by Trisha Echols
If you are a merchant with an online store, you expect to get some profits for your efforts. After you all, you invest time and money for such endeavors. But then, there are risks involve in such undertaking. Identifying the risk factors could help you plan ways to deal with these risks. And mind you, it’s a no brainer job. All you need is commitment and the desire to succeed.
So where would you begin your risk-management program? The obvious, of course. And that means, your product. It should come as your first priority. You should ensure for the highest degree of quality in any product that you sell online. Do not settle for anything less.
You should also take a look at your chain of suppliers. As much as possible, deal with local sources because it’s easy this way and does not involve additional freight costs.
And speaking of freight, you should pick a cargo carrier that stable enough and have adequate storage facilities. It’s possible that merchandise leave your warehouse in good condition but when it reaches the recipient, it’s in shambles. Your delivery company could have fouled up the goods along the way.
Other sources of risks come from your marketing strategies. You may have a quality product, but without proper marketing strategies, you would not make a sale. For in the first place, people would not know your product exists without letting them know about it through effective marketing campaigns.
Then comes your payment gateway. Ensure that it is secure, configurable, and can be easily integrated in your website. Otherwise, your online customers can not complete the purchase transactions in your website.
Lastly, be very choosy with your credit card processing service providers. Don’t settle for just any processor. Choose a reputable processor with a good track record in the industry. The wrong kind of credit card processing company can bleed you dry. It can make or break your business. So very careful on this one.
Now that you know these risk factors, you can now implement the corresponding strategies to succeed in ecommerce business.
(Trisha Echols currently is a long-time financial consultant with established consultancy offices in Amsterdam, Halifax, Malaysia and other key cities. Her clients belong to the top 500 companies in England and in the United States. Miss Echols serves as business consultant to several credit card processing company, including www.creditcardprocessingexperts.com. She does lectures on strategic business practices and also writes for various magazines on business matters.)
