E-commerce and International Markets

E-commerce and International Markets

Key topics

• What is e-commerce?• Why should small businesses trade

online?• How can it help a small business

reach international markets?

What is e-commerce?

Using the Internet to trade and communicate with customer and suppliers

How e-commerce can be used

• Pre-sales– Offer product information / frequently-asked questions– Provide samples– Customer testimonials

• Making the sale online– Customer places order to meet requirements– Take payment & delivery instructions– Allow customers to track status of order

• Post-sales– Customer support: post sale questions– Adjustments / returns / complaints– Follow-up sales, upgrades

Making the shop-front work

• Professional e-commerce software packages can build credibility of small businesses

• Important for products to be displayed out intuitively (including search)

• Pricing and product information has to be sufficiently detailed

• User-interface is crucial – customers need to know where they are in the buying process

http://www.vinceremos.co.uk/ Allow potential

customers to search easily

Clear explanation of what the website

sells

Sales promotions to encourage purchase

Intuitive use of categories to group

products

Taking payments

• Customers expect to be able to pay for goods & services online

• Online trading requires dedicated banking / payment set-up (“merchant account)– Credit / debit card account– PayPal is a popular alternative for start-ups

• Online sales generally good news for a small business cash flow

Reaching an international market

• Online trading allows even the smallest business to reach a more global audience

• The products still have to be relevant and priced competitively

• Likely to be achieved using paid online advertising + search engine traffic

• Care needed on:– Payment security– Shipping & delivery + handling returns

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