Bedroom Efforts: Protecting brand image

February 14, 2011 · Posted in Guest Blogger, online retail · 2 Comments 

This is a guest post by Derek Traynor of AllMoto.ie, an IIA Member Company, republished with his permission from his blog. In it he writes about a subject dear to our hearts in the IIA: online retail and the knock-on effects of reputable online business for the economy. If you would like to ramp up your own online retail business, don’t miss our upcoming conference, 8 More Ways to Sell Even More Stuff, designed especially for retailers, whatever stage of the online game you are at.

Bedroom EffortsIs this where you want your brand represented? >>

OK firstly let me explain – this isn’t a story about my personal ‘Bedroom Efforts’ (I’ve another blog for that :-) ), it’s my opinion, as an etailer (online retailer), on the damage that small, online, bedroom based efforts cause to industry in general.

What I mean by ‘Bedroom Efforts’ is someone sitting at home, on a laptop, listing products on ebay, Amazon and similar, and ordering in stock as it sells. However, let me clarify, my issue isn’t with the sleepy entrepreneurs but rather with the suppliers who decide to sell product through them.

I’ve been harping on about this pet-hate for years now and I’m “happy” to report that in just the last month I’ve had three suppliers contact me with concerns over it – way to get with the times guys – but at least they recognize the problem. These suppliers are eventually requesting minimun retail prices on their products. I’ve no idea where they stand legally if challenged about anti-competition legalities but…. well who cares about that for the moment.

I’m sure a few people are now thinking, “but sure you’re a online shop – who are you to talk?”, but this is where most people are missing the difference: I’m a reputable online retailer, adding value to a customers experience. I do this by providing:

  • product knowledge. We’re experts on what we sell and use this knowledge to only sell product that is good.
  • product support. If our customers have difficulty with a product we’re there to help by phone, email and often in person at events.
  • product backup. Did a purchase break or fall short of what a customer expected? We always repair and/or replacement based on the circumstances.
  • stock off the shelf. When a customer buys something it gets shipped within 24 hours (over 85% of the time in my shop).
  • a unique user experience. The customer always subconsciously relate to their experience of the product.
  • a physical store where people can drop into in person if they want to.

Bedroom Efforts generally damage a product having little or no technical knowledge, no repairs, no returns policy, no parts backup and NO stock. The customer ends up waiting longer, buying ill advised and losing all if an issue arises. What is not seen here is the damage to the brand that was sold. Note to suppliers – one way to lose repeat business is to allow a terrible customer experience in the initial purchase.

The hidden damage goes further though. These bedroom efforts often make almost no margin and that’s fine as they’ve almost no costs. But the damage arises in the lost sale the ‘real’ retailer has lost. Don’t be misled, reputable online etailers have almost as many costs as your local shop (Google ads, website development, online presence maintenance, customer support, STOCK, rent, taxes, to name a few).

What also makes me laugh is that these same suppliers then complain about having trouble getting paid by their retailer network. Maybe it hasn’t crossed their minds yet, but, support your network of retailers. Note to suppliers – IT’S EASY TO GET PAID FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF MAKING A PROFIT.

Imagine this outside Victorias Secrets: “knickers, knickers, two for a tenner”

Chanel and Gucci don’t supply someone so they can set up a market stall outside Brown Thomas (Ireland’s exclusive department store) on a busy Sunday afternoon. Why do suppliers continue to sell to people who just list on Ebay, Amazon, etc, and provide no backup on a Monday morning?

Chanel and Gucci understand the principals of brand image and most importantly – making profit.

Thanks to Derek for that heartfelt post! If you are a member of the IIA and would like to share a guest post about doing business online (any aspect: it doesn’t just have to be retail!) please read our guidelines and get in touch.

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Feedback Friday 8: Help Dotwebs join the dots

March 27, 2009 · Posted in Feedback Friday · 8 Comments 

Dorothy Ryan from IIA Member company Dotwebs is looking for feedback on her blog or DotBlog as she calls it. She puts considerable time and effort into maintaining her blog but she wonders “why visitors don’t leave messages and what I could do to improve it.” Dorothy has been a very active participant in Feedback Friday and has offered lots of great feedback to others since we started the feature so please check out her blog and share your thoughts below and give as good as you got!

We have a few guidelines for Feedback Friday so if you’re new please review.

Would you like to get feedback on a site that you own or are working on? Maybe you have a new client who wants to redevelop an existing website? Get some FREE net-savvy, design-savvy, SEO-savvy, online marketing and sales-savvy input from a broad range of experts. Contact me, Roseanne, at members at iia dot ie and give it a go!

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Feedback Friday 7: Channelship want you to pick holes

March 20, 2009 · Posted in Feedback Friday · 6 Comments 

channelshipWell not quite! Channelship have recently completed two sites for a client and would love a bit of feedback before putting the sites to bed entirely. Both sites focus on products and services for fixing cracks and potholes and beautifying driveways and roads. I doubt there’s a person in Ireland who doesn’t know a spot that could use that kind of TLC! But what about the sites themselves? Are they a bumpy ride or as smooth as silk? Over to Fred Caballero Project Manager with www.channelship.ie to tell us a little bit more about what they would like you feedbackers to focus on when looking at the sites:

We would like some feedback on www.qprroadshop.com and www.qprcoldpatch.com which we recently finished.

The idea would be to have comments on the usabilty, general look & feel, Search Engine Optimisation, coding and any helpful comments that people might have, since we are still on time to make a few changes. If you can think of more aspects to cover let us know!

Don’t forget that we have some guidelines when giving feedback and I will be moderating all comments.

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Feedback Friday 5: Reverb Studios Multimedia and Website Design

February 27, 2009 · Posted in Feedback Friday, Membership · 12 Comments 

reverblogoThis week’s feedbackee (!) is Reverb Studios from Co. Leitrim. I’ll allow Leon Quinn, MD, explain why he is seeking feedback on his site at the moment:

www.reverbstudios.ie is the website for Reverb Studios Multimedia and Website Design, a small company based in Co. Leitrim.

I have had many people comment on my choice of dark colours for the website with the general consensus so far being that “it’s too dark” so I’d like people to look at that issue please. Bear in mind that there needs to be a good contrast between background and text colours and in that regard I believe White on black is as good as black on white! Also bear in mind that a significant number of people have said to me that my colours were “different” and it made my site “memorable”. My influence for the design was the iPhone if that’s not immediately obvious!

I’m planning a re-design soon so any comments may be influential!

Here are some other issues I’d like feedback on too please:

  • Layout
  • Speed
  • Navigation
  • Clarity of purpose.

Thanks to Leon for volunteering. Please don’t forget the guidelines when you are giving your feedback.

If you would like to volunteer your site or a client’s site please email me at members /at/ iia /dot/ ie

Imagine if you have a meeting with a client and you want to highlight the areas on their site that require development how helpful this could be. Do get their permission though!

Have a look at previous Feedback Friday entries to get an idea of how it has worked so far.

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Feedback Friday 2: Puddleducks take the plunge

February 6, 2009 · Posted in Feedback Friday · 13 Comments 

puddle-ducks-outdoor-clothi2Last week we kicked off the Feedback Friday feature with Pressieport.ie. I don’t mind telling you that the post was the most popular on this blog in the last month and the feedback Fred Schelbaum received was second to none. Not long after the post went live I got an email from Fred with the subject line, “WOW!” so he was very happy too. So well done to all the commenters and Twitterers who helped out.

This week our featured site for Feedback Friday is Puddleducks. Aedan Ryan, director of Puddleducks, sent me the following to help you fabulous feedbackers:

PuddleDucks is an online retailer of outdoor clothing clothes for children and adults. Our best selling items are the waterproof dungarees, jackets and suits for younger children.

What I would like to achieve from Feedback Friday is to get feedback and make improvements to our Home Page so we can try to reduce the bounce rate from visitors to the site.

Therefore I’d appreciate feedback on some of the following:

  • initial impression of our Home Page
  • layout of the Home Page
  • is it easy to know how to progress from the home page to start shopping on the site?
  • are there any other design improvements we could make to the home page or the product pages?
  • any other ideas on how to make shopping easier or encourage visitors to purchase

We’d also like to offer a 10% discount to all readers for any purchases until Sunday 8th Feb. Just use the discount coupon “iia12″. Please note that you need to be registered as a user on the site before you can redeem the coupon.

Thanks very much in advance for your feedback.

Again please keep the guidelines in mind when giving feedback and most of all, thanks very much!

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