E-Commerce and E-Business

E-Commerce and E-Business are simple terms for the entire sales process. E-Commerce is typically used with a company that does not have an in-house or on-premise sales force. On the other hand, E-Business is a term that is used for companies who have some form of an in-house or on-premise sales force (e.g. transactional selling, marketing) and are looking to leverage e-commerce to further increase their sales potential.

What is E-Commerce?

In short, E-Commerce is the act of conducting business over the internet. Typically this involves selling a product or service directly to a consumer through a website, which can be done by a brick and mortar company or an online-only company.

The Difficulties of E-Commerce

There are two main difficulties that companies who are trying to conduct e-commerce face: establishing trust and creating credibility. Both of these issues can be overcome by looking at your target market and properly understanding their needs.

1) Establishing Trust

Every e-commerce business is faced with the task of building trust with potential customers. This is a difficult feat to accomplish for many e-commerce stores because consumers are hesitant about buying products that they cannot see in person. Creating an online presence with social media, videos, and other content that can build this trust can be the difference between having a positive or negative ROI on your business.

2) Creating Credibility

Creating credibility is very similar to establishing trust. To create credibility online you must have an in-depth understanding of your target market and the needs they have. Knowing where they are most likely to find information online, what questions they will have, and how you will respond in order to increase their trust and credibility in your company are all extremely important aspects of E-Commerce business research.

E-Business

In contrast to E-Commerce, E-Business is a term for companies that are using the internet and technology to allow their customers to interact with them more directly. This can include in-house salespeople, e-commerce stores, selling products on websites, offering services over the phone or through an email contact form, etc.

Ethics of E-Commerce and E-Business

Ethics is a very crucial factor in the business world. Whether it be overcharging consumers by adding fees that were not disclosed before checkout or undercharging them by imposing a shipping fee after the sale has been made, a lack of ethics can destroy any potential profits that your business could be making.

E-Commerce and E-Business, in general, are fairly new concepts to the business world and the internet. These terms have been used for the past fifteen years or so to describe business processes that were previously unavailable or much less common. As technology continues infiltrating every aspect of our lives, E-Commerce and E-Business will continue to expand, but will always be saved by the trust and credibility they need to succeed on a global scale.

Benefits of E-Commerce and E-Business

1) No More Waiting:

Consumers have grown impatient with the traditional sales process and they are leaning towards e-commerce because they no longer have to wait for a representative to come over or call them during a scheduled meeting. This saves valuable time and money by allowing consumers to make purchases at their own leisure.

2) Competitive Pricing:

Because e-commerce allows consumers to shop online at any time of day, there is no longer an early bird getting the worm. Consumers can search for competitive pricing 24/7, even while they sleep! By eliminating this competitive disadvantage, internet shopping has created a new level of competition that cannot be found with traditional shopping strategies. People can now compare prices and products in a matter of seconds, not hours or days.

3) No Sales Tax:

For many consumers, paying sales tax can make the price of an item too high. E-commerce does not have this issue because there is no sales tax for anything purchased online. Consumers are happy to save money without having to travel anywhere, and businesses are happy because they have a chance to attract new customers from other states or countries who cannot buy from them in person due to the high taxes imposed by their local government 

4) 24/7 Customer Service:

Another issue that e-commerce solves is customer service. Specifically, 24/7 customer service. With traditional shopping, consumers have to be patient, waiting for their transactions to go through and hoping that the person on the other end is knowledgeable and able to help. With e-commerce, customers no longer have to wait for an individual or company to take their calls; they can get in touch with a customer service department at any time of day.

5) Real-Time Information:

For many people, it’s important that they know how much products cost at the time of purchase. This is a difficult concept to implement in businesses because there is no way that a customer can know what is going on when they make their purchase.

Differences between E-Commerce and E-Business

1) Businesses:

E-commerce is an aspect of business, while E-Business is the term in and of itself.

2) Customer Service:

E-commerce usually refers to the act of buying or selling a product or service, while E-Business can refer to the actual customer service department that replies to emails, phone calls, etc.

3) Time Frame:

E-Commerce can be done at any time and on any day, while E-Business is specific to business hours.

4) Distribution Channels:

An online store would be considered an e-commerce store, which means that it would sell its products through its website. E-Business can also refer to the actual business channels that a company has set up to sell its goods, including storefronts in brick and mortar locations or phone sales.

5) Transactions:

A transaction could be considered one way in an e-commerce store, while E-Business can refer to multiple transactions that occur in an hour or day.

6) Pricing:

E-commerce often refers to the actual price of products sold on its website, while this is not always true for E-Business. In many cases, pricing is not uniform between products sold online and those on sale in stores because a business may have different methods of determining what each product costs.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that it’s still a developing market, E-Commerce and E-Business is growing at an amazing rate due to their advantages. With more and more people going online to shop, businesses around the world are becoming more competitive than ever before. Hopefully, as the benefits of e-commerce continue to grow, the desire for it will become more widespread. With the way things are now, it’s only a matter of time before all businesses decide to take advantage of this new opportunity.