Manage Your Online Store without Headaches

April 6, 2016

In response to consumer demand, brick-and-mortar stores are increasingly adding online retail options to expand their commercial opportunities. Managing a virtual business is essential to remaining competitive in today’s market, but doing it effectively takes practice. Follow some basic tips to run yours like a pro.

It’s a Process

Just like it took you time to build your brick-and-mortar location, you may have to wait to see the fruits of your online management labor. Sowing the seeds won’t be easy, and patience is an essential virtue if you want your online enterprise to succeed. Set aside some time upfront to:

• Create a list of your products. Each item will need to be assigned a number, title, product description, and price.

• Take images of your products to upload them onto your new website. You can use a site like Squarespace to create a website optimized for mobile and desktop with little technological know-how.

Consider Credit Card Processing

Virtually all retailers accept credit cards these days, but you’ll have special considerations for processing in your online store. Cybersecurity has been the retailer term du jour for the past few years, and it’s not going anywhere. Protecting your customer data should be your online store’s primary concern.

You can offer an external payment processing service like PayPal or Google, but will your customers be comfortable paying that way? For most, a direct credit card transaction feels safest. Consider building a secure POS system directly into your website for maximum convenience. Test your credit card processor for error notifications. Mistyping a billing address, card number, or zipcode are common human errors, so provide a confirmation when an order goes through.

Managing your online store is an undertaking, but it’s worth the effort. With some planning, your business can benefit from this essential step into the virtual world.