AboutJim Novo Expertise Questions about using customer data to inmprove online profitability, particularly in retailing. Topics include profiling customers using weblogs, figuring out which ads generate the highest value customers, how to reduce the numnber of 1x buyers, how to generate higher sales from current customers, customer analysis, ROI calculation, reducing discounts while increasing resaponse rates. Do you collect customer data (purchases, page views, surveys) and not really use it for anything? Want to find out how? Just ask.
Experience
Past/Present clients Cellular One, MBNA, SteelTorch Software, Retek Direct, CBS Sportsline, Kobie Marketing, Aerial, Tupperware, Barnes and Noble, Comcast Corporation, Home Shopping Network
Expert: Jim Novo Date: 3/25/2007 Subject: First timer
Question Hi Jim,
I must preface this question by saying, while I run a sole proprietor business, this will be my first foray into ebusiness and well, I don't know anything.
Very interested in getting an online store up and running on a shoestring budget, a men's fashion site, and wondering what specific advice you'd be willing to offer.
Hit me.
Thank you, Jim and wish you the best in all your endeavors,
Mike
Answer Hands down, today the best way to get some experience with little financial risk is to start either a Yahoo Store:
You don't need to know much at all about computers or code or merchant processing or any of that, it's all basically taken care of for you. Plus, if you go with either of these formats, you have built-in traffic searching for your products.
Once you figure out a merchandising formula that works for you, then you can try to do it on your own with a site you create. At higher volumes, your own site will cost you less per transaction in fees but it's not easy to get the site up and working, generate your own traffic, and so forth, so it's a lot more risky to do your own site. Many, many folks never leave the eBay or Yahoo format and still make an awful lot of money with their online stores.
You must decide what your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is. If you are selling one of a kind or unique products of your own design, well, that's your USP. If you are selling lines manufactured by somebody else and already available on the web, then the USP is not the product, it is price (including unique bundling (2 for 1) or Free Shipping), Service, or something else.
If price is your USP, eBay is probably the better bet. If you are selling goods available elsewhere at a higher price, Yahoo is better because there is not as much focus on price.
I strongly encourage you to search eBay and Yahoo Stores for the products you will be selling or similar products to take a look at pricing and the market overall. On eBay, you can search "Completed listings only" which gives you the actual sold price of the items. If you find others are already selling what you plan to sell at a lower price than you can afford to sell them, you need to rethink your product offering.
If you have both unique and "widely available" items, lead with your unique items to draw people into the store. For example, you can list store items in the regular eBay auctions where they will gain a lot of attention, and then send people into the store to look at other items.
