Digital Cross Roads

Kindy Swag

Kindy Swag, owned by Helen Gosper, produces a roll-out napping solution for young children.

Helen asked Scott whether upgrades to programs would be automatically uploaded to the Kindy Swag site. Scott said that due to the rapidly advancing nature of eCommerce, he would always recommend using a server based shopping cart rather than having a one off cart built for your site. This means that every time your service providerintroduces a new innovation or advances a feature, you will immediately receive the upgrade and not have to buy or download new instalments.

Scott highlighted the importance of clearly identifying your target market and minimising the number of hurdles that a shopper must overcome to finalise their purchase. Helen wanted to steer clear of cheques and wanted to hear from Scott about his thoughts on safe credit card transactions. Scott advised Helen that credit cards were indeed the most straightforward way for her to process payments and that using a third party, such as PayPal, would maximise security and reliability and reduce the likelihood of any fraudulent activities. Gate13’s shopping cart solutions integrate with PayPal and numerous other banks and secure payment services.

KMan Skate School

Kman’s Skate School provides a safe, fun environment for kids to learn how to skateboard and is owned by Arielle and Karim.

Given that Kman’s target market do not know a world without the Internet, Scott Julian, At the time, Gate13’s CEO, went to meet with Arielle to advise her about the importance of a good web presence to her business.

All businesses want a cost-effective website and Scott explained to Arielle the importance of choosing a website which will pay for itself. Scott highlighted the significance of shopping around for quotes on website design and hosting as they can differ widely between firms. Cost is not the only important consideration though, any good firm will be more than happy to provide references from previous and current clients so that she can speak to them about their experience.

Sarah-Jane Shoes

Sarah-Jane Shoes is an online niche footwear business owned by Paula and Eric.

Paula and Eric were concerned about the costs of selling and receiving payments online, which they had heard were very high. Scott was able to reassure them that advances in the technology had led to a huge reduction in administrative costs and that businesses could now sell online for as little as $14.95 per month.

Businesses also have the option of using alternatives to banks to process payments now, and choices such as Pay Pal offer low cost and secure alternatives.

Paula and Eric were also concerned about their customers feeling secure in the online environment. Scott advised the pair that a clause inserted at the top of the order page which outlined Sarah-Jane Shoes’ commitment to security and privacy, as well as the SSL security logo, would serve to reassure their customers and maximise sales.