3 Considerations In Building an "E-commerce Juggernaut"
Posted by Seraj A. Farooqui on Fri, Sep 02, 2011 @ 08:52 AM
E-commerce, as described in Building an E-commerce Juggernaut: 3 Reasons to Outsource Fulfillment, is one of the most important facets of modern business. In fact, one can argue that it has revolutionized the 21st century in a way that few technologies ever have. The history of e-commerce dates back to 1970’s, when electronic data interchange (EDI) and electronic fund transfer were first introduced. Since then, e-commerce has encompassed almost every aspect of business - including supply chain management, transaction processing, internet marketing and inventory management.
Prior to considering a fulfillment partnership, it’s important to first mimic the 3 following traits that serve as the foundation to building an “e-commerce juggernaut.”
1. Business Planning
Without thoughtful business planning and a clear understanding of your product – the leap from an “online store” to an “e-commerce juggernaut” can be quite treacherous. The purpose of a website is to first and foremost, sell products and services, while also present information, increase business visibility, and provide additional customer service. Hence, having a great product or service, in correlation to a clear - customized - vision will help attract targeted markets and increase both sales and customer satisfaction.
2. Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing increases the likelihood of being found by your target markets. In other words, it’s the practice of bringing warm, qualified customers into your sales funnel. Some of the most popular inbound marketing techniques include blogging, interacting on social medias, and search-engine optimization. Inbound marketing involves creating and providing valuable content for your customers, promoting your content (not the product or service), building customer relationships, and increasing brand awareness.
3. Efficient Fulfillment and Customer Support
Having the infrastructure needed to satisfy a customer’s cyber experience and facilitate the fulfillment of any given order is essential for customer satisfaction. In fact, customer retention is deeply engrained to the way a company services its customers, and the reputation it creates within and across the marketplace. According to research by John Fleming and Jim Asplund, repeat customers generate 1.7 times more revenue than new customers. Furthermore, referrals among repeat customers are 107% greater than non-customers. Maintaining good communication with your customer support team and optimizing e-commerce fulfillment will have an instrumental effect on the customer shopping experience and build an “e-commerce juggernaut.”
Then, when supply chain optimization, itself, becomes the Achilles’ heel to a company – one should then seek outsource e-commerce fulfillment.
What are some other key factors in operating a successful e-commerce business?
Photo by myretailmedia
