Coherent eCommerce Action Plan |
|
Building a complete eCommerce site will present major changes occurring in your business. The Web-Wap strategy sets out how to develop a coherent web site strategy for your business. In this section we present some of the major considerations which need to be embraced by larger businesses when developing a eCommerce web site.
Developing an eCommerce site requires a radical rethink. Establishing a business on the internet will require your business to show all parts/products in stock, with any lead times clearly shown. The eCommerce site must link in with your order processing system to ensure all orders can be met by production capability. One late delivery means one failed order which means bad publicity for your business. Your eCommerce action must include analysis of how the business order processing will be affected. One of the major problems with eCommerce site launches is the lack of after sales service understanding.
Your business may already have a customer advice lines. Having a eCommerce site means needing detailed plans for your business after sales policy. You may well have to publish contact details for your sales, quality and technical support personnel. CHANGING BUSINESS STRUCTURES AND RETRAINING The introduction of highly skilled IT personnel needed to implement ERP/any new software system means thinking about existing employee skills. Accept the employee education and training is essential to meet both needs of eCommerce and to aid your business in achieving competitive advantage. Be prepared to meet training costs and any specialised help you need. Sales teams will need to adapt to the new challenges of eCommerce. It presents your business with a new target audience, they need to know how to get customers attracted to your business web site. You may well have to involve customers and possible internet sales courses for you sales team. With so many internet sites in existance, you need to develop an approach which sets you out from the rest. There are many ways, often very simple which will help set your eCommerce site apart from your competition. Some examples include newsletters, discussion forums, login passwords for regular visitors, e-mail addresses for customers to use to contact people in your business. Make sure your eCommerce site has a back up plan. What happens if your web site does not work as you would expect it to? Develop at least two web site design concepts, test them thoroughly. Get existing customer views, see which design works best. In order to maximize the potential sales of your eCommerce site. You need to promote the site as much as possible. In the world of eCommerce this can be achieved by:
Not properly thinking about your business and how eCommerce will affect it, will prove disastorous!. Do not expect overnight success, the best eCommerce sites have taken a lot of time and dedication, they have been planned thoroughly, with clear goals and target being set. Accept that in the first six months of development, your eCommerce site will undergo several changes use customer and employee feedback to constantly develop your web site.
|