E-Commerce Is Hit or Miss

In 2004, when we first published NovuScript to the World Wide Web, our intent was to provide a Web-based application for transcriptionists to use to transfer digital voice files and typed documents between themselves and their physician clients in a secure, encrypted manner. At the time, digital dictation recorders did not come with software that met HIPAA requirements for protecting patient information when sending files by FTP or e-mail.

Shortly thereafter, our customers were asking to purchase the actual recorders and transcription kits they needed. Our first idea was to simply become an affiliate for an existing retailer. That is, we would generate sales leads for someone already selling digital dictation equipment by linking from our site to theirs. If our customers bought from them, we would receive an affiliate commission. You no doubt have seen thousands of sites with links to Amazon.com for books. These are affiliate links. The Web site owners receive small commissions if a visitor clicks on the Amazon link on their site and ends up purchasing from Amazon.

We contacted a dealer near us and worked out that we would not only receive a commission for referred sales, but that they would create a special on-line catalog with our logo on it. Great, we thought, until we saw the result. The Web site they put together was shoddy and all the prices were marked up higher than what they sold the products for on their own site. We were greatly disappointed.

As long-time Web site engineers, we then said, "why don't we do this ourselves?" Of course, if the competition was well-established and well executed, it might not be worth the effort. To our amazement no one in the digital dictation industry had a Web presence that was anywhere close to what we expected.

We dove in. But, it wasn't just the quality of the presentation that was important to us. We wanted to make sure we offered all the features that the best of e-commerce has to offer:

• Liberal return policy.
• Extensive product information.
• Secure, easy-to-use checkout process.
• Telephone sales and support without complicated calling "trees."
• Expert technical support

It took a while and a large investment to bring all this to the Web, but since then, we're happy to say that we have thousands of satisfied customers all across the US, including all US territories. We sell to doctors, lawyers, transcriptionists, writers, journalists, politicians, teachers, researchers, State department employees, law enforcement agencies, community boards, and many, many more types.

To point to all this is that we proved what we always believed about e-commerce: that it could be a great shopping tool if offered by the right people with the right motivations.

Of course, there are many in our niche, as well as hundreds of other niches, that fail to deliver as similar a quality experience on-line as you would expect off-line. We continue to get calls from people who have been mislead, mistreated and downright cheated on-line. They're not alone. We have experienced our share of bad on-line retail.

Here are our own rules for shopping on-line:

• Never shop with an on-line retailer that does not provide an easy-to-find telephone number and a complete physical address.
• Review all return policies and satisfaction guarantees. Avoid those who will not receive back products you do not like, or who charge re-stocking fees if everything is returned. (It's not unusual for any retailer to not take back opened software.) Avoid those who do not make their return policy easy to find.
• Take a close look at their Web site. Does it reflect the quality you've come to expect? We believe a Web site reflects a company's overall reputation, just as a clean, well-designed store.
• Can you download owner manuals, software updates, etc? How committed does the vendor appear to be to providing product information and technical support?

These are some of our own guidelines. We shop on-line a lot, but we try to be very careful with whom we deal, as it is very easy to create a Web site and take your money. Hopefully, as more consumers become educated, the market will force those less reputable from on-line retail.