Ecommerce Forum Solutions

A Home Business Article Contributed by Elizabeth Fox-Wise

To Have a Forum on Your Ecommerce Site or Not? That is the Question - What is the Solution?

There is really no set answer for whether or not your ecommerce business should host a chat forum, but if you choose to host one, there is a solution for the main disadvantage of having one.

It has been said by some that hosting a forum at your ecommerce site is a good way to encourage your customers to spend more time at your site which will hopefully lead to increased revenue. The other advantages sited for having a forum is that it helps customers and prespective customers feel a sense of belonging at your site, enables them to see you as an expert in your ecommerce business and serves as a promotional vehicle to get people to your site so they will see what you have to sell.

However, it is also well known that nobody want to go to an "unpopular club" so having a forum at your site which is not well received and has very little posts and activity, can actually project the wrong image to your customers and hurt your ecommerce business in the long run.

So....when it comes to hosting an ecommerce forum or not - what is the solution?

The Solution to Hosting an Ecommerce Forum is to Make Sure it is Popular!

Starting an ecommerce forum can be very challenging, at first visitors and posters might be few and far between. There are several things you can do to help ensure the forum's popularity and the solution to this ecommerce dilemma.

Be sure that your forum has several interesting and focused topics. These topics should be ones that would be of interest to the people you are trying to draw to your ecommerce business. For example, if your ecommerce business sells collectibles, a good solution to your forum topics could be the various collectible categories and sub categories such as Science Fiction, Teddy Bears, etc. As a matter of fact for an ecommerce site that sells collectibles, a forum is a wonderful solution as people love to get together with those who have similar collecting hobbies!

You should use care when selecting the forum software that your ecommerce site will use. A major solution for an effective forum is it needs to be easily accessible from other parts of your ecommerce site. It should also be user friendly. If it is difficult to use or visitors do not feel welcome you will have built one of those "unpopular clubs" that no one wants to go to.

Your forum should have a clear list of rules, a disclaimer and most of all should be actively moderated. Visitors will not return to your forum is posts are allowed to be rude or obtrusive to others.

A Few More Things to Ensure a Good Solution for an Ecommerce Forum

The owner of the forum needs to take an active interest in the forum and demonstrate this by contributing regularly. It is also important to promote your forum both online and offline wherever your prospective customers may gather.

Implement all of these, and there is no reason why your ecommerce forum solution can't be to be the "best club in town"!