Designing Your E-Commerce Site for Service
September 15, 1999
An e-business stands and falls on its ability to
fully service your customer, and to provide you with a
cost-effective, reliable and responsive channel
for your product or service.
In our
previous article,
we outlined many of the business-level issues in setting up and
running an e-business. In this article, we''re going to drill down
and take a look at the components of a working e-business system.
Let''s look at the four main venues in which your e-business
will take place.
The customer''s view - visuals, navigation, content
The stockroom - catalogs, product information, inventory/resource management
The back office - payment, customer service, query tracking, order management and delivery
The boardroom - measuring, planning and managing your business
These views of your business apply whether you are involved in
shipping goods as a retailer, or your product is a service you deliver
on- or offline. You still have to get your customer to come in,
check out your information, find and request what they desire, and
pay you for it. You, in turn, must provide that location for your customer,
the information they need to make a decision, and the delivery procedures
to get the product or service to the customer.
They also apply if your e-business is business-to-business. Of course,
in this case, your ''shop'' is not a retail outlet on Main St. - it''s a plush reception
room or boardroom where you meet your client, demonstrate your product or
service, negotiate terms, timescales and delivery schedules, and seal the
deal with a handshake. You will still need the same components - presentation
space, product display, production/delivery and management - but you''ll decorate
them differently.
So, no matter what kind of business you want to be in start out from the point of view of your customer. Let''s step
into the most visible (and in some ways most critical) venue in your e-business -- the shop.
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