Welcome to introduction to e-commerce from the Virtual Training Company. I am Darcy Spears. In this course, we will look at e-commerce from the viewpoint of a web developer working with a small business client. One of our real clients has given us permission to use her name and business information and as we go through this training we will be working with her to plan, build, test and make live a new version of her online store. This course is meant to give you a basic understanding of the structure of e-commerce and the process for creating a business to consumer e-commerce web site. I can’t predict if a product idea is a good one or if an existing business will translate well to the web or even if an e-commerce site is going to make money. But I can give you the fundamental information you will need to analyze and build an e-commerce site for your client so you and your client can find out for yourselves if the gamble was worth it. And just like any sales venture, an online store is a gamble. Sometimes more risky and sometimes less risky depending on the business, the products, the economy, the buying habits of customers, the mood of the public, the administration in power in Washington, the tone of major news and entertainment publications and the position of the moon relative to the planet Mars. Ok maybe not quite so much that last one. But there is no sure thing in e-commerce. The promises you make as a web developer to your client are serious promises often involving the sustainability of the business you are working with and ethical web developers do not promise any client that an e-commerce site absolutely will make them money. One recent article in the bamboo web encyclopedia pointed out that e-commerce isn’t different to technology and in many ways this is a very true statement. All of the decisions that go into a physically based sales business are decisions that must be made with an online sales channel as well and these are the decisions that determine whether your sales channel will make your client money. If your client’s products don’t fit a customer need, your client’s company is not going to succeed either online or as a physical store. On the other hand, if your client’s product is unique and fills a specific requirement for a targeted population, the chances are much better that the business will succeed. In addition, if the prices are reasonable, are in the range of what customers are willing to pay, the business will probably be successful. If your client is able to attract and retain customers and grow loyalty, chances are they will be successful. The foundation of success analysis remains the same regardless of the channel. What am I selling, who is buying my product and why are they buying it? What should I charge, how should I sell it? Well, the fundamental questions remain the same. What differs between online sales and physical sales is how the answers are accomplished. For example, if your analysis of your client’s business shows that service is critical to encouraging purchases by their customers. In a physical store you would recommend that your client hire additional sales clerks and allow them a great deal of leeway with return policies in order to keep the customer happy. Online, you would recommend that your client publish and maintain a liberal return policy including promising to their customers and carrying out the promise a 24-hour turnaround on exchanges and reduced shipping costs for replacement items. In this training, we will be looking at all the facets of analyzing, designing and building an e-commerce web site for our client. Along the way, you will learn how to help your clients achieve realistic success with their online store and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you contributed to their success.
Course: | Introduction to E-Commerce |
Author: | Darcey Spears |
SKU: | 33628 |
ISBN: | 1-932808-79-5 |
Release Date: | 2005-08-25 |
Duration: | 7.5 hrs / 102 lessons |
Work Files: |
Yes |
Captions: | No |
Compatibility: |
Vista/XP/2000, OS X, Linux QuickTime 7, Flash 8 |