Online Commerce in India-Part 2

Online Commerce in India- Part 2

In the first part, I had discussed problems facing Indian commerce industry. Now, let me look at its solutions.

The solutions:

Segmentation: It's critically important. Not all consumers should be treated the same — they're all different in value. Even the most basic forms of segmentation, can produce good results. The simplest, most-effective form of segmentation involves dividing customers up into first-time users, high-value active customers (who drive 80 percent of profits), and inactive-users. If you take first-time users through the "tunnel of love" in the first 30 days, they're likely to become active customers.

Listen and Serve: Think and act like a concierge at a hotel. Listening to your customers and providing proper service may help resolve any privacy breach. Give customers the ability to tell you what they want. Remind them about deals and promotions — if they've asked that information.

One Chance: Everyone has forgotten the power of opportunity: You only have one chance to get it right, so be right from the beginning. I recommend a microscopic examination of details such as when customers are most likely to buy. For example, don't try to market apparel in July, when consumers are more inclined to spend toward travel, not clothing. With sophisticated tools, marketers can identify the specific day that a deal or promotion might have the most impact.

Personalization: Personalization, while a challenge, if addressed well can be a huge differentiator in how the customer experience is shaped in the online world. Utilize intelligent tools like web analytics, study customer behavior online, reward and reach out to customers. The more personalization you can out into your web-store, the more the customers will love you.

Make Your Site Navigable: Customers sometimes tend to get lost in your site. Provide proper navigation in your site to make things easier for your customers. Try to make your e-commerce site properly structured.

Choosing e-commerce solution: It is better to do some research based on your specific needs. Read the feature lists, try demos, and get reviews from who know better about this. It is always better to choose something that has large community as it will offer help, tutorials, sample codes, third party plug-ins, themes, and security auditing, which will help you in enhancing the productivity for your e-commerce web-store.

Delivered Duties Paid: E-marketers pay duties and taxes for what they sell. It is better to sell products internationally on an all-inclusive price basis and hassle free services though all international courier facilities. Product registration and reduction is shipping cost is another good solution.

Shipping: It is better to deliver in bulk in one go to a single hub and distribute based on domestic shipping charges. This is called regionalization.

Product Return and Refund: Make sure that all product descriptions are up-to-date and relevant. Also ensure that the products you deliver are procured from certified vendors.

Multiple Payment Options: Be open for all payment gateways, start entertaining e-Wallets, prepaid cards etc. which will offer better cash flow and relieve customers from credit card problems.

Focus on Customer Service: Online users want fast response to their query. So start interacting with them through 24X7 emails, calls, and chat assistance. Make your customers interact with you through all possible means like social media marketing etc. Keep reminding them about deals and promotions that you are offering and try to know what they think about them.