As so many e-commerce companies are started by people who are jumping head-first into the business world, they can easily become confused. It’s essential to familiarize yourself with the different terms and concepts relating to online retail. Let’s show you the key terms you need to know.
Merchant Services
The concept of merchant services refers to an umbrella of financial practices that enable businesses to accept payments. There are a number of different merchant service terms and these include “payment processor,” which refers to a company that handles electronic payment transactions or credit card payments on behalf of the merchant. A “payment gateway” is a service that facilitates online transactions by securing the payment data between the browser the customer is using and the merchant’s website. A “Payment Service Provider,” commonly abbreviated to PSP, is an organization that offers diverse payment processing solutions that typically involve merchant accounts.
SSL Certificate
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and this certificate will ensure that any data transmitted between the browser and the website is secure and encrypted. From the perspective of any customer, they want to know that their information is handled safely and securely and that the e-commerce provider is complying with any relevant rules and regulations. It’s essential for online businesses to comply with the numerous rules so they don’t get fined by the regulatory body but also keep themselves safe from any data breach. Data breaches will have a detrimental impact on a company in many ways. This also includes losing customers and their trust.
Drop Shipping
This is a very popular approach to e-commerce these days. It is defined as a fulfillment method where the retailer does not stop products themselves but purchases them from a third party and then ships them to the customer. This is something many e-commerce businesses can benefit from because they may be working from home or cannot afford warehouse space.
Customer Relationship Management
This is commonly abbreviated to CRM and refers to software and or strategies to manage or analyze customer interactions. Consider it a database on your customer base as it can give you a better opportunity to improve your relationships by providing more personalized recommendations.
Search Engine Optimization
If you are creating content for your website such as blogs or even product descriptions it’s essential to know search engine optimization, commonly abbreviated to SEO. This refers to improving your website’s visibility in search engine results to increase organic traffic. Organic traffic refers to the visitors to your website that have come of their own accord rather than being paid for for example by using PPC pay per click which is an advertising model where the advertiser pays a publisher whenever the ad is clicked.
Learning to make your business more techy involves so many different components. There are so many terms out there that, once you get a handle on them, can help you navigate the world of online retail more effectively.