Back to Top Make ordering easy When Rose and Samuels acquired the Web site, it was just a page with some pictures of the snack cakes, descriptions and pricing Their first move was to make it easier for customers to place an order. Samuels developed a database that displays the product catalog and prices and computes the shipping cost portion of purchased based on UPS rates and the destination zip code, so a customer can see the total cost online. They've also added the ability to pay online via CyberCash, a company which provides secure credit card transactions. Customers enter their credit card number which goes to a secure server and that information is sent through a secure gateway for processing. CyberCash queries the customer's bank to approve or deny the purchase.
Immediate feedback is provided and the transaction is completed.
The partners realized that their customer base was already loyal to the products they sold, and was willing to pay a significant mark-up for the treat of having these foods. To exploit this loyalty, Regional Delights now actively uses the Internet to market to customers and encourage repeat orders. The results have been impressive. For example, they send direct email to prior customers when new Drakes products are added. Back to Top Create online traffic builders Regional Delights also is trying to actively recruit affiliate Web sites, who will receive a cut of sales if they provide a link to the Regional Delights site.