What is ECommerce Exactly?

In order to understand eCommerce CRM, both sides of the equation must be considered separately. This way you’ll have a better understanding of what the whole topic is all about. First we will cover what eCommerce is. ECommerce is how a Website makes money. It is when an online business makes money by selling goods and/or services over the Internet. Thanks to the Internet, many businesses that were floating along became successful when they went online. Why? Because the online industry has become a multi-billion dollar industry. This came about because Websites were able to accept some type of online payment. Here are more stats to consider:

 

·        Regular Websites vs. eCommerce sites: When looking at the world of eCommerce, what makes an eCommerce Website different from regular Website is that and eCommerce Website accepts payments for goods and services that are sold.

·        Collection activity: Whether you sell products or services, you offer either one by means of payment. This can be in the form of a credit card, electronic check, or PayPal.

·        Shopping cart: Every eCommerce Website uses some type of shopping cart. This could either be embedded into the Web page or a third-party type. There are many to choose from. You have to check them and find out what they provide against your requirements.

·        Static or dynamic Web pages: The actual products pages should not be static because you would literally have to continuously add more pages for the extra products you put on the site to sell. But with a database driven, dynamic Website you don’t need it this way. You would have a single interface for adding and removing products.

·        Software: Every eCommerce site uses some kind of software to control product inventory, shipping, taking payments, etc. And there are many out there to choose from. You would literally have to shop around and compare them to find which one is best suited for your needs. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a eCommerce software package for your Website:

o       Reliability – One important factor is reliability. The software has to work efficiently and effectively at all times or you could lose sells.

o       Reporting – Every software package provides reports of some type so you can keep track of what you are doing. It doesn’t make any difference what reports you need, the software should deliver for you.

·        Ease of use – The main purpose of having software is to make your life easier. Life can be hard enough as it is. You don’t want your software to be any harder. You want the ability to set up your Website easily and have it do what it is suppose to do.