Why Shopping Carts Aren’t for Winners

I was chatting with someone about Crystal Commerce at one of the entrepreneurial networking events that have sprung up in Seattle over the last several months and they said (roughly):

“I have an online store with a basic shopping cart already installed. Why would I ever want to switch [to Crystal Commerce]?”

Grrr…. As an entrepreneur, nothing, I mean NOTHING, gets me going and my competitive juices flowing like someone questioning the basic value proposition of my company.

But irregardless of whether I think the question is appropriate, I do think it’s important so I’m going to address it here.

Basic shopping cart software is fine for small/low-budget stores that never intend to grow. But why would you want a eCommerce solution that limits your ambition (and revenue)? The answers is – You Don’t! You want to have options, you want features that add value, you want something easy to use, and you want something affordable. Please take a moment and reflect on the image top-right and ask yourself “Is this really what I want?”

There will be over $100 BILLION of good sold online this year! Some of that money will flow through eBay. However, mostly its from direct sales though online stores like yours. It sounds like an overwhelming number, but a massive chunk of it is from small businesses just like yours. In order to be successful, you need opportunity, intelligence, and determination. To be successful selling online, you also need the right tools.

Basic shopping cart software only allows you to sell through one of those channels, doesn’t enable customized customer service by tracking order history, doesn’t enable powerful email and coupon marketing to encourage repeat business, doesn’t streamline order processing and fulfillment, doesn’t give you to the ability to list your products on the popular comparison shopping sites (e.g. Froogle, Bizrate, Shopzilla, Nextag, & Shopping.com) with only a few clicks, doesn’t even give you powerful analytics to better manage your precious advertising dollars, keep a closer eye on inventory levels, set gross margins and keep better track of employees (e.g. an integrated punch clock, an embedded email/task communicator, custom access privileges). I could go on and on so I will … Doesn’t let you … But seriously shopping carts are old and busted, CrystalCommerce is the New Hotness!

As the cornerstone of your online sales initiatives, your website should always be working hard; moreover it should work intelligently, it should add a ton of value to you, your employees, and your customers.
CrystalCommerce does all of the above and more in order to help you earn more money online with less stress. And that is why a basic shopping cart solution isn’t right for winners.
Questions? Agree or disagree? Drop me an email or call 206-274-7437.

What Almost Drowning Taught Me About Running a Startup

Great title, isn’t it? At least that’s what my marketing guy said when he saw it.

Hi, I’m Dan McCarty, the CEO of Crystal Commerce and, despite the valuable lesson almost drowning taught me about startups, I’m never getting in a kayak again.

Let me set the scene for you.

It was an absolutely beautiful 4th of July day in the San Juan Islands. I was on my first (and well-deserved!) vacation after over a year of 70-hour workweeks building Crystal Commerce. A few friends and I had rented kayaks and were planning on heading out to the islands for a few days of sunshine, camping, and relaxation.

As we glided through the water towards the entrance to the harbor, I (somehow) tipped my kayak over, dislocated my shoulder trying to get right side up again and was lucky enough to be rescued by a nearby boat. After my rescuers dropped me off at the dock, I spent 20 excruciating minutes trying (unsuccessfully!!) to relocate my shoulder myself before finally calling the EMT’s who drugged me up and took me to a local island clinic.

Ouch. Needless to say, that was the end of my vacation.

But as painful of as this experience was, it did teach me a valuable lesson about running a startup.

What might that lesson be?

Launch ASAP. (Because you might die tomorrow in a freak kayaking accident!)

And so, as we’re tying up the last few loose ends before we go public, I thought I should share a little about Crystal Commerce and why we (and everyone we talk to) are so excited.

Crystal Commerce is an ecommerce service that helps small businesses sell more online. It does so by enabling them to easily sell the same inventory through multiple channels (like eBay and their own online store and comparison shopping sites) without ever accidently double-selling something. The math is pretty simple. Reaching more customers equals more new customers and revenue.

Next, Crystal Commerce gathers all customer and order information into a single location, regardless how they bought from the business. This does four things for our clients. First, it allows them to fill all their orders flawlessly and without stress. Second, it lets them give personalized customer service so all their customers have great experiences. Third, it enables them to use the built-in marketing tools in Crystal Commerce to keep their customers coming back again and again. Last, and most importantly, it empowers them to find customers through popular but low-margin channels like eBay and convert them to more profitable channels like their own online store for the long-term. And it does it all from one nothing-to-install, so-easy-my-grandma-could-use-it online interface.

When we started building this system a year ago, I sketched the dream system for taking my million-dollar online business to the next level and knew in my gut that if I wanted it, others would to. And now, I’m happy to say that all signs point to my instincts having been correct. Perhaps even too correct since potential customers are getting annoyed at how long we’re taking to get the system perfected. Soon the wait will be over. I promise.

I’ll be writing more here about Crystal Commerce and our launch in the days to come. But in the meantime, feel free to watch the video introduction or check out the top 10 reasons to choose us. Or drop me a line at dan@crystalcommerce.com or 206-274-7437 if you want to chat.