E-commerce and Interactive Communications Methods :: E-Commerce Design Essays

E-commerce and Interactive Communications MethodsE-commerceE-commerce means carrying out of trade and commerce (includingshopping) via electronic means. E-commerce can be sub-divided intobusiness-to-business, business-to-consumer, and consumer-to-consumertransactions. E-commerce is sometimes known as e-tail, e-trade ore-business.There are a number of different uses of e-commerce. E-commerce can beused for marketing of goods and servings retail of goods andservices customer service and supply chain management (also known asE-procurement).Advantages of e-commerce* The ability to reach a wider market* The ability to find information on competitors and to compete with large businesses on an equal basis* Lower operating costs* The ability to buy as well as sell goods on the internet* universe faster than traditional retailing* Cost savings on marketing and promotion, e.g. producing fewer brochures* Offering more choice than traditional retailing* Establishing better customer and sup plier relationshipsDisadvantages of e-commerce* Staff- technical staff are an expensive resource* Building a customer base is expensive* Distribution- it is difficult when delivering orders to customers within a sightly time period* Quality- online products should be equal in standard to the offline products* Expensive to set up e-commerce systems* Risk of fraudInteractive Communications MethodsInteractive media is be as the following A newtelecommunication system designed to permit two-way communicationsbetween televisions or computers in one position with software storedon a central computer. Can also allow individuals in distant locationsto communicate, teach, or learn from one another.Examples of interactive communications methods includeCD-ROMs letters, memos and e-mails the intranet one-to-onesmeetings phone calls and videoconferencing calls.Advantages of interactive communication* The opportunities it provides for feedback* The greater degree of confidence it provides tha t the message has been understood* The recipient can to some extent control the one thousand of the communication* The message can be tailored to better meet the recipients needsThe internet is the primary interactive media for advertising. It hasrecently touch many areas of promotion, with interactiveadvertising, creative sponsorship, sales promotion, public relations,database marketing and prestige value of having a website.There are a number of other Internet resources which can be used topromote a website. Some of these are mentioned below* Discussion lists- are a method for individuals to network with others on a particular topic* Webcasting- this is when subscribers list topics of interest and new information is sent directly to their to their computer screen