EIGHT STEPS TO PLAN SUCCESSFUL E-COMMERCE
Let the Customer Plan e-Commerce
Good plans are simple plans. They are also measurable, their implementation is accountable, he resources to deliver the plan are available and there is a time-frame for the plan to be delivered.
Done. Not quite. Whatever planning process an organisation uses, expect that the company will not control the direction in which online services evolve. The customer will decide what works and what doesn’t.
Respond Fast
If the plan is to respond to customer wishes, then the most successful plan will be the one that responds fastest.This means that every component of the plan should be built with the intention of proving a principle. Ask yourself if your customers want this? If they do, then a more robust version can be built. If they don’t, then you can redirect your time and resources and use the knowledge gained to good effect elsewhere.
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Its beneficial for you and me both.
Test out Your Plan
In the online marketplace everything is a test until it’s proven by the customer. Successful testing follows a simple rule:
Test one Thing at a Time
Only test changes that can be measured directly. If a test includes more than one change, it’s almost always impossible to measure the effect of each one. Test to learn from the customer and to improve one step at a time.
Challenge Internal Assumptions
Remove internal processing costs to make dramatic improvements to profit margins. Analyse each sales process to clarify what it is that staff spend time doing. In particular, look for processes in which information is transferred. How many steps can be eliminated by outsourcing tasks to your customers and suppliers? Who is best placed to make the original information entry? Can that information be shared to avoid reentering the same information? What information could customers, suppliers and distributors find for themselves, computer to computer? With the time saved, what could your staff do to add more value for customers?
Focus on Customer, Supplier & Distributor Benefits
What’s in it for customers, suppliers and distributors? Have you asked what they’d like? The web’s very good at research. Are you offering them a new way to use an existing service or a completely new service? Is it faster, cheaper, more convenient or just new and online? What new information do they get?
Decide what you can reliably offer each group now and plan a phased introduction of more complex services. Complexity often arises from integrating tried and tested stand-alone services.
Give Good Reasons to Use Online Services
Not all customers will automatically move to an online service simply because it’s there. Equally, in a service’s early stages it may not make good sense to risk overwhelming a new online channel by quickly moving large numbers of customers over to the new service.
If you prefer customers to use an online channel, find ways to: Inform them that it is there (they may not know this) Tell them how to change over Incentivise the swap to make it worthwhile
Introduce the new service as a special privilege beta test programme
Calculate the Three Sets of Costs
Very few organisations have all the resources in-house to start offering online services. There are three sets of costs that should be calculated:
1. Current company costs that will be altered by the online changes
both internal and external costs
2. Cost to implement the changes
• interim support may be needed
• training for staff whose tasks change
3. New cost assumptions, post change
• long-term cost-savings
• long-term outsourcing arrangements
• ongoing online development plans
Help Staff Adapt to Online Working
An online service will affect your staff and the work that they do. If your organisation is typical, there will be a progressive transfer from processing tasks towards customer service. Some may find this work more fulfilling; others will not enjoy the increased interaction with customers. Unless a company’s online services are entirely online, staff who are to fulfil new service roles will require assistance to develop new skills. They will almost certainly require some training in how to make the most of the new technology for the benefit of their customers.
Let the Customer Plan e-Commerce
Good plans are simple plans. They are also measurable, their implementation is accountable, he resources to deliver the plan are available and there is a time-frame for the plan to be delivered.
Done. Not quite. Whatever planning process an organisation uses, expect that the company will not control the direction in which online services evolve. The customer will decide what works and what doesn’t.
Respond Fast
If the plan is to respond to customer wishes, then the most successful plan will be the one that responds fastest.This means that every component of the plan should be built with the intention of proving a principle. Ask yourself if your customers want this? If they do, then a more robust version can be built. If they don’t, then you can redirect your time and resources and use the knowledge gained to good effect elsewhere.
if you like my post then pls click on advertisment and add as you in my follower list.
Its beneficial for you and me both.
Test out Your Plan
In the online marketplace everything is a test until it’s proven by the customer. Successful testing follows a simple rule:
Test one Thing at a Time
Only test changes that can be measured directly. If a test includes more than one change, it’s almost always impossible to measure the effect of each one. Test to learn from the customer and to improve one step at a time.
Challenge Internal Assumptions
Remove internal processing costs to make dramatic improvements to profit margins. Analyse each sales process to clarify what it is that staff spend time doing. In particular, look for processes in which information is transferred. How many steps can be eliminated by outsourcing tasks to your customers and suppliers? Who is best placed to make the original information entry? Can that information be shared to avoid reentering the same information? What information could customers, suppliers and distributors find for themselves, computer to computer? With the time saved, what could your staff do to add more value for customers?
Focus on Customer, Supplier & Distributor Benefits
What’s in it for customers, suppliers and distributors? Have you asked what they’d like? The web’s very good at research. Are you offering them a new way to use an existing service or a completely new service? Is it faster, cheaper, more convenient or just new and online? What new information do they get?
Decide what you can reliably offer each group now and plan a phased introduction of more complex services. Complexity often arises from integrating tried and tested stand-alone services.
Give Good Reasons to Use Online Services
Not all customers will automatically move to an online service simply because it’s there. Equally, in a service’s early stages it may not make good sense to risk overwhelming a new online channel by quickly moving large numbers of customers over to the new service.
If you prefer customers to use an online channel, find ways to: Inform them that it is there (they may not know this) Tell them how to change over Incentivise the swap to make it worthwhile
Introduce the new service as a special privilege beta test programme
Calculate the Three Sets of Costs
Very few organisations have all the resources in-house to start offering online services. There are three sets of costs that should be calculated:
1. Current company costs that will be altered by the online changes
both internal and external costs
2. Cost to implement the changes
• interim support may be needed
• training for staff whose tasks change
3. New cost assumptions, post change
• long-term cost-savings
• long-term outsourcing arrangements
• ongoing online development plans
Help Staff Adapt to Online Working
An online service will affect your staff and the work that they do. If your organisation is typical, there will be a progressive transfer from processing tasks towards customer service. Some may find this work more fulfilling; others will not enjoy the increased interaction with customers. Unless a company’s online services are entirely online, staff who are to fulfil new service roles will require assistance to develop new skills. They will almost certainly require some training in how to make the most of the new technology for the benefit of their customers.
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