Use Cases
![[Customer Story] Why TestDome Considers FastSpring a Real Partner](https://fastspring.com/wp-content/themes/fastspring-bamboo/images/promotional/2023/FastSpring-TestDome-blog-thumbnail.jpg)
Are you ready to launch your SaaS service, sell your app or distribute your digital download?
In another post, we outlined six questions you should ask your ecommerce merchant solution provider. But for such an important decision, there are a number of factors to consider. Here are five more questions to ask before you sign on the merchant account dotted line.
Does your company provide customer support for our customers?
What happens if a digital product doesn’t download correctly or your customer has a question?
Top-notch customer service turns your customers into evangelists for your brand and keeps those positive reviews coming. Ask your prospective ecommerce company about their process and typical customer response times. Otherwise, your customers may wait 48 hours or more for help and receive a canned response that doesn’t address their needs.
What kind of development support do you offer?
Do you have a development dream-team on staff? Or do you need a little handholding? It’s important to work with an ecommerce solution that offers you the help you need, when you need it (not a week after you’ve emailed their support department!).
Look for a company that offers full development support, including data migration, API integration, and pre-launch testing. Having direct access to a support team is also crucial to get your questions answered immediately.
Bonus Tip: some online ecommerce companies will set up your store at no additional charge. If you’re already time- (or resource-) strapped, this can be a great option to consider.
How does your company protect against pirated sales?
Don’t let intellectual property pirates steal your revenue. Look for a company that enables you to securely offer your products on a free trial or sale basis.
Ask your ecommerce company about how they integrate with the leading Digital Rights Management (DRM) solution providers. If integration isn’t a key feature, you’ll want to consider another company.
Additionally, some companies offer software locking, which “locks” license codes to a single machine. This extra level of protection can protect against software cracking and reverse engineering.
How can you help me with purchase fulfillment?
Will you be selling ongoing subscriptions? Is offering CD and DVD backups part of your fulfillment process? Or do you only require web-based fulfillment?
Ideally, your ecommerce solution offers maximum fulfillment flexibility. For instance, although you may not offer physical CD backups today, you may consider them later as an additional revenue stream. Plus, having options for email and web notifications, license distribution and in-app fulfillment provides your customers with a seamless, successful purchasing experience.
How can I optimize the sales process?
One easy way to increase revenues is by optimizing the sales process. Knowing what’s working (and what isn’t) allows you to make small changes that have a big bottom-line impact.
At the very minimum, your ecommerce merchant solution should integrate with popular analytics programs (such as Google Analytics and WebTrends.) For maximum benefit, look for providers that will let you do even more, such as A/B testing, cart abandonment remarketing and cross-sell optimization. The more data you have at your fingertips, the more money you can make.
Why settle for the first ecommerce platform you find? The right online commerce solution for your company is flexible, scalable and offers top-notch customer support. Once you find the right provider, you’ll be successfully selling your SaaS solution or digital download in no time (and without any major hassles).
Want to learn more ecommerce tips? Download our free guide and learn how to develop up-sell techniques, reduce cart abandonment, and increase revenue.
