standard and promotional offers? Do you need to measure and manage your
customer acquisition costs?
What demographic data do you want to capture as part of the registration or
checkout process? What incentives can you offer to encourage anonymous
buyers to tell you more about themselves?
What do you know about your customers? How can you mine that data in order
to become a more effective marketer? Do you plan to target future offers to
customers based upon their past purchasing histories or browsing habits with
your business? Do you plan to automate these marketing features? Or do you
envision managing them manually?
Who are your customers? Do you have more than one type? How educated are
they about your product? How much assistance do they need to make a
purchasing decision? Are they individuals or companies or both? How savvy are
they about your products? How frequently do your customers shop?
Do you plan to offer the same set of products to all your customers? Will you sell
to anyone or only to people and groups you know? Do you segment your
inventory for certain customers and groups of customers?
How much do your customers know about your products? How many are power
users and have model numbers memorized? How many are new customers, who
are unfamiliar with your products and need your assistance to make purchasing
decisions?
How will you get the word out that your store is open for business? Register
with the search engines and portals? Buy and manage online advertising? Target
potential customers with direct marketing tactics? Get exposure through public
relations or news group postings? Or include your URL in marketing and
promotional materials?
Why will people shop at your online store? Price? Selection? Service? Speed?
Availability? What do you offer customers that makes you competitive?
