North Star

Several years ago there was a TV commercial that depicted the epitome of Internet optimism. A few business types are huddled around a computer, studying the screen intently.

The guy sitting at the keyboard pushes back and says, “Okay, it’s live.” A collective sigh of relief....

A couple seconds later, the fax machine in the background starts shooting out orders at blinding speed. Papers are flying around the office like a tornado. They look at each for a quick moment in disbelief, and then dive for cover.

Folks, it just doesn’t work that way. Sorry.

Straight Talk on E-Commerce
First, you don’t take e-commerce orders through your fax machine. That’s going backwards. Order notifications come in via email.

Second, just because you push a commerce-ready site live doesn’t mean you’re going to wake up the next day to an inbox crammed with orders. Or donations to your non-profit’s urgent need. There are millions of sites trying to accomplish the same thing you are, which means...get in line. There are (for the most part) no shortcuts to generating revenue on-line.

Practical Use of E-Commerce
Now that we have discussed a couple unrealistic e-commerce expectations, when does it makes sense to engage in on-line money capture? Considering the following examples:

> Receive payments from customers to streamline your processes while adding efficiency for clients
> One-time or automated donations for non-profits
> Selling products on-line that you are prepared to market and support
> Taking membership dues
> Receiving payment for event registration

These are just a handful of ways our customers use e-commerce on their sites.

Let's Talk About It
NSMC can help you create most any e-commerce model. But beyond just enabling you to take payments through your site, we also help you assess how best to approach the revenue model on-line. This insight may help you either avoid costly mistakes or position you for greater returns than you expected.

Click here if you would like to discuss your e-commerce plans with NSMC.