E-commerce Basics: Types and Strategies
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ScribdTranslationsE-commerce Basics: Types and Strategies
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ScribdTranslationsIntroduction to E-commerce
More and more of us are daring to shop online and to think that the internet can also
to be a safe place to acquire the products or services we need at that moment. Since the
from the customer's point of view, we can be deceived and scammed, but like in any physical store in
the one who gives us a cat for a hare. In addition, we must take into account that, as a general rule, the products
that can be purchased in physical or virtual stores, tend to have a more economical price if it
we acquire online, as many costs are reduced for the merchant.
There are many of themstarts-up who enter the world of commerce solely through the digital channel. There are fewer.
the economic risks they face and can reach those market niches more
unattended, which would not be possible otherwise. Obviously, some knowledge is needed.
previous about the world of e-commerce to understand what it consists of and what it is about
they face, since it is also easy to waste resources and time in a virtual business without obtaining the
expected conversion. Not everything that shines is gold.
There are also many other companies that combine physical stores with online ones. Most of them are
businesses that existed before the digital boom and have realized that it was essential to adapt
to the online environment before being forced to disappear due to changes in shopping habits of the
consumers. On the other hand, there are companies that have freely emerged by combining a model of
virtual and physical business, taking advantage of the benefits of each. They simply need to find the
appropriate formula and focus properly on your target audience.
Finally, there are companies, many of them SMEs, that do not find a place in the online world (or
they don't know how to do it) and they lean towards traditional commerce discarding the online opportunity. Yes,
Of course they exist. In many cases they are well justified, due to the objectives of the trade and the target audience.
they want to address; which does not mean that they do not take advantage of digital platforms and resources to
advertising oneself on them.
Definition of electronic commerce
E-commerce, also known as electronic commerce, consists of
in the buying and selling of products or services through electronic means, such as the Internet and
other computer networks. Originally, the term was applied to the execution of transactions through
electronic means such as electronic data interchange, however with the advent of
The Internet and the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s began to primarily refer to sales
of goods and services over the Internet, using electronic means of payment, such as
credit cards.
The amount of commerce carried out electronically has grown extraordinarily due to
Internet. A wide variety of commerce is conducted in this way, stimulating the creation and use
of innovations such as electronic funds transfer, supply chain management,
internet marketing, online transaction processing (OLTP), electronic exchange
data (EDI), inventory management systems, automated collection systems
of data.
Most e-commerce consists of the buying and selling of products or services between
people and businesses, however a considerable percentage of e-commerce consists of the
acquisition of virtual items (mostly software and derivatives), such as access to content
premium of a website.
E-commerce is all commercial activity that consists of the delivery of goods or services to
buyers who use electronic payment systems, through the use of technologies become
sales, transactions and other operations.
Types of electronic commerce
Beyond the business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) transaction. The economic agents
there are types of commerce as many as
combinations between these are possible. However, we will focus on those two most common, the
Business to Consumer (B2C - Company/Customer) and Business to Business (B2B - Company/Company).
What can be sold on the internet?
Well, practically everything that can be sold in the physical world; although, of course, there are preferences.
among the buyers:
Among the products (tangible goods) most likely to be sold in virtual stores, there are
you can find:
The electronics.
Clothing and accessoriessee the article showrooming/webrooming).
Books.
Nutrition.
Content in digital file formats (music, movies, ebooks, etc.).
Services (intangible goods) also play a major role in online sales; of this
the most sought after are:
Transport tickets.
Reservation and purchase of accommodations.
Financial services or insurance.
Telecommunications (ADSL and telephony).
Tickets for shows.
A fundamental difference between the products and services transacted over the internet is that the
products must be shipped to buyers by courier (except for digital content),
which incurs an extra cost for shipping, and services do not, as basically it is enough to
save/print/show the purchase/reservation of the service or contract.
Five pillars of an online store
After defining in the articleIntroduction to E-commerce what is e-commerce, the types
existing and what can be sold in them, we are going to focus on what the requirements are
essential for creating a high-performance website for e-commerce.
Once the target audience is clear and what we want to convey/sell is determined, we must
focus on the web; that is, the online store. To do this, we must consider the five pillars
essential for creating an e-commerce website, based in part on the book 'Online Marketing.'
Strategies to Win Customers Online
1. Design
It is not everything, but it is essential. It must align with the company's corporate identity, be intuitive and
completely accessible. It must adapt to the content that the brand wants to convey, as the goal is
transmit the content aided by an attractive design.
Think about how it would be easier for our clients to navigate your website. Set up the menus accordingly.
Well, what matters is that they don't leave due to poor navigation.
2. Usability
We refer to the ease with which the potential buyer navigates through the virtual store, finds the
contents you are looking for, fill out a form, complete a purchase process, download a file
correctly, etc. It should display the content in a clear and easy to understand way for the user
to promote their purchase and browsing satisfaction.
Take into account our goal and try to establish a relationship of trust to achieve our
objectives. This is achieved with our content and the usability of the online store.
3. Indexability
The other recipients of the store, in addition to the buyers, arethe search engine spiders. Think
in SEO. Most future buyers will turn to search engines to find
information about the products or services they are looking for, and we must make it as easy as possible for them
to appear in the first positions of the SERP.
With good indexability, usability is enhanced. This is because search engines try to imitate
the way of seeing humans to adequately calculate their relevance. In this way, if we position
properly the web, the traffic will be qualified because it will attract potential customers to your brand.
The more qualified traffic, the greater the possibility of sales.
Sociability
Yes, it has to do with social networks. Just like in the physical world, networking becomes indispensable, and the
establishing relationships with customers, workers, collaborators, colleagues, suppliers,
etcetera, through social media, is a tactic that should be part of the strategy of
our e-commerce.
Therefore, our online store must act as a hub for all the presence of the
mark on each of the profiles of this in social networks. In this way, we will be working
thebranding, thereputation corporate onliney we will be propelling the achievement
ofevangelizersfrom our brand that spread the message of our company on their own
social media.
5. Accessibility and Compatibility
Since the goal is to achieve the highest possible qualified traffic, we must ensure that the website is
compatible with the most varied access scenarios – different hardware and software platforms,
connection speeds, types of terminals, and screen resolutions - and accessible by people
with disabilities, elderly individuals, or whose access to the internet poses some kind of
obstacle.
Follow the following recommendations and everything will be easier:
Classify the products using categories such as 'new arrivals', 'best sellers',
products on sale
Play with the different designs on the same page if you want to highlight something.
product/service for something special.
The font and size of the letter are also a considerable factor. Choose the one you think is best.
optimal or prominent with different sizes
Don't forget to tag the images, as it is a very relevant indexing factor.
Be transparent in your pricing. There is nothing wrong with clearly showing the value of your
products, as they supposedly deserve it. Justify it intelligently without making it seem like a
direct explanation, if you think it is necessary.