Check your elogistics before going Online

Logistics are a vital part of customer satisfaction. A large part of logistics today is being impacted by the ecommerce industry, especially in its customer to business segment. In the last few years many companies have shifted their focus from ecommerce to outsourcing elogistics.

Elogistics can be defined as an IT-enhanced function that stretches right from the front end of your online store all the way to the backend where the customer is located. This entire process includes the following functions:

•    Order Management
•    Warehouse Management & Fulfillment
•    Transport & Delivery
•    Returns Management
•    Customer Service related issues

Here are a couple of tips designed to make your online business run easily:

•    For ecommerce stores, customers’ expectations differ greatly. Thus, you must start building an adequate elogistics infrastructure before you get started with building up your business. Analyze and understand the market requirements and try to adjust all your distribution channels in accordance with the requirements of the ecommerce industry.
•    Start by creating a checklist that covers all the important areas – from Business Plan Development and Supplier Management to Order Management, Returns Management and Inventory Management, and so on and so forth. This is very useful. When selling your products online, you should look further into Information Management as the ecommerce industry of today demands for the integration of diverse systems in the net.

Ecommerce business owners with already existing websites are now concentrating on elogistics, as a far more convenient and intelligent way to get their products and services to their customers. Transportation eMarketplaces and the likes have now started facilitating transport by putting the carriers and shippers together in the same allotted space. If you don’t have a proper elogistics plan in mind, you can always turn towards outsourcing in order to solve all your elogistics challenges. When starting off with my own ecommerce business, I was clueless about the inner details of the industry. It was through the undivided support and guidance of my ecommerce service provider – Devix Corporation (Devix V.5) that I learnt enough to survive and prosper in this trade.

Devix SEO: Targeting the Long tail for More Sales

SEO: Targeting the Long tail for More Sales

For most of the smaller online businesses, especially the ones that dapple in the ecommerce trade, search engine and keyword optimization are just once in a while processes – at the most. As a business owner, once you have patiently gone through the laborious process of keyword research, writing page descriptions, title tags and finalizing your content, the very idea of doing all of this again next year is maddening enough to make you want to drive off a cliff.

The best solution to tackle this problem is probably to hire a qualified SEO professional or maybe take on the services of an ecommerce service provider who will handle this for you. In my case, I hired the services of Devix Corporation and benefitted largely by doing so. But with budgets diminishing steadily, this option might seem ridiculous to many of you out there.

Don’t let this bring you down.

You can stay on top of the new search trends and even generate more traffic to your site without really having to have a great brainstorming session. The key to this is in the long tail phrase and providing relevant content to attract visitors.

So, what is a Long Tail?

A long tail phrase is basically a series of words that people use to start with a search. Many reports have shown that search queries with 4 to 8 words are increasing each year in growth. This means that your customers are getting a lot more specific about how to search for something and what they expect to find. Long Tail phrases can be especially useful for ecommerce owners when identifying words that could indicate intent.

Examples of long tail phrases include: “large antique emerald ring tiffany” or “small orthopedic dog bed”. Words like “antique” or “orthopedic” indicate an extremely clear understanding of what the person wants.

Such phrases generally indicate that the concerned person is closer to buying the item. When you start a keyword research, you’ll probably find scores of phrases that are specific to a certain problem or product. So, long tail phrases are also known as “money terms” since they indicate that the people typing them in are more or less ready to act.

Always remember that adding above average content that is optimized for the long tail is probably the most inexpensive way to attract more web traffic to your site, and hence increase sales.

Is your ecommerce store ready for the Holiday Season?

Is your ecommerce store ready for the Holiday Season?

Ever since I started my own ecommerce business and launched my own website (of course with the help of Devix Corporation – a tried and tested and wholly reliable ecommerce service provider), I have become absolutely adamant about testing websites for navigation and security. With summer rushing in, it is the perfect time to plan out the upcoming holiday season’s sales campaigns. And before this gets done, it’s just the right time to make sure that things are running smoothly.

With such tremendous numbers of people going online these days to shop, there have emerged a vast number of ecommerce businesses in the form of online stores, most of which will most likely be your competitors. These days, it pays to be more than just someone who offers the best deal. You have to be the best on the whole – right from the design of your website to the way you guide your customers to the tools you provide your shoppers with for their security. When starting my own ecommerce business, I hired the services of a very reliable and talented ecommerce service provider – Devix Corporation. And a lot of what I learnt today, I have picked up from them.

Now that you have managed to open up your own online store and things are just starting to sail smoothly, you need to ask yourself if you’re ready for the holiday season. Here are (according to me) ten important factors to look into when checking to see whether your online store is ready for the holiday season or not:

•    SSL Certificate – A dedicated SSL certificate gives your website that much needed credibility. Make sure that it is working properly and there should be no errors. If found, all errors need to be fixed impromptu.
•    Navigation – Customers need to browse through an online store that’s user friendly. Make sure your site is easily navigable so that your potential customers will find things easily either by browsing or through searching.
•    Payment Options – Let your customers know straight up what payment options you accept. It is very frustrating for the customer to find a satisfactory product and at the last minute just before making the purchase to find out that you don’t accept payment methods like PayPal and Discover.
•    Customer Guidance – Make sure that you can guide your customers’ right through the entire checkout process.
•    Browser Compatibility – Test your website pages on various browsers, both a MAC and a PC. There are many online sites available that can provide you with the means to test your pages on browsers that you don’t have installed.
•    Serve Space Cleanup – Get rid off all those unnecessary files. Make sure that all the important redirects are still working. Correct your website’s error page (404 page not found) and make sure it contains a custom, more user –friendly message than this.
•    Shipping Services – Exorbitant shipping costs are still the biggest reason for cart abandonment. Save your customers from this nightmare by providing them with a means to preview these costs before they checkout.
•    Inventory – Maintain your inventory. If you plan on using real-time tracking online as well as offline, then it is for the best.
•    Email Services – With the increasing amount of spam clogging everybody’s mailboxes, it is about time you find out new tools that could help you separate the junk from the legitimate mail.
•    Ad Campaigns – When it comes to advertising, never procrastinate! Start planning out your banner designs, your keywords for web advertising, and your budget as well. Make sure your print advertising pages are all set to go.

This however, is only the tip of the ecommerce iceberg. Once you start planning for the holiday season ahead, the chances of many more steps revealing themselves to you are very strong. If on the other hand, you feel that you cannot do all of this on your own or maybe you happen to be a newcomer to the world of ecommerce, then perhaps hiring a trustworthy ecommerce service provider (such as Devix) isn’t such a bad idea. When I first got started with my own website, I availed the services of Devix Corporation. And, with their help I have a booming business today – season time or no season time.

A Good Web Design can Make All the Difference

The Internet of today is probably one of the largest website libraries where visitors can flock to in search of relevant corporate and business websites on a daily basis. In such a case, some websites would undoubtedly make a deeper impression on visitors than others. And the ones that fail to get noticed are all probably lost in oblivion.

Thus, the question that now arises is why do some sites success while the others fail? I may not be an expert on the matter of web analytics but since starting my own ecommerce company I have taken a deep interest in all matters that concern Internet businesses and how to make them successful. When I first got started with my business, I was an amateur and had no idea as to how to design or even run my own website. So, very wisely, I hired the help of a well-known and highly reliable ecommerce service provider known as Devix Corporation. With their expert advice and guidance, I learnt every aspect of ecommerce – right from the web marketing to the designing and developing of the website. Today, I can safely say that I am fully equipped to give advice on all matters concerning ecommerce – all thanks to Devix!

A while back I did some quality web analysis and came up with some very strong findings, which can benefit you in every way and will provide you with a better understanding of what people like and don’t like when it comes to the design of a website.

Some Website Designing pointers:

1.    Paragraphs – The biggest mistake that most people make when designing their websites is that they try to bombard their visitors with as much information as they possibly can. Many web designers tend to write long and dull paragraphs, making it very difficult for a visitor to scan through the information in just one glimpse. So, the best way to grab attention is to use catchy headings and sub heading and as many bulletin points as possible. Describe your organization with minimum content and your visitors will be interested.
2.    Topics should not be vague – Another big mistake committed by most people when web designing is that they tend to present vague topics in the first few pages of the site. As a result of this, your visitors may have to tediously scroll through pages of inane content to get to the page that he or she actually wants to view. So web design companies that specifically cater to ecommerce firms should always make a note of this point. The use of drop down menus would allow users to reach any page that they are targeting.
3.    Fonts – Using a permanent font size would only go to act as a roadblock for visitors who are looking for flexibility of choice and the chance to change their font sizes.

Devix Corporation is a reliable company that provides optimized business solutions for ecommerce companies across the world. Leveraging the power of the Internet, Devix specializes in providing a variety of e-services that range from web designing and search engine optimization, and all kinds of business solutions. It was my good luck to team up with Devix and today I am enjoying success, even in the midst of an economic recession!

The Indispensible SSL Certificate: A Must for your E-Commerce Website

Ecommerce is all about raking in the money and finding new ways to make more money. But making more money is not as simple as you may think it to be, especially when your consumers don’t feel safe performing online transaction on your website. This is where the Secure Socket Layer or SSL comes into play. Understanding how SSL works and impacts your ecommerce website can potentially help you make more money. When first starting out my own ecommerce company, I availed the services of Devix Corporation – a highly skilled and reliable ecommerce service provider. And it was through them that I first heard of the SSL certification for enhanced security.

SSL is the standard for security that establishes a sort of encrypted connection between the web server and the web browser. A SSL certificate would serve as a guarantee that the information being transferred between the web server and the browser will be kept confidential and private and above all – secure.

Ecommerce websites provide some very exciting opportunities but at the same a lot of Internet users nowadays have started facing a number of security issues and have started becoming conscious about the integrity of their private information and data, especially in matters related to their payment. But when you read about the risks involved in online transaction, you wouldn’t really blame them would you?

As an ecommerce site owner, one of your greatest needs would be to get an SSL certificate. SSL certification for an ecommerce site proves that the site is not a fraud. In addition, it also contains information, which inspires trust and faith in any consumers mind. Right from the name of the certificate Authority who issued the certificate to information about the certificate holder, from the domain that the certificate was issued to right to the root and country that it was issued in – the SSL certificate indeed goes a long way in making your consumers feel safe and secure.

The SSL certificate comes in two varieties – the 40-bit or the 128-bit varieties. However, since the 40-bit encryption is hacked, it is advisable to look for the 128-bit SSL certificate.

How can the SSL Certificate help your ecommerce website?

The SSL certificate can truly help build for your site a solid level of confidence amongst you consumers and web visitors. It is true that visitors to your site feel more secure when they realize that your SSL certified – that golden padlock is a mark of authentication and goes a long way in setting minds at ease. So, start realizing the benefits of ecommerce and get more competitive and comprehensive about your site by first securing it.

The SSL certificate is extremely important if your ecommerce site or online store accepts cash transactions or other forms of payment online. If you ask your consumers to submit any sort of confidential information like addresses or email addresses or if you happen to process any private data like logins or passwords, then the SSL certificate comes into play.

There are essentially two types of SSL certificates – the dedicated certificate that can be obtained from any of the official certificate vendors, and the shared certificate that is offered for free by your web hosting provider.

In an age where Internet scams run rampant and trust is the most important factor in any business, getting a SSL certificate may well be your solution to ecommerce success.

E-Commerce- How can it benefit for your business

Benefiting through E-Commerce Websites

Although the Internet is a vast and cavernous industry, an increasing number of people are getting exposed to computers and the Internet today, and knowledge in this field is advancing at a quick pace. In their ever-increasing search for comfort, people have begun learning hot to utilize the Internet for their daily needs and this is where ecommerce sites come into play. Reaching out to a large audience, ecommerce sites are appealing in the sense that they have the ability to entice us with the kind of products and services that they display online.

When starting off my own ecommerce business, I of course took the help of a very convenient and efficient ecommerce service provider – Devix Corporation. And in working with them, I learnt a great deal about the ecommerce business and how ecommerce sites can benefit us. As well all know, ecommerce is quintessentially the trading of goods and services over the Internet – akin to visiting a virtual shopping mall.

Being a veteran of the ecommerce industry, here’s a small piece of advice to all you new comers – before you get started with your own business, it is worth considering the benefits that your company would reap by having an ecommerce website online. In short, does your business really need ecommerce?

What’s in it for you with ecommerce?

With the emergence of ecommerce websites all over the Internet, there have also been a lot of changes taking place in the selling and purchasing of goods. So, going through websites like eBay or Amazon would be wise to see how they generate their sales revenue.

So, whether you have already established a business or plan on setting up one, or whether the volume of your business happens to be large or small, you can always generate profits by displaying your goods and services online – which in turn results in the generation of a huge amount of viewer exposure.

So the question of the hour would be – how can a simple little ecommerce website help you generate higher sales revenues?

There are indeed several advantages to having an ecommerce website.

•    Your goods and services that are showcased on your website will provide you with the necessary exposure to attract millions of visitors to your website.
•    Time being a very important factor, many a times you will that customers find it extremely difficult to physically visit your store. Instead, you bring your store to the customer (via the Internet) and your store will be an instant success. Your customers won’t be hard pressed for time and your e-store is always open, 24/7.
•    Your e-store comes replete with product images and descriptions, making it easy for your customer to get a good idea about your services.
•    Setting up and maintaining a brick and concrete store comes with its share of exorbitant overhead costs, hiring personnel expenses and the likes. Alternatively, having your own e-store wouldn’t cost you a great deal and is an efficient way to demonstrate and provide information about your products.
•    The promotion of your store is of vital importance and using the Internet as a medium to advertise your site is a cheaper and more effective way to go about doing it.
•    The only basic requirement for any ecommerce website would be to have a top-notch design that attracts customers while at the same time looks capable enough to rub shoulders with your major competitors.

Gradually, an increasing number of people have begun to pick up on the fact that ecommerce is an extremely affordable way to purchase or sell goods as opposed to the traditional method of buying or selling. And it has already been established that ecommerce will only continue to mature in the future, and in the long run become a key business strategy that will be adopted so as to thrive and flourish in this fast paced market to stay ahead of competitors.

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