Yesterday, as I was stumbling around trying to figure out the site map issue and submit to directories and whatnot, I discovered some useful numbers about e-commerce. Apparently, 19% is a respectable conversion rate. In our industry, 50% is considered good for a brick and mortar store, but we generally got 75-85% before the Recent Troubles. So far (that is, in the two or three weeks that I’ve been working on it) , we have about 5% at the online store. I have been focussing on getting traffic there, and haranguing people to go bookmark the site, so I am not too alarmed about that. Still, if we figure that we will achieve 19%, and that the average size of an order remains the same, then we will have to increase the traffic tenfold in order to meet the necessary sales goals…. YAAAWWWWN!
Yes, I know, this is toweringly dull stuff. Allow me to distract you with these pictures of cake, taken by #2 son, who also did the honors with the pastry brush and the whipped cream.
This cake is not only filled with sugar and refined flour, but also is made largely with processed foods.
This is not how it is supposed to be.
However, life seems to be settling down chez fibermom, and with any luck will soon return to its accustomed orderly and healthy character.
I am having fun learning about e-commerce, however ineptly. If any of you have suggestions of … I don’t know… a book I could read, or something, I would appreciate it. You guys have already provided some very useful suggestions, and I bet you still know lots more than I do.
I am also set for a couple of 
conferences in the next month or two. This does not require new skills.
As we have been thinking about relying heavily on the online store, I have been even more aware of how much a social event it is to shop at our physical store.
Canadian National was asking about the conversation on horror movies. I am not a horror movie fan, myself, but the fellow I was talking with was telling me about how many scary movies are based on some kernel of truth.
He explained the kinds of family relationships serial murders have, and even brought in some fiber facts.
“He had one of those dummies women put clothes on when they sew?”
“A dress form?” I offered.
“Yes. And he took off her flesh and put it on the dress form.”
Now, there is just no way to provide this sort of interaction to someone who is merely buying his Roald Dahl books online.
And I guess this is why people keep saying they are sad that we are closing, now that they have gotten over being angry about it. I continue my Vanna White movements in the direction of the computer and the phone, but it is not the same somehow.
It is Friday at last. I have been enjoying my various ventures at the store, but it has still been a long week, and I am really looking forward to the weekend. I have some things planned for Sunday, but Saturday should be a day of unbounded domesticity, with enough cooking and cleaning to lift the household out of its sorry state and enough sewing and knitting to refresh my spirits. Not to mention my writing assignments, and perhaps I should not have.
In addition to “Que busca?” I can also now say “Le puedo ayudar?” If I actually have an opportunity to say that to anyone (at the store where I am now, our foreign-speaking customers are generally Asian, and I simply do not feel up to Chinese or Korean), it may release floods of Spanish. I will then have to listen closely in hopes of recognizing any words at all. In the example conversations, people are shopping for lumber, of which I have none. However, I am prepared to say “Si, tengo tarjetas y libros mathematicos.” Not, perhaps, a correct or felicitous sentence in Spanish, but still, if it happens that a Spanish speaker arrives who wants to practice multiplication, I have a plan.
That’s a lovely cake!
I don’t know about the in-person shopping vs the internet. I do a lot of internet shopping because it involves a lot of driving, dealing with cranky drivers, and often the salespeople really aren’t that friendly or chatty. They’re underpaid, minimally trained, overstressed humans, just like the rest of us. I think I miss the tactile qualities more than the social qualities- the touching and feeling before I purchase. I also miss some of the smells. I think I smell things before I buy them.
A soapmaking mystery. You amuse me so.
Who had the dress form? The Silence of the Lambs guy?
Have you read the Harry Potter books?
That question works on two levels. If you haven’t, read them since you said you were up for suggestions. Don’t be discouraged by rhe first few pages of Sorcerers Stone. She starts out trying to write a children’s book, but soon forgets about that and gets into the wonderful stories.
Anyway, the school Harry goes to has “houses.” They are described as “like you family” while there. Anyway, the castle has ghosts, and some of them are affiliated with the houses.
I’m guessing you know all this.
I don’t think a house ghost has any special duties in the KAL, but she noticed that I never posted anything, but did comment, and was less readily apparent than the other members. Blogger is difficult for me.
RYC: I am loving these cowl-neck blouses, and bought one of these patterns to make a knit one. I’m not sure which one, though. LOL!
B4606
B4132
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I think it’s possible to add the Friendly Social Interaction aspect to the online ordering experience with your store’s blog. How quickly that can happen I don’t know — but because you are genuinely familiar with a lot of your customers’ interests and preferences, if you can just persuade them to go to the blog — and if you make a directory that matches their screen-names to their “real” names, so you know who you’re talking to — you ought to be able to provide them with an interaction that will make them want to keep coming back. You can offer them the same service — personal, genuinely interested in their wants/needs/interests — online, even if there’s no way to add touch and smell and taste. The question, I suspect, is whether you’ll have enough time to get that going, in the current situation. Vanna White may not be the best role model….
I blog from a Sidekick II phone. This has (for a phone that fits in my pocket) a very big screen that swivels up to reveal a qwerty keyboard. It’s not as difficult as a regular phone. It’s more like a PDA. The keyboard is a little bigger than most blackberries.
When I reread a post, I usually find spelling errors due to the fact that the keys are so tiny that I sometimes hit the one next to it. E-r and a-s reversals are common. It’s hunt-and-peck typing, but not as bad as with a regular phone.
I don’t have a computer or money for a computer. This was the cheapest alternative I could find.
You can see a Sidekick II if you search the internet. Or if you watch Gilmore Girls or Veronica Mars, Rory and Veronica both have them. Rory is not shy about flipping up the screen and typing a message. But Veronica gets or sends a message on almost every show, and they show closeups of her phone on a regular basis.
Funny thing – I know exactly what movie he was discussing with you (um, ewww – Silence of the Lambs, yes). And the two of you were discussing the very reason I enjoy watching horror films – to find the true (or the truth that the filmmakers think is true). And to watch patterns – what is going on today that filmmakers feel the need to film the Saw series, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, etc. Is there something going on in the world that makes these films appealing – especially to our younger folks. (Yes, I have seen kiddos under 10 watching these movies, which is SO WRONG!). Me? I’m old enough and mature enough to understand what’s going on in these films is not reality nor encouraged.
I would miss the interaction with customers, too. I think that’s why I teach. I love interacting with people – then going home and having quiet. And I’m with Knitsteel – I like to grope fabrics, yarns, books, and use all of my senses before I buy something. Can’t get that online, eh? Sigh.
RYC: I like all horror – gothic, classic, vampire, lit horror – you name it. I read King, Dean Koontz, John Saul, Stoker, and the like. I don’t, however, like Anne Rice. Yuck. I watch all horror, too. The older films (Nasferatu was awesome and freaky) to the new(er) slasher flicks. That tells me something, too. How horror is filmed now – is it “scary” or “gory”? I still get freaked out watching the Exorcist.