One of the keys to successful e-tailing even more than with conventional retailing simply may be overcoming inertia. It’s easy for customers who don’t already shop with you to continue not doing so.

At least for me, one of the best reasons to continue not doing so is the hassle. Registering and setting up an account with a new online store means typing in personal information, credit-card numbers and passwords.

Doing this over and over for each online store makes cyber-shopping seem a little too much like data-entry, and even software that automatically stores and enters some of this information for you (like Microsoft Internet Explorer, or the latest version of the Mac OS) doesn’t make registering trouble-free. There had better be a good reason to bother registering with a new online store.

When a company does persuade me to try its new online offering, however, I’ve started to notice how and why.

It happened most recently in a simple way. I needed a piece of equipment for an aquarium. I searched for online pet stores and went with the one that offered a $10 rebate on any purchase over $20, plus free shipping on the first order. That discount was enough to convince me, and now I’ll probably be a repeat customer.

Put yourself on the seller’s end of this transaction and you have a simple rule of e-tailing: it helps to overcome people’s natural inertia if you make some kind of special offer.

This is utterly obvious to anyone who sells anything, but the stakes are a little higher with e-commerce. Once you’ve got somebody signed up, the bother of signing up with another store may predispose them to sticking with you.

In other words, their loyalty will be yours to lose, and it will be up to you to offer a site that won’t lose it.

“A good e-commerce site is one that puts the customer first by realizing a few key facts,” says Eric Pulier, chairman and co-founder of US Interactive, an Internet professional services company. “A better price is a click away, so you’d better be the best price or the best service or the best ‘something’ and that something had better be clear and concisely expressed.”

What are some other ways of keeping online customers with you and being the best?

– Be up front about inventory. Some online stores don’t let customers know an item is out of stock until after their order has been processed. This is not only annoying, it’s dumb, and it may cost you a second-choice sale. If the customers knew right away that an item was out of stock, they might have chosen another one of your offerings. Now, they may go elsewhere.

– Offer solid security. Not only must you take every technical precaution to ensure that your customers’ credit information and other personal data isn’t misused, your site should make it as obvious as possible that this is exactly what you are doing. Be up front about your security arrangements.

A surprising number of e-commerce sites still look a little dicey in this regard. Because Web sites lack the “human touch” of face-to-face shopping, the “virtual reputation” that you build as an e-merchant is especially important.

– Suggest other products to buy. On sites like Amazon.com, almost every time you search for a product, you also get a short list of other products that you might be interested in. Sometimes these recommendations are a little off base, but sometimes they are genuinely helpful because they bring to light a product that the customer wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Make sure that your pages show appropriate links to related products, too.

– Do online clearance. If you have inventory that you’re in a hurry to get rid of, keep a “clearance sale” link on your site’s home page. People like me, who carry the cheapness gene, look for it almost every time just to make sure we’re not missing out on anything good.

– Be available. If you don’t offer a phone number that customers can call 24 hours a day if they have questions, at least provide an e-mail address. State up front that you’ll respond to all requests within one business day, and keep that promise.

– Offer quick order confirmation. Because they haven’t actually dealt with a human salesperson, customers naturally wonder if their online order went through if they don’t hear anything for awhile. Lock in a good impression with customers by confirming their order and telling them when they can expect it. Some sites confirm the order in minutes and offer an update (with package tracking information) when the product ships.

– Resort to gimmicks. That is, as long as the gimmicks don’t drive people away. One of the latest tricks is to try to give online stores a little personality with cartoon characters that provide advice, like the Style Shrink at SheGetsDressed.com, or that even haggle with you over prices, such as “Chester” of MakeUsAnOffer.com.

These animated characters are especially useful in reaching all those customers who thought that Microsoft Bob, the ill-fated attempt at an animated operating system, was a really great idea. In all seriousness, however, this kind of thing done well might really set you apart from the competition.

Some of the keys to successful e-commerce are not so much about the technology involved, but how that technology is used to support your online sales efforts. It’s your overall strategy, design and the “experience” of your site that will bring people to it, and keep them coming back.

Christopher Ott is a freelance technology writer and author of “Global Solutions for Multilingual Applications” (Wiley, 1999). He can be reached at [email protected].