meljun cortes e commerce strategy

8/10/2019 MELJUN CORTES E Commerce Strategy

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E commerce

Strategy Selling on the Web is not as simple as you maythink. Learn the various elements that you need

to implement a successful e-commercestrategy.

MELJUN CORTES


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MELJUN CORTES

1. Make sure you have a market.

Who is going to buy your products online? Thebest place to start is your current customer base.Will going online make life easier for them? Areyou going to save them time and money byallowing them to purchase online? You probablyhave a basic web site already; are you gettingrequests for online buying from potentialcustomers? It is never truly possible to judge inadvance whether a market exists, but thereshould be at least some indication of a demandfor an online presence.


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2. Use a clicks-and-mortar strategy if

possible. The clicks-and-mortar approach is the mosteffective and economic. This combines offlineresources, such as store brands, channels withan online e-commerce presence. The otheroption - a pure play dot-com - is now rare.Consumers are looking for brands that theyknow and trust. They also like the fact that abusiness has a physical presence, a place wherethey can go if something goes wrong. Pure playdot-coms found that they had to spend a lot ofmoney on marketing just to maintain awareness.


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3. Integrate the shopping

experience. Consumers look to the web primarily forinformation; they may use the web site

initially to find out about the product, thenbuy by phone or in person. However,repeat purchasers more familiar with theweb are more likely to buy online. Theywill be able to do this more easily if theirpersonal details and purchase history canbe stored for subsequent purchases.


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4. Plan how you will deal with content, pricing,stock management, fulfillment, support, payment,

returns, support and security. These are the basics of any business, but there can be addedcomplications online. You need to address the following: Content: This must be updated frequently. Pricing: If you are selling direct for the first time, you may haveproblems with your distributors and retailers, who will not want youto underprice them. If you are selling brands by othermanufacturers, there may be problems involved in selling in foreignmarketplaces. Are you going to offer prices in a range of currencies?If so, which? Stock Management: Are you going to use the same stock base to

sell online and through your physical distribution channels? If so,you need an integrated stock management system. Fulfillment: Precise information on order status is essential. Eachorder should have a tracking number so that the customer can getinformation on the status of the order


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right up to the point of delivery. If you haven't sold bymail order before, you will have to plan for packagingand fulfillment. This can be a major cost, and needscareful management. If, for cost or other reasons, youdecide not to fulfill to certain countries, you must makethat very clear on the web site. Payment: How will people pay? What credit cards willyou accept? How will you manage fraud? Returns: What is your return policy? Studies indicate thatreturns can be a major cost for e-commerce. Support: How will you support the products you sellonline? You must plan for a support section on your website to answer basic questions from customers. Will youalso offer telephone and e-mail support? Security: Security will be a central issue in an e-commerce strategy. Fraud and hacking of computersystems are ever-growing problems.


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5. Develop an easy-to-use

purchase process. An alarming number of consumers abandontheir attempts to buy online. One of the reasonsgiven is a badly designed purchase process.

Your purchase process must be reliable and veryeasy to use. It is a good idea to tell thecustomer upfront how many steps there are inthe purchase process, and to keep thatinformation prominently displayed at the top ofthe web page. An example of the purchase stepsis as follows: "Shopping cart - Account -Shipping - Payment - Verify - Confirm."


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6. Consider localization issues.

If you want to sell seriously to foreignmarketplaces, you will have to localize theweb site. Studies indicate that, withoutlocalization, sales will be minimal. Moreworryingly, returns are very high because

of misunderstanding by people who arepurchasing in a foreign language.


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7. Consider customer relationship

management and personalization. The Internet offers many opportunities for abetter understanding of customer's behavior andfor developing a closer relationship with them.Customer relationship management andpersonalization systems allow for the collectionand application of comprehensive information tocreate a more customized environment for theconsumer. While the potential for such systemsis substantial, they are complex and difficult toimplement, and, if not professionally managed,can lead to the abuse of consumer privacy.


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8. Make sure that you buy the

right software. There is no need to do all the work internally, asthere is now a wide range of quality software fore-commerce.

9. Make sure you have a team inplace.

An e-commerce web site needs day-to-daymaintenance. Technical problems must be fixed,new content must be published and old contentremoved, and the web site must be constantlymarketed.


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10. If you don't market, they won't

come.

Opening up an e-commerce web site is ratherlike setting up shop at the North Pole: nobodyknows you are there. It is not enough just toregister with search engines; you will need anaggressive marketing campaign to make yourtarget market aware of what you have to offer.The ideal situation is a seamless integration withmarketing strategy of the offline business.


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Value Drivers of E-Commerce BusinessModels

The rapid emergence of e-commerce is radicallytransforming the business landscape. Startup firms arecapturing new opportunities in the electronic market placethrough innovative business models.Established firms are racing to transform and adapt theirold business models to the new environment. Anchored inthe entrepreneurship and strategic managementliteratures, we develop the theoretical foundations of the

businessmodel construct, which depicts the ways in whichvalue creating transactions are enabled by a network offirms, suppliers, complementors, and customers.


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We examine the value creation potential ofbusiness models of 59 American and European e-commerce companies that have recently becomepublicly traded corporations.Grounded in the rich data obtained from thesecase studies, we develop a value driver modelthat enables an evaluation of the value-creationpotential of e-commerce business models alongfour identified dimensions, namely, novelty, lock-in, complementarities, and efficiency.Our central proposition is that a firm s businessmodel is an important locus of innovation and acrucial source of value creation for allstakeholders.

meljun cortes e commerce strategy

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