Holiday Wish List for Marketers, Part 4

Can one cart do it all Last year’s new lauded the return of specialty vending machines. Stationary salesmen filled with the latest fictional novels is a change from dispensing late-night sandwiches and pies, but it satisfies a niche. That’s what small and solo business owners identify with most.

Today’s wish piggybacks on this trend. It’s a wish for quick and simple automation to streamline the delivery of products and services.

Business owners know that many automation choices exist. The problem occurs when we attempt to match what we want with what’s available. Here’s an example.

I sell books, CDs, DVDs, and specialty reports. The first three can only be delivered by mail, while the reports are deliverable by mail or Email. My clients often want both products, but I cannot find an automated shopping cart that accommodates both requests.

In other words, I need one cart that understands that part of the order will be mailed and the other part will be automatically delivered to the client via Email when the credit card processing is approved.

I want the cart to “read the order.” That means:

1. Process the credit card
2. Deliver the Emailed reports
3. Send the entire order to me showing that the credit card was processed and Emailed reports delivered, leaving me to mail the rest of the order.

My future plans include working with a fulfillment house to processed mailed orders, but I’m committed to taking this process one step at a time. Right now, online cart automation is what I desire.

I’m aware of the more-popular online carts but don’t believe they perform what I’ve described. Am I asking for too much? Have you found a cart that does this?

Right now I’m manually Emailing reports. That is unacceptable now and will definitely become a burden as I move forward with other business. Automation is mandatory if solo business owners, like me, are to be truly successful.

I’m wishing for a solution. Do you know of one?

Technorati Tags: small business marketing, solo business marketing, holiday wish list, automation, Email delivery, vending machines, online shopping carts