The Seven Pillars of eCommerce Defined
By Stuart Martin

A study released by research firm "Gartner Group" predicts 75% of all
e-business projects will fail due to poor planning and unrealistic
expectations of technology. In order for any company to conduct successful
business on the Internet, a process of evaluation must be utilized. One
framework to which companies often compare their business is "The Seven
Pillars of E-business equation".

Pillar 1) Online Marketing has been in existence since around 1994, when the
first wave of mainstream companies jumped onto the web displaying their
rudimentary html pages containing product information. Still today, some
companies do little more than place their information on the Internet using
a pleasing layout; in hopes that someone will stumble upon their site and
buy the product. Many companies have not yet reached pillar one. According
to the Yankee Group, only 31% of small business and 51% of medium-sized
businesses in the United States have a website.

Pillar 2) Online Ordering is the process of allowing a customer to submit
order information through a company website. Online Ordering is quite easy
to set up through an online web-form created in static html. When the
customer clicks on "submit", the information is forwarded to a company email
address. Customer follow-up and billing occurs offline through traditional
business channels. Many tourism companies are at this level, receiving a
request forma and even a credit card number. They think that they are now in
the online business. However, all of the information has to be processed by
the vendor. In reality, this is another form of fax ordering.

Pillar 3) Online Selling takes the Online Ordering process one step further
whereby the customer's transaction is actually conducted online. For the
ease of the customer, credit card information is recorded and through
traditional business channels, the company provides goods or services to the
customer. Credit card information is authenticated directly online and
customers are supplied with proof of payment. The vendor receives payment
direct to its Merchant Bank.

The third pillar is a stage most companies cannot seem to master. It
requires sophisticated database-driven websites, intensive strategic
planning, a large programming and insurance budget, and a bank that allows
online credit card merchant accounts.

This is where www.TravellersMall.com and its services becomes the enabler.
We provide all of this capability without the individual problems that the
vendor would encounter, at a very low cost.

Pillar 4) Online fulfillment happens after the customer has been marketed
to, placed an order, and the financial transaction has occurred. This step
is divided into two categories:

a) physical products that cannot be distributed over the internet;
b) non-tangible products and services that can be delivered to the customer
online.

For the travel and tourism industry the fulfillment process is the
confirmation of the reservation, booking and backroom movement of the
information to the Vendor Databases.

Pillar 5) Online consumption is possible with only a few types of companies.
It is not synonymous with travel. The closest use would be a virtual tour of
the experience and the use of travel articles to satisfy the consumer's
interest for information on destinations, activities, etc.

Those selling information can actually have customers consume purchases
online. For example, someone subscribing to the Wall Street Journal
Interactive Edition can browse various newspaper articles online.

Pillar 6) Online Support can be offered regardless of whether the product or
service is fulfilled and consumed by the customer online. Many companies
have an online support process in place. Customers can email or visit a
special section of the company website for support. More sophisticated
database-driven company websites will allow users to track orders online and
receive support information through the use of a password or other form of
identification code.

Pillar 7) Online direct one-on-one marketing. Once companies have got to
this level of use of the Internet, they should be using their customer
database and market data to continuously communicate and market their
services to their customers. This requires planning and marketing
management. An example of this would be an online last minute club targeting
specific customers on seasonal or regional specials.

The power of being able to deliver direct marketing programs at the press of
a key has enormous cost saving implications versus the more traditional mail
or general advertising mediums. It makes the necessary analysis of the
return on investment of these types of programs much more favorable.

As you can see, there are several important steps in the equation to selling
online. When planning an e-business strategy, it is necessary to take these
seven pillars of e-business into consideration. Ask yourself these
questions:

How far do we want to take the e-business equation?

How far will our business model and the nature of our product offerings and
services allow us to take the e-business equation?

www.Banff.com - The Canadian Rockies Internet Guide features the e-business
solutions provided by www.TravellersMall.com
Visit us to streamline your e-commerce solutions today!

About the Author

Stuart Martin
stuartm@banff.com
www.banff.com
403-609-7092
Banff, Alberta, Canada
"Where every day seems like a Holiday!"

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