ABC company deals in consumer-friendly products and home appliances through their stores located in different areas of the city. In addition to showcasing every item for shopping, it also provides free home delivery services to increase their sale.
A while ago, our company struggled to keep up its sale in the tsunami of other companies that provide online shopping options thus, saving the precious time of its customers.
ABC also hired professionals to set up an E-commerce store to facilitate their customers. In addition, it also appointed a few sharp employees to learn the basics of an online store and make it successful. I was one of those employees and after a tiring period of 6 months, I learned everything about E-commerce and how it works. I have since been working in the same department and managed to increase the sales of the company.
After working for all these years, I want to start up my own company which provides Ecommerce assistance to clients in the form of a freelancer. I know it is a gain leap, and there are consequences but I am sure that I can manage my own company.
Introduction
Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce, is a medium for buying, selling, exchanging services, goods, data, or transfer of funds through an electronic network i.e., the Internet. Over a short period of time, it has changed the idea of generating economics and is completely based on an idea that requires the functioning of millions of data transfer objects within moments.
Most common examples of Ecommerce include the functioning of Amazon, data, and other such sites that provides ease to their customers sitting miles away. It has totally changed the dynamics of shopping and distance.
It functions in a manner that customers or individuals browse through different websites using the Internet. These websites provide the options of services, goods, and other items based on the demand of users. Customers place their orders using their own devices and start a chain of events.
The customer’s browser communicates with the server of the online store website and data related to the order will be directed to a central computer, also termed as order manager.
Data is then transferred to a different database i.e., a system that takes care of inventory level, and merchant system that manages payment information, and a bank computer to transfer data back to the order computer.
This transfer of data ensures that inventory level and customer funds are sufficient to further proceed with the order of the customer. After validation, the order manager notifies the store server to display to the customer about order confirmation.
E-commerce business transactions can be of the following types,
- Business to business
- Business to consumer
- Consumer to consumer
- Consumer to business
Objectives
Working in the field of E-commerce has its advantages but it is difficult to keep up according to the changing trends. Setting up a business in this field can be very challenging but the difficult task can be achieved by dividing it into small, manageable objectives which are mentioned below,
- Renting a space to cater to clients and provide a space for other team members.
- Setting up an office space to take care of official matters.
- Hiring team members with expertise in the field.
- Buying computers and other electronic gadgets.
- Hiring staff to perform different chores around the office I.e., management, administration, cleaning, client dealing, and others.
- Using effective marketing strategies to spread the word.
Significance
E-commerce is preferred over other modes due to following reasons,
- It provides the opportunity to save your precious time by viewing everything from the comfort of your space
- Almost every person uses social media, and it becomes easy for marketing purposes
- Online stores are more sophisticated as compared to the physical store as there are many chances of staff misbehavior or any other problem
- Online stores provide more options and allow the customized filter choice to make shopping easy and enjoyable
- They can reach masses of people without the use of marketing strategies
- The attraction of the internet is way more than the physical existence of anything
- Online earning and selling is the new generation thing, and it is important to mold businesses in that direction
Skills
Every business, be it physical or online, progresses due to continuous efforts and a set of skills that can be used anywhere and anytime. There are no hard and fast rules to achieve success, but it can become easy after acquiring the following skills
- Management is the key to a sane business owner because setting up a business, dealing with clients, managing different projects, managing a team and other chores can be very difficult unless you learn managing skills and manage every task according to its requirement. This can be difficult but once learned, can be very beneficial.
- Financial knowledge makes you independent of hiring any other individual and manages it for you. Every deal and every transaction requires an exchange of finances therefore, it is important to have basic financial knowledge.
- Time management is the key to success, and it is very crucial to manage your project according to the time assigned to you. It can be tiresome but once established, this skill can do wonders as it helps in building your profile in front of your clients.
- Communication is also an important skill because communication allows you to understand the demands and problems of the clients. Additionally, it also helps in explaining your criteria and work to the person before you.
- Delegating work with your team members and trusting them to carry it out efficiently can be difficult to do but provides ease and help in achieving success.
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