Mollys.ie Pet Shop
I’m delighted to announce the launch of the Brand New Mollys.ie - My latest e-commerce venture in partnership with Mollys founder Claire Lanigan. Mollys Pet Boutique is one of Ireland’s Top Pet Shop Brands.
Using a new platform and combining that with the tips and tricks picked up from other businesses in my portfolio, this is one of the most exciting projects to date. The pet industry has some big established competitors and it’s extremely populated, selling dog clothes and healthy cat food might not sound like an obvious step for the guy that spent the latter half of last year choosing my favorite bikini models, while moving one of Ireland’s fastest growing e-commerce companies to a whole new level. But the business principles and strategies are similarly aligned and i do love a challenge of taking on bigger and bigger opportunities. Will be interesting to see how this one plays out.
As always would love to hear your thoughts on the new site:
Neil Ward said
am December 29 2009 @ 8:20 pm
That link isn’t working I’m afraid.
Cute website though - what made you go for GeoTrust, as a matter of interest?
Ronan said
am December 30 2009 @ 2:30 am
Hi Neil, thanks fixed that link.
We moved to GEO Trust from another SSL on all my sites about a year ago based on a recommendation. I like it cause it has the 256-bit capability that some don’t, but can’t take credit for the decision to move use it as people who work for me (that are far smarter than I) made the call. Ofcourse SSL is just a bare minimum standard which people just recognise as a lock icon or https, as is PCI compliance just a minimum standard that banks use as a buzz word with little understanding of it. I can never get over how many Irish e-commerce businesses have no idea about how to protect their customers.
Omar said
am December 30 2009 @ 3:44 pm
Congratulations on your newest business venture. I wish you and your partner(s) the greatest success.
One thing I did notice on your site is that your company did not opt for an Extended Validation SSL Certificate. Being a new site and with your apparent concern for protecting your customers while at the same time increasing business it seems to me that an EV SSL would have both increased security and consumer confidence.
I understand that the decision is most times made by the “tech guys” however from a partner perspective it is something that could help conversion rates and reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Ronan said
am December 30 2009 @ 6:11 pm
Hi Omar,
I agree we were looking into the TrueBusiness option with $100,000 warranty as something to consider in the new year.
Even if someone hacks through SSL, there’s a complex encryption system far beyond PCI levels so customers as completely safe. The attraction for the possible up-grade as you said would be more perceived consumer confidence than any real value.
Omar said
am December 31 2009 @ 4:19 pm
Ronan,
It makes perfect sense that you wouldn’t rely solely on an SSL to encrypt customer data. That would be the equivalent of locking the front door of your home while leaving all your valuables on the kitchen table.
I dont know how in-depth the EV SSL option was discussed but I’m sure you’d agree that the perceived consumer confidence is what essentially drives online business.
Take a look at this study that was done this year by Paypal. https://www.paypal-media.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=391252
Particularly the line “Concerned about security of credit card data: 21 percent”
If an EV SSL could save even one in five of that 21% what would that mean to your company?
There are a handful more features that an EV SSL comes with that I’d like to discuss with you a bit more for your own edification. Nothing overly technical, mostly from a marketing perspective.
My email address should be visible to you so I’m sure that you are aware that I am a Comodo employee, and therefore I am very familiar with competitor pricing. With that in mind, I am sure that it would be a mutually beneficial conversation to have. I look forward to hearing from you.
Ronan said
am January 2 2010 @ 4:22 pm
I’m not sure i agree that those figures in that study equate on this side of the ocean. In the US people expect free shipping as its the norm shipping is cheap in the US and customers often accept “restocking fees” and “all sales are final”. Not only is that illegal in Europe but simply people wouldn’t accept it.
The concern of credit card security is one i would question its relation to EV solving a 4% cart abandonment rate. After all its just a link saying “yes their clean” so one has to assume Joe Public knows of and trusts the SSL provider. Some people just are afraid of giving their card details online - nothing to do with the site in question, but unfounded fears of “trusting computers”, we getting hundreds of calls who just want to hear that there is a person behind the website.
So the question comes down to are there enough people who trust the provider to spend €1000+ PA on adding them to my sites.
Omar said
am January 4 2010 @ 3:43 pm
Ronan,
I hope the New Year finds you well. You make very valid points regarding “restocking” and “re-stocking” fees. I also agree that the Certificate Authorities reputation with users is very important. One thing that Comodo can claim is that we are not just a certificate authority. We have developed award-winning personal use anti-virus and firewall software that is downloaded thousands of times per day. That is important because although you may not be as familiar with Comodo, your visitors are much more likely to be.
As for EV Certificates helping reduce the concern over credit card information, we know that the golden padlock has become a watered down symbol of security and trust. Every time a user updates their browser, they are being constantly reminded to “Look for the green address bar” pages from companies like Microsoft. Here is an example of what a user sees , http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/ev/default.mspx
I’d be more than happy to send you more statistics of users that are familiar with our company as well as a list of sites similar to yours that have been using our product with proven success.
Also, in regards to pricing if we are talking about securing two sites, then the figure of €1000 that you mentioned is even further proof that we should discuss some of the options that I can provide you.
Ronan said
am January 4 2010 @ 4:12 pm
Omar, your comments are becoming a bit too off topic / aggressive sales material, yes EV is good, yes GEO trust can do this also. I’m a little disappointed you didn’t take the time to look into the fact that I am already a Comodo customer in other respects(hence familiar with Comodo) or read the blog to find out how many other sites i own / invest in.
Omar said
am January 4 2010 @ 5:05 pm
Ronan,
I assure you that it was not my intention to come off as simply trying to sell you a product. From our earlier conversations it was not possible to tell how in-depth the conversation of EV SSL went. I was simply trying to make sure that you had all the information that I would want for myself when making a decision. My persistence stems from my deep-seeded belief in an EV SSL product for an E-commerce site.
As for having verified that you are an existing client, I do not have direct access to that information. My apologies for that.
Either way, I hope you found some of the information helpful. Best wishes in all your ventures.