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Starting
a New Business—Online
If you've
ever considered starting your own business, the Internet is an
amazing new vehicle to allow you to accomplish that goal. Compared
with starting a "clear-cut" business, a Web-based
business has many advantages: |
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- Relatively low start-up cost,
and very low monthly costs
- A website reaches a global
audience
- Allows a venue for shopping
and promotion in one spot
- Your online store is open 24
hours a day
Having an e-commerce website does
have one big disadvantage though: competition. The Internet brings
new meaning to the words, "comparison shopping," in that
it takes potential customers only a minute or two to find your
e-commerce competition. |
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At
GoGraphics,
we realize full well that our success is based on the success of
our clients, and as such we approach each website we build as
though we are building it for ourselves. Our customers are, in
effect, business partners. |
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Expanding
an Existing Business To the Web
If you're considering a website for
your existing business, there are several ways to approach it.
Which avenue you choose will depend greatly on what business
you're in, and how much of an investment you wish to make.
If you want to establish a presence
on the Internet but you're not ready to make the leap into
e-commerce, consider a "brochure-style" website. This
type of site is simply a means of publishing information about
your company and its products or services online. Despite the fact
that you're not taking orders online, this type of website has
several benefits:
- Lower cost
- Your company information will
reach a global audience
- Increases the effectiveness
of print advertising
- Can add interactivity not
possible in print advertising
The primary reason many businesses
wish to start a website, of course, is to increase revenue by
selling merchandise or services online. Below is a list of some
things we talk to our customers about before the website building
process begins. |
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ORDER FULFILLMENT |
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with the last thing first: how do you deliver your products to
your customers? Determining how your orders will be fulfilled is
requisite to determining what type of order-processing system to
use on your website. |
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ACCEPTING CREDIT CARDS |
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on what business you're in, chances are you may already have a
credit card merchant account. If not, it is essential that you are
able to do so if you wish to effectively sell merchandise online.
(If you don't already have a merchant account, click
here for more information on how GoGraphics
can help - then come back to this page.) |
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WEBSITE STRATEGY |
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probably have a business plan for your business, and the same
should apply to your website. Your website doesn't have to be a
separate business, it should, ideally, be an extension of your
current one. |
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Building
Your Website With The Customer In Mind
While many of our customers have
ideas on what they want their website to be, we think it's
important to consider what your customers would like it to
be. What features and technologies will allow your customers the
greatest ease of use, and most pleasurable shopping experience?
What type of content will make your customers want to revisit your
website? Your competitors' websites may have more drive - and it
may be tempting to try and "one up" them - but if your
website provides a more comfortable shopping experience overall,
it's more likely that customers will choose you for their online
shopping. |
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