Online Best Practices

It doesn't matter where a company is on the online selling time-space continuum, whether they are just getting in, or are a seasoned vet. There's a whole slew of best practices in play by the competition, that companies aren't necessarily using. And consequently, losing the competitive edge.

A company might be pleased with their online sales and/or online activities that promote in-store sales. The marketing department might be stocked with Internet experts in SEO, analytics, programming and design, but that still doesn't mean it's running at optimal cyber-speed. It needs to look around.
Here's why:

There is no best practices handbook, not only because there are a seemingly unlimited number of variables to address, but that the landscape is in constant flux. Furthermore, technology is not the panacea to all issues, plain old business strategy and common sense also comes into play.

Consider how influential peer-to-peer recommendations are. The company does a beautiful job on it's product page. High-resolution, zoom-in capability, comprehensive product specs, compare options, pricing - it's all there. Still that product, let's say it's sofa, isn't right for Jane Doe. But it is perfect for her neighbor who's redecorating her living room. Jane Doe would like to fire off an email of that sofa to her neighbor, but there's no email icon next to it to send it to neighbor. An overlooked detail.

There's a Facebook and Twitter share button, but neighbor doesn't dabble in those social networks. The phone rings and Jane Doe is off on a long and involved discussion and inadvertently clicks off the site. The moment, the opportunity is lost. Had there been that little email-a-friend icon, neighbor would have all that wonderful sofa information in her in-box and would soon be considering a purchase. It's all in the details and the only way to ensure that all the best-practices are being used across the board is to systematically evaluate all the best practices in that industry.