Getting Your Company Ready for E-Commerce

TI - Out of 23

Recorded out of 20!

Question #1 (2)

What factors should you take into consideration when making the decision to design your own e-commerce web site?

• The technology skills of your employees and yourself

• Whether you will host yourself, or outsource (will depend on the skills of your employees)

• To create it from scratch or use templates

Question #2 (3)

What does hosting a Web Site involve?

Hosting a web site refers to the location and operation of a web server. Making sure the server is up and running 24 / 7, as well as updating the site as needed.

Question #3 (2)

What is outsourcing? What are the key criteria when choosing a company to host your web site?

Outsourcing is when a business hires a company / person to host their web site. The critical think is to make sure that the company you choose for this will be able to grow and expand your site with your companies e-commerce needs.

Question #4 (2)

What is the most important phase of a Web site’s development? Why?

The testing phase is the most important. You need to make sure that every option works properly so that your customers have a trouble-free experience.

Question #5 (2)

Describe some of the necessary job skills for employees to posses in an e-commerce environment.

It is important for employees to be computer literate. They must be able to interact with the e-commerce system, send email to customers and keep up to date with the technical advances of their employers.

Question #6 (5)

Describe the five forces of competition.

Threats from existing competitors – retailers that currently sell the same product as you (direct competitors)

Threats from substitute products – retailers that sell similar products, but not exactly the same thing

Threats from new entrants to the market – new retailers are always popping-up, is the market able to support this new competitor

Power of Buyers – knowing your target audience and what is important to them

Power of Suppliers – your suppliers can start to charge you more, cutting into your profits

Question #7 (3)

Explain the impact that e-commerce has had on direct competitors.

• Geographic location of your direct competitors is no longer defined to only your area

• Direct competitors may be of a strictly digital form, so you are competing with something non-traditional

• Number of competitors will increase because geographic location point, and people may start up non “bricks and mortar” businesses (because it is easier)

Question #8 (2)

Describe how geographic boundaries have changed with the entrance of e-commerce product and service providers.

Your customers can get information about your products from many different sources, your online store, your suppliers web site, and your competitors web site. As a retailer you need to be even more aware of what your competitors are doing (globally or locally) in order to be able to stay in business.

Question #9 (2)

Explain how you think small e-tailers can compete with their larger counterparts in the world of e-commerce.

When online customers judge the “store” by its web site. If your web site is impressive, well organized, and offers detailed information about the product, with a comparable price, then it doesn’t matter if you are small in size or a larger corporation. You have met all of their needs. With a ‘bricks and mortar’ retailer, people usually go to the larger corporations because they are easy to find, and are more convenient. When online, a small e-tailer is just as convenient as a larger e-tailer.