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What to Expect...
The benefits of an e-business solution depend on the problem that you are trying to solve. Here are some common
advantages.
Automate your business
By introducing digital technology into your workplace you can make tremendous savings by automating various activities
of your business. For example: automatic billing and invoicing, auto responders for dispatching marketing material,
automatic measurement and business reports, automatic ordering from suppliers. The list goes on; there are many opportunities
for automating parts of your business which are costing a fortune in human labour right now.
Monitor your success
When your business data is held in a digital form, suddenly it becomes possible to perform complex analysis on them. What
are you best selling lines? You worst selling? How many orders did you take last month? Was it up or down from the previous
month? How does it compare with last years figures? What do customers think about your products? What problems do they want
you to fix? What new features do they want you to add? What problems are your distributors and resellers running into when they
sell you products or work with you? Where are your competitors winning business away from you and why? Will changing customer
demands force you to develop new capabilities? What new markets are emerging that you should enter? Can you answer all of these
questions today?
Reduce your cost of sale
It is a well known principle that every time you gain a new customer or a new order it will cost you something. The cost can be a direct financial penalty, or an indirect penalty in terms of time. It is a simple fact that if you can lower your cost of sale, then you can increase your profits.
Many business owners find they have to spend a lot of time and money explaining the benefits of their offer.
E-Business enables you to reduce the cost of sale by automatically providing the customer with the information they need. This doesn't require human intervention so it costs less.
As the customer can place their own order without a salesperson, you may also find you can gain extra savings in your sales process.
Increase the lifetime value of your customers
E-Business gives you more information about your customers. You can track what they have bought from you in the past. You can
monitor when then placed their last order. Armed with this information, you can send them promotions which add value to the
things that they have already bought from you.
Bypass costly distribution channels
Many firms are forced to make sales through middle-men such as wholesalers or distribution companies. This inevitably lowers profit margins. When using the Internet, you can bypass all of these extra levels and sell directly to the end-user. This can save you money or it could give you a financial edge over your competitors.
Save a fortune on market research
If there is one thing that is certain not to change, it is the fact that everything changes. There are very few businesses that can afford to ignore what is going on in their market place. When you use digital systems, you can automate your information gathering
processes. For example, you can show one customer offer A and another customer offer B. By measuring how many customers accepted which
offers, you can see which one is more effective.
Sell your products or services on the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
It would cost a lot of money to keep a sales force working 100% of the time. However computers don't take breaks and they don't charge by the hour. The Internet makes it possible for you to be taking orders even when you and your staff are asleep. People around the world live in different timezones and they can still buy from you, even though you might be 12 hours apart!
Open a new sales channel for your business
If you can already take orders by phone, fax or post, then using the Internet will expose you to even more business. For many people, shopping on the Internet has become a way of life and they find it much easier and convenient than traditional sales channels. Anything that makes it easier for people to buy from you will ultimately benefit your business.
Offer greater variety and convenience to your customers
Firstly you can have a shop which is open 24 hours a day and available from almost anywhere in the world. At Electrostrata
we have worked on digital catalogues that offer several million products. It is impossible for any one company to keep all
of these lines in stock, but with e-business you can use multiple suppliers so that you can offer your customers a massive
range of products. If you offer more variety than you competitors, then customers are more likely to try you first when they
wish to buy.
Sell to new kinds of customers
If you use the Internet then you can reach people all around the world. This means that you can find new niches that were previously unattainable to you.
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