August 13, 2009
DistributorCentral has added a new payment type “Proof Request Only” which you can add in addition to “Credit Card” which can help get orders from your website closed at a higher rate (see image below). If you apply this payment type, you will have to ask your customer for credit card info after the proof has been approved. Some distributors have decided it is better to get to a proof than to require credit card info on all orders.
To apply this new payment type:
- Go to the Account menu
- Select Payment and then Payment Setup
- Move over the Request Proof Only preference (see image below)
- Click on Save, you will not need to publish your website
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Account Customizing, Customize, Websites | 
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Posted by distributorcentral
August 13, 2009
DistributorCentral has found Suppliers that are experiencing the most success with their products on the DistributorCentral database are creating those product shopping carts with one main objective in mind: Simple and complete information that is End User Friendly.
There are a few ways that we have tried to help you accomplish this.
- Suppliers have the capability to decide whether options are “required” or are “optional.”
By only listing those options that must be selected to generate a complete order as “required,” Suppliers will allow those Distributors who only want basic options available to eliminate those “optional” options from their catalog of products. This will make it less complicated for customers who do not have an understanding of the promotional products industry and it will generate more orders. The distributor will still be able to utilize those more complicated options once they receive an order from their customers.
- They can list any Special information in the “Distributor Only” area under Additional Info in their product editor.
Distributors will see this “Distributor Only” information but it will not show on their websites and not to the end customer. So this is where the supplier might list margin info or shipping options, etc.
- A new way that Suppliers can test their products is now available in the Product Editor area of their DC account. This is called the E-Commerce Rating.
This feature will allow Suppliers to test products that they have set up against some basic criteria that DistributorCentral has created to determine if their product is E-Commerce ready.
Some of the criteria products are tested against:
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Too many options or no options available at all
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Pricing should be available
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Should not have Supplier Company name and sensitive data in the description
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Options available should include decoration methods and available color options for each product
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Images should be available
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Description should not include industry terms such as “4 color process” or “setup charge” etc
The results are offered as a percentage. 100% is the perfect E-Commerce product according to this test.
You can find this feature by going to the Products Menu and clicking on Add/Edit Products. Select Edit next to the first product that you would like to test for E-Commerce Ratings and see your percentage in the top right corner.
Please note that a product must be displaying in the DC catalog to show the E-Commerce Rating Feature.
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Posted by distributorcentral
August 13, 2009
DistributorCentral was designed to allow Suppliers to provide Distributors complete product information so that paper catalogs are not required AND to provide Distributors product information for their websites. Supplier product information in DistributorCentral is used on over 10,000 websites that are either hosted by DistributorCentral, linked to DistributorCentral, or use DistributorCentral for product information feeds. Over 35,000 Promotional Products industry members have DistributorCentral logins so that they can do product research.
What we are learning as we gain more experience in the e-commerce world is that results on websites increase as the shopping experience becomes less complicated. Ideally once a Buyer selects “Order Now” and starts the shopping experience the fewer steps they experience the more likely they will be to complete the purchase. The offsetting issue in conflict with this is that Suppliers in an effort to eliminate the need for their paper catalogs are including every possible option that might be considered if a product is to be ordered. Suppliers want Distributors to be aware of every possible charge or option a product may have to ensure that the order is placed correctly.
How can these conflicting goals be handled in the DistributorCentral model?
When Suppliers setup their product information in DistributorCentral we advocate that all text copy is Buyer friendly. There should be no references to “contact the factory” or “call for details”. All text copy in the general product information is seen by Buyers on thousands of Distributor websites. There is a “Distributor Only” section on every product for Suppliers to provide Distributors with specific product information that they should know.
We encourage Suppliers when adding the Options to their products to think thru whether each Options is “Required” or “Optional”. We are encouraging Distributors with e-commerce websites to turn off the “Optional” options in their shopping cart. This has resulted in higher success rates as the shopping experience is less complicated and requires fewer steps. It is important that Suppliers do have the Options they need to manufacture selected as “Required” but are mindful that Options selected as “Optional” are turned off on most e-commerce sites.
Distributors, to turn off the “Optional” options for products in your shopping cart on your website:
- Go to Add/Edit Websites
- Click on the Preferences link for the website
- Go to the Orders tab
- Select “Yes” for the “Do you want the shopping cart to only display required options?” preference
- Click on Save and then Publish your website
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Posted by distributorcentral
