Selling Products & Services Online

Are you ready to add eCommerce to your website?

Online Shopping Stats You Should Know
  • 73% of your customers are likely to look for free shipping options.
  • 82% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from your store if shipping is free. 
  • 74%, the highest abandonment rate, is in consumer electronics.
  • 44% of shoppers abandon carts due to high shipping costs and only 6% due to slow delivery. 
  • 97% of consumers would like to be able to track an order.
  • 71% of buyers purchase a product or service based on social media comments. 
A cell phone with a picture of a store on the screen.
A Few Tips for Marketing Your Online Store
  • Consider offering special discounts, coupons, free shipping.
  • Promote your website and online store across all media (ads, direct mail, email, commercials).
  • Use your social media channels to promote your store and specials. Link to the relevant page on your site.
  • Consider live broadcasts using Periscope or Facebook to promote your business, events or specials. 
  • Use video to promote your products or services and place them on YouTube, Vimeo and/or Facebook.

Selecting a Payment Gateway

Adding eCommerce to your website requires selection of a reliable payment gateway provider. There are many choices and our web hosting platform interfaces directly with a number of gateways. Interfacing directly through our web host keeps your customer on your website resulting in a better shopping experience.

When a transaction is processed you will receive a workflow notification that a purchase has been made; an invoice is automatically generated along with a shipping label and packing list. You will be able to download your store's purchase information into QuickBooks. All of these features will free up your time and provide a good user experience.

Credit Card Chargebacks
Chargebacks are a common occurrence often due to the customer not recognizing a charge on their statement. If you're contacted directly by a cardholder to resolve a dispute, it's in your best interest to promptly respond and resolve the issue. If the cardholder is due a credit, issue it promptly to avoid a chargeback. Be sure to send the cardholder an eMail confirming the credit is being processed. Chargebacks come with processing fees and your merchant account rates could be increased.
Fraud & Your Due Diligence
Unlike a purchase in a brick and mortar store, the liability for fraud shifts from the card issuer (bank) to the merchant (you). This is classified as a 'Card Not Present' sale (e.g. mail order, telephone or fax order, including orders placed through your online store). The merchant (you) will most likely be liable for credit card chargebacks, even when the bank has authorized the transaction. After you have been hit with a fraudulent charge(s), the credit card processor often hikes their rate due to your account being classified as high-risk. You also risk losing your account with the card companies if your fraudulent charge rate gets too high.
A person is using a laptop computer with a credit card on the keyboard.
So what can you do?
Even though the Gateway Provider (e.g. authorize.net, PayPal, and others) processes the transaction, you should pay close attention to the order information. Unfortunately there are people who will try to purchase products or services using stolen credit cards, identities or, claim an order was processed and approved but they never received the order. If you're contacted with a request to "ship the order or refund my credit card", our suggestion is to first check your records and then check with your Payment Gateway Provider to see if there is a record of an attempted purchase before responding to the ship or refund request.

You should also be aware of the purchase amount limitations set for your account. If you have it set to process orders up to $500 and someone places an order for $5,000; this could be a red flag and most likely the order will be placed on hold as well as other orders in line to be processed (an account paused situation). Ultimately, the Gateway Provider may deem your account as high-risk and close it leaving you without a functioning online store until you are able to establish an account with another Payment Gateway Provider.

Here are a few things you can check in the order received:
  1. Is the zip code correct?
  2. Is the email address formatted correctly?
  3. Was the order placed in another country with a ship to address in the United States?
  4. If there is any question about the order, can you contact the customer via email or telephone?
  5.  If it is a fax order, ask the customer to fax a copy of both sides of the credit card.
Before building your store, we will work with you to learn more about your products and customers and then map out a strategy including shopping cart design, order processing, and marketing strategies.

Are you ready to build or improve your online presence with a responsive website that includes eCommerce? 

Contact us for a free consultation. 
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