Taking Orders Online - Are You Portraying The Right Image?
By L A Parmley, Sat Dec 10th
Be sure to make it easy to order. Make sure you SAY exactly howyou want prospects to place their order. Don't just simply putan "Add to cart" button on your site. Spell it out. Say, clickon "Add to cart" below to order or call our toll-free numberanytime.
If you want people to order online, make sure you have an easy,secure online ordering system in place. PayPal is an excellentoption. Many consumers prefer to use PayPal - it is a safe,convenient way to pay for purchases online. In fact, PayPalboasts they are the number 1 choice for making payments online.
Opening a PayPal account won't cost you a dime. It's also a snapfor your prospects to open their own account if they choose topay through PayPal. I'm not sure why a business wouldn't includePayPal as one of their payment options. There is a benefit tohaving more than one choice for a payment. People buy withdifferent methods. Some people absolutely love charging on theircredit card. So be sure to give these types a convenient methodfor doing so...
You may accept credit cards on your site by investing in amerchant account with Authorize Net or another reputableprovider. A merchant account will enable you to accept creditcards online and to type in a number from a customergiven to you by mail. It will cost to set-up a merchant account,but the cost will most certainly pay-off in the long run.
You can also set-up an account to allow people to pay viaelectronic check through a company like ElectraCash. Inaddition, I'd suggest allowing people to pay by mail (checks orcredit card). This is especially important if you offer ahigh-priced item or service. What reason would you ever have torefuse a bona-fide payment method? Heck, let them come give youcash if they want. Money is money.
Now let's move on to fulfilling your orders.
You can set-up a simple system where digital products are sentout immediately. It's quite simple to do using an autoresponderor shopping cart system. For tangible purchases, you can use afulfillment company or do it yourself. I usually ship purchasesmade by the next day, regardless of whether themoney has been deposited, unless there is reason to be suspectof the order.
Here are a few reasons to be suspect of an order...
The shipping and billing address are different. In these cases,you may want to give the customer a ring. Simply call them toconfirm the order. They will greatly appreciate this.
The order is a high volume
