Making Technology Work for your Fair Trade Business

Talk given at Fair Trade Federation Conference May 2013 by Marissa and Jon Saints

Transcript

1. Making Technology for your Fair Trade Business WORK Fair Trade Conference 2013 By Marissa and Jon Saints www.dsenyo.com Thursday, May 2, 13
2. #1 Things you asked about #2 Things you didn’t know you needed help with #3 FREE-for-all questions THE LOW DOWN Thursday, May 2, 13
3. To all the... Frustrated Users Everywhere Thursday, May 2, 13
4. WE HEAR YOU Thursday, May 2, 13
5. Over Budegt Overdue Complex Confusing Painful OVERWHELMING EXPENSIVE ALWAYS CHANGING How do we stay ahead? What has your Tech experience been? Thursday, May 2, 13
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9. SMALL TEAM + BIG IMPACT = DIY Techies Thursday, May 2, 13
10. Business is... FIND CUSTOMERS THRILL CUSTOMERS Thursday, May 2, 13
11. SOCIAL MEDIA Thursday, May 2, 13
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13. GOALS DO IT! FACEBOOK Thursday, May 2, 13
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15. Blogging • Content production strategy, persistance how often make list of topics • Google doc with ideas so next time so when it is time to write it is easy to pull an idea • Unique content with SEO keywords that you want to own. Chichewa lessons for beginners. Thursday, May 2, 13
16. SEO Thursday, May 2, 13
17. SEO is... Finding more customers by making your web pages appear higher in Google Search Results Thursday, May 2, 13
18. Simple, powerful SEO changes you can make right now: #1 Use Google Keyword Tool #2 Integrate Keywords into Titles and Descriptions #3 Name images descriptively DSC1000456.jpg rename to handmade-apron-poppy-red-malawi-dsenyo.jpg Thursday, May 2, 13
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20. EMAIL MARKETNG Thursday, May 2, 13
21. • Mailchimp or Constant Contact • Single column layout • A/B Testing • LESS IS MORE... only 1-3 places to go on links • Less content. But really valuable content: DEALS, NEW PRODUCTS,HOLIDAY REMINDERS • Straight forward subject lines • Be genuine, be persistant Thursday, May 2, 13
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23. Growing your Email List • Giveaways, trade shows, customers opt-in on purchase • Don’t say “join our newsletter”, say “Exclusive access to deals and new products” • Sign up on website and facebook Thursday, May 2, 13
24. Take Home Summary • Great photos • Start with one. Find the one which is how most of your customers like to be reached. • Do it regularly. Make it fun and creative. Persistent. Every step, post, makes it easier for a customer to find you and connect with you. Thursday, May 2, 13
25. EMAIL HAPPINESS Thursday, May 2, 13
26. INBOX ZERO Controlling our Email addiction Spend Less Time on Email... more Time Doing Cool Stuff Thursday, May 2, 13
27. INBOX ZERO • Use Gmail •NO NOTIFICATIONS • 2x per day - 15 minutes • Limit your responses, consider calling • Address all emails in inbox RESPOND - SCHEDULE - CLEAR Thursday, May 2, 13
28. ONLINE STORE Thursday, May 2, 13
29. Choosing a Shopping Cart • Shopify, BigCommerce, Volusion... • Most Important Features: #1 Amazing Checkout Experience #2 Fun to use! #3 Play nice with others (API) #4 Customize design, excellent support • Everything is negotiable - rates Thursday, May 2, 13
30. Payment Processing • PayPal is easy, reliable, predictable - poor support • Be careful with Companies offer to beat PayPal rates Variable rates, long term contracts, merchant account Worth research for high volume sellers ($250K+) • Stripe.com and Square - New, Simple, Good support, good integrations, alternative to PayPal Thursday, May 2, 13
31. Checkout Experience • Extremely important • As few clicks and screens as possible (also Mobile) • Checkout as guest • Shopify & Big Commerce do this well, built-in Thursday, May 2, 13
32. Fulfillment • ShipStation - integrated with Shopify, Etsy • Third-party warehouse • FedEx, UPS, Endicia Accounts • Batch pick, pack, ship, labels Thursday, May 2, 13
33. Tracking Interactions with Customers Thursday, May 2, 13
34. We use HIGHRISE • CRM Does not have to be complex • Centralized contact database with History • Our Workflow #1 Note all interactions by BCC or note #2 Schedule Followup task #3 Repeat over and over Thursday, May 2, 13
35. ACCOUNTING Thursday, May 2, 13
36. XERO • Happy Quickbooks users are hard to find • Bullies us around • Xero - fun to use, integrates with others (online banking, paypal, shopify) • We can let you know next year how it goes Thursday, May 2, 13
37. HIRING TECHIES Thursday, May 2, 13
38. Good Luck SUCKER! Thursday, May 2, 13
39. Choose a Tech Provider • Build a relationship - Invest in it • Choose Techie-free tools - great customer support (live chat, responsive on email) • Odesk and 99designs • Shopify provider list • Break big project into small bits Thursday, May 2, 13
40. THANK YOU Marissa and Jon Saints Dsenyo Fair Trade http://shop.dsenyo.com marissa@dsenyo.com jon@dsenyo.com Thursday, May 2, 13