BY NADRAT MAZRUI
Social media sites are in a transition between personal and business use. Retailers are flocking to the sites in hopes of gathering the attention of the media’s user base, many of whom fall between the ages of 18 and 34. Any premier brand worth its name has a presence on the sites.
The use of social media is not limited to large brands only. Smaller ecommerce merchants are also reaping the benefits. Retailers have set out to use online campaigns to display photos taken of their merchandise. When users click on the pictures, they leave comments alongside other information such as size, colour variation and email address or telephone numbers, which the brands use to complete the purchases.
Other means that retail brands are now using to call attention to their products is to post images of customers using them. An alternative that is also used is by using lifestyle photos, which are images that resemble real-life settings. This is a technique employed by many online retailers as it gives consumers an idea of how they can utilize the sites’ products.
No one can shy away from a contest that features free merchandise. To enter, users are asked to follow the specific retail pages that include a contest specific hashtag (a catchy phrase that is specific to the brand) or comment where the brands then chose a winner from the entries.
Not all social media presence is meant to focus on products and their images. An online presence delivers results for bricks-and-mortar and multi-channel retailers throughout the customer lifecycle. By regularly connecting with customers, an online business can achieve its marketing goals while reinforcing its presence. It is also the best platform for acquiring new customers.
Businesses drive prospects to their sites by targeting their most active customers. This builds loyalty through engaging content and increases retention and word-of-mouth marketing. As the number of Internet users grows, many believe that e-commerce will soon be the main way to complete business transactions.
Three types of online companies exist, pure-click, brick-and-click and Click-to-brick channel systems. Pure-click or pure-play companies are those that have launched a website without any previous existence as a firm. Bricks-and-clicks companies are those existing companies that have added an online site for e-commerce. Click-to-brick are online retailers that later open physical locations to supplement their online efforts.
Many retailers have still not grasped why their businesses should increase its online presence. The question it begs is why not? The customer base is every business’s main concern, whether online or off. When online a business doesn’t have to worry about getting the best property in town, people have access to their products and can come back at anytime.
By not managing a storefront, any business will have more sales online with a higher profit margin. They can redistribute money to make the consumer shopping experience faster and more efficient. While being available to a larger market, more products will sell.
Whether it is flooded and the roads are ‘closed’ or its too hot to step outside, or a holiday that every store is closed, your online business is open for customers 24/7. Your online doors never close unless of course your window page is down. Profits will always keep rising.
A great tool on the Internet is translation! A business online does not need a worker who knows every language. With the right marketing strategy, every consumer can find the business site, products and information at the touch of a button without them or you leaving their comfort.
In Kenya recurring payments have been made easy. No need of any type of research. Every business can set up recurring payments with the help of the service providers that are available and best suit Kenyan needs. Through money transfer services Mpesa and Airtel Money, all your needs and billing will be done in a consistent manner; payments are also received the same way.
Instant transactions.
With e-commerce there is no more waiting for the check to clear or the hustle of looking for small change. E-commerce provides for paperless services. Transactions are cleared immediately.
There are always two sides to a coin. While ecommerce has many advantages and benefits, so does it have setbacks similar to offline businesses. Businesses make great efforts to keep themselves and the customers safe, but there are people out there that will break every firewall possible to get the information they want. We have all seen how even the biggest and most renowned business can be hacked online.
To be sure an online business is running correctly, money will have to be invested. As an owner, you need to know transactions are being handled properly and products are represented in the most truthful way. To make sure one gets what they need, the retailer will have to hire a professional to tie up any loose ends. This is extra expense and expertise for e-commerce infrastructure.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the infrastructure of an online business must be on point. This creates a need for expanded reverse logistics. Another cost to the business as money will need to be poured in. No business can escape disgruntled consumers that want more than a refund.
Although it seems that everyone is now on the Internet all the time, there are still areas in which network bandwidth can cause issues. Before setting up an e-commerce business, be sure your area can handle the telecommunication bandwidth you will need to run effectively. Better yet get yourself equipped with valuable WI-FI. No one wants to run low on internet bundles just when they are about to close in on a deal.
When a business has started an online presence and is set up as e-commerce, it must be ready to make changes to stay compatible. Constant upkeep should be the order of the day. While technology grows, the systems that support the business must be kept up to date or replaced if needed. There may be additional overheads required in order to keep data bases and applications running.
Along with the e-commerce and its unique charm that has appeared, the new global village has now become familiar to people. This reflects that e-commerce has a huge impact on the economy and society from the other side. Online businesses have changed the relative importance of time, but as an indicator of the country’s economic state the importance of time should not be ignored.
The transparent and real-time information protects the rights of consumers, because they can use the Internet to pick out the best portfolio to their benefit. The competitiveness of enterprises will be much more obvious than before; therefore social welfare would be improved by the development of e-commerce.
A prerequisite for conducting commercial transactions online, including electronic payments, is that there is legal equivalence between paper-based and electronic forms of exchange, which is the goal of e-transactions. Several e-transactions laws (internationally) address only the electronic signature component (authentication) but are silent on other important contractual terms, such as time and place of dispatch and receipt, party location and use of automated message systems.
Similarly, most e-transactions laws do not deal with international aspects of e-commerce, such as choice of jusrisdiction, which is one of the potential issues of conflict in cross-border recognition of e-signatures, in many cases the provision is not implemented, as it requires a system of mutual recognition to be put in place that is burdensome.
Kenya, as an emerging economy and regional leader, lags behind in having a legal framework for e-commerce in place. The current situation is an anachronism hampering national development, placing provincial centres at a disadvantage, and harming global competitiveness. Both external and internal trade require the new framework.
Legislation is needed to legalize e-commerce transactions by recognizing an electronic signature, manage and control e-commerce risks and to remove e-commerce barriers.
Kenya has the Information and Communications Bill, 2008 and the Electronic Transactions Bill, 2007 respectively, both of which are of the highest technical standards. However the Bills require some improvements for instance the provisions on who can prosecute is missing. The liability of the Internet Service Providers must be demarcated. The Bills are also more lenient on e-commerce fraud than on traditional fraud.
E-commerce is not a kind of new industry, but it is creating a new economic model. It is a sort of incorporeal revolution. It is going to lead an unprecedented revolution in the world; the influence of this model far exceeds the commercial affair itself.
People used to believe in duty-free shops as real bargains, but now they know they are as cheap as the Internet. Although it may be difficult to tame the Internet because of its cross-border nature, all is not lost as the reforms in e-commerce laws are commendable. More yet is to be expected.
