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Article #2: Success in e-commerce

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Technical and organizational aspects 12. Providing complete understanding of
In many cases, an e-commerce company will the products or services offered, which
survive not only based on its product, not only includes complete product
but by having a competent management information, but also sound advisors and
team, good post-sales services, selectors.
well-organized business structure, Naturally, the e-commerce vendor must
network infrastructure and a secured, also perform such mundane tasks as being
well-designed website. A company that truthful about its product and its
want to succeed have to perform 2 things: availability, shipping reliably, and
Technical and organizational aspects and handling complaints promptly and
customer-orientedFollowing factors will effectively. A unique property of the
make business of companies succeed in Internet environment is that individual
e-commerce: customers have access to far more
1. Sufficient work done in market information about the seller than they
research and analysis. E-commerce is not would find in a brick-and-mortar
exempt from good business planning and situation. (Of course, customers can, and
the fundamental laws of supply and occasionally do, research a
demand. Business failure is as much a brick-and-mortar store online before
reality in e-commerce as in any other visiting it, so this distinction does not
form of business. hold water in every case.)
2. A good management team armed with Customer-Oriented
information technology strategy. A A successful e-commerce organization must
company's IT strategy should be a part of also provide an enjoyable and rewarding
the business re-design process. experience to its customers. Many factors
3. Providing an easy and secured way for go into making this possible. Such
customers to effect transactions. Credit factors include:
cards are the most popular means of 1. Providing value to customers. Vendors
sending payments on the internet, can achieve this by offering a product or
accounting for 90% of online purchases. product-line that attracts potential
In the past, card numbers were customers at a competitive price, as in
transferred securely between the customer non-electronic commerce.
and merchant through independent payment 2. Providing service and performance.
gateways. Such independent payment Offering a responsive, user-friendly
gateways are still used by most small and purchasing experience, just like a
home businesses. Most merchants today flesh-and-blood retailer, may go some way
process credit card transactions on site to achieving these goals.
through arrangements made with commercial 3. Providing an incentive for customers
banks or credit cards companies. to buy and to return. Sales promotions to
4. Providing reliability and security. this end can involve coupons, special
Parallel servers, hardware redundancy, offers, and discounts. Cross-linked
fail-safe technology, information websites and advertising affiliate
encryption, and firewalls can enhance programs can also help.
this requirement. 4. Providing personal attention.
5. Providing a 360-degree view of the Personalized web sites, purchase
customer relationship, defined as suggestions, and personalized special
ensuring that all employees, suppliers, offers may go some of the way to
and partners have a complete view, and substituting for the face-to-face human
the same view, of the customer. However, interaction found at a traditional point
customers may not appreciate the big of sale.
brother experience. 5. Providing a sense of community. Chat
6. Constructing a commercially sound rooms, discussion boards, soliciting
business model. customer input and loyalty programs
7. Engineering an electronic value chain (sometimes called affinity programs) can
in which one focuses on a "limited" help in this respect.
number of core competencies -- the 6. Owning the customer's total
opposite of a one-stop shop. (Electronic experience. E-tailers foster this by
stores can appear either specialist or treating any contacts with a customer as
generalist if properly programmed.) part of a total experience, an experience
8. Operating on or near the cutting edge that becomes synonymous with the brand.
of technology and staying there as 7. Letting customers help themselves.
technology changes (but remembering that Provision of a self-serve site, easy to
the fundamentals of commerce remain use without assistance, can help in this
indifferent to technology). respect. This implies that all product
9. Setting up an organization of information is available, cross-sell
sufficient alertness and agility to information, advise for product
respond quickly to any changes in the alternatives, and supplies & accessory
economic, social and physical selectors.
environment. 8. Helping customers do their job of
10. Providing an attractive website. The consuming. E-tailers and online shopping
tasteful use of colour, graphics, directories can provide such help through
animation, photographs, fonts, and ample comparative information and good
white-space percentage may aid success in search facilities. Provision of component
this respect. information and safety-and-health
11. Streamlining business processes, comments may assist e-tailers to define
possibly through re-engineering and the customers' job.
information technologies.






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