Strategy? I Don’t Need a Strategy to Sell on the Web! Just Give Me a Web Site, and the Rest Will Take Care of Itself”
- Building a successful e-business is no different than building a successful brick-and-mortar business. It requires a well-thought-out strategy.
- (The term brick-and-mortar business is often used to refer to a company that possesses retail stores, factory production facilities, or warehouses for its operations).
- Building a strategy means an entrepreneur must first develop a clear definition of the company’s target audience and a thorough understanding of those customers’ needs, wants, likes, and dislikes.
- Goal of developing a strategy is to set a business apart from its competition. The same is true for creating a strategy for conducting business online.
- Unlike customers in a retail store, who must exert the effort to go to a competitor’s store if they cannot find what they want, online customers only have to make a mouse click or two to go to a rival Web site. Competition online is fierce, and to succeed, a company must have a sound strategy.
The Most Important Part of Any E-Commerce Effort Is Technology
- Technology advances have reduced significantly the cost of launching an e-commerce business.
- Brian Walker, an e-commerce expert at Forrester Research, says that a just decade ago, the cost to launch an online retail business was three to five times higher than it is today.
- “The technology to run the site, the physical warehouse, site hosting, and staff required a significant investment before the site even went live,” says Walker.
- Modern e-commerce entrepreneurs can build a Web site for next to nothing, outsource the tasks of storing and shipping products, lease space on a server, and rent cloud-computing software to operate their online businesses—all of which lower the cost and the complexity of starting an online company.
- Julie Wainwright says building the e-commerce company that she helped launch in 1998 cost between $7 million and $10 million (not including the cost of inventory). Wainwright recently launched an online luxury clothing marketplace called The Real Real at a cost of only $25,000 to $30,000.
- As important as having the right technology to support an e-commerce business is, it is not the most crucial factor in the recipe for success.
- What matters most is the ability to understand the underlying business and to develop a workable business model that offers customers something of value at a reasonable price and produces a profit for the company.
- The Entrepreneurs who are proving to be most successful in e-commerce are those who know how their industries work inside and out and then build an e-business around that knowledge.
- They know they can hire Web designers, database experts, and fulfillment companies to handle the technical aspects of their online businesses, but nothing can substitute for a solid understanding of inner workings of their industry, their target market, and the strategy needed to pull the various parts of the business model together.
- — Some entrepreneurs tackle e-commerce by focusing on technology first and then determining how that technology fits their business idea.
- — “If you start with technology, you’re likely to going to buy a solution in search of a problem,” says Kip Martin, program director of META Group’s Electronic Business Strategies. Instead, he suggests, “Start with the business and ask yourself what you want to happen and how you’ll measure it. Then ask how the technology will help you achieve your goals.
Global trends
I In 2010, the United Kingdom had the biggest e-commerce market in the world when measured by the amount spent per capita. As of 2013, the Czech Republic was the European country where ecommerce delivers the biggest contribution to the enterprises´ total revenue. Almost a quarter (24%) of the country's total turnover is generated via the online channel.
Among emerging economies, China's e-commerce presence continues to expand every year. With 668 million internet users, China's online shopping sales reached $253 billion in the first half of 2015, accounting for 10% of total Chinese consumer retail sales in the same period. The Chinese retailers have been able to help consumers feel more comfortable shopping online. E-commerce transactions between China and other countries increased 32% to 2.3 trillion yuan ($375.8 billion) in 2012 and accounted for 9.6% of China's total international trade. In 2013, Alibaba had an e-commerce market share of 80% in China. In 2014, there were 600 million Internet users in China (twice as many than in the US), making it the world's biggest online market. China is also the largest e-commerce market in the world by value of sales, with an estimated US$899 billion in 2016.
In 2013, Brazil's eCommerce was growing quickly with retail eCommerce sales expected to grow at a healthy double-digit pace through 2014. By 2016, eMarketer expected retail ecommerce sales in Brazil to reach $17.3 billion. India has an internet user base of about 243.2 million as of January 2014. Despite being third largest user base in world, the penetration of Internet is low compared to markets like the United States, United Kingdom or France but is growing at a much faster rate, adding around 6 million new entrants every month.[citation needed] In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the e-retail activities.
E-Commerce has become an important tool for small and large businesses worldwide, not only to sell to customers, but also to engage them.
In 2012, ecommerce sales topped $1 trillion for the first time in history.
Mobile devices are playing an increasing role in the mix of eCommerce, this is also commonly called mobile commerce, or m-commerce. In 2014, one estimate saw purchases made on mobile devices making up 25% of the market by 2017.
For traditional businesses, one research stated that information technology and cross-border e-commerce is a good opportunity for the rapid development and growth of enterprises. Many companies have invested enormous volume of investment in mobile applications.The DeLone and McLean Model stated that 3 perspectives are contributed to a successful e-business, including information system quality, service quality and users satisfaction.There is no limit of time and space, there are more opportunities to reach out to customers around the world, and to cut down unnecessary intermediate links, thereby reducing the cost price, and can benefit from one on one large customer data analysis, to achieve a high degree of personal customization strategic plan, in order to fully enhance the core competitiveness of the products in company
Among emerging economies, China's e-commerce presence continues to expand every year. With 668 million internet users, China's online shopping sales reached $253 billion in the first half of 2015, accounting for 10% of total Chinese consumer retail sales in the same period. The Chinese retailers have been able to help consumers feel more comfortable shopping online. E-commerce transactions between China and other countries increased 32% to 2.3 trillion yuan ($375.8 billion) in 2012 and accounted for 9.6% of China's total international trade. In 2013, Alibaba had an e-commerce market share of 80% in China. In 2014, there were 600 million Internet users in China (twice as many than in the US), making it the world's biggest online market. China is also the largest e-commerce market in the world by value of sales, with an estimated US$899 billion in 2016.
In 2013, Brazil's eCommerce was growing quickly with retail eCommerce sales expected to grow at a healthy double-digit pace through 2014. By 2016, eMarketer expected retail ecommerce sales in Brazil to reach $17.3 billion. India has an internet user base of about 243.2 million as of January 2014. Despite being third largest user base in world, the penetration of Internet is low compared to markets like the United States, United Kingdom or France but is growing at a much faster rate, adding around 6 million new entrants every month.[citation needed] In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the e-retail activities.
E-Commerce has become an important tool for small and large businesses worldwide, not only to sell to customers, but also to engage them.
In 2012, ecommerce sales topped $1 trillion for the first time in history.
Mobile devices are playing an increasing role in the mix of eCommerce, this is also commonly called mobile commerce, or m-commerce. In 2014, one estimate saw purchases made on mobile devices making up 25% of the market by 2017.
For traditional businesses, one research stated that information technology and cross-border e-commerce is a good opportunity for the rapid development and growth of enterprises. Many companies have invested enormous volume of investment in mobile applications.The DeLone and McLean Model stated that 3 perspectives are contributed to a successful e-business, including information system quality, service quality and users satisfaction.There is no limit of time and space, there are more opportunities to reach out to customers around the world, and to cut down unnecessary intermediate links, thereby reducing the cost price, and can benefit from one on one large customer data analysis, to achieve a high degree of personal customization strategic plan, in order to fully enhance the core competitiveness of the products in company
Impact on markets and retailers
Economists have theorized that e-commerce ought to lead to intensified price competition, as it increases consumers' ability to gather information about products and prices. Research by four economists at the University of Chicago has found that the growth of online shopping has also affected industry structure in two areas that have seen significant growth in e-commerce, bookshops and travel agencies. Generally, larger firms are able to use economies of scale and offer lower prices. The lone exception to this pattern has been the very smallest category of bookseller, shops with between one and four employees, which appear to have withstood the trend. Depending on the category, e-commerce may shift the switching costs—procedural, relational, and financial—experienced by customers.
Individual or business involved in e-commerce whether buyers or sellers rely on Internet-based technology in order to accomplish their transactions. E-commerce is recognized for its ability to allow business to communicate and to form transaction anytime and anyplace. Whether an individual is in the US or overseas, business can be conducted through the internet. The power of e-commerce allows geophysical barriers to disappear, making all consumers and businesses on earth potential customers and suppliers. Thus, switching barriers and switching costs may shift.eBay is a good example of e-commerce business individuals and businesses are able to post their items and sell them around the Globe.
In e-commerce activities, supply chain and logistics are two most crucial factors need to be considered. Typically, cross-border logistics need about few weeks time round[clarification needed]. Based on this low efficiency of the supply chain service, customer satisfaction will be greatly reduced.Some researcher stated that combining e-commerce competence and IT setup could well enhance company's overall business worth. Other researcher stated that e-commerce need to consider the establishment of warehouse centers in foreign countries, to create high efficiency of the logistics system, not only improve customers' satisfaction, but also can improve customers' loyalty.[weasel words].Courtesy of wikipedia....
Economists have theorized that e-commerce ought to lead to intensified price competition, as it increases consumers' ability to gather information about products and prices. Research by four economists at the University of Chicago has found that the growth of online shopping has also affected industry structure in two areas that have seen significant growth in e-commerce, bookshops and travel agencies. Generally, larger firms are able to use economies of scale and offer lower prices. The lone exception to this pattern has been the very smallest category of bookseller, shops with between one and four employees, which appear to have withstood the trend. Depending on the category, e-commerce may shift the switching costs—procedural, relational, and financial—experienced by customers.
Individual or business involved in e-commerce whether buyers or sellers rely on Internet-based technology in order to accomplish their transactions. E-commerce is recognized for its ability to allow business to communicate and to form transaction anytime and anyplace. Whether an individual is in the US or overseas, business can be conducted through the internet. The power of e-commerce allows geophysical barriers to disappear, making all consumers and businesses on earth potential customers and suppliers. Thus, switching barriers and switching costs may shift.eBay is a good example of e-commerce business individuals and businesses are able to post their items and sell them around the Globe.
In e-commerce activities, supply chain and logistics are two most crucial factors need to be considered. Typically, cross-border logistics need about few weeks time round[clarification needed]. Based on this low efficiency of the supply chain service, customer satisfaction will be greatly reduced.Some researcher stated that combining e-commerce competence and IT setup could well enhance company's overall business worth. Other researcher stated that e-commerce need to consider the establishment of warehouse centers in foreign countries, to create high efficiency of the logistics system, not only improve customers' satisfaction, but also can improve customers' loyalty.[weasel words].Courtesy of wikipedia....
No comments:
Post a Comment