The enhancements which your e-commerce strategy can bring are closely allied to the benefits that your business brings its customers in the real world. Existing good practice should not be discarded but expanded to take account of the new medium. Think about how you currently do things and then at how e-commerce can improve this. For example:

- Can you take queries at any time of the day or night? Existing – you can use an answering machine, fax or e-mail.

E-commerce – now you can also answer questions through your FAQ and take orders and payments.

- Can you easily contact your customers with new offers? Existing – you can use mailshots or traditional forms of advertising. E-commerce – you can encourage them to visit you (or at least your web site) for information on new deals, products, offers, etc. If successful, this can do away with much of the need for advertising.

- Can you add value to your sales? Existing – you can add a personal touch, advice or information, special offers, incentives to return and make future purchases. E-commerce – adding value is the most important element of successful sales. You must use your e-commerce facility to ensure that none of the above is lost, but that something else is gained. A special discount for ordering online, for example, or products and features that are only available, or available at an earlier date, on your web site. It is vital to strike a balance between encouraging customers to your e-commerce facilities whilst not alienating those who still want to use your ‘traditional’ facilities.

Old and new

Don’t ever be persuaded into thinking that electronic transactions will totally replace ‘real’ ones. Shopping via the Internet, whilst not being anti-social, is basically an a-social exercise. ‘Shopping in itself is often a social activity. Think of the teenage shopping trip, or of going out ‘into the town’ or off ‘to the mall’. Think of what is involved in the ritual of shopping, most of which is lost if you shop online.

 

Related posts:

1. What is E-Commerce?

2. E-Commerce – The Success and Failure on the Internet

3. E-Commerce Guides – What Kinds of Products or Services Can You Sell

4. How a Sale is Completed in Your E-Commerce?

5. The Basic Roles of Exhibitions

6. Business – The Basics of Ansoff Matrix

7. E-commerce Guides – Factors for Success

8. E-commerce – What Equipment Do You Need?

9. How to Manage a Contract Sales Force

10. E-commerce Guide – Potential Customers