AuctionBytes featured eBay PowerSeller John Lawson in the July "Critique My Site" column. John had started selling on eBay in 2002 and began getting serious about his store in October 2006. John was looking for feedback from AuctionBytes readers as he concentrated on his website, 3rdPowerOutlet.com, and he checked in with us recently to give us an update.

When we spoke to John in July, he said the store was doing 20% of his business volume without yet having started Google campaigns or serious search-engine optimization. He said that while he might only get a few orders per day on the web store, the average sale was usually a multiple order, sometimes with dozens of items. "The income per sale is 2-5 times what the average eBay sale is," he said

After 3rdPowerOutlet was featured in Critique My Site, readers gave John helpful feedback on the forums (http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=22565).

John said ChannelAdvisor then approached him to do a redesign of his store thanks to the article in AuctionBytes. We had some specific questions for John, and he kindly explained the process he went through to take his site to the next level.

AuctionBytes: What changes did you make to the store, and why?

John: We made a complete "overhaul". Part of the reason for doing the initial Critique My Store was to get outside opinions on the design from some fresh eyes. I had been wanting to make some changes to the store before the holiday season and needed some ideas for areas of improvement. When Eva (my ChannelAdvisor Corporate Account Manager) called about seeing us in the AuctionBytes feature she suggested we allow them to get involved in my redesign.

AuctionBytes: What do you think was the best change?

John: The homepage and header. I like the way the home page was coded, so we can easily make changes to the look and feel for promotions or holidays without having to reformat a lot of HTML code.

The header of the site was nearly doubled in size and included the "control Scan" large badge. At first, I did not like the idea when it was presented to me. I loved the way it looked but felt it was too large an area. However, it has proved to be a fabulous enhancement for Google Adwords management. It allows me to navigate Google Ads directly to any landing page or item page and the user still feels like they are entering the site on a product page that is informative and not "missing" links to key company information and site navigational elements. It permeates a strong brand on every page this way.

AuctionBytes: In addition to design changes, did you make any changes in your marketing?

John: As I stated above, I am now able to market a single item or family of items by navigating ads to the product or landing page. Buyers are quickly seeing what that are looking to buy and tracking ad performance analytics became much less time consuming. The overall look of a professionally designed site has allowed me command higher price points for products and we are getting more buyers.

AuctionBytes: Have sales increased? How about average order size?

John: Surprisingly we saw a nearly immediate boast in sales as soon as the design went live. Sales have increased about 30% and I have not sent out our "new store" email to our customer list yet, nor had I done any additional marketing. Customers just started purchasing more often.

Order size data is an odd one. What we used to see is nothing but multiple item orders prior to the redesign. Now the multi item orders are still there and have increased. But, where we would rarely see people order 1 or 2 items, now we are capturing that customer as well. My uneducated guess here is that customers who are browsing sites (window shopping) are less likely to buy from a "mom-n-pop" looking web store, even if they see an item of interest.

Items like a single trucker hat or a pair of shoelaces that we NEVER sold before are suddenly hot items since the new design was rolled-out (note: click these links and you will see how a landing page looks like a site of its own as I mentioned above). And I have not changed a thing yet to promote those items. Items that were pretty good store sellers like Styrofoam wig heads are flying out the door now.

AuctionBytes: Were the AuctionBytes forum critiques helpful? Anything specific you would point to as being most helpful?

John: The critiques were very helpful. Many of them were compliments about the old design and elements. This helped me know that I did not have to throw the baby out with the bath water. What I felt needed to be done from the ground up suddenly became apparent that we had a good foundation already to build upon.

One specific critique came that dealt with formatting and coding issues that were over my head to comprehend. I made a copy of that critique and forwarded it to the designer and told him to address them, line by line.

AuctionBytes: What would you tell other online sellers about improving their websites and online sales?

John: We are so brand new to the whole process and I am just a novice in the online retail world. In my few years of doing this both on and off eBay one thing is for sure: if you are not constantly moving forward you are dying. There is no such thing as floating in online retail, things are constantly changing and improving. If you have done nothing to change and improve your presence, then you are getting left behind everyday. I do not advocate chasing every new fad because there are so many, but you do need to tweak your online presence at least 2 times a year to stay current.

When I had my initial consultation with my web designer, he had a whole list of questions. I told him that I wanted 2 things. #1) He had to keep my current logo and the branding of my colors had to stay the same. #2) DO NOT give me anything that you used before or a template design. Everything else was up for negotiation. I did not want to railroad him into my uneducated ideas. I wanted him to do what he did best and then submit his ideas for my approval, changes or guidance.

This method worked out extremely well for me, it allowed him to bring his expertise to the table as a co-creator of the design instead of me just dictating what I "thought" was best. And at the same time, when I put my foot down and said NO to some of his "best practices", cookie-cutter design suggestions. Although they had been used successfully in some prior projects, then I basically insisted that we try to do it this "unique" way against his initial judgement, it expanded his creativity as well. The end result of our collaboration netted a site that I am extremely proud of. It does not look like a cookie cutter web page that you can buy online, it is a professionally designed custom store unique to 3rd Power Outlet....mission accomplished.

AuctionBytes: Anything else?

John: Just a shout out to the staff at ChannelAdvisor who recognize that we are partners in our business. This is a rare relationship when a company that supports huge web solutions for major market retailers will take the time to recognize the value of assisting our business in pursuit of those same goals. From the top down and from day one we have never been treated or felt like a small fish in a big pond. I remember the day that the sales person called me with all the promises, as sales people usually do, I rolled my eyes with that "yeah right" feeling. But they really have done above and beyond my expectations. We are on the right path and ChannelAdvisor has help us every step of the way.

This is not a commercial, but a testimonial. We got what we came for and our business has grown tremendously Y-over-Y and CA has a large part in that success for us. Make sure when you decide to go from your own auction management to a paid management solution, you get the proper support to help your business grow along with the tools from the provider. It can really make all the difference.

I am please with this store design, it is fabulous!

Be sure and check out the before and after screenshots of 3rdPowerOutlet.com on the forums, and leave your comments and suggestions, too!
http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=22565