myswiftstore.com

Smartcube Limited is an Irish owned and managed company who specialise in the development of software as a service (SAAS) - the model of offering cutting edge design and technology in a ‘pay-as-you-go’ model.   

We spoke to Jacinta Kelly, Head of Marketing, about the launch of their new product, myswiftstore.com, a feature rich hosted e-commerce solution designed specifically for small and medium sized businesses.  

When did you start developing myswiftstore.com?

Development of the solution began in 2008 and trials with a number of customers were soon underway by early 2009.   Effectively we took a customer-led approach to our product development and many of the features added were based on trial customer feedback and ongoing market research.  For example, our research indicated that over 80% of all shoppers start out with a search on google and other search engines to find products, services and suppliers.  So we incorporated search engine optimisation (SEO) into Swiftstore to ensure our customers products achieved high visibility within organic searches at no extra cost.  

Also we factored in the growth of social media networks as a means to share information, communicate special offers and promote products which is why we have integrated Swiftstore with all of the main social media services (e.g. twitter, facebook, YouTube).  In this way a customer that wants to do a special promotion or announce a new product can reach a wide audience in a couple of clicks.

Why did you decide to start your business/how did you come up with the idea?

We identified a need to deliver an easy-to-use, quick set-up and affordable packaged e-commerce solution for start-up and established businesses.  It can be quite daunting and costly to create an online presence, particularly for a start-up, with separate costs for website creation, graphic design, hosting and SEO and that’s before you add an e-commerce capability to sell online.

Swiftstore addresses this need allowing our customers to choose from a variety of designs in branding their store and to get started in minutes and not days or weeks.  

What makes your business different or special?

First and foremost our people.  Both our technical and management team have a wealth of experience and as an Irish based company we can provide local support and assistance to our customers.  Secondly our partnerships, and particularly with a leading payment process provider, which has allowed us to package our e-commerce solution with secure payment processing capabilities,  and so our customers have a seamless offering from a single source.  

Finally the solution itself, in that it is user friendly and no programming experience is required to use the back-end CRM functionality. Our customers are empowered to manage their online store and make changes to content, products, pricing or discounts when they decide.

What are your plans for the future?

Innovation in m-commerce applications as we see more and more shoppers using Smartphone technology and m-commerce transactions increasing year on year.  Swiftstore customers will be able to showcase and sell their products on the move, whether at networking events, exhibitions or general field sales.  We will start with iphone later this year and include more next-generation mobiles in the near future.

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