For an e-commerce hosting company, training its merchant customers how to sell online often doesn’t get beyond “here’s how to configure your shopping cart.” Teaching merchants how to use the e-commerce software in this feature-driven manner is challenge enough. But for a web hosting company, even a software development company, when the questions become about marketing, about generating demand, about improving sales, that’s a significant line to cross.
For one respected developer of an e-commerce package I talked with, it’s a line they don’t cross.
“I’ve got six companies all selling pecans,” said the company’s president. “How are we going to help one of our customers with marketing recommendations, and not upset any one of the other five? There’s no way. So we just don’t go there. Look, here’s the software, tell us if it’s broke. Tell us what features you want. But we’re not going to help you, your company specifically, grow web sales.”
When I described our plans for Frank Learning to provide marketing training to the small to medium sized merchant, that company president saw something to offer his hungry customers. He loved the idea of a do-it-yourself, work-at-your-own-pace, package for the ambitious but budget-minded retailer. If our training program helps improve a merchant’s web sales, the e-commerce hosting company is more confident in earning that merchant’s long-term business in license and hosting fees. Win-win, as they say. I jumped on an airplane to explore this possible match…
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PS. About that Red Oxx Metro Briefcase bag I’m toting: I worked with Red Oxx since 2001, starting first with their email marketing program and then eventually powering all their e-commerce needs with E-business Coach’s Total Blue System. We enjoyed a fantastic 8 year run helping Red Oxx grow web sales. Learning what worked, and what didn’t, for Red Oxx will inevitably shape our marketing program offered by Frank Learning.