Our Approach
When your customers win, you win and we win!
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Netalogue plc has built its reputation as ecommerce partner of choice because of its business transforming benefits approach to ecommerce projects.
For over 10 years we have successfully delivered ecommerce projects ON-TIME and ON-BUDGET for mid and large sized companies.
Please take a little time to click the links below to view how the delivery of a Netalogue ecommerce solution project is typically structured. For your planning such solutions usually range from 4-6 weeks delivery (basic requirements) to 10 weeks plus for solutions that are more complex.
If you believe your company has a potential requirement for our ecommerce solution services please call 0845 222 0350 for a friendly discussion with one of our ecommerce specialists.
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End user focus
Did you know 78% of online purchasers have turned off in frustration?
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Why? Every day people use good websites so they spot a stinker instantly. Busy people have neither the time nor the patience to work with anything other than the best. Developing easy to use websites that satisfies today’s sophisticated business processes for people most likely to spend on the Internet has become a huge challenge.
Anyone can design a glossy website but a typical ecommerce website today has to handle more and more functionality such as real time catalogue management, customer segmentation, stock level checking, order histories, multiple payment methods, delivery scheduling, dispatch management, e-procurement, product reviews, rich data handling, returns automation, merchant control tools, business reporting, promotional schemes, etc...
Companies which maintain focus and attention on improving customer focus will reap more sales and experience superior customer-retention rates in the long term.
Using end user focus as a yardstick for success is the core of Netalogue’s development methodology. Continually revisiting this objective to check that any future work we conduct for our clients on the website does not impact against the wider end user goals is a key benefit of the long term relationships we foster with our clients.
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Initial meetings
Analysis without the paralysis!
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Following your first contact with us we usually suggest an initial face to face meeting to discuss your functional requirements. Our primary objective at this stage is to listen hard to what you have to say and to firmly establish what you are looking to achieve.
With clients and experience in many industry sectors it is likely we have previously developed an ecommerce solution for one of your suppliers, clients or even competitors. This will very often enable us to get up to speed quickly with what you are looking for and the challenges you face.
We will typically use some of this time to show you examples of websites (in particular those key solution elements which are not publically facing) to stimulate discussions and clarify requirements. If you have a formal specification document then we will of course retort with more structure at this stage. Either way the objective is to reach a point where we can define requirements and provide your management team with a clear and accurate formal proposal.
Prior to this meeting if you do not have a formal specification document you may wish to give consideration to answering the following questions:
What is your primary business goal in relation to this project?
Below are just some examples of goals many of our clients often share:
1. Boost sales revenues.
2. Increase new customer acquisition.
3. Reach new markets and/or territory.
4. Retain existing customers.
5. Improve search engine optimisation.
6. Increase visits/order conversion rates.
7. Reduce dropped baskets and abandonments.
8. Increase average order value.
9. Formalise cross selling.
10. Maximise use of promotion techniques.
11. Increase business intelligence through analysis.
12. Reduce sales processing costs
13. Meet the demands of a key client
14. Increased automation
15. Improve branding/online perception
16. streamlining business processes.
17. Reduce or remove need for internal IT resources.
18. Reduced call centre costs
19. Improve customer experience.
20. Multi-channel synchronisation
Who are your target audience(s)?
For example are your dealing predominantly with other businesses (i.e. B2b), members of the public (i.e. B2c), both, employees, marketplaces, punchout buyers, affiliates, etc..?
What is your estimated budget for the solution?
Netalogue’s ecommerce platform provides great flexibility for clients who want to start slow and build up or those who have an immediate requirement for a complex site on a tight timeline. With this in mind our clients typically find our pricing policy clear to understand and easy to plan ahead with. Following the initial meeting we will provide you with a detailed proposal that will cover every area of your solution requirements. Some of our clients will modify requirements following this stage should certain features perhaps not be required in the initial roll-out or not within budget.
What timeline are you working to?
We will need to know your proposed go-live date in order to ascertain viability and to offer realistic timetable options for the project planning in our proposals.
How involved do you want your team in the development and maintenance?
Netalogue have many clients who rely on us to provide every single element of a solution from creative input all the way through to database maintenance and management. What is more typical is a relationship which allows for input from the client into certain areas where they have skills or resources they wish to offer in order to reduce the overall cost of the solution. If your team for instance has a flare for design, is keen to manage the data side of a project, etc.. then let us know and we will price accordingly.
Are there any specific or specialist deliverables you require?
Very often our clients will have a specific "must have" feature in the site which could be interface orientated (e.g. navigation, checkout, product selection), a business process preference (e.g. first time clients can only have orders sent to the registered address of the cardholder) or perhaps an integration requirement (e.g. integration with SAP, Sage, etc...). Over the years Netalogue have developed some very exciting ecommerce trickery for clients in many different sectors. We welcome all types of challenges and will rarely fail to offer a solution to even the most demanding of requirements. Very often it is this flexibility that has provided the opportunity for Netalogue to conduct business with some of the World’s largest brands.
Who are your competitors, what can we do together to get ahead?
It is often important for us to have a very specific understanding of the challenges your Company is facing in the marketplace and where precisely the main threats are coming from. It is often a useful exercise to critique what competitors are doing badly and equally what they are doing well in order to establish a shared end user focus. Very often our involvement in this process can offer a "fresh pair of eyes" and with the best of intentions we won’t shy away from playing the devil’s advocate.
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Project planning
Take full advantage of our experience!
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Once we have established the facts surrounding your solution requirements it is always part of our planning process to define a viable project plan.
Through many years business experience working on both large and small projects we realise the importance of meeting expectations and indeed will always plan and drive hard to exceed them.
Every Netalogue proposal is created with the confidence that all key solution elements can be viably delivered on budget and on time. If there is a gap in the plan due to unavailability of information we will highlight the requirements in good time thereby ensuring overall timelines of the project are not threatened because of misunderstanding.
The major parameters we consider when planning your project typically include :
- Business process
- Business direction
- Timeline
- Budget
- Design
- Data
- Integrations
- Bespoke programming
- Hosting
- Migration plan
The more comprehensive Netalogue’s understanding of your ecommerce solution requirements from the outset the more successful we will be in meeting your exact expectations. It is therefore important that clients who do not have formal specification documents attempt to spend some time contemplating and listing their core requirements before the initial meeting stages.
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Proposals
Straightforward and comprehensive with limited jargon!
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A typical Netalogue proposal will detail the following :
- Project overview
- Website design services requirements
- Netalogue ecommerce platform requirements
- Optional Netalogue modules required
- Customisation and bespoke programming required
- Integration requirements
- Data and image services required
- Hosting services required
- Training required
- Helpdesk and support required
- Project plan and timescale
Depending on your preference it is usual for us to provide both purchase and rental options. Netalogue ecommerce solution pricing is transparent and fixed and does not encompass revenue sharing or other transaction fee pricing models.
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Design
Unique, fast loading and memorable!
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Netalogue’s design team work hand in hand with our developers and have many years experience creating unique, fast loading and memorable designs for leading organisations.
Whether you come to us with a firm idea with strict brand guidelines of what you want implemented or whether you want us to lead you with creative input and an agreed number of design iterations, the pride we will take in the precision of delivery will not falter.
Following acceptance of our proposal Netalogue have a number of techniques used to move through this phase which range from white board based brainstorming and user studies to Photoshop illustrations and working prototypes.
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Prototype
A great opportunity to make adjustments
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Netalogue’s development and design team working with your and our assigned project managers will assemble the core and optional platform functionality that has been requested.
At this stage unless requirements are complex and project plan milestones spread differently it is usual for us to form links with your product data and images and a prototype would normally be provided on our development servers.
This gives your team a perfect opportunity to view the site prior to the final build and to pass comments for enhancements and improvements.
Following this stage and provided you are happy you would be expected to sign off on the prototype to signal your acceptance.
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Build & Bespoke
Optimum mix of a robust class leading platform with custom services
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Following acceptance of the prototype Netalogue will begin the final build and customisation of the ecommerce solution. This will include any integration requirements and bespoke functionality requests. At this stage any approved requests following the prototyping stages will be incorporated.
At this stage the client will also typically have provided all the specified content for the ecommerce solution and it will typically be transferred to the live hosting hardware environment for calibration with the anticipated web traffic loadings. Again any requested changes received at this stage which are deemed to be within original project scope will be applied, tested and approved.
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Testing
Dedicated to effective and in depth testing
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At this stage the ecommerce solution will be thoroughly tested by Netalogue for performance, errors, logic flow and accessibility.
This testing phase will ensure the site is ready for handover to the client for client testing which is recommended to ensure the ecommerce solution meets their full approval. Again any requested changes received at this stage which are deemed to be within the original project scope will be applied, tested and approved.
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Hosting
Managed high performance ecommerce hosting
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North of 95% of Netalogue clients elect use our enterprise level ecommerce hosting services which are dedicated to the specific scale and requirements of each client’s ecommerce solution.
Depending on your performance, security and budgetary requirements Netalogue will be able to suggest the very best option.
This may range from shared managed services to fully dedicated web and database servers with dedicated high burst speed connections.
If your company alternatively elects to utilise an internal or third party data centre hosting service then we are happy to work closely and proactively with their representatives to ensure smooth handover.
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Delivery
Making your perfect ecommerce vision a reality!
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The solution that exits the testing phase will essentially be the fully working and approved ecommerce solution that is ready to go live. At this point it is usual for the solution to be fully integrated to all real-time external facilities (e.g. merchant payment providers, security certificates, etc...) and any internal-fit solutions (e.g. accounts, content management, etc...). If training has been specified in the project proposal then it will be provided at this point.
It is at this point that the client will be asked to officially sign off the project.
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Migration Plan
Smooth upgrade with minimum disruption
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Most Netalogue customers are upgraders seeking a more capable ecommerce platform and ensuring a smooth switchover for a busy facility which is being upgraded can often be a key business objective.
Netalogue can provide assistance in this area if required by assisting with data staging, integration cut off timings, security permissions, protection of search rankings, DNS and other provider issues.
Planned and executed correctly this migration process certainly need not be a stressful process and our 24-7 roll-out team will further regularly launch corporate sites in low traffic periods (e.g. early of the hours of the morning) to minimise disruption even further.
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Tweaks
The final 5% of a project counts for as much as 50% of the overall
quality perception
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Following the Delivery stage the client will be provided with logins to the Netalogue Client Extranet which is a sophisticated online facility for Netalogue clients to log design, development and e-marketing ticket requests.
In addition to Netalogue Client Extranet access each client also has access to their own Account Manager who will manage the relationship and expectations between the customer and Netalogue developers.
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Support
We’re ALWAYS there so you’re ALWAYS ON
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Exceptional levels of after-care support are a vital component of any high performance ecommerce solution.
The Internet is a threatening environment that is constantly changing. Netalogue take your sites continued optimum performance and security incredibly seriously and are able to provide the very highest service level guarantees to keep your site running smoothly. Some of UK’s largest organisations rely on this service.
Netalogue maintenance contracts can be provided and tailored to meet your precise requirements and typically include the following services:
- Ecommerce platform support
- Client helpdesk
- Web server hardware performance and maintenance
- Database server hardware performance and maintenance
- Operating system performance and maintenance
- Firewall and anti-virus management
- Security screening and preventative investigations
- PCI compliance for large volume operators
- Ensuring backup processes are running correctly
- 24-7-365 web site monitoring
- Interception of technical queries from your customers
For clients who need to ring fence development time it can be pre-purchased on a monthly contract if required. Clients who purchase time in this way benefit from a priority service. Alternatively time can be purchased on a pay as you use it basis via the client extranet.
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After care meetings
Successful ecommerce solutions are living and breathing entities!
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These meetings are important as a means of maintaining communication after the rollout of a successful ecommerce solution.
If recommendations during these meetings result in additional upgrade or project work deemed too large for management within the client extranet environment then this whole project cycle typically begins again.
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