Growing business online

Every business is unique and they have their specific target and strategy to be successful in achieving their goal. To be successful in online business one has to monitor the competitors, trend, demand of the current time and many more things need to be observed and adapt as necessary.

The following video is about online book sellers who are doing great business by using the business platform through internet.

The video shows that the main thing what they are focusing for business is the following:

1. Who is your target audience: the actual audience who are the product prepared for and by which the actual goal of and the enterprise can be succeed.

2. What is your business product and competitive: The main thing of the internet business is product which has to attract customer. The competition makes it tougher to run business and the price, quality of product has to be maintained to survive from the competitor’s effect.

3. Social networks: Social network has been playing a great role now days. Face book, twitter etc social media provides a big help to run business through online and it connects the people to introduce the best product and services.

4. Mobile marketing: The world is getting more advance and people prefer to do business just using their smart phone from anywhere in the world. User friendly software and attractive websites can gain more customers in less time.

Reference:

www.youtube.com

 

SUCCESSFUL E-BUSINESS PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management refers as "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.  Successful e-business project management means the combinations of discipline of initiating executing, planning and managing resources with the goal of completing specific deliverables within time and budget.  Thus, successful e-business adequate and effective project management is required because if is all about making the project happen.

For every organization, successful e-business project management is required to achieve its goal in its field.  The journey is a never ending adventure, which brings unforeseen challenges each day.  Nothing is more perilous than shepherding a technology project.  Business owners who assume they have no stake in the projects, so the technology requested, designed and delivered is never exactly according to necessity in the end.  Therefore, such needs are either identified early in a project or later in a project.
 For a successful e-business, project management should be made more flexible to keep pace with business and IT.

"The secret to successful project management at any level of business is building windows early and then continually peering into these windows to check the progress and look for problem."

For the successful e-business, the proper project management is required in which the business should identify the technical team and the individual requirement of a system are defined.  For successful project management the business should be careful towards their envision.  The entire project from start to finish and also must have prowess to realize this vision.  Ongoing planning, keep improving your project management practice, open communication without losing sight of the time, budget and quality.  Healthy risk management, etc. are certain major rules for highly successful project management is key to a:  e-business.  The progress of an e-business system under development is monitored by interacting with the way the final end-users should.  For example – developing of new website portal for customers to login, place orders, view their account and track shipments.

For successful business organization business owner should handle new requirements to identify them and keep a "wish list" for later in the project in the better way and skills.

In summary, the business owner should work with the system hands-on to see if it performs as expected and also needs some important consideration like,
1.  Identification of the primary e-business system requirement.
2.  Project success occurs when it is delivers on time within budget, with a level of deliverables that are satisfactory to the client.  Therefore, I agree on a budge, responsibilities and a timeline is essential.
3.  Verification of e-business system satisfies.
4.  Avoiding scope creeps!  identifying the additional needs and saving them for successive phase.

References:

Mical Curry. 2010. Successful eBusiness Project Management. [ONLINE] Available at: http://michaelcurry.com/Default.aspx?p=82&n=How-to-Successfully-Manage-an-eBusiness-Project  . [Accessed 30 May 12].

LIMITATIONS OF E-BUSINESS

E-business is the use of electronic, computing and internet-based technologies, which are run and operated over the internet.  To achieve goal or any business organization, e-business plays essential role which changes business designs and traditional revenue models.  In today's world, they are very popular business model because of their low overhead costs and easy marketing practices.  However, there are certain limitations for e-business.

Sectoral Limitations

Among other limitations, Sectoral Limitations are one where there are certain lucrative markets that cannot be served through a computer.  For example, e-business cannot offer such services as food processing, hair dressing or dog walking.

Security Questions Limitations

E-business also has Security Question Limitations.  Security questions are surfer than trying to verify callers' identity over the phone.  Although some times some customers refuse to make large purchases from e-business because of security concerns and also they fear identity theft or fraud online information security varies between and within countries.

Available Customers Limitations

E-business has available customers limitations where e-business can sell its products only to such customers who have access to a computer and credit or debit card account.  Available customers limitation refers that the customers around the world having low income are not reachable by e-business.

References:

Limitations of E-Business | eHow.com. 2012. Limitations of E-Business | eHow.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ehow.com/facts_7365688_limitations-e_business.html. [Accessed 30 May 2012].

TYPE OF E-BUSINESS MODELS

E-Business models means to the methods that a company employs to grow into a profitable web-based business.  The component of an e-business model concerns the overall principle behind the company's formation.  It also describes how an organization operates and provides types of products or services to the customers, strategies for generating revenue plans for market penetration and plans for technology development.  It also demonstrates how the company makes profit.  In addition, E-business models include business activities, resources and core capabilities.

However, there are different types of e-business modes which are discussed in the below
include:

               
Brokerage Model

Brokerage Model means to bring buyers and sellers together and facilitate transactions.  Here, brokers plays a frequent role in consumer to consumer, consumer to business, or business to business markets.  This model earns money by charging a fee or commission for use.  Some examples of such sites including Ebay, Etsy And Amazon.

Infomediary Model

Infomediary Model deals with capturing and sharing information.  Data about consumers and their consumption habits are valuable, and their products.  Independently collected data about producers and their products are useful to consumers when considering a purchase.  Some companies may have website user to register to gain access to the information on website.  However, this is a common technique.  This model also provides consumers incentive, such as, coupons or points to patronize certain businesses and who collects data to sell for target advertising campaigns.

Advertising Model

The advertising e-business models is an extension of traditional media broadcast model.  This model provides a combination of content and ads.  This business may offer free or paid services, such as email, blogs or instant messaging.  Generally, this model has banner or text ads.  The advertising model only works when the volume of viewer traffic is large or highly specialized.

Affiliate Model

Whenever people surf on the web, this model provides purchase opportunities.  The affiliate provides purchase-point dick-through to the merchant.  The affiliate receives a commission when a surfer clicks on the link and buy through which companies get benefit because of reducing customer acquisition costs.               

References:

Type of eBusiness Models | eHow.com. 2012. Type of eBusiness Models | eHow.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ehow.com/info_8229765_type-ebusiness-models.html. [Accessed 30 May 2012].

History of E-business

With the advent of the World Wide Web (WWW), or the "web," traditional business organizations that had relied on catalog sales had a new sales vector. Other businesses found that the web was a good place to put customer service information, such as manuals and drivers, as well as a place to help create a consistent corporate image. As the web developed, a number of Internet-based businesses developed, including companies like eBay and Amazon, and web-based information repositories like eHow.

History of E-business

1. • Birth of Modern Web Sales

     Developments in server technology, including the ability to build websites from product databases, resulted in creation of large Internet-only businesses like eBay and Amazon. In previous product-sales websites, each product had to be manually posted on a web page. With database-driven sites, companies could use web-page templates to display tens of thousands of products on-the-fly. As the number of available products increased, so did traffic and sales on these websites.

   Payment System Advances

   • Early SSL implementations were good, but many people still did not trust them to secure credit card payment information. In addition, it was too expensive to process micropayments -- payments of less than a dollar -- through traditional credit card systems. As a result, a number of micropayment sites came and went. One has remained and has done very well because of its ability to transfer money from a variety of funding sources, including credit cards and bank accounts, without revealing the payer's credit card information to the merchant. That company is PayPal. PayPal has enabled credit card processing by many small businesses that would otherwise not be eligible for a traditional credit card merchant account.

   Dot-Com Bubble of 2001

   • Problems with customer confidence began in the late 1990s. Notable denial of service (DOS) attacks on prominent websites made customers worry that their credit card data might not be safe. Throughout this period, online businesses received large capital investments via Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), and saw their stock selling at prices far above the actual value of their companies. Many companies had good ideas but poor business plans, and speculators bid up the prices of stocks in Internet companies. The initial blows came as some on-line companies began reporting large losses and investors began examining the viability of online business plans. Fearful investors started to sell their stocks, causing the overinflated stock prices to plummet below their actual value. A number of well-known companies closed, such as eToys. Many other companies that lacked solid business plans failed between 2001 and 2002.

   The Current State of E-Business

   • Currently, e-business ranges from simple sites providing corporate information to sites offering goods and services for sale online. Innovative uses for new voice and video communication technologies include online language tutoring. Large commercial information repositories are growing and use of the Internet for research is now common. Online sales from web-based storefronts continue to grow. Sales of digital information, in the form of eBooks and digital music files, are more recent offerings by e-businesses like Apple, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

     
     

     reference:

     www.ehow.com

Why is e-business important for your business?

The need for online adaptation has come as the competitive environment and customer demands have changed. The internet has created a more level playing field, where competition has increased and has given consumers more bargaining power than ever. They can now comparison shop with just a click and this takes advantage of an open marketplace where substitute products are readily available.

By re-thinking your business to take advantage of new technologies and communication channels, you are able to look at improving the effectiveness of your marketing, building brand awareness, creating competitive advantage, enhancing customer service and tapping into a much bigger prospect base.

e-business is a critical concept for today’s small business as it can:

Expand your customer base by providing your current customers with another purchase channel, and opening up opportunities for your business to attract new customers.

Increase your visibility and strengthen your brand, especially as consumers are increasingly researching products and services on the Internet prior to purchase. Your website can be a wonderful tool for both local and global markets.

Remove the barriers of time and distance, allowing potential buyers to visit your website at any time of day and night to. Unlike your ‘real’ office or warehouse, your online store is open for business 24/7, allowing your customers the freedom to shop at a time that suits them, wherever they are located.

Provide customers with valuable information about your businessby showcasing your products and services and allowing them to purchase goods, ask questions and receive further information quickly and easily. And it can generate qualified leads for your business too.

Reduce the costs for the customer because the direct cost-of-sale for an order taken through a website is lower than traditional means.

Enable more buying opportunities for niche products.  Niche products often appeal to a much smaller market but the Internet opens up the marketplace to a global audience.

Enhance customer service by providing more efficient and timely advice, fulfilment of orders and problem resolution.

Reduce marketing and advertising costs because Internet marketing can be highly targeted to your specific customer base. This can provide a higher return on investment than traditional media advertising and the results can be more easily measured.

Keep an eye on your marketplace. Small business owners can quickly gather intelligence on their competitors’ promotional activities and discover what the market is saying about them.

Engage & build communities which increase customer loyalty, help you learn more about your customers and provide a valuable source of qualified leads.

Provide overall operational benefits by streamlining processes, improving delivery times, reducing errors, decreasing inventory and generally reducing both the time and personnel required to complete normal business activities.

In effect, e-business can help reduce costs and free up cash flow.

successful e-business

successfull e-business


E bay is one of the most successful and most prominent online marketing system in the world.

E bay was founded on Sept 5, 1995 by the French Iranian, born American computer programmer Pierre- Omidyar.

One of the first item sold in e bay was broken laser point for $14.83.From that very day e bay has auctioned and sold millions of goods and items in different parts of the globe.

E bay has a very short history, within this short pace of time e bay has emerged from one of the most leading e business in the world today.

Even listed in NASDAQ it is one of the most dominant brand in the world when it comes to the online business.

With the revenue of 11.651 billion in 2011 it is widely recognised as one of the most profitable brand when it comes to online marketing.

Millions of computers, electronic items, vehicles, furnishings, equipment, domain names are listed or sold daily on e bay with billions of profit.

It has very interesting marketing strategy and have drawn attention of almost all kind of traders around the world.

E bay has very strict rules and regulations when it comes to the auction, list or sell of goods, that fairly applies to all e bay users.

In the starting days it was very unregulated, but due to its rapid growth and reputation & following the criticism of some illegal products started trading through e bay it is highly regulated nowadays.

Strict regulations has been imposed in order to discourage illegal trading through ebay.

As the e bay is huge publicly visible market, it has created lots of curiosity to economists too, due to its buying and selling behaviour and auction format.


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