Bogie E-Commerce - E-Commerce Design & Consulting

Attending the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show

Bogie E-Commerce will be networking at the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show as a kickoff of our specialized focus on the shooting sports.

Yes, of course we will still create e-commerce websites for non-shooting sports companies.

But for those companies within the Shooting Sports industries, we are offering nice discounts on both new e-commerce sites as well as re-launches. Hope to see you at the show!

More posts coming soon. A family emergency has prevented me from posting for a while. All is better now.

BORDERFRAUD! Warning...

In my 10+ years as an internet designer, developer and consultant, I have never seen such a blatant tool for international fraud as I have seen in the company known as Borderlinx. Why? Here's what Borderlinx promotes:

SHOP THE GLOBE!

We make it possible for you to shop your favorite brands from around the world, with delivery to your doorstep, where that may be.

CREATE A VIRTUAL ADDRESS

Get your very own US or UK shipping address then decide whether you want your purchases right away or if you prefer to hold off for up to 30 days. Don't forget to shop with friends! Creating one large package means Big Savings.

Sound's great right? No matter where in the world you are, you can shop online from all the US and UK on-line retailers, they bundle up your stuff and ship it off to you for a nominal shipping cost. You are protected because you don't get charged until they get your stuff for you and you don't pay them shipping until all the stuff is bundled together and sent to you. You win because you get access to American goods and the merchant wins because they get to ship to the entire international market, everyone protected from fraud.

Wrong.

After a LENGTHY conversation with the India-based customer service rep at Borderlinx this morning on behalf of one of my clients, I was informed that, within some colorful protective-sounding language, that there is absolutely NO protection for the merchant at all. Borderlinx exists purely as a conduit for international customers to gain access to three things:

1. A US billing and shipping address that passes AVS and CVVS security screening.
2. A collection point for all orders placed in the USA.
3. Easy international shipping to their location anywhere in the world via DHL.

In other words the three things needed to perpetrate mass, unrestricted FRAUD. 

Oh, Borderlinx has an answer for that. It was (paraphrasing) "If at any time you (the merchant) find that the order was fraud, you can contact us and we will send the order back to you (the merchant)."

My reply? "Well, what if we find that the order was fraudulent AFTER you have already sent the goods to the customer overseas? Does Borderlinx take responsibility for paying the merchant?"

The answer was... "No. At that point the merchant is responsible for dealing directly with the customer."

So what we have here, gentle readers, is a situation where Borderlinx has given millions of potential thieves the tools that they need to easily set up an account, place an order using stolen credit card numbers, and having the stolen merchandise shipped directly to their door weeks before a chargeback has any opportunity to even reach you (the merchant) by mail. And once you receive said chargeback, the position taken by Borderlinx is that it's now YOUR problem (the merchants).

My personal and professional advice for the merchants of e-commerce out there? Stay away until Borderlinx either gets their heads out of the early 1990's or gets their act together and starts protecting merchants whom they are inadvertently assisting in getting ripped off.

Now just to be fair, there ARE companies out there with similar services who DO protect merchants. I will not list them here simply because I would not want to be accused of being on their payroll or anything, but they are out there. Do your research and find out if you are protected against international fraud before using any international shipping company and make them prove it by showing you how they protect you.

E-commerce is good...but sly.

A Little Incentive To Demand Incentives

The noisest chick gets the worm. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. The loud, obnoxious drunk gets tossed from the bar. No matter how you slice it, the fact remains that if you sit there quietly, meekly, waiting to be noticed, most likely you will be looked over. And while this rule can apply to may areas of e-commerce, this one in particular has nothing to do with your current or potential customers...yet.

I am referring to the noble art of begging. You see, most e-commerce businesses are actually resellers of others products. Whether they are gigantic, mega-manufacturing corporations like Proctor & Gamble, or the tiny hut containing one old lady carving wooden voodoo dolls, your suppliers are who keep you supplied with goods to sell on the internet as well as in your brick and mortar store. The begging comes in when said voodoo-doll-maker decides that she is also going to sell her dolls to another reseller...and another...and another...and so on.

Here's where the begging and "squeaky wheel" concept comes in. Of all the sellers of voodoo dolls in the world today, by making noise and begging the manufacturer for anything, ANYTHING else you can give away with said voodoo dolls, you are creating a value-added product offer that the non-annoying resellers cannot offer. By giving you an extra pin with each voodoo doll at no extra charge ("Now with EXTRA stabbing pins!"), you are able to make a better offer, at the same price (or a better price if the "freebie" offered to you is a lower cost) to your end customers, who will suck it up like chocolate in milk.

"That's it? THAT'S the advice you are giving us? Beg our suppliers for free crap or a lower price? Why do I read this blog?"

Because the reality of the situation is that most people (resellers) do NOT make noise. They DO NOT ask for freebies or samples, or extras, or volume pricing, etc... The reality is that they are out there! Manufacturers always have extras. Always have alternatives and contingencies that are just waiting to be taken advantage of. In many cases, all you have to do is ask, so stop being afraid of asking and you never know what edge you can get on your competition. You have nothing to lose and you never know, you just might end up being the voodoo doll mogul that you hoped to be.

 

Forget Loyalty In Any Economy

My question: "So your orders have been suffering? What are your average weekly orders now compared to when orders were good?"

Most common answers: "Well, I have an enormous client base."

"My hits and visits are off the charts."

"I get lots of email."

"Im selling a wide range of products, just not enough of them."

"No one else is selling what/how I am selling."

My usual reply: "That's not what I asked you."

It's a very common e-commerce trap to fall into in thinking that each and every past customer you have sold to will remain loyal to your store/site. Even if you provide the most comprehensive and feature-rich customer service imaginable, you should never forget the fact that your site is NOT their favorite flavor of ice-cream. You are NOT the one that fits them best, and that, chances are, you will NOT be remembered more than a few days after they received their order from you. In other words, run your online busoness with the motto, "THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CUSTOMER LOYALTY".

Yes, yes, as with everything, there are exceptions to the rule, but if you start lying to yourself in that customers come back to you just because you are you, then you can break out the shovels for an early business grave.

Internet buyers follow a strict policy of "What have you done for me lately?" and live by this policy thanks to the magic of their keyboard and mouse. Gone are the days where you had a captive audience because your store was in the most popular mall, on the strip, at the center of town, next to the McDonalds, etc... Nope, these days you are floating around in the gassy haze of multiple search results and ponderous ads with the hopes that the occasional word of mouth will work for you. It is too easy to fill a cart and dump it. Insanely simple to open multiple browser windows or tabs and compare you to your competition (and you DO have competition).

Once your site/services and policies are good ("good" being the best you can hope for in an ever-changing internet) you will need to treat every customer as your first. I will spare you the speech about customer service and groveling (see my "Circuis Show" posts for that stuff), but instead remind you that new customers need to be shown who you are and repeat customers need to be constantly reminded, otherwise they will forget and go somewhere else.  You are to ALWAYS be researching. ALWAYS testing. ALWAYS preparing for the next season, holiday, event, or whtever it is that drives customers to your particular corner of the internet. Never stop and never assume that you have done enough. As soon as you do, the customers disappear.

The economy bad? Think that's why orders are suffering? Thats the first step in self-denial. Economy good or bad--there are always people out there with money. Stop sitting back and pretending that you are the only or the ultimate destination for your products or services.

I may be sounding a little preachy (you should hear me at meetings with clients like you) but these points really need to be driven home. Loyalty does not exist when it is easier to be disloyal. The masses take the path of least resistance and best price. Keep this in mind in all your strategy and you will have a fighting chance at winning that customer again.

#1 killer of all failed e-commerce sites? No, not the economy. Nope, not the competition. Uh-uh, not lack of advertising. The answer is...lazy webmastering. If your site is not fresh and current then the customers will leave in droves. Keep your content up to date and your business reflected in your website and you will prosper. An e-commerce consultant like Bogie E-commerce can help.

Sometimes you need to give your customers a discount, freebie, gift, exclusive offer, coupon, gift certificate, subscription, or beach towel for no reason whatsoever. No holidays, no birthdays, no special events. Just a surprise out of nowhere to remind them that you truly value their business.

Turn a "Whoops" into Customer Service Gold

It's going to happen. 

No matter how tight a ship you run, there is going to be those times where you or one of your staff members are going to goof up and do something wrong to a customer or a customer's order. Shipping the wrong item, swapping labels, forgetting to include items--all these things are quite common regardless of the technology in place. When humans are involved--errors happen.

Now, don't think me crazy, but it has been my experience that this is a good thing to happen once in awhile. Totally serious. Yes, it costs money to fix the problem. Yes, it sucks having to deal with an angry customer. Yes, it can strain the "flow" of your order processing procedures. But, it can all be worth it.

When a customer calls (or emails, txts, whatever) with nostrils-a-steamin' in anger regarding a screwed up order, they don't care about your excuses or double-talk. All they want is for this to be fixed quickly and without an ounce more effort on their part. And rightfully so, considering they have trusted you with their personal information, their private financial information and your ability to give them what they want quickly and efficiently. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle this. Here are some examples of the wrong way to handle this (real life occurrences):

"Let's see if this was our mistake or yours."

"Oh, that was a mistake in a different department. Let me transfer you."

"Are you sure you got the wrong thing?"

"Well, we can send a replacement, but it will take 2-3 weeks."

"Fine. Ship the wrong product back to us and we'll send you the right one."

There is only one way to handle a situation where the fault is 100% with the business.

"We apologize for the error with your order, Sir (or Miss), and we will get the correct product out to you TODAY along with a postage paid label (or box) for the return of the incorrect item. We will also be sending you out a small gift with our apologies to thank you for being so patient with us. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you."

That's it. Nothing more or less. Three sentences that will, in most cases, not only placate your customer, but in my experience, earn you a customer for life for showing that your business truly gives a hoot about fixing a mistake. Word of mouth is stronger than ANY advertising system in the online or offline market today, and with this, you just earned a piece of it when your customer tells a friend..."Y'know, XYZ company send me the wrong item, but with one call they were so efficient about making good on it that I will DEFINATELY deal with them again. No hassle at all."

Just remember though...while this can be good for business once in awhile, getting word out there that you consistently goof up orders will have the complete opposite effect, so keep those organizational procedures nice and tight. Oh, and if you goof up that same customer's order a second time (even years later) then you've lost them for life.

Available time slots for e-commerce consulting during Q3 and Q4. Soonest available date is July 1st, 2011. Also looking for freelance programmer for regular work with Bogie E-Commerce. Just putting it out there.

Don't Let A "Down" Economy Derail Your E-Commerce Strategy

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade" is the tired old saying that is fortunately quite true in many aspects of life, including the business of e-commerce. While it is hard to accept a "make due with what you've got" frame of mind when orders are plummeting, you can, however, take several steps back and watch the trends of your business change depending on the tightening budges of the everyman.

What the hell am I saying? I'm saying that instead of pouring over pages and pages of analytics to see what improvements or changes or A/B tests you can run on your site, try first to look at what you are offering. When people are worried about putting gas in the car so they can get to work, they are not going to think about big ticket items. This is the time you can use to start pushing small or lower priced items in a big way. 

Catering to the masses of e-commerce is not about offering the latest trends or trying to compete with Amazon on the big box items. It's about offering the accessories to whatever they already have. The replacement part for last years big ticket item. The refill for the doohickey they got for Father's day two years ago. This is how the average masses of people shop.

Sometimes it's not about the stats to explain where the sales have gone. Sometimes it's just about what's really selling during times of wallet tightening.