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Business-to-business Store Design
On-line Stores are important for some types of
business - is yours one of them? If it is, it can be a cornerstone of your
business, if not, a store can quickly become an
unprofitable white elephant. On line stores obey the same rules
as other stores. There has to be a product or service for which there is a
demand and these have to be presented to the target market in an effective
way. A decision to build a store should only be made after considering all
the relevant issues as part of an on-line marketing
strategy. Some of the more obvious issues are:-
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Key advantages:
Presentation to potential universal market ensures widest customer base and
raises business profile; immediacy of sales; automated multi-currency
payment systems; automated delivery of soft goods. For some some
'first-in-market' businesses, returns can be dramatic.
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Key
disadvantages: Can be expensive and/or time consuming to set
up. Unless there is an exemplar, returns can be uncertain.
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The
behind-the-scenes aspects of on-line stores that deal with shipping and
tax zones, and the need to comply with the new Distance Selling Regulations
for example, mean that on-line stores are more complex than Web sites - with
cost implications for the owner.
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While proprietary
self-build software is relatively inexpensive (£1-2k), the time needed
to organize the administrative information and 'populate the shelves' with
products can be considerable - let alone deal with design choice
issues. Whether this time is in-house or subcontracted-out is a matter
of choice. The key advantages of proprietary systems are that most of
the donkey work is taken out of designing the structure and organization of
the sales administration system - and that the 'template' approach can
constrain a novice and greatly assist in getting a viable shop up and
running. The key disadvantages are that proprietary systems are are
rather prescriptive and limiting in design terms.
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Bespoke stores
offer complete flexibility as to set up and presentation but can be
costly. This should not put off a potential store owner however.
Presentational flexibility means that your store can be unique and stand out
from the crowd - carrying a potentially high commercial value.
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Returns on
investment can range from poor to dramatic. The old marketing
rule-of-thumb for conventional B2B marketing that about 2-5% of turnover
should be spent on promotion may be relevant to on-going costs for an
established business, but in practice, do not represent likely start-up costs
for a new on-line store. Although there have been high profile cases
of stores that have become profitable within two years on investments in
excess of 100% of turnover, these are the exception rather than the
rule. Nevertheless, significant investment is required. Often a
sound approach is to 'test the water' by putting just part of a business
into a store initially.
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Most of the
rules that apply to on-line promotion of Web
sites also apply to stores.
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Administration
of a store in-house will need advance planning with respect to
personnel, training etc.
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