In an E-Business environment, the strategic plan that is implemented may only be used for a short period of time. This is because once you are conducting business online and the customer is looking for personalized one on one service, innovative products, and the customer is ultimately controlling the channels. If a company uses a traditional strategic plan to convert to an E-Business, it may be very time consuming and by the time it is implemented; there is a chance a competitor may have come along with a similar plan that could hinder the company’s plan. There are some important things that a company needs to consider. They are:
- What are the products or services that will be sold?
- Who will buy the products or services?
- Who are your competitors?
- Do you want a short or long-term presence?
- How will product offers be presented?
- How will transactions be handled?
- How will the product be shipped?
- How will customer Relationship Management (CRM) be handled?
- How will unexpected change be handled?
In addition to answering these questions, there will need to be enough capacity to handle a heavy load of web traffic to the website. If this is not considered then the website will become slow and the end result will be a loss in sales and web traffic. There also needs to be careful consideration of what content will be on the website and how it will be designed. It is important to have the proper type of content on the website as well as having it be user friendly and easy to navigate. Before the website is up and running, the company will need to determine what type of hardware is needed, as well as what type of software, and the type of security that will be needed to ensure a smooth transactions with customers.
In creating an organizational design that will support the e-business strategy for a retail e-commerce website such as Target.com, the company would need to put together a web team that will consist of a team leader, team members, web master, and technical staff. Each person on the web team will have a clearly defined role as to what they will need to do to accomplish and align the company’s business goals with the technology goals that will allow for a smooth implementation of the e-business plan. All team members will work together and communicate any and all progress as well as any issues that may arise. The project champion will work with senior management to ensure that the proper funding, resources, time and attention that the project needs. The project champion will also defend the project from any detractors to ensure that the project is properly developed and implemented.
Once the web team has the project up and running there will need to be tests conducted to make sure that the hardware, software, and security are running properly and smoothly. Any glitches will need to be worked out before the go-live date. Having a pilot program set up will help to determine how well the website will do in a certain market and if the company’s goals will be met, then it can be extended and goal national or global.
The opportunities that will be faced by operating as an e-business will be to increase the company’s customer base, increase profits, decrease overhead for the e-business unit, excellent CRM, and personalized service. When running a successful e-business, it is important to maintain excellent customer service and build customer loyalty. This can be achieved by addressing any customer issues or concerns immediately and to also offer a helper on the website itself to help assist in a purchase. It is also a good idea to offer personalized service to each customer by sending alerts via email regarding new products, sales, or promotional items that that are interested in. When a returning customer has entered the website, offer suggestions of what they may be interested in purchasing based on past purchases and from items they have browsed. Another opportunity is to use web analytics to analyze customer behavior and thus determine the effectiveness of the goals that were set forth. It also allows the company to make any necessary improvements to fix what is not working. This can be from the website design, marketing campaign, navigation, and visitor conversion.
The risks can be several different things from strong competition, a weak strategic plan, poor website design, improper hardware, software, and security. It is important for a company to conduct their due diligence before deciding to develop and implement an e-business plan. Any and all risks and threats must be researched to determine if the project will pay off. There must be strong security to maintain the sensitive information from customers and also important internal information from getting in the wrong hands. It is important for the company to continuously update both the website with new information and product, but also update hardware, software, and security to ensure that the technology is current.
References
E. Turban, D. King, D. Viehland, and J. Lee. Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective (2006 ed.) Pearson/Prentice Hall , 2006 Upper Saddle River, NJ
Awad E. Electronic Commerce From Vision to Fulfillment (3rd ed.) Pearson/Prentice Hall , 2007
Upper Saddle River , NJ
