Session recap: If you built it, update it

ATLANTA - When it comes to e-commerce, there are plenty of pitfalls for providers to fall into, including “set it and forget it” websites. HME News spoke to Medtrade East speakers, VGM’s Cassi Price, director of marketing and sales, and Lindy Tentinger, president, about what to prioritize and how to keep customers coming back.

HME News: How has the pandemic changed online shopping?

Cassi Price: Consumers have gotten used to some niceties that came up during the pandemic, such as (curbside pickup). Target and bigger businesses offered it before the pandemic, but it’s become more of the norm and something that people expect from all businesses that have a local presence in their area—not because of health reasons, but more because of convenience and time savings.

HME: What’s a common mistake that providers make that has an easy fix?

Price: That's an easy one. Update your hours – that’s something that’s overlooked. A lot of businesses have had to drastically change their hours, either based on staffing issues or regulation changes. That catches a lot of customers off guard when they show up and see a sign on the door.

Lindy Tentinger: A very, very simple pro-tip is just update your content. Make sure it’s relevant. Make sure it's been updated in the last 30 days. That’s how you’re going to dominate search. If you have old content, you’re never going to show up in a search.

HME: If attendees walk away from your session learning one thing, what should it be?

Tentinger: It’s not “If you build it, they will come.” Your e-commerce needs to be treated like any other marketing channel: It needs to be nourished, it needs to be updated, it needs to be continually invested in. There are experts out there to help because it's not easy, but if you just build it and you let it sit there, you’re not going to be happy with the results.