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Ecommerce
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The
challenges of operating an ecommerce based enterprise have become
clearly evident during the last few years of internet business closings,
and the overall market adjustment that followed. The need to establish
sound business practices, and expectations for the internet based
operation is as imperative in this venue as in the brick and mortar
world.
One
area of considerable import in the planning of your new enterprise
is the means by which your company will accept payment for your featured
product or service. Many methods exist in the online world for accomplishing
this task, but few are as widely accepted as payment processing via
credit card. This is not to suggest that other options are of no
value, as creating a menu of possible payment opportunities will
serve to ensure the satisfaction of all potential buyers.
Historically,
many online organizations have chosen to retain a level of simplicity
on site by offering only the most basic forms of payment processing.
Although initially an acceptable means for the relatively low expectations
of the internet user of the day, these forms no longer meet the growing
need of the internet savvy shopper for quick, efficient location,
selection, and payment for online purchases.
To
accommodate the current realities, credit card acceptance is a virtual
must, regardless of the nature of your enterprise. The growing popularity
of this medium has resulted in a flourish of enterprising minds releasing
softwares and services to enable the ecommerce oriented business
starting up on the web.
There
are a variety of processes involved in each ecommerce transaction
at your property. Some providers offer services which manage all
of these steps, while other services offer only specific portions
of the process, for organizations that manage some aspects on their
own servers, or wish to provide only partially automated services.
Some of the aspects of an ecommerce ready web site include:
- Shopping
Cart - the means by which a client indicates an interest in
purchasing a specific item, and records and submits personal and
financial information relative. The "buy" and "checkout"
buttons seen on all ecommerce sites are part of their shopping cart
system.
- Merchant
Account - a necessity for credit card acceptance by all businesses,
online or off. An agreement between the business operator, and the
bank responsible for a given credit card, to provide funds to the
merchant via the customer's account, less fees outlined in the agreement.
There also exist services that allow you to utilize their merchant
accounts established with the bank, for an additional fee.
- Gateway
Account - an aspect of "real-time" credit card processing,
which means that the purchase is reviewed, and approved or rejected
automatically, before the customer is advised that their order is
complete. Non "real time" systems require that the operator
manually process each order via either an online form, or terminal
located at the place of business.
- Security
Certificate - a digital tool incorporated into all sites providing
"secure shopping" environments. The certificate indicates
to both the transaction processor, and to the customer, that the
site accepting the financial data from the client is known, and
trusted. The digital certificate must be purchased, and installed
on the server where the shopping cart system is located.
Prior to finalizing
your organization's ecommerce direction, it is imperative that you
understand the role of each process, and the costs involved with
the various services. It is also important to recognize the technical
strengths and/or weaknesses of your design group, most especially
if it is to be an owner developed property. Many of the software
and security aspects of ecommerce applications must be carefully
managed to ensure overall integrity of your system - an absolute
necessity in today's online shopping market. If a comfort level with
these applications is not available within your organization, then
consideration should be given to either selection of a simplified
service, or the outsourcing of the project to someone experienced
in such areas of development.
In the end,
the learning curve associated with offering an ecommerce ready site
to your clientelle is unquestionably worthwhile. The future of online
shopping indicates trends of substantial growth for some time to
come. Placing your site on the technological forefront of this movement
today helps to ensure your online success for many years to come.
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