Archive for the ‘Business Practice’ Category

I had a client contact me today to make comments on the Zarbo website.  I wasn’t going to spend time breaking it down, but I did immediately noticed the URL strings.  I said, Zarbo would always struggle to gain organic prominence in the search engines because of the technology that was powering it.  Two hours later, my client sent me a Zarbo case study and told me I was wrong.  The key statement in the case study read:

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Over a year ago I wrote an article which was not in favour of Online Loyalty functionality.  At the time, I felt (and still do feel the same) online businesses are trying to find lazy methods to lock in customers. 

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Well…hear I am New Years Day morning dealing with another client question. Everyone is still asleep so I thought I would catch up with some work.

The client question I am dealing with in this article came from a meeting I had last week. They asked a good question which we continually deal with about the creation of a Business Requirements document, the critical first step when beginning a new project.

This client has never put together a document like this before and asked for guidance.

Below is my reply:

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I have been very bad over the last few months.  My last post was back in June!  Exceed is growing and I have had no time to even think about writing a blog article.  However, this morning I wrote an email to a client and thought, I get this question all the time!  Then I realised, I have hundreds of great articles but all in emails to clients who ask great questions. 

From now on, if a new or existing client asks me a good question, I am going to throw it in here.  This is my first of many to come.

This morning a client wrote to me:

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The two primary tools required to automate business to business (B2B) models of the future is the use of an  eCommerce website which is effectively integrated into business systems.  The website (element #1) provides the accessible channel, and integration (element #2) builds automation and scalability of business systems.  If these two elements can work harmoniously together, competitive advantage results.

Whether businesses are trying to automate a part or the entire business, the concept of change is not the problem; it is the steps to get there which creates the stumbling block. 

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When a new business starts its life, whether it is online or off, one of the biggest and more costly challenges is to acquire new customers.  This cost is a reality, however, the growth of any online business can be balanced with direct marketing strategies and around the use of building a database.

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I had a potential new client come and visit, wanting a new website.  They came with all kinds of functionality requests clearly listing all the “bells and whistles”.  It was funny to listen to this person list a large number of technology tools, many of which contradicted what they wanted their online business to achieve.  I thought about this conversation and realised it’s not their fault! 

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My last article discussed how people get caught up in fancy technology and never even consider the online business fundamentals in meeting visitor needs and ultimately building credibility.  This article breaks down what you need to do to achieve this.

Whether you are a new or existing online business, when you have a first time visitor to your site, the product offering is important, but it is the methods in building credibility with the visitor that will determine whether they buy from you now, or come back to purchase later.

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The potential problem all online businesses face is, as sales increase, ROI decreases.  This is due to the increase in cost/resource to deliver the orders.  It is fine for online businesses to say they are acquiring 250 + orders per day through the website, but how profitable are they?   The automation of processes reduces cost and builds efficiencies.

The focus on fulfilment is two pronged, building fulfilment processes is critical in both building customer loyalty and in creating a scalable and profitable business.

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To acquire new customers typically costs money, whether it is online or off, so there needs to be methods in retaining and building their long term value.  True online customer service is defined as all the activities conducted once the customer completes a purchase.  This is referring specifically to the conduct of the customer service team towards their customers.  

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