Steven Hickey, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Sage Pay partner ekmPowershop.com, is on the front line when it comes to e-business. As a provider of e-commerce software, he sees the challenges e-tailers face in keeping on top of all the trends and technologies in the e-commerce sector, particularly smaller companies with limited resources.
However, there’s one thing that isn’t changing in e-business. The need to drive conversion. As Steven explains, “Whether it’s 2012 or 1992, one metric has been – and always will be – critical: dropout rate. E-tailers should be looking to drive that dropout rate down, by improving the design of their websites or the e-commerce process.”
The power of choice
Steven stresses how today’s customers will be easily put off if an e-tailer fails to respond to their demands. “The customer is king, so you need to make it as easy as possible for them to buy from you. And that means providing choice throughout the site, from the products you have on sale to the payment methods you offer at checkout.”
Key to ekmPowershop.com’s success is offering multiple options when it comes to the payment process. “Make it easier for customers to pay by offering payment via e-wallets and alternative methods of payment, as well as by credit and debit cards,” Steven says.
When it comes to e-business, choice is all. That’s why the majority of Steven’s clients are concentrating their efforts on technologies or systems to facilitate multi-channel retailing.
“Multi-channelling is core to most e-tailers today as they look to boost their business by selling in as many places as possible,” he explains. “Generally, this includes online marketplaces, such as eBay and Amazon, but also social commerce (eg through Facebook), mobile commerce and electronic point-of-sale.”
Partner with the best
Steven stresses that if you are going to build or revamp your web offering, it’s crucial to choose the right company. But that cheapest isn’t always the best. “Many online retailers seem to be obsessed with simply using the cheapest provider, seeing payments as a utility rather than a crucial aspect of the most important stage of all – paying for products. Conversion is key so don’t turn customers away at the vital stage because you’re looking to save a couple of pence on an order,” Steven warns. “The shortfall in conversion will cost you much more.”
This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2013 at 11:01 am and is filed under Ecommerce, Ekm Systems Ltd, ekmPowershop.com News, Top Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 28th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
I am sorry but I am disappointed with the service that Sagepay offers to small companies. They increased their monthly basic fee now charging £25 plus VAT and their system seems to be disfunctional more often than not. I get at least 1 email every 10 days advising about delays with bacs transfers into my bank account. For the money I find Paypal the far better option.