Monday, 28 April 2008

Fast Ecommerce - An Important Factor Of Modern Business Development


Meaning of Ecommerce

Electronic Commerce also referred to as EC, e-commerce eCommerce or ecommerce consists primarily of the distributing, buying, selling, marketing and servicing of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. E-commerce became an important factor of modern business development

Generating successful results through e-commerce is based on a company's ability to develop an efficient e-commerce business model. A well-established business model can facilitate the company's competitive advantage and influence its monetary results.

To make more profit with Ecommerce following should be done.

1. Be intellectual in your decision while using E-commerce. You should not spend your money in getting software such as shopping carts specially designed for you. Instead use the available designs and modify them according to your needs. This will save a lot of money, which will add to your profit.

2. Accepting payment via credit cards online should be made only if you have a secure gateway. Use of real time payment gateways is much secure and attracts greater number of consumers.

3. The design of your web site should be attractive enough to present you as a reputable company in front of a visitor who is visiting your web site for an online purchase.

4. Make the delivery of the products purchased by an online consumer as soon as possible. This will attract a greater number of clients.

5. Make use of newsletters to keep your consumers informed about the latest products and services offered by your company.

6. Use of affiliate marketing adds more profit to your Ecommerce business. A fine affiliate can drive traffic to your website for a little payment on a transaction made.

7. Use of viral methods of advertising along with online advertising is a must.

8. Keeping your inventories minimum is always the key to profits.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? Secrets of Article Marketing

Raymond Nesa is an experienced web marketer specializing in article marketing, traffic generation, and list building.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raymond_Nesa

M-Commerce - A Blessing for Everyone

Introduction: M-Commerce, or mobile commerce, is a part of E-Commerce. M-Commerce basically means that use of wireless handheld devices for having the trade or we can simply say that M-Commerce is the wireless web technology i.e. the technology enabling users to access digital information from the internet using wireless mobile computing devices or simply wireless handheld devices. With the help of these wireless devices, we can buy and sell different products and services throughout the world whenever and wherever we want. These devices have abridged the distance between the consumers and suppliers. We can assume that M-Commerce is the child of E-Commerce with more technology.

M-Commerce is also known as next generation’s E-Commerce. Now, this statement clearly explains us the importance of M-Commerce and we get assured that M-Commerce is the blessing for everyone in this modern era where each and everyone needs fast and reliable access to internet round the clock (24 by 7).

Following are the some main kinds of Wireless Handheld Devices that are helpful for M-Commerce:

1. Palmtops/Notebooks: The most common example is Sun Ray.
2. Smart Phones (WAP): The most common example is Nokia 8390.
3. GPRS enabled Cell Phones: The most common example is Nokia 6233.
4. Video Game Consoles: The most common example is MS Xbox.
5. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs): The most common example is Palm i705.
6. Wireless E-Mail Handheld Devices: The most common example is BlackBerry.
7. TV Internet Receivers: The most common example is MSNTV.
*(Beside these, there are number of other wireless handheld devices too, but these are the ones that are commonly used.)

Basically, M-Commerce is the part of E-Commerce but E-Commerce is limited only in those areas where we have internet connectivity. But M-Commerce, as we can see from its name, can be used anywhere. These wireless handheld devices can be connected to the internet through satellite and other means anywhere and at anytime. As it is stated that M-Commerce is mostly connected through the satellite, we can, therefore, also have video and audio conferencing by the help of the devices used for the M-Commerce. In E-Commerce, we too can have video and audio conferences but unlike that of M-Commerce, we do need to have the internet connectivity, which is not possible everywhere. This means that if we are at a place where we do not have access to the internet, so we can not do anything. M-Commerce has become blessing for the people in many ways. As content delivery over wireless devices becomes faster, reliable, more secure, and scalable, there is wide speculation that M-Commerce will surpass wire line E-Commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. Both Business to Business (B 2 B) and Business to Consumer (B 2 C) E-Commerce transactions can take place using M-Commerce technology.

Some major challenges of M-Commerce: Beside the fact that M-Commerce is a blessing for everyone in this generation, like all others things, there are some limitations and challenges to it as well. Although, these challenges and limitations can easily be changed into blessings, but still these are limitations for many of its users. These challenges are mentioned below:

1. The keyboards and screens are tiny and awkward for a new user to use. In fact, only a part of the screen is visible at a time on these devices.
2. Sometimes, the data transferring speeds on existing wireless networks is slow.
3. Each second waiting for data to download costs the customer money. Therefore, it is too much expensive to use.
4. Most wireless handheld devices have limited memory and power supply i.e. the memory is only extendable to a small extent while these devices are mostly used on battery which may need to be charged quite often.

These limitations and challenges may become a disgrace to the user but still these can not be avoided in any case and the user has to bare these any how.

Some Major Differences between E-Commerce & M-Commerce:
1. M-Commerce keeps us in touch with the world wirelessly by the help of satellites no matter where ever we are but E-Commerce usually does not do that. It normally needs to be connected to internet by the help of wires.
2. M-Commerce is always reliable and easy to access as compared to E-Commerce.
3. Wireless Handheld devices are easy to carry anywhere because of very low weight.

Conclusion: We can finally conclude that M-Commerce is basically a blessing for everyone. No matter, it too has some limitations and challenges, one can not deny from the importance of M-Commerce that has abridged the gaps between everyone especially for the trade and business.

I am the student of Institute of Business Administration(IBA), Karachi, Pakistan. I am currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. I never wanted to pursue a carrier in CS but we are often in a situation where we have to do something we never want to do. This same happened with me and i have got stuck in this field. Although, I am facing many problems initially, I can now only cross out my fingers and hope for the best till i clear I succeed in this. Well, I am not a regular writer but I just wrote this article to be submitted as an assignment.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Basit_Memon

How E-commerce Web Site Design Differs From Normal Web Design

When it comes to e-commerce everything is a little bit different, even the web site design for an e-commerce site as compared to a normal web design. If you are interested in developing an e-commerce site, then it is important to learn about the differences between the two types of website designs and how you can design the best e-commerce website with your resources.

Your normal web design or normal website is structured to offer information to web surfers and so it includes a variety of text blocks, photos, animations and the like. The point of these websites is to be well organized and provide comprehensive information about the topic at hand to the web surfer. Frequently, these sites offer links to other websites and sometimes have advertising as well. This is the basic setup and design of the normal web page. However, with so many people worldwide using the Internet as a means for employment there is a drastic increase in e-commerce websites online, and these sites require different attention, functions, and tools.

Your basic e-commence web site is going to have the same elements as the normal website, however the e-commerce web site must also have shopping carts, secure check outs, shipping and/or delivery information, frequently live help or call center, credit card processing, fraud protection, and other elements.

For example, the e-commerce website should be designed as a store because it is offering products for sale. Also, text should be persuasive and help viewers make the decision to buy products or services from you. In addition to this, the e-commerce website should have additional information on the products, common and suggested uses, a great gifts section, and any other information that will help sell the product.

These websites should also utilize a search function where individuals can go and look for what they want without having to go through the entire website to find it. This is something normal web pages usually do not have, but as an e-commerce site it will certainly serve you and your customers well.

A testimonials page is also important on an e-commerce site because it allows newcomers to read about past customers experiences, which builds confidence immediately in your products and services. This is a really important page that you will certainly want to include on your e-commerce website.

Also, a FAQ page will really prove to be a big help to both you and your customers. The reason for this is that most customers have the same or very similar questions, and if you go ahead and answer them on an FAQ page you will not have to worry about receiving and responding to lots of different e-mails asking the same questions. Save yourself a lot of work and include an FAQ page!

Now that you know the basic differences between a normal web page and an e-commerce website, you are well on your way to building and designing your e-commerce website.

Michael Turner reveals step-by-step how you can increase search engine traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Turner

Websites An Integral Means For Ecommerce Development

In order to make ensure that your website is apt for e-commerce development, there are a few features you need to incorporate in your website. Just adding a shopping cart is not enough for e-commerce there are a number of other features too that your website must possess to become a good e-commerce website.

A typical e-commerce website is just a showroom window which displays items for the passersby to see. But what do you think will pull these visitors into your website? It is the appropriate website design that attracts the visitors and leads them through the different processes in the website. Both the website design and the content or text of the website is essential to attract visitors. A too complicated or grammatically incorrect language or a too confusing design or shabby images both can put off a visitor.

Hence, to make sure that your website is moving in the right direction of e-commerce development incorporate a lot of text in your website this will guide the user at every stage. Use effective keywords and key phrases in your website text. This helps in search engine optimization process which in return attracts visitors to your website.

Your product details and product prices should be visible clearly in the website. Do not keep your visitors in doubt about anything in your website. This is the biggest threat to a e-commerce development website. If your visitor is in doubt about anything in the website he will only not transact with you but will also never return to site ever again. Further he might even bad mouth your website to others which will harm your reputation.

An e-commerce development website generally has a long procedure which the visitor has to follow in order to complete a transaction. This becomes quite boring at times and the visitor leaves the transaction halfway and exists. This is a warning sign to your e-commerce business. Make changes in your transaction procedure. Make it short and crisp so that the visitor does not have to wait long to complete a lead.

An e-commerce development website generally has a lot of data that needs to be downloaded. The download speed of the website hence, should also be checked as in many cases this too becomes a matter of concern. Considering the fact that you can check the user end speed, it is important to keep the load minimum on your end, so that the download error does not occur due to overload.

These are just a few features that are essential for ecommerce website designing. There is still a lot more on the subject which shall be covered in the following articles.

About the Author- Naman Jain is an expert in Internet marketing, presently working with Rupiz Media, one of the leading internet marketing company, offering online marketing services, SEO services, web design services and search engine marketing over the globe.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Naman_Jain

10 Ways Your Chamber of Commerce Can Help Your Business Grow

Joining your area's Chamber of Commerce can be a smart move for your home business. Because businesses that participate in this group promote each other and work together, your own business can grow and prosper quickly. Here are just a few ways you can benefit by joining your local Chamber of Commerce:

- If you make it known that your product or service makes great client or employee gifts, you could wind up with a very nice flow of business from your fellow Chamber members.

- You may be able to line up some lunchtime sales or parties featuring your products at local businesses to help employees with gift shopping (especially at Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day).

- You may qualify for less-expensive health insurance and business insurance available to Chamber of Commerce members.

- You can find out about local events where you might set up a booth and promote your business.

- You'll meet good, reliable sources for products and services like accounting, printing, computer support, etc.

- You'll be referred to other Chamber members' contacts.

- You have a good chance of meeting local retailers who may be interested in carrying your products.

- You'll have an opportunity to do joint ventures with other local businesses, such as cooperative advertising or trunk shows.

- Your business name can be associated with improving your community, since Chambers of Commerce generally work on civic improvement, legislation favoring local businesses, and economic development.

- You may have access to mentors who can help you develop your business; or you may be able to serve as a mentor to someone else.

These are just a few of the many ways your area's Chamber of Commerce can give you access to a valuable networking and marketing system. You can find your local Chamber of Commerce in the business listings of your phone book.

About The Author

Rena Klingenberg is a jewelry artist and small business owner. Her websites, http://www.trade-show-booth-display.com and http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com, are filled with new success tips and articles to help other small businesses market their products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rena_Klingenberg

Sunday, 27 April 2008

Quick E-Commerce - How to Build a Strong E-Commerce


E-commerce or E-business to common tongue is the latest method that is used by generally of people who are net based by nature. E-commerce is made possible when the activity to do a business has been done and performed via the electronic data transmission wired thru the World Wide Web. Initially, this is the fast becoming trend in business and commerce that has been dominated by manual transactions in the early days. With e-commerce the benefits that people may enjoy are immensely huge. With the ability of e-commerce to perform business dealings thru the net, it basically allows more and more people to engage into a wider sense of business. Below are some of the strong points to use on how you can build a powerful e-commerce.

a. Know what you are getting into. This statement is tantamount to saying that any person who wishes to embark on this kind of an endeavor should be able to learn the ins and outs of the discipline not limiting oneself to knowing the basic elements but more essentially, knowing the intricacies as well that is involved with it.

b. Determine the right business for you. In determining the right business for yourself, you need to know the technical limitations that you have; you need to know the resources that you currently possess and where the allocation shall be concentrated should embarking on it pushes thru. This will allow you to eliminate all potential issues that may arise with possible misappropriation of resources on the business.

c. Know your market. After having decided what type of business endeavor you are going to take make sure that you determine as well the presence of potential market of what you are going to endeavor. This will help you come up with a further study on how you can potentially attack your targeted clients.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to ecommerce success, ‘Secrets of Ecommerce for Profit‘

Download it free here: Ecommerce Profit

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize

Doing the Right Business With E-Commerce

Electronic Commerce is a revolutionizing industry nowadays. Majority of people, especially those in developed countries, are very well adaptive to doing business online. From shopping clothes to paying arrears to medical appointments, all are possible to be made using the E-commerce technology. But making it right and doing it perfect in E-commerce is one thing that an online business person should learn to do.

- When doing business on E-commerce, do not make it look that registration and buying are imposed things when they visit your site. You see, people know what they want to do. When they visit your site and have something to buy, I think that is the perfect time for you to offer and not impose the registration.

- Make your web site a search engine friend site. Like any other online business, you need traffic to generate sales, well at least! The best way for you to generate traffic is to get a higher rank and “friends” with the search engine. And search engines usually make “friends” with sites, which are traffic generators. In conclusion, you need to have more traffic for your e-commerce site to hit the best of online business.

- If you can avoid, try not mass mail. Net users nowadays are very much cognizant of the growing threats of spamming and phishing mail. It is best that you send once in a while a friend e-mail reminder or offer to consumers but do not overdo your mass mailing. This just does not work most of the times.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize

E-Commerce Schools

E-Commerce Schools and E-Business Schools are answering the increasing demand for advanced knowledge and training in online commerce. Courses in E-Commerce are designed to build skills for meeting the competitive challenges forthcoming in the growing international market.

Today’s professional must be prepared for the expanding global electronic markets that have become a part of the modern business world. The annual revenues from E-Commerce (also known as E-Business) have grown rapidly in recent years, and are expected to increase from billions to trillions of dollars annually in the next few short years.

Most business schools offer specialized programs that instill knowledge and technological skills for e-commerce. The student will receive a well-rounded education that is focused on strategies, analysis, networks, information systems, database management, programming and research, as well as the Internet as the primary tool of E-Commerce.

The Bachelor of Science (BS) and Master of Science (MS) degrees from E-Commerce Schools prepare students to start and manage online business undertakings, in both the physical and Internet aspects of an e-business firm. Students gain the skills for operating and maintaining the business, so that graduates are prepared with attitudes, skills, and competencies needed for success.

E-Commerce Schools present courses in management, as well as technical and general education courses that address critical thinking, research, teamwork, communication, and problem solving skills. Students are provided with with a thorough understanding of the intricate infrastructures that support e-business. Other courses will examine the relationship between the company and the customer, privacy and security, business ethics, management and analysis of data, and maintaining a customer base.

If you would like to learn more about E-Commerce Schools and even Online E-Commerce Schools, you can find more in-depth information and resources on our website.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com.

Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved by SchoolsGalore.com, in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc.

Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.

Michael Bustamante is a staff writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. in association with SchoolsGalore.com. Visit our Traditional School Directory and find Colleges, Universities, Vocational Schools, and Online Schools at SchoolsGalore.com, your educational resource to locate schools.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Bustamante

TurnKey E-Commerce Hosting Packages

Have you been selling on EBay and are thinking your ready for your own store? Maybe you are ready to look for a turnkey e-commerce package. There are a number of different factors that one has to consider when opening their own e-commerce store. Do you have a domain name? What shopping cart system are you using? Can you purchase and install your own SSL certificates? What about installing templates for your shopping cart? What payment gateways are you going to use? These are a number of the questions that you will have to answer to get your e-commerce site up and running.

There are now a number of different sites that are offering turnkey e-commerce packages. Each of these turn key packages will include all of the basics to get you up and running quickly. When you are purchasing your turnkey package there are a couple of things you might want to watch for. Some of the packages only include shared SSL certificates so try to find one that includes a private SSL certificate. This will prevent it from appearing to your customers that they have been redirected away from your site. Also, try to find a company that will also help you get your store set up and answer any questions that you have along the way. Many shopping carts like osCommerce can be fairly complicated so having someone knowledgeable about the individual shopping carts backing you up is always beneficial.

The beauty of turnkey e-commerce packages is that they are ready for you to start selling your products within 24 hours or less of you signing up for the hosting package. So if you are thinking about starting your own store you may be interested in looking at someone offering turnkey e-commerce packages. Taking advantage of the turnkey offers saves you the headache of having to get the store set up and lets you concentrate on building up your inventory and marketing your new e-commerce venture.


Ecommerce Web Hosting Packages

E-commerce websites have different requirements than a personal website or standard product or business information site. On e-commerce sites you need the capability to display your products for online sales, as well as a few customized features. That is why companies offer separate e-commerce web hosting packages.

Let’s say you have a selection of products you would like to sell over the Internet. Your website will need to display the product and a description. Users will need to be able to select the product to add to their shopping cart. Your site will need a way to store customer information and accept credit cards. Specialized e-commerce web hosting packages will make all these tasks simpler and easier to manage.

Prices between the different e-commerce hosting companies can vary, as can their services and features. Take a while to shop around and research the different options. Try to locate current customers who are willing to answer your questions. You can probably find them on business forums or web development forums. Most people are generally willing to help out and answer some questions.

You may also need to find an e-commerce web hosting package that will also include the design. Getting the two tasks finished at once can save you a lot of time and money. You may also want a company to manage your new web site. That is where research is essential. It may be more cost effective to have one web hosting company perform all these tasks, but you may not be paying for the best quality.

So, in order to get the most out of your online presence, you may need to consider different e-commerce web hosting packages to find one that best fits your needs and budget. Prices, fees and services vary from one company to the other but the research will be well worth it.

Web Hosting Packages provides detailed information on Web Hosting Packages, Managed Web Hosting Packages, Affordable Web Hosting Packages, Ecommerce Web Hosting Packages and more. Web Hosting Packages is affiliated with Small Business Web Hosting Plans.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Emerson

Thursday, 24 April 2008

Opportunities Abound with E Commerce Businesses


Since the advent of the Internet, there have been ways for businesses to communicate with each other and with consumers. It may seem implausible, but just over a decade ago, consumers' only choices, though, were to visit brick and mortar stores for their purchases. Nowadays, almost every large chain store and quite a few of the individual businesses offer at home purchasing options to consumers. E commerce businesses are what these online stores are called; e commerce refers to any business that is conducted electronically via the World Wide Web.

Sites like eBay, Amazon, and other online superstores are called e commerce businesses, since their purchases are conducted solely online. These e commerce businesses are what are known as business-to-consumer, in that the purchases are made by consumers directly from the e commerce businesses. There are also e commerce businesses that handle transactions between two companies, such as those that purchase items from manufacturers and distribute to other companies.

For the store owner looking to expand to a global rather than regional market, e commerce businesses are the way to go. Even if there is no actual store to go to, consumers can visit the web site, browse through products, and make all of their purchases from the comfort of their own home. This is so appealing to consumers who are pressed for time that e commerce businesses have exploded in growth and revenues. When this first became popular in the last decade of the twentieth century, companies saw billions of dollars pour into heir coffers from online purchases.

It really does not matter what products or services you are peddling; e commerce businesses can do well if their sites are clean and unencumbered, easy to navigate, and offer a variety of secure payment methods. One of the best choices for someone starting on of these ventures is to utilize PayPal, because it has become known as one of the safest ways to transact online.

Whether you plan to expand your business onto the Web or you are planning to build a completely online storefront, and whether you are selling hair care products or your psychic consultation services, the Internet is a great place to build your business.

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Michelle Anderson provides insight and info on a broad range of topics including e commerce businesses and more. Visit onelocate.com for more information.

E-Commerce Website Design vs Web Design

Not all websites are the same. And while all webmasters need to take web design into account, those dealing directly with money and customers have extra considerations to make. After all, for owners of e-commerce (or sales) websites, “conversion” is the number one priority. Conversion refers to turning visitors to a website into paying customers, and the “conversion rate” of an e-commerce site is hugely dependent on how potential customers feel about the site itself.

This brings the question… When designing a website, what is the difference between e-commerce web design and regular web design? Can you design an e-commerce website just like you would an informational web page? The answer is no. Though they are similar in concept and execution, there is quite a lot of difference between e-commerce web design and regular web design-- it’s all in the details.

E-Commerce Web Designers

When an Internet user visits an e-commerce site, he/she is often looking to buy. But the truth is, if that potential buyer doesn’t feel good about the website, they won’t buy-- even if the items for sale there are just what they’re looking for.

Since turning browsers into paying customers is the way for an e-commerce site to make money, e-commerce website designers must keep in mind the importance of creating trust and good feeling with potential customers. Before deciding to spend money, most online customers look for security, convenience, and accessibility, and a successful e-commerce site must make all three a priority. Because of this, e-commerce web designers must put a special focus on:

Branding

In order to create trust and a feeling with security with potential clients, it’s important that an e-commerce website be well branded. This means that sales websites must put more effort into logos, mottos, designs, etc., than non-commercial websites.

Shopping Carts

The ease and convenience of e-shopping carts, shopping baskets, etc., is an important factor in converting browsers into customers. Because of this, most e-commerce website designers should offer custom shopping cart design for websites. This includes but isn’t limited to shopping cart appearance, databases, product display, and email receipts.

Security and Merchant Accounts

The biggest reason why online shopping is such a huge industry is convenience. And what makes shopping online so convenient is the ability to pay online securely with credit cards. Since paying online is one of the last remaining “sticking points” for reluctant online shoppers, it’s important to make them feel safe and secure when ordering from an e-commerce site. Because of this, e-commerce web designers are specialized in creating secure websites, and often help users to apply for and create secure e-commerce merchant accounts for credit cards.

Of course, all of this specialized knowledge requires specialized training, and an e-commerce web designer needs to be trained in this highly specific field. An e-commerce web designer must know both regular web design and the specialized skills in the areas listed above, as well as other e-commerce related areas.

Enter the exciting world of web design by training at triOS College! Get your diploma as an E-Commerce Web Designer in as little as 52 weeks. http://www.trios.com/career/?section=ECommerceWebDesigner

E-Commerce Fulfillment

E-commerce or electronic commerce can be defined as the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. For proper implementation of e-commerce it is of immense importance to have an e-commerce site where one can get involve with the buying and selling of goods and services. To be successful, E-commerce site should contain a shopping cart system and a payment processing system.

Timely delivery is one aspect that requires careful attention. In fact, timely delivery is one of the three main dimensions of competitiveness, the others being quality and cost. Timely delivery is also dependent, like quality and cost, on productivity, managerial effectiveness and infrastructural support. Delays have been part and parcel of the economic system for the ages, hindering the progress of an organization. Delays in delivery occur due to a variety of reasons. Delays in manufacturing, shipping delays and delays in transporting the manufactured products to the ports upset the delivery schedules. E-commerce is the one way which can minimize these delays.

For e-commerce fulfillment, the use of high-class communication technologies is vital. If companies have to achieve global industrial competitiveness, in the first place it is essential for them to bridge the technology gap in industrial production. The companies should produce what the overseas markets need and produce them to their technological specifications and standards. Upgrading technology is also the durable route for price competitiveness and quality improvement. The companies have to do their bit by opting for the latest technology, adapting it, working out technology tie-ups and by committing higher investment for technology upgradation. Even in the post-liberalization era, technology upgradation has been the missing ingredient. But thanks to its all-time availability, global reach, and interaction and information delivery capabilities, the Internet is rapidly becoming a multi-billion dollar source of revenue for business across the globe.

Fulfillment provides detailed information about fulfillment, e-commerce fulfillment, fulfillment and distribution, fulfillment companies and more. Fulfillment is the sister site of Point Of Sale Hardware.

Affiliate Marketing - The Idiot-Proof Guide

Affiliate marketing involves one or more affiliates who get rewarded for their marketing efforts which help in bringing new customers to the business. Nowadays, affiliate marketing can be done online or in the traditional way.

Traditional Affiliate Marketing

This type of marketing involves a salesman or an agent, which advertises and promotes the products or services of the firm. The salesman or affiliate as it is known, gets rewarded for the customers he/she brings to the business through their marketing efforts. This method of marketing gives a personal touch and is more convincing for the customers. The affiliates answer any queries regarding the product, right on the spot, while interacting with the customers. The motive of the affiliate is to convince more customers in order to get more rewards.

E-Commerce Affiliate Marketing

With the advancement of web services, affiliate marketing can also be done through the concept of e-commerce. Through e-commerce, site 'A' works as a middleman, which, in turn helps in bringing customers for site 'B.' For example, Amazon.com is an e-commerce affiliate site, which advertises and promotes various products. Apart from this, various bloggers and online communities also work as affiliates. Sometimes an e-commerce site itself sells its products and services. In this way, the site working as a middleman is cut down and the reward or profit is not shared.

All the ways of affiliate marketing discussed in this article involve a joint effort of the merchants as well as of the affiliates involved. The purpose of both types of affiliate marketing methods is to win the customer's confidence and thereby bringing business for its owner.

Fabian Tan is the author of the free 51-Page Report:

"Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!"

Head over to http://www.MurderYourJob.com to get your free copy now before it's gone!

Building E-Commerce the Right Way

E-commerce is fast becoming the newest media in doing business transactions. People all over the globe have shifted to electronic commerce after having seen the potential benefits driven by this new technology. People have been widely accepting the fact that e-commerce is a better media to do business rather than the customary manual transaction that people have been accustomed to for several decades. Along with efficiency, one of the best reasons why e-commerce continues to dominate the online activities is because of its cost efficiency to both the business owners and consuming public. Now, to further the abilities of the e-commerce, the below given tips may help you out.

• When you would like to involve on e-commerce transaction, it is best that you develop first your avenue to doing transactions on net – your site. Your website is the perfect place for you to do transactions with your clients. It is therefore essential that you come up with a site that has total relevance on the products that you are dealing with or to the least, puts connection with what the company is trying to project.

• After having made a site to where you can perform the business, it is best that you make ways on how you can make it earn visibility on the Internet. There are about millions of websites swimming around on the net. Your website should compete to earn its presence and be known to be as an existing site so that people will know where to turn to.

• Choose the right product to sell and sell them good. People on net are always looking for merchandises. It is best that you determine what sort of merchandise is hitting the consuming market before you finally rest on developing those products.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

E-commerce Application Development

Selling and buying is an integral part of everyday life. Its existence is as old as human in different formats. After entering into internet world, where people prefer everything online, E-commerce is touted as one of the most viable online business opportunities on the Web today. In comparison to traditional brick and mortar businesses, e-commerce site requires minimal start-up cost and with relatively low-risk.

However that does not imply creating an e-commerce site is a simple process; neither does it guarantee your future success. Since it had become an integral part of our nature, every time anyone looks for an e-commerce application they have to start from scratch and needs to redo all the work by just viewing any online e-commerce website and thus e-commerce development becomes a typical job as the progress was not being distributed among the developers.

Especially after the occurrence of open source technologies need of a centralized e-commerce application become mandatory. Keeping this in mind few organizations/groups started developing. Now in the market there are many build-in e-commerce applications, os-commerce, Zen cart, Xcart are few very popular build-in E-commerce applications. Build-in applications are very popular and you get a basic structure with all the required functionality of an e-commerce application which you can customize accordingly to make it work for you. Some of them are free while few are paid.

At this stage it has become hard to select any application to start your e-commerce business, below are few tips which may help you to select the best possible application.

  • Easy Setup of store and availability of contributions and forums: Set up of a store should not be a struggle for you. A good wizard having effusive operational facilities will help you to set up your store in minutes.

    Since stores are based on a general requirement, you have to modify it to suit your requirements, availability of free contributions, forums may help you to get the work done quickly and efficiently.

  • Data Management: Every online store needs their data to be imported and exported. This facility helps in smooth product management and effortless migration in case we plan to change the hosting service provider.
  • Web Analytic: One of the key to the success of e-business is the web analytic. This will help you to understand the business scope and measure your failure rate.

Author is an Expert Web Developer at a leading Web Development Company in India. For more e-commerce web application development and software development services visit TisIndia.com and browse their web development portfolio.

Chamber of Commerce Business Directories Online

Most Chambers of Commerce offer online business directories for their members as an added benefit of the membership. Chamber of Commerce membership fees currently average about $200 for smaller cities and $350 for larger ones. Membership to your local Chamber of Commerce is important for so many reasons.

Unfortunately I also believe that many Chambers of Commerce’s do a poor job in directories for their members. They are poorly designed and hard to use for the public and they should be easy to use for maximum benefit of the small businesses who pay these membership fees. I believe that someone should build a website to help these Chamber of Commerce Groups do it better. Instead of only business directories Chambers should make catalogs, via an outsourced E-commerce cooperative type website, for the local businesses to sell their wares.

The E-commerce Website would be run by another company and charge 2% of whatever is sold and the Chamber Collects 5%, while the merchant account is managed thru a local bank, the chamber itself or an Oil Company, Insurance Company, Investment Bank or Large Online Retail Bank. The financial partner would therefore have cash to lend for 3% fee, just like a credit card company. Everyone wins.

Also merchants who buy locally can get credit (like credit cards) but better rates as long as they buy thru the system. It keeps money rolling locally, but uses the existing monetary system without upsetting natural money flows. I have thought here before and the chambers make a good partner because they want to help members and promote local spending, this means larger membership and more support for small businesses and thus fewer loans going south with SBA and fewer small business failures. Think on this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Credible Source for Incredible Result

It is human to get excited about anything new on the horizon. Naturally, e-commerce did create an excitement when it first dawned on the business scene. Many felt it an all-pervasive tool and quite a few an aid to business. The result: the former lot failed miserably, and the latter made a rich harvest. The moral of the story: technology and business practices, however great, demand market-orientation.

Can both business practices and technology be made market-oriented internally? Business Practices, yes, and Technology, no. Technology requires special knowledge and this knowledge rests with specialists. Trying to devise technology applications internally may divert your focus from the core vision: Business Practices.

Specialists are those who integrate individual business practices with e-commerce tools. This task enables an e-business to invite, offer and engage its target market on a mutually-fulfilling drive. Any mismatch between the offers on e-shop front (as perceived by visitors to your e-Shoppe) and the physical or factual delivery of the offers at rear front (as experienced by the visitors who turn out be your customers).

Therefore, the need to find dynamic e-commerce software solutions that can devise e-commerce modules in tune with specific business practices. But, beware! Look for credible sources*; or else they might fail you miserably!

* DynaShoppe E-commerce Solutions ( http://www.dynashoppe-ecommerce.com ) is one such dynamic technology application that has carved a niche for itself in designing and launching e-carts.

*the author is a content writer at Mindware Software Solutions (http://www.dynashoppe-ecommerce). He specializes in writing for business promotional tools. His interest also extends to generating knowledge-enriching content. He can be reached at dynashoppeseo@gmail.com

Wednesday, 23 April 2008

Ecommerce Web Site Designs


Traditionally when people needed to shop for things they went to local stores personally and purchased whatever was required. However these days when people have to look for something or need to buy something, they prefer going online and using Internet. Most companies consider these as open doors of opportunities. They can display their products and advertise at low costs. They can also connect to their potential markets through live chat rooms or through a feedback system. Moreover, these companies offer a lot of information about their products and include necessary details.

Appropriate website designs are important for all businesses. These include educational, architectural, e-commerce, telecommunication and even small businesses. A company generally provides a website window for the world to know about their particular business. Businesses may be competitive, but are never similar. E-commerce website design packages are an online sales revenue e-commerce solution. E-commerce web sites have become important to increase clientele and carry out business in far flung areas too. E-commerce Website Design can create an interactive, informative, secure, e-commerce enabled site that can also provide with e-commerce hosting.

These sites have unique domains, internal and external links, e-commerce shopping carts linked to online e-commerce merchant accounts, auto responders, and email accounts. Existing logos can be incorporated and graphics and Flash or animation can be added. Most websites are encrypted (secure), that normally permit safe processing for credit card transactions online with e-commerce merchant account.

Most web designing companies have full staff of professional website design technicians, professionally equipped to build customized multi-page websites. Information is updated from time to time or web designers can modify existing sites by adding products, pages, text and graphics at no additional charge. Some web designing software can help people design custom web sites by themselves. Detailed step by step instructions help individuals to design their own web sites. Such software is suitable for simple websites.

Web Site Design provides detailed information on Web Site Design, Custom Web Site Designs, Ecommerce Web Site Designs, Web Site Design Companies and more. Web Site Design is affiliated with Custom Web Site Design Companies.

Intermediate Tips for Growth in E-commerce

The increasing growth of e-commerce has brought with it a lot of new and bigger business challenges. Being able to sell quality and affordable goods or services is no longer the end all of e-commerce activities. In order to meet the demands of the stiff competition in this rapidly evolving business trend, you need to maximize the use of the available technologies and be more creative in promoting online your business enterprise.

In order to increase your business advantage in the e-commerce industry, it is important that you are familiar with today’s Internet technology. Use all e-commerce tools to your advantage like having a good and appealing domain name for your website and by increasing your online advertising presence. For example, you can post pay-per-click advertisements on search engines and other affiliated websites in order to divert more users to your website. You can also provide information about your business, share some advice or opinion and include a link to your website on online forums and blogs. Users are likely to click on these links and get to your own website.

Increasing your e-commerce advantage requires you to learn new techniques and more strategies that could keep your edge in the online business world. In comparison to offline businesses, competition is rather stiff and most products and service improve faster in the online industry. Being in direct contact with targeted customers like answering inquiries and taking online orders can help you realize your business targets with very little or no cost at all. As use of information technology continues to grow, e-commerce will usher in new and more effective ways of doing business. With the world becoming more and more a global village, the future of e-commerce, including the increased market profit and business volume, continues to be as limitless as the borders of the World Wide World.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

How E-commerce and M-commerce can Help Small Business Companies

Overview:

Small business companies still away from e-commerce and e-business. Many companies thinking e-commerce means only developing websites, offering customers support through Internet and expecting buyers traffic through various Internet Search engines and business to business (b2b) trade exchanges. Mobile commerce or m-commerce is still far away from these companies.

What is e-commerce?

Executing entire business process through electronically means using various online and offline softwares to serve products and services to the customers is popularly known as a e-commerce. Nowdays e-commerce turning into m-commerce means now companies can use mobile devices to run their entire business process to serve products and services to the customers.

Why small business companies behind to adopt e-commerce and m-commerce?

Small business companies using various different different software in various locations to run their business. But they dont have middleware softwares which can connect various softwares. Middleware sofftware is popularly known as a branch automation software or solution.

How middleware software work?

Middleware software simpley upload syncronized Data (XML data) on companies own webserver. This XML data can be usefull to make various web applications or company can download this data for another locations. This data can be use online perpose also as well as offline softwares also. To use XML data both the perpose companies need to make Data Syncronization tool which can convert XML to Database as well as Database to XML data format.

How Middleware can help m-commerce?

Companies can upload syncronized data on their own webserver and make xhtml web applications which can be accessed through mobile or PDA devices.

Path to success for Small business companies

1. Connect your all software through Middleware software.

2. Deveop Data Syncronization module which can help you to convert your database into XML format Database and again XML to your Database format.

3. Develop web based reports using XML Database into XHTML.

4. Access your reports through Internet web applications as well as mobile PDA devices.

5. You can download XML data from various locations and use into offline software through Data Syncronization.

6. You can do data entry throug offline softwares as well as web applications and through mobile devices also.

Seema Ingale is Software consultant from Mumbai, India. She is offering free online Software consultancy through http://www.branch-automation.com

URL : http://www.e-marketing.co.in http://www.m-commerce.co.in

Small Business Ecommerce Merchant Account

An e commerce merchant account is like the checkout in your local shop. They both process any payment that comes in their direction and both are essential for their relative businesses, as without any means of processing payments an online business is destined for failure thus the importance of finding an e commerce merchant account. It is extremely vital if you plan on selling any products or services through your website and will dramatically improve your chances of making a profit as it will allow your visitors to pay through a number of different mechanisms including but not limited to credit and debit cards.

Merchant Account

Most retailers deal with merchant accounts. What you may not know is that some retail merchant accounts do not allow mail order or online purchases to be processed through those accounts. Before you start looking at an online e commerce site, check with your merchant account bank or financial institution.

Payment gateway

Payment gateways are simply interfaces between your online e commerce site and your merchant account. While not mandatory they will reduce the amount of time it takes you to process your online orders.

Online e commerce solution

Before you make your decision about which e commerce solution to use check with their customers to see what they think about the software solutions you are considering. Also check to see what kind of support you can expect. You may also check to see how much time they spend managing the site, processing orders and managing their product listings.

Zed Miller, an expert business writer, regularly contributes his articles to various websites just to help merchants, small businesses and retail houses to expand their market base by accepting the prevailing mode of payments.

Visit http://www.merchantservicez.com/Small-business-ecommerce-merchant-account.htm to read more articles from this author

What Exactly is eCommerce?

This idea may come naturally to some but there are many people out there that do not understand what eCommerce is and what it can offer. eCommerce (abbreviated for electronic commerce) is the exchanging of products and/or services over an electronic medium, most commonly the internet.

eCommerce got its start in the early 90's, companies such as Amazon and Ebay caught on early and offered services that allowed customers to purchase goods online. From the early 90's eCommerce flourished like no other market in this era, eCommerce simply exploded onto the scene until its bust in 2000, with any great rise in the economy it can be expected that the fall will seem just as dramatic.

This bust was only a road block in what is still considered a bustling market. Here are some quick facts about eCommerce directly from the Census Bureau:

• In 2005, e-commerce grew faster than total economic activity in three of the four major economic sectors covered by the E-Stats report. However, change over time in the e-commerce share of each sector's overall shipments, sales, or revenues continue to be gradual.

• Merchant Wholesalers, including Manufacturing Sales Branches and Offices (MSBOs), ranked second, with e-commerce accounting for 18.3 percent ($945 billion) of total sales. In contrast to other sectors, e-commerce sales of Merchant Wholesalers grew more slowly than total sales.

• In 2005, as in prior years, Manufacturers and Merchant Wholesalers relied far more heavily on e-commerce than Retailers or Selected Service businesses. Manufacturers also increased their use of e-commerce at a faster pace.

• Retailers' e-commerce sales increased by 22.2 percent. As a share of total retail sales, however, e-commerce sales remained modest: 2.5 percent ($93 billion), up from 2.2 percent ($76 billion) in 2004.

eCommerce has been an amazing asset to the United States economy and those individuals who aspire to become entrepreneurs. Expect more articles like this one on eCommerce, Entrepreneurship and so much more.

Robert Abrom is the CEO of Abrom Research Inc., find more resources for your journey to entrepreneurship at http://abromresearch.com

Saturday, 19 April 2008

Ecommerce - Merchant



Electronic commerceor ecommerceas known is a facilitation of commercial transactions like sending purchase orders, sales invoices and other documents electronically. Through time it expanded by including other activities such as the selling and buying of goods and services through the Internet, and it became known as "web commerce."
A businessman wanting to develop his business into a higher level should think of selling through the internet. E commerce merchant account lets you set up a website of your own to display your products and services and your marketing strategies.
It also gives you an opportunity to compete with other companies worldwide. You can reach out to thousands of people in the world at the same time. Customers across the globe can take a look at your products and services and can also purchases online. Internet makes your store accessible 24 hors a day and makes sales and purchases with convenient and faster. Your customer base expands and a consequent your sales volume increase considerably in no time.
Your customers will pay you through your merchant account,your online payment processor that can also be opened in banks. E commerce merchant account lets you accept credit card payments online. The basic requirements for opening a merchant account are business checking account, a physical street address and a corporation name statement form a local courthouse.
An E commerce merchant account will process the payment from your customers to your own bank account. It will also enable you to accept credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and other forms of electronic payment. In the processing, the transactions are entered into electronic networks that facilitate the transfer of funds from the customers' to your account.
Having an E commerce merchant account that enables you to receive any kind of payment is vital to any online business. In this regard, you need to carefully choose where to open and entrust your money. Bear in mind that it should be fast, easy, secure and affordable, has the lowest rates, no hidden fees, accepts payments in any currency and has best customer service and support.
Zed Miller, an expert business writer, regularly contributes his articles to various websites just to help merchants, small businesses and retail houses to expand their market base by accepting the prevailing mode of payments.
Visit http://www.merchantservicez.com/Ecommerce-merchant.htm to read more articles from this author
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Zed_Miller

Increasing E-commerce Website Sales


With consumers purchasing billions of dollars of merchandise online each and every year, the Internet has become the key to financial security. The e-commerce business has consistently thrived well above all other online enterprises, and continues to flourish. Because of this encouraging surge in activity, many individuals are now interested in becoming e-commerce merchants. To profit from your online business, you must first produce a unique website that will intrigue visitors and interest them in your items.
In reality, the e-commerce business is not much different than your average offline retail venture. Both vendors have products that he aims to sell, and each retailer must discover the appropriate avenue to market these items. Online shoppers crave the same things that traditional shoppers demand: a pleasant shopping experience, in-stock merchandise, and a courteous vendor. If you seek to please the customer, your e-commerce business shall prosper.
Almost every e-commerce website that is currently profiting has a clean, crisp layout, and effortless navigation. It is essential for you to have several categories featuring your products that are easy to browse. Clear, detailed images should also be readily available. Customers should have the opportunity to examine your products and compare them with others.
An ideal e-commerce store will have many WebPages. These pages will be organized into various categories, with searchable properties, and will use thumbnail pictures for faster loading time. Each picture should also have a detailed description of the product. The easier the site is to access, the more likely it is the visitor will purchase a product.
Website security has become a major issue in cyberspace. It is up to you as an e-commerce vendor to make each one of your customers feel at ease shopping at your online store. It is crucial for you to have Secure Socket Layering (SSL) on your online payment pages, so you have the capacity to handle encrypted transactions, such as credit card processing. Outwardly demonstrating to your customers that your website is secure will make them more comfortable shopping with you.
Customer service information should be an eminent characteristic on your e-commerce website. It is essential that you have a Contact Us link on your site's menu, and on every page of your website. This link should be directed to another page, which lists an e-mail address, phone number, and mailing address. Customers need to feel that they can contact you at any time if they have any questions or problems. It is also wise to have a Frequently Asked Questions section to your site, which provides answers to common queries.
With the e-commerce business leading the way in the web of money-making ventures, many are racing to join the masses. While building and eventually increasing sales to your e-commerce site may not come easily at first, in time, the rewards will be plentiful.
Until the Next Time,
Dr. J. Elisha Burke
Copyright 2005 Burke Publications All Rights Reserved
Dr. J. Elisha Burke, an educator and entrepreneur, has been involved in various business enterprises via his business, Burke Publications for 11 years. Dr. Burke is an educator, writer and motivational speaker on a variety of topics. He is also known for his expertise on nonprofit organizations and grant proposal writing. Dr. Burke can be contacted at http://burkepublications.com at http://news.burkepublications.com or jeb@burkepublications.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J._E._Burke