More Challenges of Technology: Websites, HTML, and Ecommerce

 
Well, it’s been the technology week from hell, what with the computer crash, launching the website, and trying to set up my PayPal account.

This will probably sound a lot like whining – and it is – but hopefully, there will be some useful advice mixed in as well…

First, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. My computer’s fixed – now all I have to do is re-install all my applications and restore my backed up files. Here’s hoping…

I’ve also come to the conclusion that using a web host-provided template is not all it’s cracked up to be. Not that it’s terrible, if you don’t want to modify it very much and are just going to upload your own content. In that case, it should work fine. Although there will still be some nasty surprises.

The big one is HTML or HyperText Markup Language. The bad news is you’ll have to learn a little of it, even if you use a site template, and it can drive you crazy until you learn to think like it does.

If you’re lucky, HTML is the only programming language you’ll have to deal with because there are others out there and they make HTML look easy.

Then, you’ll have to figure out how the site development program works. There are tutorials, but I found that they only cover the basics and are sometimes out of date. No matter how you look at it, it takes time. This can either be your time – as I’m doing – or someone else’s time that you have to pay for. You just can’t get away from it.

And if you think you can get along without a website, forget it. When a dinosaur like Yellow Pages has an online presence, you can be sure you’ll have to do it too, or you’ll be watching your customers flock to the competition.

I’ve mentioned  before that I know enough about DreamWeaver – Adobe’s web development software – to be dangerous and I’m about to find out just how dangerous I really am. I’m really tired of being hamstrung by the constraints of my host-provided template when I know that the things I want to do can be done, with just a little know-how.

For example, anchors. Not the kind used on boats, although these perform the same function for spots on your web pages. You’ve probably seen one in action when you get to the bottom of a web page and there’s a link that says “back to top.” You click on it and that’s where you go.

You can also link to anchors on different pages, which is something I’d like to do. However, according to my host’s online support, I can’t do it using the template I have and they recommended that I find a good book on HTML. Thanks a lot!

I hit another glitch when I tried to install my PayPal buttons. Everything went fine until I tried to use the “Continue Shopping” button. I spent most of the day going back and forth with support and reading through the 384 page users’ guide. Do we really need anything so complicated that it requires 384 pages to explain? Unfortunately, we do because setting up your own ecommerce program will probably cause your head to explode.

I found the solution by accident and I’ll share it with you – as I did with the folks at PayPal – in case you have a similar problem.

First, they don’t tell you that you have to paste additional HTML (there it is again!) code into your link to redirect it back to your website.

Second, the instructions in the users’ guide are unclear and don’t match what their website shows in many cases. Not that I blame them; it’s easy to update the website and a nightmare to rewrite the users’ manual – believe me, I know.

Third, you have to past in the link from the website page you want shoppers to return to.

Finally, and this is what really drove me insane, the instructions show the sample code ending in “.html” but don’t you believe it. About 90% of my problem was the fact that the code I used included the “.html” at the end. I deleted it and – what a surprise – it worked just fine!

Now I’ll grant you that everyone I’ve dealt with in tech support over the last few days has been very nice and helpful. They just couldn’t figure out what my problems were or how to fix them.

So be prepared. You’ll have to endure a lot of frustration and figure out a lot of things for yourself, unless you’re willing to pay a professional.

Is it worth it? I think so. Technology is rushing along and the competition is using it. If we don’t, we’ll be watching our customers go somewhere else and won’t be able to do a thing about it.

Developing Promotions that Increase Your Bottom Line

 
First, I can’t say enough good things about Marketing Sherpa – www.marketingsherpa.com. I can’t afford to purchase any of their reports and research at this point, but even their free information – I subscribe to their newsletters – is exceptional. Applying just the free tips and ideas will put the average marketer far ahead of the pack.

Today’s newsletter featured  the Chart of the Week: Ecommerce – Its’ Not All About Price, which shows a breakdown of how Consumer Products Marketers Rate Engagement and Sales Tactics.

While the focus is on ecommerce, the good news for those of us with just a toe in the water is this: the top performer is the good old fashioned Limited Time/Limited Inventory Promotion, which doesn’t require complex ecommerce software to implement. In fact, it doesn’t require an online presence at all! Marketers have been using this technique for – well, for as long as there have been markets.

Of the marketers surveyed, 49% rate it as Somewhat Effective and 43% rate it as very effective.

Second was Loyalty Programs, with 41% rating them as Somewhat Effective and 31% as very effective. This was followed by: Adding Customer Reviews and Ratings (to your website), Product Videos on the Site, and Special Offers such as gift wrapping, etc. I wonder where free shipping falls in the rankings…

The LTO (Limited Time Offer) is easy to use, even with a static website.

For example, with my online gallery – which is now up and running at www.thebacongallery.com - I plan to use PayPal to handle my online sales.

I haven’t set it up yet and don’t know what promotional options will be available to me with their services. However, I know I can announce an LTO in my website News section, post it on my social networking sites, send out an email blast to my customer database, and even Twitter it – when I have all that stuff set up.

When developing any promotion, it’s important to remember that all the old marketing rules apply; all that’s changed is the media we use to communicate them. And, thank goodness, most of the Internet options are still free!

Quick and Dirty Product Development Idea

 
While working on my earlier post – Plan Ahead to Build a Successful Online Presence – I did some exploring on eBay; something I don’t usually do.

Imagine my surprise this morning when it occurred to me that eBay could be a terrific resource for doing some quick and dirty product development research. What prompted the idea was the BusinessWeek quote from the eBay website which called it “nothing less than a virtual, self-regulating global economy.”

Here’s how I think it might be useful:

1. At a quick count, eBay has 36 general categories from Antiques to World of Good, including Speciality Services and one called Everything Else. Within each category are dozens of sub-categories.
2. Let’s say you want to start a business selling art – yes, I know it’s self-serving, but what the heck. In the eBay Art category there are three sub-categories: Direct from the Artist, Art from Dealers and Resellers, and Wholesale Lots.
3. So, depending on which category best fits my needs, for example Direct from the Artist, I can then drill down to the next level and look at the sub-category Digital Art. Refining my search even further, I can use different preferences to narrow the listings.
4. In this case, I found a 16 x 20 inch gallery wrap photograph of Cozumel, Mexico for $288, along with a wealth of other information about shipping, availability, Buy It Now or Best Offer options, PayPal, and a list of other sizes and prices ranging from 11 x 14 at $231 to 30 x 40 at $693.
5. This happens to be consistent with the research I’ve done on pricing my own work, so it’s a quick confirmation that I’m in the ballpark as far as my pricing goes.
6. Depending on how it’s set up, there can also be a link to the seller’s eBay store, where you can view other merchandise. I once purchased replacement headlights for my truck through an eBay auto parts store and was completely satisfied with both the product and the experience.
7. One other thing to consider is that the photograph appears to be offered at auction as well as Buy It Now and there are currently no bids. From this, I can conclude that it’s either priced too high, no one much likes the picture, or eBay buyers are looking for the very lowest price possible. I suspect it’s the latter because of my research at galleries and art shows which specialize in similar work.
8. Finally, there are also links to online stores with similar products for additional comparison.

My view of eBay – that it’s essentially a global garage sale – hasn’t really changed. In fact, depending on the nature of your business, you might want to avoid it for that very reason. However, if you want a quick, real-world view of what’s for sale, for how much, and in practically real-time, eBay can be a great resource.