March 19, 2024 • 21 mins
Whether you are looking for an eCommerce platform, blog platform, email service provider, or so forth, how can you choose the right platform for your business? In this episode, we'll explore strategies for effectively gathering the information necessary to make informed decisions when selecting your next platform.
From determining your business needs to testing how easy a platform is to use, we will systematically go over key areas to keep in mind when looking for a new platform. We’ll even go into areas to consider that most online resources don’t even mention! So tune in to determine which software platform is right for you and your business.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carrie Saunders (00:01):
One of the questions that I get asked a lot
is which platform is best touse.
It could be an e-commerceplatform they're trying to
decide on, a blog platform, anemail service provider, etc.
Usually something that they'retrying to solve to solve a
problem in their business andmake things better.
Right?
I'm sure you've been there.
I know I have.
You may be worried.
If the software is reliable, isit secure?
(00:23):
Will it grow with my business?
Are there any hidden fees?
So today we'll be going overtactics I use with our clients
and even with ourselves to helpthem gather the information
needed to make an informed andcomfortable decision.
Welcome to the e-commerce madeeasy podcast.
I'm your host, Saunders.
When we started this business,all I had was a couch, a laptop
(00:46):
and a nine month old my maingoal To help others.
Now, with over 20 years in thee-commerce building industry and
even more than that in webdevelopment, I have seen a lot.
I love breaking down the hardtech and to easily
understandable bits to helpothers be successful in their
online business.
Whether you're a seasonede-commerce veteran or just
starting out, you've come to theright place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into the world of
(01:09):
e-commerce together.
Welcome back to the e-commercemade easy podcast.
Today, we're diving deep intohow to determine which software
platform is right for you andyour business.
There are so many out there.
How can you possibly figure outwhich one is best for you?
As you probably expect, thatanswer can vary greatly for each
(01:31):
business.
However, there's a systematicway to help make that decision
easier and help you make thebest choice for you.
We'll even go into some areasto consider that most online
resources if you search outthere, don't even mention so.
Let's dive right in.
So about two years ago, in 2022,we were in the situation we
(01:52):
were wanting to find a new emailservice provider.
I knew we needed to get aproper newsletter platform.
We had been sending newslettersprior via system directly
connected to our shopping cart,but it was very outdated and we
actually hadn't sent newslettersfor about three years prior to
me making this decision to startsending newsletters again.
(02:12):
And the one that we were using,like I said, was outdated and
it didn't have the features weneeded to, like automation,
tagging, et cetera.
One of the first steps I findthat people skip is so important
is to define your needs.
Do you have any specificfeatures that are unique to you
(02:35):
and or your business.
Do you have any specific needsfrom staff or customers?
Are there features that theyrequire?
So don't forget to keep eithercustomers and or staff in mind.
If you have staff, this issuper important.
So make sure not to skip thisstep.
I find that people will jumpinto picking a platform before
(02:55):
evaluating their specificbusiness needs that they have,
and they'll fall into the wrongplatform and regret it later.
So for us, back into 2022, whenwe're picking out an ESP or
email service provider, first Ineed to look at the features
that we're a must have for usand features that I wanted to
make sure we were wanted to growinto.
(03:15):
And so when you skip this step,you can get sucked into nice to
have features that softwarescan boast and you can completely
forget about what you actuallyneed yourself, for you and for
your business.
So once you've done that, nextI want you to pick your top
three platforms that you found,based upon those features you
(03:36):
actually need, and I want you towork through the questions that
we're about to discuss witheach of these software platforms
that you found.
I would caution you thatpicking more than five to
evaluate it's going to make youend up confused in the end.
So sticking with about three isjust right.
So please don't be tempted topick like four, five, six, seven
(04:00):
or more.
Pick your top three, becauseyou can always come back and
redo this evaluation if youdon't find the perfect fit.
From those top three andtypically I find the first ones
you run into one of those isprobably going to be the one
that's a good match for you.
Just based upon the thingsyou've searched, you know you're
going to land on probably theones that are going to be a good
(04:22):
match for you.
So when we were picking thatnew SP, esp, I found three main
software platforms to choosefrom.
It really helped me in making adecision when I didn't have too
many to look at.
So again I really want tostress let's just look at three,
two or three, maybe four, butyou're really stretching if you
go to five.
(04:42):
Okay.
So once you've narrowed downyour top three, then you want to
go through these next steps andquestions.
So first off, the questionthat's usually asked first is
pricing.
What are the monthly fees?
Or is there a yearly fee?
Are there any processing fees?
So let's say you're wantingsomething that can process sales
(05:03):
on your website and it's not anemail service provider, or it
could be and it still canprocess sales for you, but
either way, are there anyprocessing fees whenever you
receive payment?
Are there any ones, in additionto say, the payment processors
that they provide?
Also, how much is it going toupgrade to new features and get
a bigger site or more advancedfeatures as you grow and as you
(05:26):
need it?
Also, let's go now into the easeof use.
You're going to want to look atboth the customer side and this
even goes for email serviceproviders too, because they
provide email templates andlanding pages and things like
that or if you're looking at ashopping cart or a blog platform
, how does it work on thecustomer side?
(05:48):
You want to make sure it's easyfor your customers, but you
can't forget about the peoplerunning the software you and or
your staff.
So what's the admin interfacelike?
Is it easy to use it, easy toset up the things that you need
to set up in it?
Make sure you don't skip thisstep, because I've seen a lot of
people will go for a piece ofsoftware because either it works
(06:10):
great for them the customerside or the admin side and they
forget to look at the other sideof the coin and they really get
stuck in something that theyend up not liking because they
didn't evaluate both thecustomer facing side as well as
the administrative side.
Also, is it easy to add newfeatures that you may want in
the future?
Look at the ease of that aswell.
Do they have add-ons you canturn on?
(06:33):
Is there is a plug and play?
Can you just plug it intoanother piece of software if you
need some more features?
So look at that.
So then we're going to go alittle bit more into features
and inclusions.
So what does the tool havealready built in?
So these are going to befeatures that are going to be
probably beyond what yourabsolute requirements are.
(06:55):
But look at those features.
Are there any that really piqueyour interest, that you think
are going to help you grow inyour business?
Do you need any features thatit doesn't have?
Note those and then notewhether they're critical to your
business operations or not.
Also, what built-in integrationsdoes it include?
When you're evaluating asoftware, it's good to find that
(07:19):
they have quite a few built-inor add-on applications that you
can add to it.
This shows maturity in thesoftware program.
So if it's a new softwareprogram, you're probably not
going to find many otherintegrations with other software
.
So let's say it's an emailservice provider.
If it doesn't have really verymany integrations with, say like
(07:39):
a blog software like WordPressor e-commerce software, then
it's probably a bit newer andnot as established and you might
not get the quality that youneed out of it.
Also, whenever it's a product orprogram that takes payments,
what payment processors does itintegrate with?
(08:00):
This can be quite the dealbreaker.
You want to make sure thatthere are several options for
you when receiving payments,because some people prefer, for
example, paypal, some peopleprefer Stripebetter, some people
prefer Square.
There's all kinds of differentpayment processors out there
AuthorizeNet, elevon.
There is just so many out therethat you want to make sure that
(08:21):
there are several options in.
Do they work for you and dothey work for your customers?
I find offering at least twodifferent payment methods is a
good idea for your customers.
Some people love PayPal, somepeople don't like PayPal, for
example.
Some people love Square, somepeople don't.
So really think about that.
And then, if you're doing this,to be selling things in your
(08:46):
digital goods place you'reselling services or you're
selling downloadable goods.
Does that allow that?
Make sure it's got that corefeature if you need it, and does
it have an easy and compatibletaxing system with your area?
This is super important andit's probably covered in most
software out there, butsometimes you'll still find that
(09:06):
the tax system is a little bitclunky.
You want to make sure that itcomplies to your requirements,
that you need for your businessand where your business is
located.
There's something people thinkis an afterthought.
It really should be a forefrontthought, because this can
really take up a lot of time andmoney for a business owner If
this isn't done right in thesoftware already.
And then, if you're sellingphysical goods, does it have an
(09:31):
easy way to integrate shippinginto it?
What sort of shipping optionsare there?
Is it only flat rate, where youcan only charge a flat amount
per order, or does it integratewith UPS, fedex, dhl, all the
popular shipping programs thatare out there Canada Post if
you're in Canada, etc.
So make sure it is compatiblewith the shipping methods that
(09:55):
you want to be using for yourbusiness or are already using
for your business.
And then, excuse me, if you havethe need for subscriptions,
does it have that feature builtin.
Sometimes?
This is again anotherafterthought that people aren't
thinking about.
Or would you want subscriptions, maybe in the future Maybe you
already have this five, ten yearprojection that you do want to
(10:16):
have subscriptions in the longrun.
Make sure it's got that so youdon't have to change software
platforms down the line if youdon't have to.
Also, something people don'tthink about is what sort of
business reporting does itinclude natively in the software
?
If it's an e-commerce system,it's a really good idea for it
to have some sales statisticswhere you're already built into
(10:38):
it.
This really can make digestingwhat's selling well, what needs
improved, a little bit easierthan trying to correlate this
with an analytic software orsomething else external.
It's really nice when it'sbuilt into the software.
So look at that as a nice tohave, or it might be a must have
for you to depend upon yoursales process and how you sell
(10:59):
things.
Also, we're going to want tolook at the design and
customization.
Is it easy to customize thedesign of the website?
That's kind of hard to say.
So is it easy to customize thedesign of the website or are you
going to need a developer?
And honestly, there's nothingwrong with either way.
Sometimes having a developercustomize your website is better
(11:22):
because you get an even moreunique website and you're going
to stand out more.
But how easy is it?
Either way?
You need to look at what areyour needs.
Can you hire a developer?
Do you need to be able to do ityourself?
So look at that as you'relooking at how easy it is to
customize the design.
Is it already mobile ready?
Is that built in?
(11:42):
It should be anymore.
That should be just standardnowadays, but you need to double
check that anyway.
Also, is it naturally good atsearch engine optimization?
There are some software outthere Most software anymore is
naturally pretty good at searchengine optimization, as long as
you do the administrator orputting in appropriate content
(12:03):
to match that and to fill thebuilt in technical search engine
optimization features that ithas.
But make sure it does have that.
Make sure it gives you theflexibility of changing your
page title All of them should,but make sure it has that.
Make sure you can do a metadescription, because meta
descriptions aren't necessarilyused in search engine
(12:24):
optimization, as we've talkedabout before, but they will draw
a customer from a search intoyour website if it's written
well.
So make sure you haveflexibility of those things.
Make sure you can use headings,heading ones and headings twos
and anything that you're writing, whether it's product pages or
blog pages or landing pages foryour email service provider.
Make sure that's all flexibleand that you can do proper
(12:47):
search engine optimization inthere.
And then customer support.
So this is something I findsometimes people forget to check
Does the software providesupport included in a software
service or is it separate?
How responsive is that includedcustomer support, if they have
(13:07):
it?
Most software does haveincluded customer support, at
least in some form or manner.
How fast is the response time?
You know if your site is downor if your email is not going
through.
How fast can you get somebodyon a chat or on a phone or to
respond to email?
It's super important whenthings go wrong that you can get
(13:27):
a hold of support quickly.
And what about third partysupport?
We're considered a third partysupport provider for several
shopping carts as well asWordPress, and sometimes that's
a better support than thebuilt-in support.
I know a lot of people chooseto use us for their support for
their software because they'vebuilt a relationship with us and
(13:50):
they know us and they know thatwe have their best interests at
heart too.
Not saying that, sorry, thecats are running on being crazy
in half as today.
Not saying that built-insupport isn't like that, because
I've totally experienced a.
Built-in support has been greatand I will talk about that here
in a minute.
But you might want to look also.
(14:11):
What are the third partysupport and that can actually
also show you the popularity ofthe software.
If there are a lot of peopleproviding support for a specific
software platform, then it'sprobably very popular in general
.
So that's also another way toevaluate how established the
software is.
And then, finally, there aresome things that we should talk
(14:32):
about that a lot of people don'tthink about because one they
don't know about it.
If you are receiving money onthis software that you're
evaluating, is it PCI compliant?
That stands for payment cartindustry standard, I believe is
what it stands for.
I'm trying to remember theacronym right now I can't, but
(14:52):
it's basically how do youreceive payments and are you
doing it in the secure way basedupon the law?
You need to make sure anythingthat you're using that you
receive payment through is PCIcompliant.
It's a simple question.
You can ask the serviceprovider or their software.
Also, ada compliance.
A lot of people miss this andforget about this ADA compliance
(15:16):
, especially in the UnitedStates.
I know I'm not quite sure aboutwhat the other countries
require, but in the UnitedStates, ada compliance is
required of all public-facingwebsites, so you're going to
need to make sure is it easy tobe ADA compliant with it?
Most software will probably beADA compliant out of the box,
(15:36):
but when you change things on it, you need to make sure that you
can change them in a way that'sstill ADA compliant.
And then, if we're outside ofthe US, there are things like
the GDPR compliance, which youprobably have heard of.
So if you're in the EU, you'regoing to want to make sure that
the software you're using canadhere to the GDPR compliance
(15:58):
standards, and there may be someother ones that affect you as
well.
This isn't quite a fullycomprehensive list, but these
are the most common complianceelements that we find our
customers need is the PCIcompliance, ada compliance and
GDPR, or two or three of those.
So make sure that you'reresearching what compliance
(16:18):
standards are needed for yourlocation and make sure the
software you're looking at doessupport those compliances so
that you don't get in troublesof business.
Okay, so once you've evaluatedall these questions and I know
this is a lot, so make sure youcome back and re-listen to the
episode, if needed, for each ofthe platforms that you're
considering Once you'veevaluated all these questions,
(16:39):
for all the platforms, that'shopefully three, no more than
three, right?
Is there a clear winner?
If there is, then great, you'reprobably done.
If there's more than one,that's kind of a good winner
then you want to probably startasking around to other business
owners who use the softwareplatforms that you're looking
(16:59):
into.
Ask them what do they love mostabout it?
What do they like the best?
What do they like the least?
You many times get some cluesfrom there.
Make sure you're askingopen-ended questions so that
you're not persuading theiranswer to be a certain way.
So make sure you're open-endedquestions like this.
It usually gives you insightsto details you may not be able
(17:20):
to find or discover on your own,and you may even want to do
this, like I said, even ifyou've found a clear winner,
just as a double check on yourown.
But keep in mind, though, thatwhile others' opinions are
helpful, it is ultimately yourdecision in your business.
So pick which one is right foryou.
For example, when picking ouremail service provider, I didn't
(17:44):
pick the most popular one.
It was not the one that wastalked about the most.
In all the business groups thatI was in, I picked the one with
the best match to the featuresthat we actually needed and as a
bonus, it came at a betterprice, especially when you were
growing and hadn't lostsubscribers.
I found their free trial andcustomer service with that free
(18:06):
trial to be excellent and we'lllink to them in the show notes
too.
And it's continued to beexcellent customer service ever
since using the software for twoyears now.
When I have a question andusually I can figure out the
answer on my own, but sometimesI do get stuck, even as a tech
service provider when I have aquestion, their answers are
always concise and complete andvery helpful.
(18:28):
So and I've been super happy,like I said, with them ever
since.
So getting a good idea of theircustomer support and customer
service, as we mentioned earlier, is very important.
All right, so let's recap thisweek's episode.
First off, define your specificneeds to you and your business.
Again, I can't stress thisenough.
(18:49):
This is so important.
Then I want you to pick up tothree software platforms to
evaluate, based upon your needsthat you determined in step one,
and then, after you've donethat, you can go through the
detailed list we laid out inthis episode and then review to
see if there's a clear winnerand, if there isn't, get some
outside help or go back andevaluate a few more software
(19:12):
platforms.
But again, try to do no morethan three at a time where
you're gonna have so muchinformation swirling around in
your head that it's gonna bedifficult to really clearly see
which ones are standing out fromother ones, and it can be hard
to transition from one platformto another.
So when you do this, you wannamake sure you take your time in
(19:34):
this process, because it willpay off in the end.
All right, so that's it for thisweek's episode, the e-commerce
made easy podcast.
If you're listening on YouTube,be sure to hit that subscribe
button, and if you're on ourpodcast, make sure you follow or
subscribe on whatever podcastplatform that is your favorite,
so you don't miss out when werelease new episodes.
(19:57):
As always, we appreciate yourfeedback.
Drop us an email to podcast atbcsinjoneeringcom.
We would love to hear from youand we will see you next week.
One of the questions that I get asked a lot
is which platform is best touse.
It could be an e-commerceplatform they're trying to
decide on, a blog platform, anemail service provider, etc.
Usually something that they'retrying to solve to solve a
problem in their business andmake things better.
Right?
I'm sure you've been there.
I know I have.
You may be worried.
If the software is reliable, isit secure?
(00:23):
Will it grow with my business?
Are there any hidden fees?
So today we'll be going overtactics I use with our clients
and even with ourselves to helpthem gather the information
needed to make an informed andcomfortable decision.
Welcome to the e-commerce madeeasy podcast.
I'm your host, Saunders.
When we started this business,all I had was a couch, a laptop
(00:46):
and a nine month old my maingoal To help others.
Now, with over 20 years in thee-commerce building industry and
even more than that in webdevelopment, I have seen a lot.
I love breaking down the hardtech and to easily
understandable bits to helpothers be successful in their
online business.
Whether you're a seasonede-commerce veteran or just
starting out, you've come to theright place.
So sit back, relax and let'sdive into the world of
(01:09):
e-commerce together.
Welcome back to the e-commercemade easy podcast.
Today, we're diving deep intohow to determine which software
platform is right for you andyour business.
There are so many out there.
How can you possibly figure outwhich one is best for you?
As you probably expect, thatanswer can vary greatly for each
(01:31):
business.
However, there's a systematicway to help make that decision
easier and help you make thebest choice for you.
We'll even go into some areasto consider that most online
resources if you search outthere, don't even mention so.
Let's dive right in.
So about two years ago, in 2022,we were in the situation we
(01:52):
were wanting to find a new emailservice provider.
I knew we needed to get aproper newsletter platform.
We had been sending newslettersprior via system directly
connected to our shopping cart,but it was very outdated and we
actually hadn't sent newslettersfor about three years prior to
me making this decision to startsending newsletters again.
(02:12):
And the one that we were using,like I said, was outdated and
it didn't have the features weneeded to, like automation,
tagging, et cetera.
One of the first steps I findthat people skip is so important
is to define your needs.
Do you have any specificfeatures that are unique to you
(02:35):
and or your business.
Do you have any specific needsfrom staff or customers?
Are there features that theyrequire?
So don't forget to keep eithercustomers and or staff in mind.
If you have staff, this issuper important.
So make sure not to skip thisstep.
I find that people will jumpinto picking a platform before
(02:55):
evaluating their specificbusiness needs that they have,
and they'll fall into the wrongplatform and regret it later.
So for us, back into 2022, whenwe're picking out an ESP or
email service provider, first Ineed to look at the features
that we're a must have for usand features that I wanted to
make sure we were wanted to growinto.
(03:15):
And so when you skip this step,you can get sucked into nice to
have features that softwarescan boast and you can completely
forget about what you actuallyneed yourself, for you and for
your business.
So once you've done that, nextI want you to pick your top
three platforms that you found,based upon those features you
(03:36):
actually need, and I want you towork through the questions that
we're about to discuss witheach of these software platforms
that you found.
I would caution you thatpicking more than five to
evaluate it's going to make youend up confused in the end.
So sticking with about three isjust right.
So please don't be tempted topick like four, five, six, seven
(04:00):
or more.
Pick your top three, becauseyou can always come back and
redo this evaluation if youdon't find the perfect fit.
From those top three andtypically I find the first ones
you run into one of those isprobably going to be the one
that's a good match for you.
Just based upon the thingsyou've searched, you know you're
going to land on probably theones that are going to be a good
(04:22):
match for you.
So when we were picking thatnew SP, esp, I found three main
software platforms to choosefrom.
It really helped me in making adecision when I didn't have too
many to look at.
So again I really want tostress let's just look at three,
two or three, maybe four, butyou're really stretching if you
go to five.
(04:42):
Okay.
So once you've narrowed downyour top three, then you want to
go through these next steps andquestions.
So first off, the questionthat's usually asked first is
pricing.
What are the monthly fees?
Or is there a yearly fee?
Are there any processing fees?
So let's say you're wantingsomething that can process sales
(05:03):
on your website and it's not anemail service provider, or it
could be and it still canprocess sales for you, but
either way, are there anyprocessing fees whenever you
receive payment?
Are there any ones, in additionto say, the payment processors
that they provide?
Also, how much is it going toupgrade to new features and get
a bigger site or more advancedfeatures as you grow and as you
(05:26):
need it?
Also, let's go now into the easeof use.
You're going to want to look atboth the customer side and this
even goes for email serviceproviders too, because they
provide email templates andlanding pages and things like
that or if you're looking at ashopping cart or a blog platform
, how does it work on thecustomer side?
(05:48):
You want to make sure it's easyfor your customers, but you
can't forget about the peoplerunning the software you and or
your staff.
So what's the admin interfacelike?
Is it easy to use it, easy toset up the things that you need
to set up in it?
Make sure you don't skip thisstep, because I've seen a lot of
people will go for a piece ofsoftware because either it works
(06:10):
great for them the customerside or the admin side and they
forget to look at the other sideof the coin and they really get
stuck in something that theyend up not liking because they
didn't evaluate both thecustomer facing side as well as
the administrative side.
Also, is it easy to add newfeatures that you may want in
the future?
Look at the ease of that aswell.
Do they have add-ons you canturn on?
(06:33):
Is there is a plug and play?
Can you just plug it intoanother piece of software if you
need some more features?
So look at that.
So then we're going to go alittle bit more into features
and inclusions.
So what does the tool havealready built in?
So these are going to befeatures that are going to be
probably beyond what yourabsolute requirements are.
(06:55):
But look at those features.
Are there any that really piqueyour interest, that you think
are going to help you grow inyour business?
Do you need any features thatit doesn't have?
Note those and then notewhether they're critical to your
business operations or not.
Also, what built-in integrationsdoes it include?
When you're evaluating asoftware, it's good to find that
(07:19):
they have quite a few built-inor add-on applications that you
can add to it.
This shows maturity in thesoftware program.
So if it's a new softwareprogram, you're probably not
going to find many otherintegrations with other software
.
So let's say it's an emailservice provider.
If it doesn't have really verymany integrations with, say like
(07:39):
a blog software like WordPressor e-commerce software, then
it's probably a bit newer andnot as established and you might
not get the quality that youneed out of it.
Also, whenever it's a product orprogram that takes payments,
what payment processors does itintegrate with?
(08:00):
This can be quite the dealbreaker.
You want to make sure thatthere are several options for
you when receiving payments,because some people prefer, for
example, paypal, some peopleprefer Stripebetter, some people
prefer Square.
There's all kinds of differentpayment processors out there
AuthorizeNet, elevon.
There is just so many out therethat you want to make sure that
(08:21):
there are several options in.
Do they work for you and dothey work for your customers?
I find offering at least twodifferent payment methods is a
good idea for your customers.
Some people love PayPal, somepeople don't like PayPal, for
example.
Some people love Square, somepeople don't.
So really think about that.
And then, if you're doing this,to be selling things in your
(08:46):
digital goods place you'reselling services or you're
selling downloadable goods.
Does that allow that?
Make sure it's got that corefeature if you need it, and does
it have an easy and compatibletaxing system with your area?
This is super important andit's probably covered in most
software out there, butsometimes you'll still find that
(09:06):
the tax system is a little bitclunky.
You want to make sure that itcomplies to your requirements,
that you need for your businessand where your business is
located.
There's something people thinkis an afterthought.
It really should be a forefrontthought, because this can
really take up a lot of time andmoney for a business owner If
this isn't done right in thesoftware already.
And then, if you're sellingphysical goods, does it have an
(09:31):
easy way to integrate shippinginto it?
What sort of shipping optionsare there?
Is it only flat rate, where youcan only charge a flat amount
per order, or does it integratewith UPS, fedex, dhl, all the
popular shipping programs thatare out there Canada Post if
you're in Canada, etc.
So make sure it is compatiblewith the shipping methods that
(09:55):
you want to be using for yourbusiness or are already using
for your business.
And then, excuse me, if you havethe need for subscriptions,
does it have that feature builtin.
Sometimes?
This is again anotherafterthought that people aren't
thinking about.
Or would you want subscriptions, maybe in the future Maybe you
already have this five, ten yearprojection that you do want to
(10:16):
have subscriptions in the longrun.
Make sure it's got that so youdon't have to change software
platforms down the line if youdon't have to.
Also, something people don'tthink about is what sort of
business reporting does itinclude natively in the software
?
If it's an e-commerce system,it's a really good idea for it
to have some sales statisticswhere you're already built into
(10:38):
it.
This really can make digestingwhat's selling well, what needs
improved, a little bit easierthan trying to correlate this
with an analytic software orsomething else external.
It's really nice when it'sbuilt into the software.
So look at that as a nice tohave, or it might be a must have
for you to depend upon yoursales process and how you sell
(10:59):
things.
Also, we're going to want tolook at the design and
customization.
Is it easy to customize thedesign of the website?
That's kind of hard to say.
So is it easy to customize thedesign of the website or are you
going to need a developer?
And honestly, there's nothingwrong with either way.
Sometimes having a developercustomize your website is better
(11:22):
because you get an even moreunique website and you're going
to stand out more.
But how easy is it?
Either way?
You need to look at what areyour needs.
Can you hire a developer?
Do you need to be able to do ityourself?
So look at that as you'relooking at how easy it is to
customize the design.
Is it already mobile ready?
Is that built in?
(11:42):
It should be anymore.
That should be just standardnowadays, but you need to double
check that anyway.
Also, is it naturally good atsearch engine optimization?
There are some software outthere Most software anymore is
naturally pretty good at searchengine optimization, as long as
you do the administrator orputting in appropriate content
(12:03):
to match that and to fill thebuilt in technical search engine
optimization features that ithas.
But make sure it does have that.
Make sure it gives you theflexibility of changing your
page title All of them should,but make sure it has that.
Make sure you can do a metadescription, because meta
descriptions aren't necessarilyused in search engine
(12:24):
optimization, as we've talkedabout before, but they will draw
a customer from a search intoyour website if it's written
well.
So make sure you haveflexibility of those things.
Make sure you can use headings,heading ones and headings twos
and anything that you're writing, whether it's product pages or
blog pages or landing pages foryour email service provider.
Make sure that's all flexibleand that you can do proper
(12:47):
search engine optimization inthere.
And then customer support.
So this is something I findsometimes people forget to check
Does the software providesupport included in a software
service or is it separate?
How responsive is that includedcustomer support, if they have
(13:07):
it?
Most software does haveincluded customer support, at
least in some form or manner.
How fast is the response time?
You know if your site is downor if your email is not going
through.
How fast can you get somebodyon a chat or on a phone or to
respond to email?
It's super important whenthings go wrong that you can get
(13:27):
a hold of support quickly.
And what about third partysupport?
We're considered a third partysupport provider for several
shopping carts as well asWordPress, and sometimes that's
a better support than thebuilt-in support.
I know a lot of people chooseto use us for their support for
their software because they'vebuilt a relationship with us and
(13:50):
they know us and they know thatwe have their best interests at
heart too.
Not saying that, sorry, thecats are running on being crazy
in half as today.
Not saying that built-insupport isn't like that, because
I've totally experienced a.
Built-in support has been greatand I will talk about that here
in a minute.
But you might want to look also.
(14:11):
What are the third partysupport and that can actually
also show you the popularity ofthe software.
If there are a lot of peopleproviding support for a specific
software platform, then it'sprobably very popular in general
.
So that's also another way toevaluate how established the
software is.
And then, finally, there aresome things that we should talk
(14:32):
about that a lot of people don'tthink about because one they
don't know about it.
If you are receiving money onthis software that you're
evaluating, is it PCI compliant?
That stands for payment cartindustry standard, I believe is
what it stands for.
I'm trying to remember theacronym right now I can't, but
(14:52):
it's basically how do youreceive payments and are you
doing it in the secure way basedupon the law?
You need to make sure anythingthat you're using that you
receive payment through is PCIcompliant.
It's a simple question.
You can ask the serviceprovider or their software.
Also, ada compliance.
A lot of people miss this andforget about this ADA compliance
(15:16):
, especially in the UnitedStates.
I know I'm not quite sure aboutwhat the other countries
require, but in the UnitedStates, ada compliance is
required of all public-facingwebsites, so you're going to
need to make sure is it easy tobe ADA compliant with it?
Most software will probably beADA compliant out of the box,
(15:36):
but when you change things on it, you need to make sure that you
can change them in a way that'sstill ADA compliant.
And then, if we're outside ofthe US, there are things like
the GDPR compliance, which youprobably have heard of.
So if you're in the EU, you'regoing to want to make sure that
the software you're using canadhere to the GDPR compliance
(15:58):
standards, and there may be someother ones that affect you as
well.
This isn't quite a fullycomprehensive list, but these
are the most common complianceelements that we find our
customers need is the PCIcompliance, ada compliance and
GDPR, or two or three of those.
So make sure that you'reresearching what compliance
(16:18):
standards are needed for yourlocation and make sure the
software you're looking at doessupport those compliances so
that you don't get in troublesof business.
Okay, so once you've evaluatedall these questions and I know
this is a lot, so make sure youcome back and re-listen to the
episode, if needed, for each ofthe platforms that you're
considering Once you'veevaluated all these questions,
(16:39):
for all the platforms, that'shopefully three, no more than
three, right?
Is there a clear winner?
If there is, then great, you'reprobably done.
If there's more than one,that's kind of a good winner
then you want to probably startasking around to other business
owners who use the softwareplatforms that you're looking
(16:59):
into.
Ask them what do they love mostabout it?
What do they like the best?
What do they like the least?
You many times get some cluesfrom there.
Make sure you're askingopen-ended questions so that
you're not persuading theiranswer to be a certain way.
So make sure you're open-endedquestions like this.
It usually gives you insightsto details you may not be able
(17:20):
to find or discover on your own,and you may even want to do
this, like I said, even ifyou've found a clear winner,
just as a double check on yourown.
But keep in mind, though, thatwhile others' opinions are
helpful, it is ultimately yourdecision in your business.
So pick which one is right foryou.
For example, when picking ouremail service provider, I didn't
(17:44):
pick the most popular one.
It was not the one that wastalked about the most.
In all the business groups thatI was in, I picked the one with
the best match to the featuresthat we actually needed and as a
bonus, it came at a betterprice, especially when you were
growing and hadn't lostsubscribers.
I found their free trial andcustomer service with that free
(18:06):
trial to be excellent and we'lllink to them in the show notes
too.
And it's continued to beexcellent customer service ever
since using the software for twoyears now.
When I have a question andusually I can figure out the
answer on my own, but sometimesI do get stuck, even as a tech
service provider when I have aquestion, their answers are
always concise and complete andvery helpful.
(18:28):
So and I've been super happy,like I said, with them ever
since.
So getting a good idea of theircustomer support and customer
service, as we mentioned earlier, is very important.
All right, so let's recap thisweek's episode.
First off, define your specificneeds to you and your business.
Again, I can't stress thisenough.
(18:49):
This is so important.
Then I want you to pick up tothree software platforms to
evaluate, based upon your needsthat you determined in step one,
and then, after you've donethat, you can go through the
detailed list we laid out inthis episode and then review to
see if there's a clear winnerand, if there isn't, get some
outside help or go back andevaluate a few more software
(19:12):
platforms.
But again, try to do no morethan three at a time where
you're gonna have so muchinformation swirling around in
your head that it's gonna bedifficult to really clearly see
which ones are standing out fromother ones, and it can be hard
to transition from one platformto another.
So when you do this, you wannamake sure you take your time in
(19:34):
this process, because it willpay off in the end.
All right, so that's it for thisweek's episode, the e-commerce
made easy podcast.
If you're listening on YouTube,be sure to hit that subscribe
button, and if you're on ourpodcast, make sure you follow or
subscribe on whatever podcastplatform that is your favorite,
so you don't miss out when werelease new episodes.
(19:57):
As always, we appreciate yourfeedback.
Drop us an email to podcast atbcsinjoneeringcom.
We would love to hear from youand we will see you next week.
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