E-commerce and Online Business Reference

Cedric Rinolda asked:




Web Based CRM Software (such as sales force automation on the web) features a number of benefits when compared to traditional on-premise CRM solutions. The top three benefits are: lower TCO, an accelerated implementation track and improved technical integration capabilities because of its inherent Service Oriented Architecture.

The reduced TCO of online customer relationship management solutions has 2 main drivers: lower implementation cost and reduced operational costs for system and software maintenance. One of the advantages of Sofware as a Service is that the solution is immediately accessible and operational at the moment a subcription license is bought at web based CRM vendors such as Salesforce, Entellium, Netsuite, RightNow and other SaaS companies.

Furthermore, a subscription-based internet CRM application does neither demand costly on-premise IT infrastructure or extensive operational investments to maintain the infrastructure. The lower costs for software maintenance (mainly performed by the SaaS vendor) will have a positive impact on the ICT budget because numbers of in-house IT staff can be kept low. Effectively, the base solution is maintained and operated by the software provider. Only the customizations done by customers beyond the standard solution have to be budgeted for.

The number two benefit is the accelerated implementation of web based CRM software. The moment the customer finalizes the sign-up, the application is available for operational use. It is clear that some basic setup has to be performed to tailor the customer relationship management software to the specific needs of the company, but in essence, the application is ready-to-use and with its standard built-in processes can be made operational in a breeze.

However, we must point out that the apparent ease-of-use can be misleading. It is strongly advised that early on in the process, the business and IT organizations align themselves on the CRM requirements and thoroughly prepare the configuration (and potential customization) of the solution in order to prevent inefficiencies and miscommunication at the moment the web based software suite is available for productive use. The fact that it concerns a SaaS solution does not make any difference to the normal process of software acquisition. And like in all IT implementations, Pareto rules. In other words, 80% of the cost of the software is incurred by 20% of the functionality (additional customizations, integrations and the additional documentation and maintenance that comes with it), so think twice about building additional functionality.

The final benefit, easier integration, is a result of the SaaS architecture. Sofware as a Service applications such as web based CRM software are built on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) principles which provide a number of benefits such as easier integration and a high level of reusability. The reduced complexity of establishing technical integration is a result of the use of open web standards like web services (functionality provided under the form of xml over the http protocol). Because most of the applications that enter the market (or have recently been released) have built-in support for web technologies, the technical integration of the online customer relationship management solution with other applications is much simpler.

Another advantage of the easier technical integration is found in the field of user productivity. Lately, a lot of model-based rapid application development tools arrived on the market. These tools make it possible to build business applications (so-called mash-ups) through modeling, without having to write one line of code. These tools combined with functionality provided under the form of web services make a powerful combination that can increase the ROI of any online CRM solution.

To conclude, although on-premise business software has evolved a lot in the last of couple of years, web based CRM software has some distinct benefits. It is true that traditional business software vendors have invested heavily in pre-built scenarios that reduce the implementation time (think about the SAP Baseline ERP suite targeted at SMBs) and in the service/web enablement of their applications. However, the business model, operational model and web based software architecture make online CRM a winner and a guaranteed bet on the future.

Ed Cooper asked:




Magento is become a very popular open source store technology. It has been released for over a year now, and the current versions are very stable.

We have been developing in Magento commerce, and also using it for your own retail for a year now too. We often get asked about Magento Commerce and why we recommend it as a good online store technology.

So, Why use Magento as your online store?

In summary, I think there are 4 main benefits in developing a website in Magento:

Features

Magento has some fantastic features ‘out of the box’. Most store owners these days want technology that is comprehensive and easy to use. Magento fits the bill. Great features are included in the free community edition such as:

Wishlists Multi store/mall feature Email lists Compare products Bundle/Grouped/Digital products & more CMS system for static pages Good SEO performance Advanced searching Layered/Filter navigation



and much more.

We have used all of these technologies in our own installations, as well as client installations. Most features are really good, and the ability to run multiple stores (with same or different inventory) from one database, with completely different ‘skins’ if you want, is fantastic.

API & Integration

The API is how programmers interface other applications with Magento. Magento has a sophisticated and extendable API allowing it to be connected with many other applications (both web applications and standalone).

For example, you can connect Magento to a number of external accounting systems, email list management tools, ERP systems and more.

This gives Magento a geat deal of flexibility to grow with your business. It can be integrated tightly with other inventory/order/customer systems, and made to work seamlessly.

Magento code structure

Magento has been designed very well from the outset. There is a clear distinction between ‘core’ code and community/3rd party code. This means you can install other extensions and modules without fear of impacting Magento upgrades in future or breaking how your site looks.

This structure has been integral in allowing MagentoCommerce to grow as fast as it has around the world and is a great reason to use Magento. Many people running older open source ecommerce software are upgrading to Magento.

Community & Professional Support

Magento has a very active community, both of users and developers, many of whom are magento experts. There is already a huge number of extensions that have been built for Magento, both free and commercial, allowing you to upgrade your store in any number of ways with a large variety of 3rd party services and systems.

If you have problems, chances are there is a bunch of users willing to help in forums or professional developers available with the skills to get the job done.

This is only a brief summary of why I think Magento is a great technology to develop online stores in. The community edition is free to download and use, there is heaps of code out there to extend it, and it has a strong API to allow you to integrate the store into your business processes as you grow.

For more information about Magento, or getting stores developed, talk to Magento experts about installation and development.

Aaron Goldberg asked:




Buying products online has a bad reputation from the many people who have really treated their customers badly. Since you can not just walk into a store talk directly to the manager or force the owners to speak with you, you are limited to phone calls, emails, or maybe not even this much in some cases. People online will not hesitate to tell others about their poor experiences to keep others from buying from any company that did not treat them right.

Since people are so skeptical of online businesses, they will frequently visit review sites before ever making a purchase. In fact, some will go to the degree of going to review sites before ever checking out their products or going to their website. For example, lets say I know that hundreds of business are selling computers online. I want to go with one of the more reputable businesses, so I will go find reviews on sites. Then I may go to their site and see if they have a computer that I am looking for. This is not an uncommon practice which means that your reviews can be crucial to your businesses success.

Reviews can help your ecommerce business gain credibility in the marketplace. This is especially the case if you are in a packed market where you are competing with several businesses. You should look forward to having numerous reviews, even if all of them are not positive. Others will note that you are doing business with other people, and therefore, you are not new to shipping items properly or handling online buyers.

The biggest thing you want to do online is create a buzz about your products or services. You want others to talk about what you are doing, how you treated them, and about where they purchased their product or service. This is referred to as “going viral”. If you find that others are talking about your business without you having to force them into a conversation, you will likely find your traffic growing substantially, and in return, more conversions into sales. This is the overall goal, and it can be jumpstarted by positive reviews about your business.

So you may be asking, how do I get positive reviews or keep from getting negative ones? The biggest key to keeping your business on track is to go above and beyond in customer service. There is no doubt that you will run into some problems on occasion. You may ship a product and it might get smashed in shipping. You might get an email that they even received the wrong product. You will have some angry customers every now and then but you have to find the best way to deal with them. This may cost you some money out of your pocket, but this is far better than scratching it up as an unsatisfied customer. Rather, send them a free shirt, if you having shipping issues, let them mail it back, you cover costs, send the next item as a high priority mail and try to get it done as quickly as possible. You will find that instead of a negative review, they will more than likely take what was a bad situation and let others know how well you treated them when things were out of your own control. When going above and beyond what you have to do, you will see the appreciation given from your online buyers.

Hari Qumar asked:




Who is an Affiliate?

Affiliates are those who promote products of others on the net, they are also known as publishers. Most affiliates promote products through their websites or email lists. Any website address or a hyperlink can be turned into a promotional vehicle. However, as e-commerce grows, e-commerce affiliates are no longer restricted to website owners. Even bloggers and online community members can become affiliates, as well as e-commerce websites that actually sell products and services. However Affiliate Marketing is an unviable option for scammers and spammers.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing refers to an electronic commerce version of traditional concept of agent/referral fee sales channel. But affiliate marketing is different from multi link marketing. Affiliate marketing is a revenue sharing venture between a website owner and an online merchant.

There is a fine line between affiliate marketing and internet marketing, because affiliates use methods such as organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, email marketing and display advertising. Affiliates also use less orthodox techniques such as publishing reviews of products or services. An affiliate website always links back to a prominent e-commerce website. Though affiliate marketing helps to cut out the middleman, still affiliates need to trust the software and people behind the e-commerce website they are joining.

If a person wants to make money online, affiliate marketing is the easiest way of doing so. Just by promoting the products of other companies in return for a commission on each sale generated helps people make money. Affiliate marketing helps people to earn some extra cash from their websites, or start a work-at-home business, they can operate from anywhere in the world.

Affiliate Marketing is associated with finding out good products, building websites, conducting market research, making websites more search engine friendly, and creating new ways to promote products. It also includes developing content, email marketing, pay-per-click marketing, social networking, and displaying ads.

About Us

Affilorama is a major player in Internet Marketing, providing training to aspiring affiliate marketers. It uses landing page techniques in particular to promote a product sold on the internet, and generate steady profits. Affilorama teaches all aspects of affiliate marketing without charging membership fee, there are no subscription charges, and no ridiculous hype.

How Affilorama Works?

Affilorama apart from forums, blogs’ and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that covers a variety of topics includes 2 verticals. These verticals are Lessons that specify about various topics covered; and Affiliate Tools that talks’ about various tools that are used to improve the affiliate marketing abilities of websites or individuals.

Lessons

Market Research

This topic tells why it is necessary to conduct a research in a campaign. Researching a market not only saves time, money but also helps to find untouched profitable markets.

PPC

Pay-per-click (PPC) topic tells about how PPC, a type of online advertising where one gets paid only when somebody clicks on the advertisement is helpful.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) topic covers matters about how to boost website ranking well in the “natural” or “organic” search engine results.

Site Building

This topic covers subjects related to building a basic web page, purchasing a domain name and uploading the website, and creating redirects.

Marketing Ideas

Under this subject how to use creativity to promote products, specifically “outside the box” affiliate campaigns have been explored.

Content Creation

This topic covers the need about why to create an e-book, mailing list. Why the need for content is essential for affiliate marketing, blogging, and to promote websites. Also covered subjects include how to write pre-sale and sales letters, write product reviews, and email subject lines.

Guru’s Viewpoint

Under this topic the views, approach taken, strategies adopted by affiliate marketing experts have been covered.

Affiliate Tools

PPC Tools

The topic covers subjects related to how the PPC tool ‘Google Quality Score Checker’ can be used to improve the price for PPC ads. This also includes checking the relevancy of ads, better returns per click and advice for ways to improve ad score.

SEO Tools

Under this how the SEO tool ‘Backlink Checker’, helps to increase the number of incoming links to the website that ultimately decide the ranking of websites in the search engines. These include matters related to links to a website, anchor text, Page Rank, and search engine where the link was found.

Market Research

The topic covers matters related to how the Market Research tool ‘Keyword Suggestion Tool’ helps to develop new keyword ideas. Using this tool a list of suggestions can be generated about how a set of keywords or a particular keyword can be used to improvise the search in Google, Yahoo and MSN.

Writing Tools

This topic covers to how to use the ‘Article Compare’ tool to match two articles and find out the difference between the two articles. Using this tool such text in the passages are highlighted where no change has been made. This gives a clear indication as to where the modifications need to be made to tackle the problem of plagiarism.

Webmaster Tools

Under this various steps have been covered about how to use the ‘XML Sitemap Generator’ tool to create search engine friendly sitemaps, for uploading on various search engines including Google.

Free Tools

Under ‘Free Tools’ topic various how to use tools have been covered such as ‘Character Count’, ‘Text Wrapper Tool’, ‘URL Redirect Generator’, and ‘Meta Tag Generator’. Also included are ‘Free Clickbank Calculator’, ‘PageRank Calculator’, ‘Domain Whois’, and ‘Domain Location’ that help to improve the content quality, make them search engine friendly, enhance the number of page views received, and ranking.

Hidden Brains asked:




Mechanisms in e-commerce communication

Internet is the best mode of interaction between businessmen and customers in present times. Buying & selling of products through the mode of websites is popular due to various advance technology oriented concepts. Online business is growing rapidly through various software that help customers to ease the work of buying & selling activities. There are many mechanisms are working in the field of online business like:

Shopping cart software

Online e-telephony



“Shopping cart software” is the mode of online presentation of products for sale. Shopping cart software provides visualization of products to choose, online payment facility, joint selection of products in form of list, etc. Shopping cart software is the easiest way of doing shopping online by selecting all the goods in the cart and pay once for all selected items. There are many features provided by this software like:

Credit card acceptability

Easy navigation system for the customers

Customer account facility

Order management facility

Web based administration facility

Flexible shipping & tax options

Built-in site optimization tools

Inventory management facility



Online telephony is one of the best ways to communicate regarding business. It is the technology which is used to convert the voice signals into data packets then these packets are transported to data network which is running an Internet Protocol (IP). Simply it is the technology that let the customer to call by phone on the same line which they are using for internet connection. It helps in saving the cost of making calls on basic telephone line for business communication. This is online communication technology popularly known in the web world as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

Benefits of Online E-telephony

User is able to differentiate the calls as business calls, personal calls, or customer service calls even they are on same line.

User can direct the calls to respective departments and take automated orders.

User can screen the callers without any information to caller.

User can get forwarded calls from all over the world.

No line busy problems.

Voice mails can be received on computer.



There are many more facilities can avail by using e-telephony. That is how communication on the internet is providing lots of facilities to ease the business complexities and raise profits by reducing costs to business.

Vincent Murphy asked:




First of all, what is e-commerce? E-commerce is commerce, including business, trade, buying, and selling, that is transacted electronically, rather than hand-to-hand. Businesses need efficient technology and strong marketing in order for e-commerce to be successful. The goal is to increase your business by making it easier for customers to shop, and if your website’s lack of technology and marketing make it difficult for them, they may as well drive to the mall.Before we look at e-commerce solutions, we need to first figure out some of the problems with e-commerce. There are many complaints from customers when it comes to purchasing items online. A few include a disorganized site that is difficult and confusing to navigate; lack of information on the website including failure to tell customers about special deals or prices; the inability to pay with the customer’s native currency or the inability for the customer to even understand the language in which the website is written; and frustrating and confusing shopping carts and check out procedures.Well then, what are some e-commerce solutions? Having a professional looking website will attract customers and make them feel confident in buying from you. You want your website to be organized and easy to navigate, and if you have an informational website that is search engine friendly; shows promotional deals; encourages up selling in a friendly way (such as showing related items or showing items that customers purchased who also purchased the item you are purchasing); is accessible in most languages and accepts different types of currency; has a user friendly shopping cart and single page checkout, then you won’t need many e-commerce solutions! Remember, when your business is e-commerce, you want to take all possible steps to make sure you and your product are presented professionally, friendly, and easily accessible.