Ecommerce

Today, there is a fundamental change to the basis of commerce as we have known it - a move from the old economy to the new. There are now about 150 million people on-line. Analysts predicts that b2b will be worth approximately $US 1.5 trillion by 2003 and b2c will be worth about half of that amount. But that is just the beginning! In terms of development, Ecommerce is now where the motor-car was at the turn of the last century. Just as the impacts of the motor-car on productivity, society and the environment were not understood then, so the implications of Ecommerce is not understood today. What is clear, however, is that business-to-business Internet transactions are growing at an an astronomical rate. Organisations must now gain an understanding of the opportunities and threats presented by Ecommerce and, equally important, make the necessary changes. Those that do not may find themselves in the same position as the blacksmiths, harness-makers and wheel-wrights were as the motor-car gained acceptance.

Ecommerce and Your Business

What does Ecommerce mean for your business? It does not mean the mere establishment of a website. To integrate ecommerce into your business it is necessary to re-think business processes, relationships and communications such that the organisation applies ecommerce technology for its strategic advantage.

Achieving this goal requires the correct approach, flexible planning, the right tools and expert advice. If your business objectives include the enhancement of business-to-business or business-to-consumer capabilities, we can help you build and implement an ecommerce model which will make your business stronger and more competitive. Montrose management consultants will apply a five stage ecommerce methodology so that your ebusiness program will move forward in a systematic way.

 

Ecommerce Success

How can we make your organization successful?

• We can transform the capabilities of an organization in accordance with prudent and attainable strategies; as management consultants, we can assist you in aligning your Internet operations with overall strategy and optimize your technology to meet changing business needs.
•  We can define and implement a meaningful and productive web presence through strategic and tactical planning that goes beyond a basic website. We view a website as the means to expand your business communication and marketing to a wider audience. For a website to be successful it must integrate your business culture and process.
•  We believe that saving time and money by integrating legacy systems (where available) is a more prudent approach then rebuilding or replacing systems and processes that work. Additionally, ongoing support for an Ebusiness system should be a balance of both internal and external resources that maximize the financial investment.
•  Building an Ebusiness site that is well thought out and designed will not increase revenue, customers, or new prospects if a complete and ongoing marketing plan is not instituted. Marketing a website is a rapidly changing and complex business opportunity that has many interdependent elements. Most websites fail to meet expectations because little or no resources is spent in this area.

Ecommerce Design

The design phase of the project encompasses stages one and two; information gathering and strategic planning. During this phase, we review the essential components of a successful website. Success is determined not by how much information or graphics that may be in your organisation's website, but by meeting your strategic and tactical goals. Here are just some of the questions we review with clients during the information/strategic phases:

• What is the purpose of the website?
• Who is your target audience?
• Is everyone in the organization going to have input into the website and utilize it to improve business processes?
• How will the website integrate with your traditional communication vehicle and marketing plans?
• What is your budget and expected return on investment?
• Why would a prospect, customer or vendor visit your website?
• How will you capture information about visitors to your site? What will you do with that information?
• How and who will refresh material on your website? How often will this be done?
• Does your company have the operational processes in place to support the website demands?
• Does your company have the operational processes in place to support orders and requests for information generated by the website?

During the information gathering stage we note the key issues. We review your products, services, distribution channels, competition and existing promotional campaigns. We discuss short and long term goals and objectives and how to measure progress in achieving those goals. We identify needs, budgets, resources and timelines. Upon completion of this stage, we initiate the strategic planning process. A target audience is defined. Content is analyzed and organised. Our team will select the technologies and solutions required to assemble a site that will meet the defined objectives in the most efficient manner. In addition, we take into account resources available within the organisation to maintain and support the website on an ongoing basis.

The site production stage requires great care in developing a communication "platform" that takes into account the following:

• Development tools that could be maintained and utilized by our client; We feel it is extremely important that opportunity for transfer of knowledge be made available so that ongoing support and maintenance of the site can be done by the client.
• Clear and concise text is more important then graphics. "Words are worth a thousand pictures".
• The layout of your page is easy to navigate.
• Appropriate use of graphics and white space; You cannot get your message to the viewer if it is buried under too much text and/or graphics.
• The speed of page loading will have a direct impact on a viewer's length of stay.
• The content of your page will have a direct impact on a viewer's length of stay.
• Word type and usage will have a direct impact on your ranking in the various Internet search engines.
• The type of technology used to develop your site could have an impact on who can view your site.

The launch and promotion of your site is the most critical stage. You can have a wonderful website with no visitors!! In fact, most sites on the Internet today have less than a 100 visitors a day. This because no one took into account how to position and market these web sites. By using our proven marketing methodology we get web sites noticed quickly and we work with our clients on an on-going basis to maintain a high level of exposure. For example, a clearly defined, focused and integrated keyword program will give your organisation greater exposure on the web.

The last phase is maintenance and support of a website. Keeping a website updated with fresh new content is an important component to ensure repeat visitors. Additionally, with technology changing everyday, your site must be tested to make sure it supports the newest technology while continuing to support older technologies that you have identified as being important to your overall strategy. We work closely with our clients to develop a complete plan including resource balancing.

We have developed a proprietary practice methodology to assure that all operational and business components are adequately addressed. Our consultants can help you plan, build and manage your Ebusiness with our marketing, consulting and web services directed at strategic planning, tactical planning and internet related issues.