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See Full StoryFor large and small e-tailers alike, the traditional method of doing business online has been fairly standard. They present a bevy of products, build a secure purchase interface and advertise so that customers will come clicking to their virtual doorstep. In the past couple of years, however, some e-commerce companies have begun experimenting with out-of-the-box sales methods, such as subscriptions, broadband delivery of multimedia and newly refined auction models. Does it pay to be unconventional in today's e-commerce market?
Re: Out-of-the-Box E-Commerce
Posted by: MultipleSites 2003-11-13 16:48:12 In reply to: Elizabeth Millard
Hi Elizabeth,
I agree with your comment "doing business online has been fairly standard". I’d like to add a thought as to why that is
a part of the issue that helps merchants fail on the net.
My experience with merchants is that many have the impression that to build a site is to "have the world come to them" and buy a product and get rich.
Sam Walmart first sold items from his car. Had he continued selling from that one car we would not know his name.
He understood that he can only drive his car so many places in a day while his costs increased as he drove due to having to keep buying gas.
His vision soon became a storefront. Then new costs added... then he added more stores, soon needed more investment capital and helped other profit from his vision.
I think the most overlooked profit center for most merchants is that they're still in the car driving and attempting to make a sale before they drive to the next customer.
The experience of the initial website development is sometimes costly or just confusing. But Mr. Walmart could envision the larger pie.
Many web development solutions are pieced together as a solution but lack the vision of the "larger pie".
The real key is how to reach for the larger pie at a very small fraction of the original slice,
and therefore the initial concept of “having the world come find them” is seen with a different understanding.
Big players have and advantage of have the products and the resources to offer a site like Barns and Noble, but the smaller players who create from their bedrooms also have a much larger resource available then the larger players… they are not locked into a single web storefront.
While they also have the potential of a Mr. Walmart most would be happy knowing their efforts are profitable.
It does happen, it is real and it’s here to stay. Like many other’s in the past, “it’s not necessarily a BETTER mousetrap, rather instead a SMARTER vision” that increases the bank balances.
Just like I happened to find your article from a link, the same holds true for a product to be purchased. The more links I read your article, the more chances you will get a response. Same holds true for products.
Mr Walmart is one of the first to understand the use of a link. He linked his products to where buyers could make a purchase.
....Not just advertise to come find his car.
I agree with your comment "doing business online has been fairly standard". I’d like to add a thought as to why that is
a part of the issue that helps merchants fail on the net.
My experience with merchants is that many have the impression that to build a site is to "have the world come to them" and buy a product and get rich.
Sam Walmart first sold items from his car. Had he continued selling from that one car we would not know his name.
He understood that he can only drive his car so many places in a day while his costs increased as he drove due to having to keep buying gas.
His vision soon became a storefront. Then new costs added... then he added more stores, soon needed more investment capital and helped other profit from his vision.
I think the most overlooked profit center for most merchants is that they're still in the car driving and attempting to make a sale before they drive to the next customer.
The experience of the initial website development is sometimes costly or just confusing. But Mr. Walmart could envision the larger pie.
Many web development solutions are pieced together as a solution but lack the vision of the "larger pie".
The real key is how to reach for the larger pie at a very small fraction of the original slice,
and therefore the initial concept of “having the world come find them” is seen with a different understanding.
Big players have and advantage of have the products and the resources to offer a site like Barns and Noble, but the smaller players who create from their bedrooms also have a much larger resource available then the larger players… they are not locked into a single web storefront.
While they also have the potential of a Mr. Walmart most would be happy knowing their efforts are profitable.
It does happen, it is real and it’s here to stay. Like many other’s in the past, “it’s not necessarily a BETTER mousetrap, rather instead a SMARTER vision” that increases the bank balances.
Just like I happened to find your article from a link, the same holds true for a product to be purchased. The more links I read your article, the more chances you will get a response. Same holds true for products.
Mr Walmart is one of the first to understand the use of a link. He linked his products to where buyers could make a purchase.
....Not just advertise to come find his car.
Re: Out-of-the-Box E-Commerce
Posted by: shahrulmiza 2003-10-15 17:43:27 In reply to: Elizabeth Millard
I foresee that the costs of e-commerce software will become lower as new technology develops for innovative solutions in the future. With more new, fresh ideas being developed to fill the gaps in dynamic & ever changing consumer demand, "out-of-the-box" e-commerce will continue to grow. The survival of these new business models depend on the ability to sustain the consumers' demand and response rapidly to changes in their taste and preferences.
You certainly have raised a great topic at a good time. But need more supporting cases. Those you mentioned here are mostly too much known, need some more. If someone could plug in more here ....
james zhang
www.eguo.com/chinaretail
james zhang
www.eguo.com/chinaretail
