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E-Commerce:
GETTING STARTED ON-LINE
Assessing your situation
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Growth of existing ‘Bricks & Mortar’ business with online channel
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A new presence – On-line at first with possible ‘Bricks & Mortar’ later
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A new presence – On-line only into the future
Assessing your Market
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What are the specific characteristics of your target market?
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Demographics
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Psychographics
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Technographics
How well is your product/service suited for delivery via e-commerce?
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Characteristics of product/service
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Customer experience of product required?
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Logistics of fulfilment (delivery/download)
How receptive is the target market to buying on-line?
Structural Components
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Input:
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How will you stock/develop/support your product/service?
Operating:
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Maintain website
Provide customer contact
Payment process
Order processing
Security
Output:
 On-line
fulfilment (i.e.: downloads)
 Shipping logistics: Self vs 3rd party (i.e.: FedEx/UPS/Canada Post)
Key Stages
1.
Identify Product/Service
2.
Identify primary Target Market
3.
Research existing market/competition
4.
Identify secondary Target Market
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Employ focus groups to provide feedback
6.
Hire staff to fill key roles
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Contract with service providers
8.
Go live!
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Identify Product/Service
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Use ‘gap’ or ‘improvement’ strategy to identify opportunity
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Research if it has been attempted before
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If yes, what went wrong?
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If no, what prevented it? (i.e. cost or price point)
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Is this ‘opportunity’ associated with a major corporate player?
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Can it be protected by copyright or patent?
Identify Primary Target Market
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Detailed demographics
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Age
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Income
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Lifestyle
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Gender
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Technological profile
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Related purchasing pattern
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Identify Secondary Market
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Convert retail customers into on-line customers
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Identify market of who may buy if promoted to
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Source of additional revenue
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May be migrated to full status
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Source of additional ‘feature needs’ for product development
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Research Existing Market
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Quantify scale and sales volume/revenue potential
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Characteristics of on-line offerings
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Current players and strengths/weaknesses
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Potential competition
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Identify look/mechanics of sites targeting your market
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Any trends or emerging technological issues to consider?
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Employ Focus Groups
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Provide valuable feedback on your proposed
product/service
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Validate your assumptions
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Answer your questions
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Identify issues and gaps
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Identify any demographic bias or concerns
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Ipsos, Consumer Vision, Trend Research, Decima Research
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Hire Staff to Fill Key Roles
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Administration
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Finance
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Promotion
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Human resources
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Technical
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Customer Service/Blogs/Social Media
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Product development
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Contract with Service Providers
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Website developers
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Website hosting
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Payments processing
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Security
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Software providers
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Payroll services
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Shipping
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Advertising & promotion agencies
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Promotion Strategies
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Social Media
Twitter, Facebook/LinkedIn, Instagram
 Vine, Tumblr, Pinterest, Keek
 Blogs
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Banner Ads on key websites
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Reciprocal agreements with complementary, non-competitive sites
Event marketing
 Print/Radio/Transit/TV campaign
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Launch
Maintenance
New features driven
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Growth Considerations
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Invest in brand extensions
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Build brand in niche/boutique retail
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Partner with complementary product lines
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Consider alternate ‘Piggy Back’ channels to increase exposue