Impacts of e commerce on direct marketing

E-commerce is the pre-eminent buzzword of the online business revolution. It captures the excitement and focus of this fast emerging market. But it is more than a slogan or glib party line. At its core it embodies a concept for doing business online.

Impacts of E-Commerce on Business

E-commerce has made a profound impact on society. People can now shop online in the privacy of their own homes without ever having to leave. This can force larger brick and mortar retailers to open an online division. In some cases, it can also force smaller businesses to shut their doors, or change to being completely online. It also changes the way people look at making purchases and spending money. E-commerce has changed the face of retail, services, and other things that make our economy work. Undoubtedly, it will continue to influence how companies sell and market their products, as well as how people choose to make purchases for many years to come. The following are the impact of e-commerce on the global economy.

Impacts on Direct Marketing

Product promotion E-commerce enhances promotion of products and services through direct, information-rich, and interactive contact with customers.

New sales channel E-commerce creates a new distribution channel for existing products. It facilitates direct reach of customers and the bi-directional nature of communication.

Impacts on Direct Marketing

Product promotion

E-commerce enhances promotion of products and services through direct, information-rich, and interactive contact with customers.

New sales channel

E-commerce creates a new distribution channel for existing products. It facilitates direct reach of customers and the bi-directional nature of communication.

Direct savings

The cost of delivering information to customers over the Internet results in substantial savings to senders when compared with non ­electronic delivery. Major savings are also realized in delivering digitized products versus physical delivery.

Reduced cycle time

The delivery of digitized products and services can be reduced to seconds. Also, the administrative work related to physical delivery, especially across international borders, can be reduced significantly, cutting the cycle time by more than 90 percent.

Customer service

Customer service can be greatly enhanced by enabling customers to find detailed information online. Also, intelligent agents can answer standard e-mail questions in seconds and human experts' services can be expedited using help-desk software.

Corporate image

On the Web, newcomers can establish corporate images very quickly. Corporate image means trust, which is necessary for direct sales. Traditional companies such as Intel, Disney, Dell, and Cisco use their Web activities to affirm their corporate identity and brand image.

Other marketing Impacts

Customization

E-commerce provides for customization of products and services, in contrast to buying in a store or ordering from a television, which is usually limited to standard products. Dell Computers Inc. is a success story of customization. Today, we can configure not only computers but also cars, jewelry, gifts, and hundreds of other products and services. If properly done, one can achieve mass customization. It provides a competitive advantage as well as increases the overall demand for certain products and services.

Advertisement

With direct marketing and customization comes as one-to-one or direct advertisement, which is much more effective than mass advertisement. This creates a fundamental change in the manner in which advertisement is conducted not only for online trades but also for products and services that are ordered in traditional ways.

Ordering System

Taking orders from customers can drastically be improved if it is done online. When taken electronically, orders can be quickly routed to the appropriate order-processing site. This saves time and reduces expenses. So sales -people have more time to sell. Also, customers can compute the cost of their orders, saving time for all parties involved.

Markets

The physical market disappears as does the need to deliver the goods to the marketplace. In a market space, which is an electronic market, goods are delivered directly to buyers when purchasing is completed making markets much more efficient. For those products that are digitally based-software, music and information-the changes will be dramatic. Already, small but powerful software packages are delivered over the Internet. This fundamentally affects packaging and greatly reduces the need for historical distribution.

New selling models such as shareware, freeware are emerging to maximize the potential of the Internet. New forms of marketing will also emerge, such as Web-based advertising, linked advertising, direct e-mail, and an increased emphasis on relationship marketing. Customer’s convenience is greatly enhanced, availability of products and services is much greater, and cheaper products are offered. All these provide EC with a competitive advantage over the traditional direct sales methods. Some people predict the "fall of the shopping malls," and many retail stores and brokers of services are labeled by some as "soon to be endangered species."