eCommerce Tidbits: April 2008 Archives

Build a Smart Catalog

One of the most important jobs you have as an online entrepreneur is to create a store where people can easily shop for goods in an online environment. Just like Mail Order, a well structured catalog is easy to use. If they are going to enjoy shopping your store, the catalog has to be easy to browse. The larger your product offering, the more of a challenge this will become.

Remember, your catalog is the way you present your products to the consumer. It should not necessarily follow the same model in which you purchase these products or store them in your warehouse. Basically always look at the catalog from your consumers point of view rather than your own.

Example: you buy all your stuff wholesale and have all the SKU's memorized. Obviously, the easy was is to make customers search by SKU... wrong. They want to browse by category or price range or brand name — maybe even season or type. Keep this in mind as you create your online catalog and refine it as you go.

Write Just Enough, But Not Too Much

Spend extra time naming and describing both your products and categories. For example: Instead of having a category called "Shirts" filled with 117 shirts, consider breaking it up a bit. How about 4 or 5 categories like "Mens Short Sleeve Tee's", "Ladies Tank Tops", "Kids Long Sleeve Shirts", etc... this makes your store easier for the user and better for search engines at the same time.

Don't Forget About the Shipping

Shipping can make or break a sale and/or your wallet. Many new online store owners are taken by surprise when they have to setup, plan or even execute a shipment. The more planning upfront you do with shipping, the better.

Try to mirror your real world warehouse experience. The closer you can get your online store setup to match your real-world shipping methods, the happier you and your shoppers will be in the end. Setting up a quality shipping table or ensuring an accurate shipping quote from an integrated shipper should be right up there with your catalog when it comes to planning and setup.