| 10 GREAT TIPS ON... e-BUSINESS |
| From Becky Clark, Director, NetDespatch, Published in Webspace Magazine January 2001 |
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Attracting customers for the first time is one thing, but we all know where the real effort lies: getting those customers to return not once, but time and time again. Many e-marketing tools are implemented into e-business websites in an attempt to lure customers to them. But with what will users be faced, once they log on?
In order to maintain and increase your customer base, you need to ensure that your site and business is effective and efficient, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Performance, speed and satisfaction are so much more than just this month’s buzzwords. In the e-business world, companies have no choice but to conform to the qualities that create high customer satisfaction levels, as these are the keys to survival in this new and highly competitive sector of the economy.
E-business is a channel so full of choices, that the message that your company chooses to convey is of vital importance to your long-term success. However, the backbone of any successful e-business web site must comply with the following rules… |
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| 1. |
Fulfil a Business Need
Make sure that your E-business fulfils a business need, building on, and improving, existing business methods and practices. But, equally it must be sufficiently flexible to be able to change direction, and expand in functionality, as the marketplace matures.
E-procurement is one of the best examples of this, as it provides financial and operational advantages to both buyer and seller, and often also takes advantage of an integrated supply chain mechanism |
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| 2. |
Target your Audience Effectively
Research your market and identify your audience; then design your e-business around their requirements. Always know who your customers are. Conduct user studies and study site statistics regularly to stay in touch with your market and your customers. A website must continue to appeal to users as their own needs develop. Many e-businesses miss the fact that apart from providing a new revenue stream, their website can be a finely honed information gathering system at the heart of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategy. |
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Start Small
Start with a credible business plan and operational process design covering every eventuality that may be experienced, especially in the minefield of fulfilment and delivery. Preparation of this type will go a long way in protecting and sustaining your long-term goals and achievements.
Then start with a strong working model, covering a limited product or consumer area, demonstrating the four e-business MUSTS of marketability, sustainability, scalability and availability, but without requiring the staff-levels or infrastructure investment that have caused the high burn-rates and subsequent demise of so many Internet businesses in the past few months. |
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| 4. |
Provide Security
On-line security is paramount. Obtain a digital server certificate, from a trusted certificate authority in order to provide authentication to the visitor’s browser about the genuineness of the site. This assures the user of on-line confidentiality and security of all protected data transmitted to and from the site through the use of Digital ID’s (the electronic equivalent of a passport).
Use SSL (Secured Socket Layer) when communicating with visitors over the Web during critical phases. Sensitive data, such as contact or financial information requested from users, should be collected over a secured channel and then stored on a highly secured system.
Save critical financial information, such as credit card numbers in encrypted form, providing further protection to visitors against intrusion. |
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| 5. |
Maximise your Market
Make your applications entirely web browser based, with no requirement for client software – however ‘thin’. Users are wary of downloading software from an unknown source, or indeed of taking the time to do so. This means also that there is no implicit cost of ownership, with e-business as usual, anywhere, any time and any place.
Make your web site and software available to the majority of business users on the Internet, not just compatible with the latest versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape. Test thoroughly on the previous two versions on both PC and Macintosh, and if possible ensure that something can be seen on text based browsers for Linux and Unix. In addition, don’t forget accessibility options for the visually impaired – a group who will benefit hugely through Internet usage – both at home and at work. |
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Find Valued Partners
If parts of your business can be done better, cheaper or faster by another company, then work with them as valued partners. Outsource areas where you do not have the skill-set to achieve a professional resolution. This frees up time, capital and resources. One area, particular in early stages is the hosting of servers and infrastructure – if this is outsourced then it is pliable and easy to change as the business grows and transaction volumes increase. |
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Speed and Simplicity
Many web sites take so long to load, visitors will simply go elsewhere before finding out what you have to offer. Animations, music and other web designers’ sales tools have no place on an e-business web site.
Understand your user’s requirements. Place most frequently used options on their home page. Never make them enter the same data twice, and provide look up, or drop down, information to speed data entry in as few clicks (and pages) as possible. |
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| 8. |
Globalise and Personalise
An e-business is not restricted by the boundaries of location, investment, or culture. An e-business is by its very nature a global operation.
Therefore the content of both web site and application must be fully globalised from the outset. The ability to vary language – both cultural and business-, currency, time zones and units of measure according to the location and/or the preference of the user is paramount. Think global – but act local!
Allow the user to personalise their web experience, by choosing colours, site content and enabling wide ranging contact management and communication options. |
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| 9. |
Keep the User Informed
Using an e-business must be an interactive process. Acknowledge their order, let them know that it has been despatched, when it will arrive, and by what means. Use CRM techniques to maintain records of previous activity in order to streamline each transaction.
Proactive communication wins new users, and retains existing ones. Utilise the wide range of Internet enabled communications services now available to keep in contact with your customer through viral marketing and targeted email, WAP and SMS messaging. |
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| 10. |
Provide Excellent Customer Service
Ensure that you aim for and maintain realistic customer service levels. Make it easy for your user to contact you, and then ensure that you have the procedures in place to respond within the stated service level agreement times.
Tell the user when you have failed, and then explain why, and how you intend to ensure that it will not happen again.
Encourage the formation of a user community, with the provision of associated information, news and discussion forums. This raises levels of trust and confidence among users with exchanges of trading experiences. |
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Security Notices
