FREE ESSAY ON E-COMMERCE

E-COMMERCE

E-Commerce E- Commerce is another name for Electric- Commerce. Electronic-commerce offers
what many people believe to be an effective property of the Web. That property is the
ability to adjust sites to the different needs, wants, desires and, even personalities of
each individual customer. This ability is known to many experts as cognitive computing, a
blend of behavioral sciences and computer science. Increasing competition worldwide,
increasing demands made by customers, and the rapid pace of change in technology are
forcing companies to review the way they do business, the kinds of products and services
they offer, and the speed with which they release products to market. Today, most
companies have worked to expand and improve their process and practices internally. But,
the massive use of the Internet by the consumers is forcing businesses to focus on
external relationships and their business models. In order to meet the demand made by the
Internet users, organizations are now beginning to rely on the e-commerce solutions that
help reach and keep customers, open new markets, and condense the business processes.
E-Commerce has various advantages for the provider. One advantage is it allows companies
to build a name for their company, quickly and inexpensively. Another advantage is it
offers, suggestive selling. This is when the user can recommend similar or other products
that they might/will buy. This is often done through surveys. The last advantage is the
speed in which the transaction is completed. Many times Web users give up in trying to
buy something due to the frustration that was caused in trying to get to that particular
item. There are also many advantages to E-Commerce for the user. The information can be
updated in no time and while the user is using it. The pages can be updated without
having to redesign the page. Site visitors can maneuver and control the data, as it is
displayed, to suit their preferences and need-to-know. The interactive capabilities such
as purchasing on-line can be utilized, and the site visitor can filter information.
Overall, E-Commerce delivers a solution to businesses that will help their clients better
interact with their customers, suppliers and partners.
Customer Relationship Marketing
Literature Review The Evolving Sales and Marketing Landscape Marketing and business
development professionals are confronting a rapidly different and changing business
landscape. The traditional business model that was once the standard is now being
transformed due to technology drivers that make advanced marketing and sales capabilities
possible. The business model of yesterday supported mass marketing, mass production, and
standardized cookie-cutter products and services. Enterprises will have fall behind the
competition if they continue to rely and operate on this substandard model. Today,
companies are re-engineering their operations and investing in enhanced IT
infrastructures, which enable them to provide customized, personalized, information-rich
products and services. The new objective for marketers and business developers involves
understanding the needs of their clients and the markets that they serve. This new focus
on providing customer value is redefining business processes. Professionals, who
understand and anticipate this shift, are positioning themselves ahead of the
competition. The Impact of Technology Enabled Business Processes There is no denying the
effect that technology has had on the way we conduct business. In recent years,
technology has begun to play a significantly larger role in all aspects of business,
including sales and marketing. Business processes must be re-engineered to incorporate a
pro-active strategy for using information and IT to build a competitive advantage over
other organizations. In many instances, the functionality provided by sales and marketing
technology only automates current processes. Therefore, it is imperative that processes
are clearly defined and well proven. Automating a poorly understood or followed process
usually results in failure. Technology must be used as an enabler to support an already
sound sales and marketing strategy. Beyond automating sales and marketing capabilities,
technology is now designed to provide professionals with a wealth of information about
their company's clients and the markets that they serve. Companies are now able to
collect data about their customers that when analyzed and utilized properly, can result
in a competitive advantage. Online shopping is a prime example. If a customer makes a
purchase, then the transaction is completed and revenue is generated. However, if a sales
transaction is not made, the company still collects the shopper's behavioral data and
stores it in a marketing database. The company then has the opportunity to segment and
analyze this data in order to learn more about that particular customer shopping habits.
An analysis can then be performed to determine why this person did not make a purchase as
well as what can be done differently to persuade this person to buy their product. The
company can now position the four Ps of marketing: product, price, promotion, and place
to better serve this customer. This process the company has taken unlitmately succeeds in
developing a relationship with the customer. The company now knows more about what the
customers preferences are and how to offer them. Consequently, the customer has a vested
interest in the relationship as well, and is more likely to conduct business with that
company in the future. The Shift to Relationship Marketing Though many of today's
marketing practices have evolved due to increasing technology, the marketing environment
still centers around the four Ps of marketing described above. However, in order to
remain competitive, companies must create a unique set of those four Ps which appeal to
each individual customer and sets them apart from their competitors. Target marketing is
no longer an efficient use of marketing efforts because a great deal of resources can be
lost to uninterested individuals while in the process of trying to capture potential
customers. Because of the potential loss of resources, there is now a movement away from
targeting markets to specific individual customers. What is now required is
customer-oriented relationship marketing. Many studies have shown that it can cost
anywhere from four to ten times as much to acquire a new profitable customer as it does
to maintain repeat buyers. These statistics are one of the driving forces behind the move
to relationship marketing, which focuses its emphasis on customer retention rather than
attraction. This type of strategy calls for a different type of marketing technique that
is customer and information driven as opposed to product driven. With this in mind,
marketers and business developers are now seeking new ways to obtain, manage, and analyze
information on their customers. As we are increasingly finding, one of the most effective
ways of capturing and utilizing customer data for marketing and sales efforts is by
investing in technologies such as a customer relationship management system (CRMs). The
Benefits of a Customer Relationship Management System According to the Gartner Group, the
term CRM describes methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help
an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way. From a technological
standpoint, CRM can be categorized as the largest compilation of IT concepts to date. It
involves moving the ownership of customers away from individual departments to the
enterprise level. In addition, its focus is also on best serving the needs of each
customer on a personal level rather than serving the needs of target markets as a whole.
The primary functionalities of CRMs are still debated by experts, and often times it
varies depending on the purpose the system is intended serve in that instance. However,
the high-level buckets of CRM capabilities can be categorized according to customer
service, marketing, and sales. Although customer service is an important aspect of
customer relationship management, it is primarily employed by companies who sell products
as well as have call centers and websites to market and/or sell their merchandise. For
example, most consulting firms are in the business of marketing and selling professonal
services. which results in their consultants