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Why should I consider offering a company store program to my clients?
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Company store programs are a great way to augment the existing services you already provide your clients as well as moving their non-company store requests online saving you time and money. Also this is a great way to gain a foothold with a new client that may be using another distributor.
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How much am I likely to make?
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Revenue and profit are difficult to project. There are many factors that determine your ultimate success such as number of client employees, amount of routine and reoccurring orders, white collar versus blue collar jobs not to mention your margin on the products you'll be offering.
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What and how many products should I offer?
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This should be based on the needs of the client and their workforce. Start with the basics and find out about the demographics of the workforce such as how man women versus men, what's the company dress code, what's the split between managerial or office jobs and factory or field jobs.
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What payment methods should I accept?
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Credit cards and the simplest and easiest but internal corporate accounts may also make corporate buying easier.
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How much should I charge for shipping and handling?
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First decide if you want to charge based on the dollar total of the order or the weight of the items themselves. Second, determine where most of the shipments will be going and what is likely to be the most popular items. With this you should be able to closely estimate what your costs will be. Don't forget to add a little extra for your staffs time and packing and shipping supplies and materials.
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What is it going to cost?
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That depends on what you need to offer in the way of products and what features you need to service the program. There is surely to be a package to fit your needs and your budget.
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What should I charge my client?
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Many distributors have a hard time charging their customers for something that was traditionally handled through printed flyers or catalogs and phone calls or faxes. It is important to remember that an online store program will provide an array of value added features to your clients not found with offline printed programs. Some key value are:
- Open 24 hours a day 365 days a year
- Ordering without waiting
- Shopping from anywhere, home, office, or on the road
- Greater flexibility to make changes in products and pricing
- Enhanced communications and feedback through status emails and online tracking
- Improved order processing efficiency means fewer errors, faster delivery, and ultimately better service
- Real-time analysis from up to the minute reports on orders, inventory, and visitors
These benefits should make a strong case for a modest charge to your client to help in covering your investment.
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Do I need to buy any special hardware or software?
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Nothing out of the ordinary, just a computer, access to the internet and an internet web browser, preferably Microsoft Internet Explorer.
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How do I market the store to my clients' employees?
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When negotiating with your client the terms of service for the online store program, ensure that you have the ability to work with your client to direct information to the employees. There are dozens of ways to market to employees such as emails, articles in their corporate newsletter, posters, signs, even a note in their paychecks can work wonders. The key point here is having a way to remind the employees of the products and services available to them in the online store.
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Should I offer specials, discounts, or featured products?
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These are excellent mechanisms to market the store, drive visitors, and entice buyers. Give people a reason to come and visit and also to buy often can make the difference between a store that isn't performing and one that is profitable.
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Do I have to carry a large inventory?
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This depends entirely on the nature of the program, the flexibility of your client, and the items offered. Your client may wish to have products in quantities under minimum available in just a few days. Obviously this means carrying an inventory of pre-decorated product.
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How often should I add or change products?
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Watch the performance of the store every month and track how products are selling and consider making changes possibly quarterly. Your ability to change product will depend on inventory and the negotiated agreement you have with your client.
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Do I or my client need any special hardware or software?
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No, Promotional Commerce and many others provide this service as an ASP or application service provider meaning we provide all the hardware and software on our end. All you need is a reasonably up to date computer with access to the internet and a browser such as Internet Explorer.
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Do I need a fast connection to the internet to make this work?
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No. A high speed internet connection such as DSL or Cable Modem is convenient and makes accessing sites on the internet much faster however it is not required to work with our service.
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