How Does eCommerce Benefit a Business?

eCommerce Makes the Entire Globe Your Showroom

    Exposing your products and services to potential customers is a critical component of success in business. ECommerce gives you the opportunity to showcase your products to the entire world of prospects. Imagine what it might cost your business to have stores or offices throughout the U.S. and in every country in the world. Compare that potential cost--probably in the hundreds of millions of dollars--to an effective interactive eCommerce website.



Operating Expenses

    Consider the cost of creating and maintaining a popular eCommerce website compared with the ongoing operating expense of having multiple stores and offices. Include salaries and benefits, furniture and equipment, utilities, signage, telephones, computers and management costs in your comparison. The fixed and variable costs of having a physical store or office in many locations are much higher than the most expensive state-of-the-art eCommerce website.

Your Business Is Always Open at No Extra Expense

    Compare the cost of having a physical business open 24/7/365 with having an eCommerce website "open" on the Internet. You enjoy double the benefits with an eCommerce website. First, you make your products and services available for purchase every day around the clock. Should a customer in the U.K., with a six hour time difference from the East Coast of the U.S., wish to make a purchase at 3 a.m. EDT, your business is open. A customer in Hilo, Hawaii, wishing to buy your products at 10 p.m. (4 a.m. EDT) only needs to access your eCommerce website to increase your gross sales figures. Second, you need not pay for excess staff, utilities or any other operating expenses because your web host or dedicated computer servers continue operating to make sales and collect payments.

Customer Data

    Learn who your customers are and what products they prefer. This is a challenge in a classic retail environment since your staff seldom has the time or inclination to ask questions that your customers may be equally reluctant to answer. However, eCommerce gives you the ability to collect and analyze customer data that helps you improve your branding activities and build loyalty. Providing a secure buying experience often encourages your customers to be forthcoming in providing their shopping preference information to your eCommerce website. You can improve your product mix (add or delete some products), pricing matrix (increase, decrease, or maintain current prices), and market to your existing customer base more efficiently (target customer segments, market specific desired products, e-mail sales specials and newsletters to customers who want this information).

By William Pirraglia, eHow Contributor
http://www.ehow.com/