Have you been considering adding electronic
commerce to your business-to-business website but don't know where to
start? Sometimes the information gathering process can be daunting,
leaving you with more questions than when you began.
The truth is, E-commerce isn't something that
should scare you. With a little guidance, it can be a great way to enhance
customer service while giving you a competitive edge.
In the following Q&A, PolySort Technical
Director Victor Howe answers some common questions about E-commerce.
Q. Can you give a brief, step-by-step summary
of how the process of developing an E-commerce site evolves?
A. There are many variations of E-commerce depending
on the size of the company. A larger firm may want to integrate their
website into their existing applications/servers that handle their day-to-day
transactions. Medium-sized companies may not want the expense of integrating
the site into their current systems, and may elect to develop a "stand-alone"
E-commerce site. This really depends on how often their data and inventory
changes. They can receive orders from the E-commerce site and then update
their current systems either in a "batch" mode or one at a
time depending on the volume. Small companies can choose this route
as well, and simply manage the transactions manually on their side as
they come through the site.
The process usually starts from an existing
database of products. We can take this database and develop a searchable,
interactive catalog that allows users to quickly find the product(s)
they are looking for. From there, we hook in the transaction components,
such as credit card order taking or purchase orders, to allow the user
to order/purchase the product. The order is then delivered to the company
through e-mail or other electronic means. The company then fulfills
the order. The actual transaction process that occurs is handled through
a secure, encrypted connection between the users' browser and the company's
server. This encryption ensures that the data being sent to the server
is not plain, easily readable text, but requires a decryption key on
the server to read it.
Q. How can firms determine whether their products/services
are suited for E-commerce? What can they do to adapt their products/services
to on-line buying?
A. Normally I would say that very expensive
items costing $10,000 or up are not well suited, but I just read an
article on people buying automobiles on-line. Society (at least American
society) is getting much more comfortable with buying on-line. You can
even get home mortgages now on-line, which could be hundreds of thousands
of dollars. So I would say that success depends on being able to adapt
a company's current methods of order taking into allowing those orders
to be placed and fulfilled through a new communication channel: E-commerce.
It requires a commitment in both ideology (to a new channel) and personnel
to manage the channel. The noted purveyor of lingerie Victoria's Secret
(http://www.victoriassecret.com) is an excellent example of a company
with traditional retail outlets that has made a commitment to its on-line
activities through advertising and promotion as well as support.
Q. What kind of security issues should companies
address when developing an E-commerce site?
A. As mentioned above, the biggest risk is sending
plain text (credit card numbers and personal information) without encrypting
it first. An encryption key that can do this can be purchased for about
US$350.
Q. How can firms help allay potential buyers'
fears about on-line purchasing (security worries, privacy concerns,
etc.)?
A. Privacy statements are nice to see on a site,
detailing the companies' policies on what they will do with the data.
You can also display icons and logos regarding the security of your
site. Firms like Verisign (http://www.verisign.com) provide the encryption
keys and have a program for this.
Q. Are there any legal issues companies should
consider when launching an E-commerce campaign (brand names, contractual
agreements, etc.)?
A. With any website you have to be careful of
"borrowing" images or copy or any materials at all from other
websites. The Web makes it so easy to exchange data that it is tempting
to do this, but the penalties are pretty severe. The music business
right now is concerned about the amount of copyright infringement that
is going on. In general, if it is your brand name, you can use it. Be
careful not to use keywords in your website that are trademarks of other
companies. Provide privacy statements, or possibly a "user agreement"
similar to software distribution that protects the company from harm.
Q. What can firms do to help make their E-commerce
site successful (attracting customers, maintenance, follow-ups)?
A. Websites need to be advertised like anything
else. The trick is knowing where your market is looking for your products.
A good Internet marketing campaign is essential: banner ads, search
engines, free links, etc. This all helps people find your site. Personalized
direct e-mail messages are very good. E-Commerce sites should provide
features that allow the user to customize the site to their needs. Things
like address books that allow users to keep their friends and family
on-line so when they order, they can select them from a simple list,
and all the data is filled in (again, see Victoria's Secret); saving
and retrieving orders; keeping track of what users order and suggesting
to them either through e-mail or when they revisit the site of other
items they may be interested in (see office supplier Staples Inc. (http://www.staples.com).
On-line order tracking is a nifty feature too.
The biggest challenge is the commitment to using
the site as a new channel of communication. You can't just "build
it and they will come." You have to use a combination of traditional
marketing and new media marketing to get people to the site and provide
a functional, easy-to-use site that gives a positive experience for
ordering the products. That gives the users confidence their orders
aren't just going into oblivion and that they are sending their data
through a secure connection.
Finally, you have to commit to handling the
potential flood of activity through the site. It requires dedicated
staff for customer service and maintenance. Nothing is worse than placing
an order through a website, calling the company to find out where it
is, then finding out that the company has no idea of what you're talking
about because the staff is unfamiliar with what E-commerce is. You have
to build the infrastructure to support it.
For more information about E-commerce website
design, contact PolySort at 800-665-5918 or visit our site at http://www.polysort.com.