Are you new to the Internet and you're not quite sure what e-commerce is all about? You won't be left in the dark any longer!
What is the use of paying hundreds of dollars per week on rent just to
sell a few products through a storefront when you can sell everything
easily and efficiently online? That is the question a lot of potential
small business owners are asking themselves whilst they piece together
the intricate details of their business plan. An e-commerce driven
online store can prove to be a much more effective and profitable means
of selling your products or services to the public. E-commerce
(electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and selling of goods and
services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. In practice,
this term and a newer term, e-business, are often used interchangeably.
The beauty of e-commerce, similar to a number of Internet-based
technologies, is that it allows new or existing small business owners
to sell their unique product or service to the masses without requiring
a large sum of capital in order to get the ball rolling. This, in
itself, has proven to be the key factor in popularising e-commerce to
the level it is today.The cost differences between opening an
online store to a real storefront are alarmingly huge. The fact is that
you can easily open an online store for approximately two thousand
dollars whereas opening a physical storefront will incur costs for
rent, fitting out, signage, product displays and much, much more. As
small business owners, we are daunted by the fact of having to spend
large sums of money that, in most cases, we don’t have. An online store
gives us the ability to unleash our products/services to the public
without burning a hole in our back pocket.E-commerce has a
number of uses and these extend much further than just having an online
store. Various businesses use e-commerce as a means of accepting
donations, site registrations, project progress payments, bill
payments, receiving payments for online games, purchasing goods on eBay
and more. Think of it this way, whenever a financial transaction takes
place via the Internet, you can thank e-commerce and its accompanying
technologies.So, can you trust e-commerce given that there are
hackers and malicious viruses around? The simple answer is yes, you
can. Although a lot of movies, television shows and other forms of
media depict e-commerce as being an insecure method of payment, the
truth of the matter is that they are all wrong. Online stores and other
online service providers use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificates to
encrypt any data that is transferred between your computer and the
remote host thus ensuring a secure connection while your transaction
takes place. E-commerce is a secure method of payment and can work in
favour for both store owners and shoppers alike. It all comes down to
the end user. By ensuring your operating system and antivirus software
is up to date, you can rest assured that your online shopping
experience will be a happy one.If you are in the process of
starting your own business and are interested in selling goods or
services, it would be in your interests to consider opening an online
store before jumping the gun and renting a large store within a
shopping centre. The costs differences between the two are staggering
and the savings you can make are even higher. Never underestimate the
power of the World Wide Web. Many business owners are currently
utilising this technology and are making a killing in the process. You
too can join them.
Jon Bergan is the owner of Bergan Blue, an Australian based creative design studio focused on bridging the gap between the online world of the Internet with the offline world of Marketing. Please visit http://www.berganblue.com.au/ for more information.
