionage, both from competitors and in-house by disgruntled employees
• major errors in pricing, cost calculations, volume discounts and other financial disasters
• failure along the supply chain
• price wars, a saturated market or a sudden drop in interest in your products
• employee errors.

This brief list gives you just an idea of what can go wrong and bring you to your knees. To protect yourself, make sure you have reasonable hardware redundancy and good backup systems with frequent backups. Don't count entirely on your web hosting service to back up your system. They may be in a zone of vulnerability even when you're not (think New York, September 2001).

Have a set of policies and standards in place, including non-disclosure agreements for employees and people who do business with you, where appropriate. Don't forget consultants, advisors and third party contractors who need access to your networks, even for a short time.

Stay abreast of developments in government regulation and taxation. Your customers aren't surprised when prices go up with the price of oil or rising sales tax. Don't be caught short because you didn't take the time to read the news.

Diversify your products so that you're not caught short if the tide turns. Recent research indicates that people who use sunblock may be at risk for bone loss because they aren't getting the Vitamin D they need to metabolize calcium. Will the research be ignored, or will the majority of sun worshippers switch to sunscreen? Not a problem if you produce both.

Remember that you're not alone. Many people make a good living coming up with ways to protect you and your assets. Be a wise shopper and select the best defenses you can afford.