This is IT! Your Guide to E-Commerce, Online Catalogs & Other Information Technology

There's more reason now than ever before to make it easy for your customers to find you--and buy from you--online.

By Ilona French

Competition to win customers in the virtual world is as fierce as the fight for the checkered flag on Saturday night at the short track. While brick and mortar racing businesses dominate the market, a strong presence on the Internet helps any racing business reach a wider customer pool. It also can add an extra level of convenience to current customers as well as strengthen customer communication.

If you're not convinced of the need to go digital, consider that e-commerce sales were projected to reach $204 billion in 2008, an increase of 17 percent over 2007, according to a Forrester Research study from Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, a leading membership community for digital retail.

As customers flock to the computer to shop (as well as browse, research products, find tech tips, and scope out race shops in their area), there's more reason now than ever before to make it easy for them to find you--and buy from you--online.

Jack McInnis from Troy, Michigan-based Dart Machinery--which is involved with drag racing, circle track, off-road, marine and other racing markets--explained that for a very long time now, the Internet has been something that businesses cannot afford to ignore. "It literally puts racing enthusiasts from all over the world at your doorstep and allows you to interact with them in ways that you could never dream of with other forms of media," he said.

"In today's world, where nearly everything seems to revolve around the Internet, anyone who is not represented with a website is likely to be completely overlooked or passed over," said Jim Davis from Hawthorne, California-based Professional Products, which manufactures a number of products for the racing market. "Today, with most consumers, the Internet is the first place they look for information on products they are interested in. If you are not there, chances are they will end up buying somebody else's product."

For a growing number of businesses, having a compelling website is as important as having a telephone. "I cannot believe those who do not have a presence online," said Dan Mermelstein from Chandler, Arizona-based Vivid Racing, a worldwide distributor of performance racing products. "Without our online store, we would not have business--90 percent of our business is outside our state; 75 percent of that is all from phone calls based on the traffic driven to the website. The cost of doing catalogs or mailers is so expensive and cannot be absolute quantified or even adjusted instantly. Everyone is on the Internet shopping for the best service, products, and unfortunately price. You can't do that in print. The website is a way to show off your company image, capabilities, and products. It is, in essence, your portfolio."

Surfing Safari

The information superhighway offers racing businesses unique opportunities that can reach as far as the imagination. A racing business with a domain name, e-store, online information services and other e-marketing tools can push products, create brand recognition and gain wider exposure to oceans of 'net surfers.

"Any business today needs a robust online presence to be successful," said Bill McKnight from Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Mahle Clevite, which sells Clevite engine bearings and Mahle piston rings to performance engine builders and race venues. "We use the Internet to A) provide 24/7 technical and product support to anyone worldwide with Internet access; B) provide Mahle Clevite direct customers robust, real-time access to our inventory and parts ordering system; C) provide anyone with access to both our light-duty and heavy-duty engine kit look-up systems, complete with product photographs; D) provide anyone access to our complete line of catalogs via downloadable PDF files; and E) utilizing drivers like JR Todd and Hillary Will, provide people with an inside look at the life of a professional race car driver." The company developed its online catalog for 2009 using the software system Pricedex.

Holliston, Massachusetts-based Lista International, which designs and manufactures storage and workspace systems used in racing, uses two principle websites, allowing customers to do research and purchasing online 24/7. "Our corporate site is an informational resource describing our products and solutions in a wide variety of settings and markets," said Anne Smagorinsky. "Our Lista Selection e-store offers a number of our most popular products and accessories, available for shipment within two to three days of order placement," she said. "Our e-store is a mini product catalog. Visitors to our corporate site can also download PDFs or request printed copies of our actual company catalogs."

Just as motorsports technology changes, web advancements are constant, as well. For some businesses already online, modifications or even a total revamp from the original concept might be needed to adapt to the times. Mike Zeranski Jr. from North Branford, Connecticut-based Canton Racing Products, which builds oil pans and engine related products for racing and high-performance applications, said, "Our newly redesigned website showcases our complete product line with photos and details on all products. As we introduce new products, we quickly add them to our online catalog to give our customers up-to-the-moment information."

E-Catalogs

If you've ever been stuck trying to find something within a site's complicated maze, then you'll agree: navigation is number one in importance. Viewers want their information fast, with the click of a mouse.

"We set up our online catalog to be as organized and as easy to navigate as possible," said Canton's Zeranski. "We felt it was important for the customer to be able to find what they were looking for with the least amount of searching. All our product categories are listed with product photos so customers can quickly choose their categories by sight. In addition, we have included a product search box on every catalog page to further help customers find what they are looking for."

Many successful racing businesses provide a downloadable catalog for users to print out or view online. A copy of Dart's print catalog is available online, "but more importantly," said McInnis, "almost all of our products can be viewed online and can be directly purchased. The entire site functions as a kind of expanded catalog. We wanted to make information easily available with much more depth than a typical catalog offers."

Professional Products' Davis believes it's more cost effective to put product information on its site versus in its printed catalog. For example, the company's website has an entire section devoted to dyno tests on its manifolds; instructions are posted on the website, as well.

However, McInnis warned,  "We encountered several challenges during our recent online overhaul. Dart has been using the Internet as a marketing tool for a long time, but never to the extent that it's being put to use now. Adjusting a marketing plan to wholly embrace online marketing requires an entirely different way of thinking. Many techniques that work well in print marketing will be total failures in online marketing. Similarly, commerce systems that have been in place for years at your business (like product shipment arrangements) need a lot of work to get ready for interactions with customers that are buying products in new ways and from all over the world."

Sometimes, solutions come by way of an experienced web design company. Orlando, Florida-based Race Host is a full-service racing/motorsports website design company that designs and hosts websites and e-commerce stores for a variety of racing companies. To create an online catalog, John (Trey) Piccard III said, "There are many 'off the shelf' e-commerce softwares that can be used, but in my opinion, the best way for a racing business to develop an online catalog is to hire a professional web development company to develop their online catalog for them. Once developed, they can have a member of their staff trained to manage the online catalog or hire a reliable subcontractor to manage it for them. Our RaceCart Ecommerce Software is a great e-commerce software for racing companies to use because it is developed specifically for the motorsport industry."

"Creating an online catalog can mean a lot of different things to different businesses," explained Danielle Renner, of Jump Digital Media, Irvine, California. "The ultimate goal would be to create an online shopping experience that mirrors or enhances the offline shopping experience."

Renner said it's important to test your marketing mix. "Make sure to tag your e-commerce catalog with web analytics so you can see how visitors are interacting with the catalog. Remember, with the web we are able to see every click, view, or checkout. This gives web consultants deep information into ways to improve the catalog experience. The data also gives executive management data into how much they should invest into the online catalog in comparison to their offline efforts."

Web Management

Some motorsports companies manage e-commerce and the online catalog in-house while others opt to outsource. "I am the in-house webmaster," said Lista's Smagorinsky. "My responsibilities are for content and troubleshooting. We use a professional web development company who both planned and implemented the e-store, and provides ongoing maintenance. Unless you have someone in-house with adequate time and lots of technical expertise, you're much better off with a company that does e-store work for a living and understands all the coding issues as well as e-commerce best practices."

"In general, it would be great to have an in-house team member who can quickly update the e-commerce catalog with new products, features, etc.," said Renner. "Advanced design and development features or web analytics are great services to outsource because you are able to access numerous experts on your projects in many areas without the measurement of five or six additional staff. Outsourcing can be cost effective if you find the right firm to work with. Try to find a full-service web firm that understands systems administration, strategy and planning, design, and custom application development. Experience in all these areas is a major plus."

Road to Success

Besides building a website, there are many other avenues for establishing a presence on the web. "Building a website is a bare minimum when considering an e-commerce plan," said Dart's McInnis. "Take the most useful or entertaining offerings your website has and create other gateways to them on the web. Sponsoring popular forums, offering users the opportunity to embed your videos in their websites, and working to create useful online services that others will want to link to is the key to making a great site into an e-commerce hub."

Lista's Smagorinsky believes that building the best website you can afford and maintain is job one. However, she said, "There are a lot of racing and motorsports-specific online directories that you can get listed in (usually for free) that enable customers to find you, and you should do research to find these directories and get listed in them. But without a website of your own to link back to, you're missing a lot of opportunity."

Davis from Professional Products recommended researching other manufacturers who have complementary products. "Make an arrangement to link to each other's website," he said.

"Keep your e-commerce business product offerings current and ever-changing so that the customers have a new experience when they revisit," said Piccard from Race Host. "Reach out to your customers via e-newsletters and invite them to come and see new and exciting products and service available from your company online. Make the experience fun and create a sense of community online that draws customers to return time and time again."

Canton utilizes its e-mail newsletter program to send out new product announcements, technical updates, product marketing tips, or anything else that could be helpful. "The newsletter helps us keep in touch with customers that may not have the time to visit the site or call in, but still want to be sure to hear about new products and programs at our company," said Zeranski. "We feel it is an easy way to keep in touch and remind busy customers about the order they may be thinking of placing with our company or that project they have been putting off."

"There are many avenues from Internet community sites to grassroots racing to car shows and word of mouth," said Vivid's Mermelstein. "Many new businesses try to jump onto forums. People need to understand it's not about price; it's about service, quality, and the entire package. Being a part of all types of marketing avenues will reach a great audience and thus help bring in market share and brand recognition."

McInnis offered this final advice to racing businesses about using the Internet to improve business: "If it is something you've been putting on the back burner--don't. Information and ideas spread across the 'net like wildfire all the time. As a commerce environment, it is unfathomably huge and powerful."