1.       Study and learn what others are doing

Ecommerce is constantly changing and it is important as a new merchant when you enter this filed you learn as much learn as much as possible and then to keep up to speed with the changes.  Fortunately, there are many great resources available online — all you need to do is find the time to read them all!  One great place to start is CNET – You don’t need to be a technical expert to run a successful online store, but you do need to have a little understanding of how online stores work.   CNET also carries the latest technology news. 

Also, look at other online stores so when you select a vendor you can tell them some of your favorite stores and what you like and don’t like about how they work.

2.       Plan carefully and be realistic

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when starting out is to assume that on the Internet normal business rules to not apply.  You need to have a business and marketing plan.  You need to be realistic about the time and money it will take to build your business.   You need to figure out the number of visits you think you will receive and the percentage of visitors who will make a purchase.  Always remember to focus on your customer.

3.       Choose your shopping cart carefully

Another mistake people make is to choose a shopping cart that only meets their current needs not their future ones.  If you create a plan that defines plans for now and in the future you need to incorporate this into your shopping cart.   Of course the technology changes frequently but you need to be realistic in planning for 18 to 24 month ahead.

4.        Selecting a vendor to build your store

There are a lot of vendors out there who say they can build your store and promote your store for you.  This is why it is important to do some research ahead of time to have some technical understanding and you are not overwhelmed by the vendor.  If you no other people who have an online store ask for a recommendation.  If you see a website you like contact them and ask who has built the site for them.  If you find a vendor you like on your own make sure you check their references.  You want to make sure this person gets the work done on time and is available if there is a problem.  You need to determine if this person is going to host the site for you or do you find your own hosting company.   If you want to update products on your store by yourself you need to make sure you can learn to do it and it should be easy.  Check to see if maintenance is included in your fees.   Many of these vendors have packages but you need to determine what is included in the package.

5.        Make sure your site is designed well and has good functionality

The principles of web design are just as important for an online store as other websites.    Keep the site simple and the graphics small.  The fundamentals for web design include having good, clear navigation.  The navigation should either be on the top of the page or on the left hand side of the page.   An important thing to remember is that people might enter your store for many directions (not just your homepage) so make sure all of the pages have the navigation or links to the homepage.    Look at other ecommerce site for the locations on the shopping cart and other vital information.   Users are used to have these elements in the same location so it is a good idea to keep them there.

6.       Accept credit cards

While there are many methods of paying online, the main one is credit cards.  It is vital to accept credit cards on your site if you want to maximize sales.  Remember from your customer’s point of view, the most important issues are privacy and security.

7.        Having postage information upfront

The longer you wait in the order processing, the more anxious potential customer get.  The more anxious they get the more they are likely to abandon their shopping cart and the sale.  Try to have this information upfront so there are no surprises before checkout.

8.        Promote your store

There are many ways to attract visitors to your site, some are free and some cost money.  Some free ways to promote your online store are submitting to search engines, soliciting links from other sites, and posting information to bloggers and other newsgroups.  Some paid methods include search engine advertising (keywords), banner ads, doing public relations and advertising in other paid media.  Make sure you know your customers and figure out the best way to reach them.  Your website vendor might also offer some services which you might want to review.

9.        Listen to your customers

The most important data you will receive is feedback from your customers.  You must reply to inquiries, complaints, etc. in a timely manner.  Your response will determine if people will come back to your site.  

10.      Analyze your data

It can’t be stressed how important it is to have an analytics package as part of your store.  The Internet is great because you can take so much information but you need to have analytics package so you can get to this information quickly and easily.   You need to gather the data, analyze the data, make required changes, test the changes and gather data.  Some of the data you should look at are the path customers are taking through your store and the pages they are buying from.  You also want to know how they come to your site.  If is from a search engine, what keyword or phrases did you use to get to you.

Wow!  It’s been a busy, busy week and it’s only Wednesday (as I write this).  FBI is in the middle of a week full of seminars and networking events for Textile Week and, if that wasn’t enough, we’re doing a fashion show with the California Market Center in conjunction with the Focus Apparel and Accessory show on Saturday, March 20 at 4:30 p.m. in the CMC penthouse.   

I walked the Textile show twice, once on Monday and then again on Tuesday.  One of my clients is looking to source some fabrics and trims and I was happy to help her out.  I know, I’m a sucker for fabrics…last GlobalTex show I was blabbering on about Modal© and how soft and drapey it is.  Now I’ll blabber on about Tencel© and how wonderfully absorbent it is. 

I had the good fortune to chat with textile industry expert Walter Meck of Fessler, U. S. A. He took the time to show me some of the latest fabrications and discussed some of the different properties of the fibers they’re using.  I’m a huge fan of their products, especially after having visited their facilities in Orwigsburg, PA.  You know how some people like to know where their food comes from?  I like to know where my clothes come from - watching fibers spin into yarns, yarns knit into fabrics and fabrics turned into garments truly makes me smile.

I’ve also had the opportunity to sit through some of the seminars this week and had a great time meeting some new FBI members at the networking event Monday evening.  Our series of seminars during Textile Week are free for members and everyone is welcome to attend.   I’m looking forward to attending Frances Harder and Dana Fried’s Apparel Business Workshop on Thursday, March 18^th.  I know a lot about the business of fashion, but I’m always eager to learn more and I know I’ll pick up a ton of useful information tomorrow.  This workshop is not a part of the Textile Week seminars, so there is a fee, but it’s one of the best investments you’ll ever make if you want to be successful in the apparel industry. 

Speaking of being successful in the apparel industry, I came in at the tail end of Staci Riordan’s “Legal Strategies for a Profitable Fashion Business” seminar yesterday and was reminded of a number of important things.  Check out her blog to find out about the legal side of the apparel industry. The detail that stuck with me was how important it is for businesses to build a great team of industry experts to rely upon.  If you’re dealing with a copyright infringement on one of your designs or international trademark issues with your apparel brand, seek the counsel of an apparel industry lawyer.  If you need capital for your business, find a factor who deals specifically with the apparel industry and understands your retail environment.  Want to know more about how to make your apparel business profitable?  Talk to the experts.  I wanted to know more about fabrics, so I went to one of my experts. 

The FBI has so many resources available for products, services and consulting, it never ceases to amaze me.  Membership starts at $250 per year and with the membership, you get one hour of free consulting with one of our experts along with a whole host of benefits including free seminars, discounts on many services, great networking opportunities and the chance to participate in our fashion shows at a greatly discounted rate.  Hey, if I wasn’t already a member, I’d have joined a long time ago.  Just because I’m considered an industry expert doesn’t mean I won’t jump at the chance to learn from another industry expert.  How do you think we become experts in the first place?

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology expert working with Fashion Business, Incorporated.  Email:  jill@fashionbizinc.org

Jacquelyn, our intrepid Director of Membership, has more activities on her plate than any three people I know. Yet, she and our FBI Board Member, Ernesto Mantilla, along with a group of talented videographers put together some great videos highlighting a number of fashion related activities as well as a tour of the California Market Center.

Click here for a video highlighting last month’s MAGIC show.  Click here for a video from the FBI’s Designer Launchpad fashion show, and click here for a tour of the California Market Center.

More and more people are turning to social media and youtube to spread the word about new products, trends, services and other types of promotion.  If you or your company are looking for a low cost way to create brand or identity awareness, you really need to look into Linkedin, Facebook, MySpace, Youtube and more for ways to inform and update new and existing customers.  Look for upcoming FBI seminars to help jumpstart your online and social media marketing campaigns.

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated.  Email:  jill@fashionbizinc.org

Well, of course it does!  Especially if you were at the Neiman Marcus “Fashion Rules” event last week in Beverly Hills.  I’ll admit I’m not really a Neiman Marcus shopper.  My budget may allow for an occasion splurge at one of their very fine restaurants or bars, but that’s about it for me.  However, I have a great appreciation for the store, the merchandise and the value of the brand “Neiman Marcus.”  I was grateful to have the opportunity to attend the event and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The store was packed with NM’s loyal customers and a few curious onlookers (me included).  Events were staged throughout the store as well as food and beverage stations.  A makeshift runway was setup on the second level with models wearing the newest looks and accessories for summer.  There was a terrific display of NM’s photographer, Matthew Rolston’s, latest images and signed copies of his newly released coffee table book. 

My favorite part of the evening was Ken Downing’s presentation via video-conference, straight from the Paris runways.  The poor man was up at 4:30 a.m. in Europe to broadcast live to Beverly Hills with the latest, greatest trends for Fall, 2011.  No, I’m not going to reveal them here.  You’ll just have to wait and see, or better yet, subscribe to one of the Trend services available.

While walking around the store, I kept thinking about how well the Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus store is arranged and merchandised.  Aside from the fact that the merchandise is beautiful and of such great quality, there really is an art to creating a directional flow in a store and how the products are displayed.  The display cases, racks and shelves are never over crowded with product, allowing your eyes to take in the details of each item.  Nothing is crammed in or fighting for space. Yes, I realize they have multiple thousands of square feet to work with, but so do other department stores whose racks always seem to explode with product.  Boutiques are a different animal altogether, but the best ones follow the same principles.  Ever stopped by the Prada store in Beverly Hills?  The sleek, Rem Koolhaas designed store is an excellent statement in minimalism.  Each piece is given enough space to “speak for itself” and shines brightly among other jewels on Rodeo Drive. 

Don’t forget, FBI is doing a number of seminars next week at the Los Angeles International Textile show March 15 - 17 in the California Market Center.  Stop by our office at suite C786 for three days full of informative sessions as well as a mixer on Monday evening starting at 5:00 p.m.  Meet some of our great members, employees and contributors (including yours truly) and get to know us, if you don’t already. 

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated.  Email:  jill@fashionbizinc.org

It’s tradeshow season in Los Angeles. This week, FBI was at the GlobalTex show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For those of you who haven’t attended, GlobalTex is more than a textile show, its main focus is on textile and fashion trends. I attended the inaugural show in October, 2009 and blogged about it here. This time, there were a number of great seminars, FBI included. We presented a panel discussion on “Turning a Changed Economy into a Profitable Business Opportunity” which included Frances Harder as moderator, Bobby Hines – International Trade Specialist with the U. S. Department of Commerce, Ken Wengrod – President of F. T. C. Commercial Corp, Susan Brandt – Internet marketing expert, and Dana Fried - apparel industry expert and owner of Delphic Consulting. It was a lively discussion regarding the ups and downs of starting your own business in today’s economy.

My favorite non-FBI seminar had to be Fiona Jenvey’s Men’s and Women’s trend focus seminars from MUDPIE, Ltd. As someone who is not on the cutting edge of fashion trends, I’m always interested to see how designers, stylists and retailers translate the trends from the couture runways to desirable, saleable products. I’ve bumped into Fiona at GlobalTex, but I’ll admit it right here, I follow her daily through her LinkedIn page and Mudpie group postings. I like to think of these seminars as a designer’s or merchandiser’s cheat sheet. Taking a sneak peak at colors, fabrics, prints and textures as well as designer’s inspirations and global influences is one of my favorite things to see at tradeshows or on-line. Trend and color forecasters like Design Options, MPDClick and Style Sight do the research, follow the fashion shows and focus on the next, great influences to allow mere mortals to focus on key ideas and colors for future deliveries. All of these companies provide pay-for-service websites and newsletters for their subscribers to stay in touch with all of the latest trends, even if they’re far from the runways and tradeshows.

So what else did I learn at GlobalTex this time? Well, I made sure I wore comfortable shoes.

1. I’m looking forward to Spring/Summer 2011 for the colors and trends. If you’re not paying attention, or haven’t subscribed to any of the trend services above, I’m not going to it give away.
2. Tradeshows are the best place to gather a lot of information in a small amount of time.
3. Trade shows are still the best way to see and feel new products, colors and designs. I’m a big fan of technology, don’t get me wrong, but nothing beats holding something in your hand to really understand the product. (This isn’t new, I cribbed this from my previous blog, but it’s still relevant.)
4. Take advantage of seminars whenever you can. You never know what you’ll learn. FBI has a number of free or low-cost seminars coming up at L. A. International Textile Week. Stop by and say “Hello.”

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated. Email: jill@fashionbizinc.org