The business of E-commerce is most simply defined as the transaction of business using the internet as the primary medium. With the globalization of the business marketplace, e-commerce has become the most important tool that any business has in hand. The internet is responsible for decreasing the size of the business world and increasing the amount of trade that is possible for businesses great and small. A home-based business has been given a nearly level playing field with global corporations in handling sales and trade and all products have limitless consumer availability.
E-commerce is hugely beneficial to the consumer. The real-time style of transaction that is permitted by using online tools such as email, instant messaging systems and web sites enables the customer to handle business in any location as though they were right in a store, regardless of where in the world a particular product is located. With the world at their fingertips, consumers are able to shop a much wider variety of any single product than they could ever find in local or regional markets.
E-commerce also offers the consumer the ability to do price comparisons and bargain hunt until they are able to find the product they seek, in the way they imagine it should be, at a price they are willing to pay and without the pressure of overbearing sales professionals at their heels. For business e-commerce is beneficial on many levels. The business owner saves incredibly on the cost of business setup, transactions and marketing. There is also the conspicuous lack property costs, print advertisement and lowered staff related costs. With lower overhead costs, any business has a higher profit margin and a better chance at huge success.
A business need only have a creative web design, searchable product and ability to perform transactions to be able to make considerable profit at any hour of the day, unbound by the constraints of location. Business runs continuously and automatically for any web savvy owner. Some businesses have integrated their store based sales with their web sites which has enabled the customer to have a better grasp on the way their transactions are moving and at what point their purchase will come to their door. This has benefited such business types as computer sellers, electronics dealers, automobile sellers, booksellers and clothing merchandisers.
Even delivery services have integrated internet usage into their business by allowing customers to track their packages online from the service location to their front door. There are few impediments to e-commerce, and what few there happen to be are surmountable. Trade rules such as duties and customs issues must be followed to ensure a successful transaction and the continued success of a business. There is not much in the way of regulation for e-commerce thus far, as the rulebook on internet based business is in constant flux.
Regardless of the rules of trade and business online, it can be assured that e-commerce will not only continue, but increase in the future and it takes only a small amount of money, a little talent and a measure of determination to have a successful e-commerce business. “Launched earlier this month by Denver-based Rbuy Inc. , Rbuy. com is the first online real estate auction site controlled by real estate agents. In that respect, it mimics the traditional, real-world home-buying process, but with a slight twist. Other sites list properties and charge buyers and sellers to list or sell, but Rbuy is exclusively for real estate agents.
Agents and sellers privately set the terms and conditions of the sale, while the market essentially sets the selling price during the auction period, which can last from three to 10 days. The Internet enables all interested buyers to see and bid on the property regardless of where they live. ” (King) B2C Businesses have started selling directly to customer reducing the cost of midway dealers. Over a decade ago, The Internet arrived on the shores of our country and every local company big or small has booked itself a corner plot in cyberspace for the sake of appearance.
The Internet is supposed to bring about an information revolution. The print media has gone online along with their web presence. They are making a significant impact in cyberspace as their websites are doing just enough to keep their content updated and satiate the information hungry people. Words are having unmatchable comparison with any other mode of marketing. When it comes with selling online products, it means defining a product, service or information without its physical existence. This is the spell of words.
Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous if a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way to do it would be start his own religion. Prefix an ‘e’ and the entire concept is transformed to the web. E-market places or online exchanges or trading hubs are to be the waves of the future- ‘a new revolution’. The internet was a new medium for business and it was only logical that business would think before adopting it. To sell logic or a business logical product we sell the magic of words. This spell of words envelops the product into it and turns the mind towards the product as last life-line.
Despite these closures and buy-outs, readers should get the impression of e-market places. On the contrary, the existing e-market places are growing according to latest industry reports and it will be firm and steady. Secure transactions over the internet are making minds of buyers and sellers to adopt this revolutionary business strategy. Management concepts such as customer relationship management, after-sales satisfaction along with countless buzz words making the Internet environment as Land of Pure. The digital environment around us is continuously evolving at varying pace throughout the past few years.
Technologies either collaborate or compete, survival of the fittest not the fastest is the name of game. More and more technologies are coming day by day and making us surprised by the uses. Describing the functionalities and uses of the products more than their core idea of their development is the game of words that sells the logical idea and ultimately the product. Selling words online means express yourself in the e-way. One of the most popular ways of expressing oneself is through art and written word, and when the two things come together the result is true sentiments making it on paper or as the new trend dictate, online.
Ads tell you a lot about how a business operates. Any new ad immediately catches one’s attention. This is true on global level as well. The idea behind these attempts was to provide an electronic plat form for the complex business. C2C & G2C The most important thing is Internet Marketing and the relevant security measures to conduct business online. There are millions of websites in competition with one another for attention on the internet and every one of them wants to hold one of the top positions in the most popular search engines (Yahoo! ®, Google® and MSN®).
It is important to know how to properly market a website to have it rank high, in the top 10 sites, on a search engine. Sites that rank below the top 20 are less likely to be viewed because most people will visit only the first two pages of a web search. The best form of marketing is the optimization of the website. This can be accomplished by modifying the content of the website to make it rank high in web search strings. Keywords and phrases that indicate the content of the website should be used in the headings and at least once every 100 words on the website.
The website should be easy to navigate with a home link on every page and old files should be moved to an archive. Linking to higher ranked sites can serve to improve ranking but should always be done with the permission of the owner of the linked website. There are methods available to improve site ranking for varying fees. Pay for Inclusion (PFI) Indexing means the domain owner pays a search engine database to guarantee the website’s inclusion at a higher ranking for a certain amount of time when the keywords are used in a search string. Also available at varying fees are Search Engine Optimizers (SEOs).
SEOs handle such marketing tasks as content writing for the website, searching directories for linking a site and giving advice on site design to optimize the site’s location in a search. It is important to research SEO firms to be sure they are legitimate and be sure there is a money back offer in the contract in case the results are unsatisfactory. Email is a method of marketing that can be very helpful if the mails are reaching the target audience for the product. Some sites are willing to sell the addresses of clients who have agreed to accept third party advertisements for certain products.
There should always be a way to opt out of receiving the emails within the body of the letter to comply with anti-spam regulations. There is a multitude of software available for website optimization and design. Some software can be found at major computer outlets, but it can be simpler to search for the software online. Some sites offer their software free for a trial period in demo versions and can be purchased and downloaded online. Choosing the best form of internet marketing depends largely on the type of website, the budget and the personal taste of the domain owner.
Newer domains may try the trial and error approach while established domains have a preferred form of optimization. All forms are viable and can improve the marketing strategy of any business online. Security Examine the necessity for, and ways of implementing, security measures for business websites and methods of making online transactions. Focusing on the main issues that face e-business: • Destructive computer programs – viruses which can infect a computer system and destroy the entire system and the need for firewall security • IT (Information Technology) Infrastructure – hardware, software and processes that enable operations User identification and authentication – to complete transactions • User privacy – since customers must give out personal information to make online purchases, and they want the assurance that their information is secure Legal Practices It is important to highlight the importance of honesty in advertising, offering products at reasonable prices, having formal return policies and warranties all fall under consumer protection. Without these practices in place, there is high risk for lawsuit from customers and other similarly marketed products as well as the potential for problems from the FTC. Insurance
The necessity of cyber business insurance to protect against unauthorized access and usage of business materials, payment for damage to data and systems due to hacking or viruses, copyright infringement, slander, theft and business extortion.
References
1. King, Julia. Will e-auctions put realtors out of business? Retrieved from http://www. cnn. com/TECH/computing/9907/07/auction. idg/index. html 2. Google Webmaster Help Center http://www. google. com/support/webmasters/bin/answer. py? answer=35291 3. Optimizing Your Site for Searching http://www. nd. edu/~libweb/internal/search. html 4. E-auctions. Retrieved http://goliath. ecnext. com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory. pl? pdlanding=1&referid=2750&item_id=0199-4536867 5. Desktop guide to e-procurement / E-Auctions. www. idea-knowledge. gov. uk/idk/aio/724065 – 6. Behind the bidding. .allbusiness. com/sales/internet-ebay/217410-1. html 7. Ecommerce business Models. Retrieved dossantos. cbpa. louisville. edu/courses/ecommerce/… /EcommBizModels. pdf 8. Global E-Auctions. www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/01_23/b3735139. htm – 9. Electronic group. www. reed-electronics. com/article/CA149566 10. E-business. www. ncmahq. org/publications/cm/docs/CM_July05p34. df – 11. http://www. entrepreneur. com/article/0,4621,316726,00. html 12. http://onlinebusiness. about. com/cs/startingup/a/101_2. htm 13. http://www. goecart. com/online-business-success. asp 14. http://www. ezinearticles. com/? Home-Based-Internet-Businesses—What-Choices-Do-You-Have? &id=83070 15. http://www. sap-basis-abap. com/homebusiness/top-10-tips-for-a-thriving-online-business. htm 16. www. businessknowhow. com/bkhinternet. htm 17. www. onlinebusinessbasics. com 18. http://buildyourhomebiz. com/rd/senze. html 19. www. theistudio. com 20. www. workoninternet. com/links. htm
