Category — Just 1 Thing

If you had a retail store, would you send people away when they asked for more information about your products? Imagine how it would be: Someone enters the store and asks about the artisans that make your items. You tell her to go 30 miles northeast and she can meet the artist. She leaves, and then returns later that day with a question about the materials. You give her directions to the supplier.

Even though this doesn’t make much sense, it happens every day when online shopping. Including links that provide additional details is a best practice that increases the trust factor. But, when external links open in the same window, it sends your visitors away. If they are motivated to buy, they will return. If they can find you again. Are you willing to take that chance? [Read more →]

About ten years ago, there was a movement in the catalog industry to reduce mail volume. It seemed like a good idea. Customers were increasingly migrating to websites to place their orders. Segmented sales were down. Order processing costs were significantly lower for web orders when compared to the call center. Why spend the money to mail catalogs when people were ordering online? [Read more →]

Inventory management is a risky business. Too much product on hand increases carrying costs. Too little reduces customer satisfaction. Finding the perfect balance between the two is near impossible.

The best managers know that they are in the risk management business and use every available tool to minimize their exposure. One key component is the cost of backorders. Knowing how much being out of stock costs your company helps refine the order decision.

There are both short-term and long-term costs associated with backorders. The short-term are the processing costs for multiple shipments to customers and receipts from vendors.

The long-term costs should keep you awake at night.

Being out of stock costs you customers. [Read more →]