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You are here: Home > On-line Guides > eCommerce and your business > eCommerce Impact > Sales > How to Begin to Use eCommerce to Sell
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Impact on Sales
How to Begin to Use eCommerce to Sell
Much has been written about using eCommerce methods to sell products and services, and with the low cost of entry into the Net economy, most businesses can afford to do it - the question is, how?
Web site Sales Channel
Getting right back to basics, eCommerce is another channel to market or sell to customers and consumers. web sites and eMail are the two main eCommerce applications that are used together to promote and advance the selling process to closure. How these two powerful, interactive, communication methods are used to sell, depends on your product and service offering, and your existing sales channels. Looking first at Web sites, there are several ways that they can be used as a new sales channel for your business:
Direct Selling from a Web site is the direct marketing approach that cuts out the "middleman" and enables direct interaction with customers and consumers. Before rushing in to creating your own business Web site, a careful examination needs to be made as to how on-line sales will be integrated with existing sales channels, such as the sales team, distributors, resellers, and agents. It is not uncommon for on-line sales to be perceived as being in conflict with traditional channels. Therefore, these issues must be sorted out in advance. If they are not, your business and brand will be damaged and overall sales revenue reduced.
Indirect Selling From a web site provides information on products and services, and brand- building corporate information, that points the visitor to a local sales channel outlet, such as a retailer or supplier, by providing contact information. This type of Web site removes all channel conflict, as it is seen to be supporting the channel and generating leads for them. If the local outlet is an independent retailer or supplier, then it is not uncommon for them to have their own Web site to provide information or to sell direct on-line to the end user.
Hybrid Direct and Indirect Selling from a web site is a way of presenting customers and consumers with a choice, to buy on-line or to use a local outlet. Sales made on-line at a corporate Web site, can, then, if appropriate, use the local outlets to fulfil orders from their stock, or to provide services such as pre-delivery inspections, implementation, or post-sales support. Involving the local outlet removes the channel conflict, and transfers the customer or consumer relationship to them. It can also be an efficient way of using an existing supply chain for order fulfilment.
A couple of examples of the hybrid model would be Ford Motors and General Motors. They use their dealer network to supply services on cars sold on their direct sales Web sites. Tesco's use their local stores to fulfil orders taken at their on-line shopping Web site.
Working out which of the above three approaches your business should use is determined by the marketing and sales strategy of your business. If your business has traditionally used indirect sales channels, such as distributors, retailers, and suppliers, switching or including a direct web site sales channel for the Internet may not be the right way forward. Additional costs of direct marketing, and the logistics of direct fulfilment of single item orders, could make direct Web site sales unprofitable or unworkable. However, the opposite may be true, and with eCommerce methods, now could be the time to restructure your business around a Web site direct-marketing channel. Most businesses are adopting a view that Web site sales are one of many sales channels, rather than the only channel.
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