E-Commerce

This course covers what makes an e-commerce site succeed or fail, and how to build one that works. You'll learn promotional strategies specific to the internet, how to optimise and increase exposure for a website, and how to automate the supply of goods, services and payments. The final lessons cover managing change and dealing with common e-commerce problems, including legal issues such as privacy and consumer protection. Suitable for those running or planning an online business who want it to actually work.

Study Marketing on the Internet Improve your own knowledge of marketing on the internet. Improve your own business or career prospects by learning to sell online more effectively. Our tutors are helpful and highly experienced. Course duration: 100 hours - study in your own time and at your own pace. COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT There are 8 lessons in the course as follows: 1. Introduction What is E-commerce Security How to Protect a Business Marketing on the Internet Searching for Data on the Net Contract Law Warranty and Conditions Sellers Liability Consumer Laws Manufacturers Liability International Sales Contract Rules Setting up a Business Setting up an E Commerce Web Site Bootstrap Sites 2. Success & Failure – What Makes the Difference? Introduction Awareness of Technology What makes an E-commerce Site Successful Dotcom Failures Site Visibility 3. Promotional Strategies – Are Different on the Internet Internet Code of Conduct Analysing the market Selecting Target Markets Developing the marketing mix Managing the marketing effort. The Launch Promoting an E-commerce Site Marketing Strategies and Plan 4. Optimizing Web Site Potential Monitoring Visitors Ground Rules Keep Changing Meta Tags Evaluation/Review Services Paid Services Search Engine Optimisation Main Page Content Searchable words Use of important Key Words Page Titles Links: Frequency of changes Good URL Structure Navigation Capture of Visitors Download Speed Graphics Targeting Site Maps 5. Increasing Web Site Exposure Marketing Plan Marketing Mix Advertising Personal Selling Direct Marketing Collateral Promotion Channels of Distribution Google Adwords Search Marketing Affiliate Marketing Free Content Web Banners Social Media Optimisation Digital Marketing Creative Buzz Community Guerilla Marketing 6. Automating Supply of Goods, Services and Cash Flow Payment Ways to Supply Goods or Services Drop Shipping Outsourcing Payment Gateways SSL Getting a Merchant Account for Credit Cards 7. Managing Constant Change Resource Planning Constant Review & Development Strategy Outsourcing Understanding Technology Bandwidth Information Currency vs. Cash Currency Keeping a Web Site Current Web Analytics Change Management and Corporate Structure 8. Dealing with E-commerce Problems Learning from Others Mistakes Determining Where it Went Wrong Legal Issues (eg. Privacy, Consumer Protection, Copyright, Patents) Managing Risk Charge back Computer and Office Security Insurance AIMS Recognise the nature and scope of E-commerce Differentiate between successful and unsuccessful E-commerce operations, and identify key factors in their success or failure. Develop strategies for promotion of business activity using broad E-commerce tools. Monitor and adjust E-commerce strategies on a web site in order to improve performance with respect to stated goals. Develop strategies that will cause growth in Web Site exposure. Distinguish between alternative E-commerce tools for managing the supply of goods and services, and the flow of cash. Develop methods for managing change within the E-commerce context. Manage risk within the E-commerce context in order to minimise the impact of problems that emerge. EXAMPLES OF WHAT YOU MAY DO IN THIS COURSE Research demographic information in a specific locality that may be relevant in profiling a particular market sector (you are free to select any market sector that is relevant, or of interest to yourself). Investigate how credit cards work for a business. As a business operator, how do you process a payment; how do you get paid, and what costs are involved. How does an Eftpos machine work, and why would a business use this rather than other methods of processing credit cards? Go to http://www.dmoz.com and work out how to submit a website. Go through the process but do not do the actual submission. Explain the steps taken to submit the site Consider ways an E-marketing strategy could be used for selling motor cars need to be different to an E-marketing strategy for selling books? Present a plan for marketing a service or product using E-commerce What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a PR firm to promote a web site rather than doing it yourself? How would you decide on the value of listings on different Search Engines and Directories? Surf the net to identify different sites, each using one of the following marketing types: Affiliate marketing; Free Content Marketing; Buzz Marketing and User Group Marketing. Compare these 4 different sites, and make notes about how well you feel each is marketing itself and why. Develop a Marketing plan for a web site that includes both on line and off line promotions. Using a budget of £5,000, outline how and on what you would spend the money, using at least 3 types of paid advertising and 3 types of free advertising How can a potential buyer determine whether it is safe to use their credit card number over the internet? How would you respond if a potential customer in another country says they want to purchase from you, but insists they pay you in their country's currency and not yours? What is the fastest way of getting a payment made by a customer to appear in your own bank account? Banking on-line is becoming an accepted norm by society. List the different on-line services being offered by banks today. Consider three different products offered electronically. Name them and then explain how you would arrange delivery of these products. Give reasons why you chose those particular modes of delivery. WHAT IS E-COMMERCE? Some people equate E-commerce with business on the internet; and while this is a big part of E-commerce; it is a way of doing business which is continually changing. Web sites, social media, credit cards, electronic publishing, bank transfers, and lots more are all part of the E-commerce world. This course provides a foundation; but as with anything that is constantly changing, you need to keep moving with changes that occur, building on the foundation laid in your first course. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT A LANDING PAGE IS? A landing page is an important internet marketing tool – it is a web page that captures customers who have been directed to the page from other web pages. For example, a potential customer might click on an advert on a web page - this action then automatically directs them to a web page that gives them further information about the content of the advert. This web page that the customer has selected to go to (via a link) for more information, is a landing page. Once the customer shows this added interest in the advert, the business has greater potential of converting that interest into a sale. Links are followed from many sources including social media pages, emails, and adverts that are search engine optimised. Landing pages can be reference based – in other words they give the customer information about a product or service or offer. Or it may be a transactional landing page – these types of pages endeavour to gather potential customer’s information such as their email address, phone number or residential address - in the hope of further contact. ARE YOU REACHING THE RIGHT TARGET MARKET? You can get lots of links and listings for your site, and lots of visitors, but if the people visiting your site don’t stay and do business, there is little value in having a high quantity of users (session users) or hit rate. (NB: Session users are the number of different people visiting your site. Hits are the number of pages which are clicked on). It is better to have fewer people visiting, but staying and reading what you have on the site. Your aim should be to get links from sites, directories, or sections of search engines, which relate to your site’s content. For example, a computer equipment supply site is better to be listed on a search engine under computer equipment, rather than in a general section under computers. To know where and how to have a site listed, will require BOTH an understanding of your industry as well as an understanding of the internet. So ... Why should I do this course? Electronic commerce has become such a core function of most business Understand how business can develop over the internet Position your own business to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the internet. WHAT NEXT? Register to Study - Go to panel toward top of this page (right column) or Get Advice - Use our FREE COUNSELLING SERVICE to contact a tutor CLICK TO CONTACT US