Interesting Factoids I Bet You Never Knew About Internet Commerce

Among the clearest advantages of an electronic channel, represented by e-commerce websites, will be the ability for the company to make contact with their end-customers without an intermediary.

This implies the ability to recognize and treat each customer individually in a personalized way (mass customization). Many bank web pages ask to their customers to specify their needs or interests; for instance, a customer may very well be interested in financing services, others in asset management services and so on. The result is a customer "profile", which produces a corresponding profile for the commercial offer: consequently the website reconfigures itself on the basis of the interests declared by the customer and shows only offers that are presumed to be compatible with his needs.

Direct contact with the market also allows companies to provide better technical details about the merchandise. This relieves sellers from having to reply to to customer's questions and permits the product's features and functionalities to be properly presented to customers, something which was not absolutely assured when product illustration is done through intermediaries, because of wholesalers and shop assistants.

Through e-commerce, sites marketing messages are presented correctly, the strengths of the products are clearly highlighted to customers and different features compared to competing products may be adequately emphasized.

A vital benefit of direct contact with the customer is the fact that the company can receive real-time feedback from the market.

By studying online purchases made by customers, the website pages most frequently accessed by users or e-mail messages sent by customers, the company will immediately realize how the market has seen a new product. They may react with a whole new advertise campaign. The collection of this information may be used to quickly correct any errors in marketing. In place of using the old information channels, companies should anticipate to have more opportunities to catch weak but worrying signals.

Through e-commerce Web sites trading operations could also be performed more quickly and effectively.

A price change, if approved, can be seen by all at once, avoiding sales clerks or sellers mistakes. A commercial campaign, published on a site, becomes immediately operational for the whole market, without spending time for you to align the sales forces to the new directives.

In the case of digital products, the electronic channel ensures the immediate delivery of goods without having to produce a physical copy of the product sent to the customer. Even in the example of physical products sellers can achieve considerable benefits if you take orders using the net. Requests online arrive in real period to sales management, which alleviates the necessity for one or more central warehouses, saving in the storage of goods in periphery warehouses.

An extreme effect of electronic commerce may be represented by the reorganization of the commercial sector, with the disappearance of some figures like commercial intermediaries and also the restructuring of the supply chain upstream from the manufacturer.

A computer company that receives orders from customers only by an e-commerce website could effortlessly get replenishment orders of computer components to its suppliers and taking delivery of what is only required to meet its commitments to customers. This would generate a really efficient supply chain by reducing inventory and work-in-process.

A digital commercial network allows for greater flexibility with respect to a physical network. A crowded shop can not attract other customers, whom shall keep away from it.

The Net sites, if properly dimensioned, can handle spikes of visitors without visible degradation of response times (web sites for example Microsoft or Yahoo handle several million hits a day).

The e-shops can also stay open twenty four hours a day, seven days every week, answering questions from all around the world without worry or timetables or holidays. Flexibility is also with regards to ability to respond to marketplace. Using information gathered in real time through its web pages, the company can modify its proposals, promoting products that have difficulties, making more attractive deals if users indicate weakness in respect to competition. In comparison to a conventional commercial network through which the company proposes more products than the market's demand, for e-commerce it really is the opposite. The market "pulls" and also the company follows, trying to stimulate demand, but only from the inclinations observed in the market.

The e-commerce also brings new business opportunities

The capability to sell directly online to a wide audience of customers could possibly generate new areas of business. It really is, for instance, the case of financial information in the evolution of financial markets (stock exchanges, foreign exchange, etc.). There are actually several Internet providers who joined this business that sell quotes, financial news in real time, or offer possibilities to work online over the stock exchange. In general it's possible to develop many information selling services, which customers are disposed to pay. Currently you may subscribe to a market research firm as a way to receive studies and research reports from their Web sites. One area where new services are developing rapidly is tourism. In the area, you will discover numerous Information Providers that make it possible for you to get information regarding tourist destinations and make reservations at hotels. For instance, the subsector for skiing holidays is developing a really strong competition on the net between French regions, Swiss cantons and Italian valleys, with very interesting opportunities from tourist perspective.