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Ecommerce and internet branding should go hand-in-hand, but there are
vital differences in the ways they interact, depending upon which kind
of company is trying to sell online.
First, there are brands that are created for the internet. These brands have to start from scratch in terms of publicity, web site structure, corporate culture and above all, reputation. Then there are high street brands that go onto the internet to expand their business.
To get to the bottom of how the strategies for each kind of ecommerce differ, we need to look at the basics of selling online.
Just as in the off-line world, the foundation of any commercial transaction is trust. You have a web-site which offers me product x in exchange for money. But how do I know that product x is as good as you claim it is? How do I know that you will deliver it to me, once you have my money? How can I be sure that you will refund my money if there is a problem with the product?
For a new internet brand, establishing the right level of trust is essential. Trust is established partly by putting into place a series of tangible, essential measures to reassure your potential customer that you are legal, decent, honest and truthful. These include
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Written guarantees to refund money or exchange unsatisfactory goods
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A visible privacy policy
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A clear pricing policy, especially on deliveries
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Visible security measures for commercial transactions, such as Verisign or Geotrust
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The acceptance of house-hold name credit cards or use of other well known financial instruments (such as PayPal)
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Ability to easily contact support - preferably a telephone number that connects to a real person
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Highly visible signs of your membership of reputable internet (or specific trade) associations.
There are also less tangible aspects of building trust in your brand. If you can't be bothered to spell-check your web-site, how likely is it that you will pay attention to the detail of my purchase and any other communications we might have? If you have a poor, unfriendly site design, how likely is your customer service to be top-notch and truly helpful?
In our next two articles we'll look more closely at Ecommerce and internet branding. We'll explore what else your business can do if it is already an established bricks and mortar concern, and we'll look at a real world example where most, if not all of these principles are put into practice.
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