Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Putting Policies in Place

As you might expect, creating your customer service pledge is only the beginning of the customer care policy. To manage your online business successfully and legitimately, you have to put several policies in place. The government mandates some policies, and others are the result of common sense to minimize confusion for yourself, your employees, and the people you do business with. For example, when working with franchise organizations, one of the most critical components of doing business is the policy manual, a small booklet filled with written policies establishing an unwavering set of guidelines and procedures for operating. The policy manual serves as an easy reference tool when you have questions about how to operate.

Policies are equally important to customers, employees, and vendors. Although you don't have to create a formal manual filled with your policies, you must write them down somewhere. In many cases, you should also publish them on your Web site, to protect yourself from misunderstandings and reassure your customers about how you do business.

Privacy policy

A privacy policy details how you collect, treat, and use the information you receive from customers and from other people who visit your Web site. This policy not only covers information that customers knowingly provide but also applies to the use of cookies, or the information files that Web servers create to track data about people and the online sites they visit. Your privacy policy, ...