Today, AspDotNetStorefront releases the 9.0.1.3 Admin Service Pack to enhance the functionality and integrity of the ML9 and Multi-Store e-commerce shopping carts admin sections.

This should be great news to those of you already using our Multi-Store platform. For those of you that haven't investigated Multi-Store, this is an opportunity for you think about how running multiple stores aimed at different segments of your target market can drastically improve the profitability of your business. Click here to learn more about AspDotNetStorefront's Multi-Store, the only reasonably priced multi-store cart on the market.

The earlier service pack (9.0.1.3 SP1) is NOT a pre-requisite for this release.

All of the following scenarios have been through our test lab and work well:

• 9.0.1.3 with SP1
• 9.0.1.3 with Admin Service Pack
• 9.0.1.3 SP1 with Admin SP layered on top
• 9.0.1.3 Admin Service Pack with 9.0.1.3 SP1 layered on top with 9.0.1.3 Admin SP re-installed (ie Admin must be applied alone, or second)

As before, we do not pretend we have found and fixed everything. Instead we focused on the highest impact problems and have diligently maximized improvements while minimizing the service pack's footprint.

We have highlighted the most significant changes in our release notes.

We have patches available for items we could not wrap into a service pack. These items were intrusive and do not affect the majority of people. If you still have problems after applying our service packs, do not hesitate to approach us via our support system at http://support.aspdotnetstorefront.com

Download 9.0.1.3 Admin Service Pack from your MyLicenses section.

On 11/12/2010 at 6 PM PST, AspDotNetStorefront released Service Pack 1 to enhance the functionality and further the integrity of their ML9 and Multi-Store ecommerce shopping carts.

Service Pack 1 focuses on improving the shopping experience of ML9 and Multi-Store. With the holiday fast approaching, AspDotNetStorefront also wanted Service Pack 1 to be a thoughtful and considerate release.

"We have made a significant number of improvements, and yet done so in a way that doesn't require our merchants to reconfigure their storefronts to match the modifications we've made," said AspDotNetStorefront C.O.O., Jo Benson. "We're especially sensitive to such things during this crucial time of year."

Benson added, "We believe a smoother shopping experience is vital to our loyal client base and that's what this service pack delivers. We’ve tested our updates very well, and have tried to make the biggest difference and leave the smallest footprint."

Service Pack 1 is available for download in the MyLicenses section of AspDotNetStorefront.com. Additionally, each new purchase of ML9 will automatically include the most recent service packs and will not require a separate download and installation.

Detailed release notes for Service Pack 1 can be found alongside the download, and will be available to all ML9 and Multi-Store owners through their store's admin panel.

Successful businesses can receive up to 80% of their sales from only 20% of their customers. How do we take advantage of those numbers? Customer loyalty.

Here are five tips to keep your customers happy, and keep them coming back to spend.

Tip #1: Make the sale, and your customer’s day, by letting employees offer free shipping or other small discounts.

First off, it’s crucial all of your employees are trained to interact properly with your customers. Is customer service going the extra mile to best meet your customer’s needs? Are they providing more value than the customer expects or the bare minimum to just skate by?

Empower your employees to make decisions that benefit the customer. When an employee has to run to a manager for answers, the customer will find the employee obsolete. Smart customers want to save time and bypass the employee altogether and speak directly to the manager every time.

Customers are impatient. When they have a question they want and answer, and don’t want to sit on hold while Jack asks Jill about free shipping.

Tip #2: Personalized messages keep your company and its products fresh in your customers’ minds.

Communicate with your customers. Use email, phone calls or a newsletter. Tell them about upcoming sales, new products, or just ask about their satisfaction on a previous purchase.

With the holidays sneaking up around the corner, a simple holiday card could do the trick. Be sure customers are thanked in writing for purchasing your service or product. Personalize the message and don’t just bulk blast them. Each customer needs to know they’re special.

I don’t know anyone who feels special as part of a 5000-person bulk mail.

Tip #3: Co-ordinate your emails with social media for a 1-2 punch of customer engagement.

Are you using social networks? They’re a fast and easy way to get a message out when you’re between newsletters. Use Twitter and Facebook to offer promotions to existing “VIP” customers. These can be done daily, weekly or monthly depending on your product set. It takes all of about 30 seconds to make a short post with a coupon code.

And don’t forget, communication with your customers is a two-way street. Ask your customers questions and listen to what they say. If someone asks a question get them an answer and reward their participation.

Best part? It’s FREE!!!

Tip #4: Be honest with your customers, even if it’s hard.

Never make false promises to make a customer happy in the now. You’ll regret it in the future.

If something can’t be done on short notice, tell the customer. Most of us can relate to being overloaded with work. Don’t you think the customers feel the same way? We are all human after all.

It is better to be upfront about a delayed response or delivery than to disappoint a customer with a promise you can’t keep. They may not remember all the good things you do for them, but they won’t forget the bad.

Tip #5: Enjoy Your Customers.

This can be hard, but try to truly enjoy the wide-range of characters we call customers. Take an interest in them beyond “the sale.” Have fun and make it fun for them!

Most of these tips seem obvious. But, maybe that’s why they’re so easily forgotten. Put in the extra effort and your customers will be happy. And a happy customer is a returning customers.

-Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless.-Jeffrey Gitomer

There's a lot to do when launching a site. Here are some of the less obvious things store-owners often overlook.

Every site owner has a list of things they need to get done before going live - skinning, adding products, setting up a payment gateway, etc... There's also the purely technical stuff we tell you to do.

But for a site to be successful there are some less obvious, but no less important, things to do before you officially 'open.'

SEO

Our C.O.O, Jo Benson, is big on SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and has done several webinars lately on the importance of properly optimizing your site.

She's covered a lot of great information to increase sales once you know how customers are using your site but it's important to remember that some SEO should be done before you start getting visitors.

For example, once the majority of your content is ready, submit your site to Google and Yahoo's sitemap services. Submitting sitemaps will ensure your site gets crawled and indexed, but it takes a while. So don't wait until the last minute!

If you're going to participate in affiliate programs or link exchanges, get those set up ahead of time. Most affiliate services allow you to specify when to start referring people to your site, so you don't get visitors too early. You want these links ready when your site is to get those sales started!

Test

Have your site tested completely before you try taking live sales. Every link, page, and button should be clicked and tested.

But, someone else should do this testing! Actually, get as many someone elses as you can find.

You want real feedback on the design, navigation, checkout process, and everything else from people with different habits, browsing habits, and levels of Internet familiarity.

Make sure you mix things up a bit. Try your site on different OS's, different browsers, and different types of people.

Think about your target demographic and make sure you them to try your site. Listen to what they have to say, and make adjustments where necessary.

If one of your testers can't figure something out, you can be sure there will eventually be thousands of other people who visit your site and can't figure it out either.

Stress Test

Unless you're working on a very large site, there's a good chance your site has never had more than 1 or 2 people on it at a time during setup.

While the site may work fine with so few people, what about when you have 10 people on it at a time? Or 100? You don't want to find out the day after you go live that your hosting environment can't keep up.

Have some of your friends/coworkers all hit the site at the same time, and monitor it. Does it slow down? Are there any errors? Is the application pool resetting every few minutes?

A lot of hosts offer load testing services. There are 3rd party applications to do this as well.

Keep-Alives

It's counter-intuitive, but sometimes your site traffic can actually be too slow.

.NET applications 'sleep' if they've been idle for a certain amount of time, and have to start back up the next time they're accessed.

If your site is only being hit every few hours, a common problem with low-traffic new sites, each new customer is going to have to wait for the site to start back up when they visit. You don't want the first visitor you've had in hours to decide the site is too slow and leave!

The solution is using a "keep-alive," a services that hits your site periodically and keep it from idling. Most .NET hosts offer a "keep-alive" services to do this for you.

What are some of your "must-do" items before you go live with a new site? Do you have a checklist to make sure you don't miss anything? Let us know in the comments below.

Before coming to work at AspDotNetStorefront, I needed to know what kind of company it was. I had to know if, as an online store owner looking for a shopping cart, AspDotNetStorefront would be a delight to work with or if they’re a company that once the sale is done they’ll forget about you.

Grandma Babs always said “Actions speak louder than words,” so I watched and I listened. Not just to webinars, but to emails and chats and blogs and team correspondence. I even posed as a customer (Katarina) in chat once to see how I’d be treated if I knew absolutely nothing about AspDotNetStorefront and Vortx products! What I found was compelling.

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Chat With Katarina On 9/4/2010 8:53:52 AM

Jo says: Hello Katarina. My name is Jo how can I help you?

Katarina says: Hi Jo, I don't have a website yet, but a product I'm dying to get online..how does your product work?

Jo says: oh, that's a really big question - can you tell me a little more about what you mean by "how does it work?” do you mean technically? or what does it cost?

Jo says: or how do you get up and running?

Katarina says: If I bought your storefront i can use it to run my own business and have a website with it?

Jo says: it already is your website, Katarina, you don't need two separate things it is designed to be your website with a store inside it’s a bit like renting high street space and finding the cash till is already in place!

Katarina says: that's great!

Jo says: :-) I think so

Katarina says: I just pay and download a storefront? is there someone available to help me "install it" i'm not a tech type person...

Jo says: yes, you'll need help, Katarina, and we have a really fantastic group of tech companies who work with us to help people just like you

Jo says: they'll help you choose a "skin" (theme) and add your products and get hosted

Katarina says: so they help me design what i want my customers to see and how to enter orders so the sales of an item reduces the stock i have? what would it take to be my own host?

Jo says: just a windows server

Katarina says: thanks, i will now go download one of your demos-i tried before but i had problem learning how to do the "skins"...

Jo says: yes, Katarina, why don't I introduce you to a partner right now who can help you while you're testing it out? that way you can see if you like the people and it won't cost you anything and they are always glad to help

Katarina says: you can give me a name and number please

Jo says: of course. Try this lady - she's really nice and she often works weekends ... sec , while I look it up?

Katarina says: sure. so she will help "advise" me for free?

Jo says: yes

Katarina says: wow-that's great! if you yourself had to download a storefront and set up shop right now-all by yourself-could you do it?

Jo says: no!!

Jo says: and even if I could, there are things I am better at. Same is no doubt true for you

Katarina says: so it's the same with the demo then?

Jo says: yes, this product (so far - we're just working on the "easy - click and go" model ) is really designed to have experts involved

Katarina says: ok-one last thing i want to be sure on: if i bought your storefront i could run my whole company, it would have all my customers and vendors and more importantly track my inventory for me?

Jo says: hmmmmm - that depends, really

Jo says: if you are also selling through other channels, then you'd have to have a way of "centralizing orders"

Jo says: if you want a solution as full as that then you are looking, normally, at tens of thousands of dollars Katarina says: i can't process p.o.'s with the storefront and receive them so inventory goes into stock? how do other people work their inventory with your storefront?

Jo says: plenty of people run significant businesses with just a storefront and something like Peachtree or Quickbooks and you can link those two together pretty easily, with some help

Katarina says: ok, great-you have a name for me to contact?

Jo says: yes, call Sally at ActiveLightning.com on 617 209 4221 I'm sure that she'll be happy to help you make a decision

Katarina says: thank you

Jo says: I'll let her know what we talked about, Katarina, if that's ok?

Katarina says: sure, i may not contact her yet today-probably in the next week. i want to play and research more on your storefront.

Katarina says: is there always someone available or pretty much just m-f type hours?

Jo says: no, about 12 - 14 hours a day we cover this, and if we're just too tired, you can always email support@aspdotnetstorefront.com and we pick email up more or less 24/7

Katarina says: ok, will talk to you soon

Jo says: thanks - good luck

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This was a group dedicated to their customers, the developer, and the reseller. All were treated with respect. I saw a lot of “please” and “thank you” and “tell me how I can help” in everyday interaction with each other and with our customers.

It’s an imperfect world. Downloads hang up, systems crash, and products sometimes aren’t what you expected. But isn’t it important, gratifying and stress relieving to know that there’s a group of people that really and truly CARE about how they can help you? That’s the type of teammates I get to be with everyday.

Welcome to AspDotNetStorefront/Vortx World.

Population: GROWING!

We're proud to announce the official return of Blogs.AspDotNetStorefront.Com!

Focusing on the community, platform and success of AspDotNetStorefront users, this blog will:

• Be the focal point for product announcements, new features, and company news
• Help users and prospective users get involved with AspDotNetStorefront by spotlighting important forum posts, sharing solutions to common problems, and helping users pass along AspDotNetStorefront tips and tricks

Each week, we'll provide:

• A featured article highlighting how to get the most out of AspDotnetStorefront.  Whether it's inventory management, SEO, or design tips and suggestions.
• Product news highlighting changes and updates the platform, or the product roadmap
• FAQs, quick tips, DevNet partner profiles, and/or common support issues
• E-commerce news from around the Web that's important to AspDotNetStorefront users and other online retailers

If there's something you want to see, have an idea for a regular column, or a tip you want to share, leave a comment and let us know!

It's Sunday morning and I have just a moment's calm to take a look at the blog ...... I'll be honest and say that there is a good chance that we will start afresh this week with a whole new blog. I find some blog postings at this address that I can't stand alongside and I'd love to avoid confusion.

Let me be clear - many of these blog posts were written with the best of intent, and the content was true at the time of writing, but isn't now. See Gretchen's article of 2nd August, for example. She does a fabulous job of supporting a policy that we, the new owners, will not be prolonging. In case you haven't heard it on the street, we have revived support on version 8. We will also help anyone on earlier versions - and we'd love to be getting into debate on why we think it's probably a good idea to come a little closer to the current versions.

While we are still making key decisions about the quality and standing of all the available versions, please know that we are simply here to help. We are incredibly busy, so if you have questions that will wait a week or two, then it would be great for us to sink into the new place a little, but for all of you with burning issues, then we want to do our very best to help, so reach out. 

On Thursday 19th August (noon, Eastern) we will be hosting a webinar to talk about our immediate plans for the product, and about the energy we are bringing to our takeover. Try to listen, but if the timing is bad for you, then we will be recording and posting a copy on both the production site and the forum.

This is all I have time for today, but watch out for news of our blog plans. Once we know that we've been smart enough about a decision, then we'll share the future with you all.

Jo

Are YOU listening?   My guess is that most of you will answer "yes" when asked this question.  The truth is that there IS a difference between hearing someone and actually listening to what they are saying. 

Hearing - The act of perceiving sound by the ear.  It happens without thought or effort.

Listening - Something you consciously choose to do.  It requires concentration so your brain can process the meaning of the words and sentences that you are hearing.

Now, the question is...are you hearing your customers or are you listening to them?  Most people tend to be "hard of listening" rather than "hard of hearing".  I am going to share some great tips that will help improve your customer service listening skills.  Why?  Because listening leads to learning!  The more you know about your customers' issues, feelings, emotions, etc., the easier it is to resolve the issue at hand.

First off,  STAY FOCUSED!  Don't get distracted by your surroundings (e.g. co-workers, radio, reading emails).  Give your customers 100% of your undivided attention.  Believe me; they will know if you are not!

DON'T INTERUPT!  You can listen more effectively when you are not talking.  Wait for your customer to finish, as to not interupt their thought process.

TAKE NOTES!  Keep a pen and paper handy for questions or comments that may pop into your head while listening to your customer.  Wait for them to finish and then ask away!

DON'T GUESS  how they will finish their sentences.  Besides the fact that you will most likely be wrong...it is just plain, old annoying!

WHAT?  If you missed something, don't be shy about asking them to repeat it.  You have to know what they are in need of in order to help them.

DON'T ASSUME!  Most of us have heard the old adage of what happens when we assume.  Basically, don't jump the gun on how you think the customer will react or what they will say.  For example, if a customer calls in with their "angry" voice, don't assume that cursing and swearing will follow.

By utilizing some of the given advice, your customer service agents will be able to provide a higher level of support to your customer base.  By knowing what your customers' needs are, you will be able to keep your customers happy.  We all know that happy customers are repeat customers!

Feel free to email me at gretchen.robinson@aspdotnetstorefront.com.  I welcome all questions, suggestions, comments and concerns. Email your ideas for future customer service blogs!

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."  ~ Robert McCloskey

First off, please let me introduce myself.  My name is Gretchen Robinson.   I won’t bore you with the blah, blah, blahs of my background, experience, etc., but you may wonder what I do for AspDotNetStorefront now.  The answer…a little bit of everything.  Officially, I am your Customer Service connection to everyone and everything that AspDotNetStorefront entails.  

If you need assistance with an order in anyway…call me.  If you have questions about our demo site, transferring a license, our pricing…call me.  If you have submitted a ticket or left a voicemail and have yet to receive a response…you definitely can call me.  I am not going to lie to you and tell you that I hold all the answers.  That is about as far from the truth as it gets.  Prior to working for AspDotNetStorefront, I did not have any ecommerce experience or training.  What I do have is a drive to keep our customers happy.  This is the sole reason that I am here.  I am constantly peeking into support and sales tickets to check progress.  You will even see me in the pre-sales chat helping out where I can.  If you call in, it is my voice that you will hear on the other end of the line.

My theme of the week is a bit of advice for all AspDotNetStorefront customers.  When calling in or emailing, please be prepared!  The more information that you have for us, the more efficient we become for you.  Help us to help you!  For instance, have your customer ID, the email address associated with your account or even an old order number on hand.  This expedites things on our end when locating your account.  We will be able to spend less time finding your information and more time working on the actual issues.  This is true with sales and support tickets, as well.  When submitting a ticket, please use the information that I previously suggested (customer id, email, etc.) along with detailed information about the issues or questions that you are having.  If you have questions about an error that you are receiving, copy and paste that error into the support ticket.  The more specific that you can be, the better. 

Each of our Customer Service Representatives and Sales Engineers spend a lot of time with their phones glued to their ears.  We pride ourselves on giving 100% of our attention to our customers, one at a time, so please...leave a message if you happen to get our voicemail.  I want to ensure you receive the best customer service experience possible.  I promise you that I will go out of my way to meet and exceed your expectations.  If I don’t have the answer…I will do everything in my power to find it and fast.  I will hold the coffee hostage until I get an answer!  

Feel free to email me at gretchen.robinson@aspdotnetstorefront.com.  I welcome all questions, comments and concerns and cannot wait to blog more about customer service-related themes to help make your organization more customer-friendly.  If you have any suggestions for future topics, please feel free to drop me a note!

To my customer,
I may not have the answer, but I’ll find it.
I may not have the time, but I’ll make it.
AUTHOR UNKNOWN