ecommerce
explained
Quite simply put, ecommerce or "electronic
commerce" is
selling or trading online. To the inexperienced
person, this can often be seen as an area reserved
for the bigger players. The truth is that in toadyism
anyone can get involved and sell online and your
competitors probably already are. As long as you
have a product or service that people want to buy,
you can sell or market it online.
Increasingly there are more and
more affordable website programs or shop systems
available that are suited to selling in a the global
marketplace. Many have a proven history of success
and reliability and do all the things you will
ever need with ease. From a simple cart taking
small orders to a large database driven system
taking orders and keeping in touch with the customer,
it's all available. The secret is knowing just
which one is right for your business
Elements involved in an ecommerce website
To trade successfully online there are a few essentials that must be considered.
-
A domain name
(.com.au etc.)
-
A website or webshop with
products or services for sale
-
A way of taking
payment from your customers
-
A way of fulfilling
orders (sending the products out)
-
A way of
keeping in touch with customers for repeat
business
-
A way of attracting new and
returning customer
The costs to consider with selling online are:
-
Merchant
account fees for credit cards
-
Credit card transaction
fees per sale
-
Postage and packing of your
products
-
Web site design and hosting
Is it right for
my business ?
YES, nearly always. If you have a
business involving a product or service you should
ideally also have it for sale online. Check out
your competition. Can your online visitors find
the same or similar items online and can they readily
buy them? if so by not allowing customers to buy
online, you are narrowing your marketplace significantly.
Ecommerce Sites Generally Have these three components.
-
Marketing and
added value information. This is aimed at attracting
customers, giving them a feel for the contents,
and giving them confidence in the retailer.
-
The
catalogue. Detailed information on product
benefits, specifications, and pricing.
-
Order
processing. This will include a method for
specifying and paying for the order. More advanced
systems may have a method for the customer
to go back into the system to check progress
and delivery of the order.
The Shopping
Cart
Good shopping carts will allow customers to flag products during this browsing
session to be added to an electronic 'shopping cart'. At any point the customer
can review the contents of the cart, the cost and so on. This makes it easy for
the customer to browse the site selecting products as they go. When the shopping
session is complete, the customer clicks on a hyperlink, which takes him or her
to the checkout page. At this stage the customer is presented with a list of
the goods marked for purchase, the total cost, shipping, handling, tax, etc.
Ordering options
Generally speaking, there are a number of different payment services and options.
ecommerce Solutions
The solutions we offer are complete shopping cars
with a back-office environment. The system works
by running a catalogue system of products and
services. Using software your site is built in
this environment and fully designed and customised
to your needs. When the customer presses the
order button, all the product details are passed
to the shopping cart software. The business operator
has full access to the back environment of the
site, which allows them total control over content
and function capabilities.
On-line Catalogue
The key to a good Ecommerce site is to provide an environment that makes it easy for the customer to navigate through the catalogue of products and make a purchase.
Contact Us
Contact us for more information on our ecommerce
website plans.
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