B2B? Watch your Mouth!Written by Rob Spiegel
There was a precious time then business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce was sweet darling of Internet-based business. Sure, Amazon.com has a great brand name, but B2B was going to change very nature of how business would be conducted in future. Proponents scoffed at consumer e-tailers while pointing to auto-exchange, Covisint, which is projected to handle some $750 billion in goods annually at some not-to-distant point in future. And if Covisint saves automakers just 10 percent on procurement, well goodness, that adds up.Yet promise of B2B ecommerce is now considered bogus in many business circles, actually in most business circles. B2B has been called a false economy, heart of irrational exuberance, a fool's gold that leads to broken dreams and crushed dreamers. A surprising number of seemingly bright and sincere executives hold B2B ecommerce responsible for very downturn itself. Oddly, there is considerably less contempt for area of ecommerce that really has shown consistent signs of weakness, mass-market e-tailing. These executives don't scoff at Expedia, eBay or Amazon.com with same venom they bring to online exchanges or supply chain management solutions. Yet if you examine list of 600 or so failed dot coms this year, greater number come from world of consumer-based ecommerce. The quiet secret not often discussed is that B2B ecommerce continues to show remarkable signs of both present and future success far beyond consumer Net sales. Consumer e-tailing has some success stories, but most fall into area of specialty sites that sell to consumer segments with intense special interests such as hot foods, fly fishing, heirloom gardening or extreme sports. These sites live stealth-like below contempt radar. Most of these special sites, when noticed, elicit admiration. The bile of contempt is saved for B2B, area of ecommerce that will almost inevitably live up to its transformative promise - in time. And very executives who look on B2B with such disdain are actively in process of implementing e-business systems in their companies to assist with logistics, supply chain analytics, inventory management, design collaboration, Web-based conferencing, reverse auctions, customer relationship management, indirect procurement and spot purchases.
| | Are Visitors Afraid To Buy From Your Website?Written by Bill Daugherty
Are you losing money everyday because of people's fear of buying on Internet? Poll after poll continue to show that most people are uneasy about placing an order online. This is costing you money.It is this uneasiness that causes people, who need or want your product or service, to leave your site without placing that order. I know, some people simply change their minds about making a purchase at last minute for other reasons. But, a large percentage of those last minute back-outs are due to fears brought about by horror stories people hear and read about of all Internet scams and rip offs that are out there. To counter this reluctance to shop online, you must do everything you can to convince your visitors that your site is a safe place to do business. If you succeed, your sales will jump dramatically. Here are some ways to add credibility to a Website: Place your contact information - including your name, physical address, telephone number and email address on your home page, your contact page and your order page. If visitors know you are easily accessible, they will feel better about doing business with you. Use third party credibility by collecting testimonials from your satisfied customers and place them throughout your pages. Put strongest two or three testimonials on order page.
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