Electronic Commerce is
exactly analogous to a
marketplace on the Internet.
Electronic Commerce (also
referred to as EC,
e-commerce eCommerce or
ecommerce) consists
primarily of the
distributing, buying,
selling, marketing and
servicing of products or
services over electronic
systems such as the Internet
and other computer networks.
The information technology
industry might see it as an
electronic business
application aimed at
commercial transactions; in
this context, it can involve
electronic funds transfer,
supply chain management,
e-marketing, online
marketing, online
transaction processing,
electronic data interchange
(EDI), automated inventory
management systems, and
automated data collection
systems. Electronic commerce
typically uses electronic
communications technology of
the World Wide Web, at some
point in the transaction's
lifecycle, although of
course electronic commerce
frequently depends on
computer technologies other
than the World Wide Web,
such as databases, and
e-mail, and on other
non-computer technologies,
such as transportation for
physical goods sold via
e-commerce.
Its Success factors
In many cases, an e-commerce
company will survive not
only based on its product,
but by having a competent
management team, good
post-sales services,
well-organized business
structure, network
infrastructure and a
secured, well-designed
website. A company that
wants to succeed will have
to perform 2 things:
Technical and organizational
aspects and
customer-oriented. Following
factors will make business
of companies succeed in
e-commerce
Technical and organizational
aspects
Sufficient work done in
market research and
analysis. E-commerce is not
exempt from good business
planning and the fundamental
laws of supply and demand.
Business failure is as much
a reality in e-commerce as
in any other form of
business. A good management
team armed with information
technology strategy. A
company's IT strategy should
be a part of the business
re-design process. Providing
an easy and secured way for
customers to effect
transactions. Credit cards
are the most popular means
of sending payments on the
internet, accounting for 90%
of online purchases. In the
past, card numbers were
transferred securely between
the customer and merchant
through independent payment
gateways. Such independent
payment gateways are still
used by most small and home
businesses. Most merchants
today process credit card
transactions on site through
arrangements made with
commercial banks or credit
cards companies. Providing
reliability and security.
Parallel servers, hardware
redundancy, fail-safe
technology, information
encryption, and firewalls
can enhance this
requirement.
Providing a 360-degree view
of the customer
relationship, defined as
ensuring that all employees,
suppliers, and partners have
a complete view, and the
same view, of the customer.
However, customers may not
appreciate the big brother
experience.
Customer experience
A successful e-commerce
organization must also
provide an enjoyable and
rewarding experience to its
customers. Many factors go
into making this possible.
Such factors include
Providing value to
customers. Vendors can
achieve this by offering a
product or product-line that
attracts potential customers
at a competitive price, as
in non-electronic commerce.
Providing service and
performance. Offering a
responsive, user-friendly
purchasing experience, just
like a flesh-and-blood
retailer, may go some way to
achieving these goals.
Providing an incentive for
customers to buy and to
return. Sales promotions to
this end can involve
coupons, special offers, and
discounts. Cross-linked
websites and advertising
affiliate programs can also
help.Providing personal
attention. Personalized web
sites, purchase suggestions,
and personalized special
offers may go some of the
way to substituting for the
face-to-face human
interaction found at a
traditional point of sale.
Providing a sense of
community. Chat rooms,
discussion boards,
soliciting customer input
and loyalty programs
(sometimes called affinity
programs) can help in this
respect. Owning the
customer's total experience.
E-tailers foster this by
treating any contacts with a
customer as part of a total
experience, an experience
that becomes synonymous with
the brand. Letting customers
help themselves. Provision
of a self-serve site, easy
to use without assistance,
can help in this respect.
This implies that all
product information is
available, cross-sell
information, advise for
product alternatives, and
supplies & accessory
selectors.
