Starting a Business Online (e-Commerce)
Assignment 1: Starting a Business Online, Part 1 Imagine that you own a small, local clothing store along the Jersey Shore boardwalk and decide that you want to engage in e-Commerce. Write a 4-5 page paper on the following: 1. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of taking your small business online by performing a SWOT analysis. Include 2-4 items in each category. 2. Because the Internet connects computers all over the world, any business that engages in e-Commerce instantly becomes an international business. The key issues that any company faces when it conducts international commerce include trust, culture, language, government, and infrastructure. Explain how you would address each of these issues. 3. Businesses that operate on the Web must comply with the same laws and regulations that govern the operations of all businesses, but they face 2 additional complicating factors as they try to comply with the law. First, the Web extends a company’s reach beyond traditional boundaries. Second, the Web increases the speed and efficiency of business communications. Explain how you would overcome these complicating factors that come with e-Commerce in order to comply with the law. 4. Law enforcement agencies have difficulty combating many types of online crime. Describe 2 online crimes prevalent in e-Commerce and what you would do to prevent these crimes. Your assignment must: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA format. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: Identify the basic elements of the technology infrastructure used to conduct electronic business. Explain the basic communications and network concepts used in electronic commerce and the basic functioning of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Describe the critical legal and ethical issues related to electronic commerce. Use technology and information resources to research issues in fundamentals of e-business. Write clearly and concisely about fundamentals of e-business using proper writing mechanics.
Starting A Business Online
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STARTING A BUSINESS ONLINE
Question 1
Engaging a personal small, local clothing store in e-commerce would be beneficial to the business although a share of challenges is expected. Being located along the Jersey Shore boardwalk, the small business bears the potential of growth especially after marketing it online, where most people that have not been in the area would know of it. Before making any decision to engage in this new venture of marketing, performing SWOT analysis is important so that we can identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business. One of the Strengths of the business is our location that very strategic such that customers who wish to come and shop will not struggle locating it (Pahl, Richter & University of Applied Science Berlin, 2007). The clothing store also has varieties of designs for all the age groups and we will make pop ups adverts that will attract most people. In addition, there is availability of good communication and relationship with customers that would encourage interactive sessions with customers online, a strategy that attracts many to buy the products. The designs are also unique and affordable, while the store is popular for always moving on with the trends in market.
However, marketing the business online will add extra costs to already existing rental costs that are much accelerated. The business is also lacking proper planning and management resulting to loss of customers, indicating that if improvement is not made on the area, the e-commerce involvement will make things worse. Moreover, one of the main past failures that hindered the business from flourishing is lack follow up in marketing. The working team in charge of marketing fails to make frequent follow ups after making advertisements and this may be a threat to online marketing that requires monitoring and making updates more frequently.
Online engagement for this business means providing contenting services to the customers through deliveries, which could save their time and efforts of going all the way to the store. With our adventurous and flexible team, this service would be very effective and enjoyable. In addition, the other competitors nearby are not persistent on e-commerce due to the ignorance of the results, this makes our business exceptionally popularly. The target for our business is not only local as the nearby, but we are targeting the international customers who would come directly to our services in times of shopping. This shows that worldwide market would be open to us. However, the competitors are catching up with our trends and several of their products are similar, making it quite hard be distinguished online from the few that are engaging online. Our business may also be subject to insecurities because of being exposed too much on the internet. People are not willing to spend much on shopping because of the downturn in economy, making e-commerce less effective.
Question 2
When we introduce our business in e-commerce, it will definitely become international as the internet connects people globally. This means that standards of trust between us and our customers will be inevitable. The global market is filled with diversity in culture and it is recommendable to communicate carefully, being cultural sensitive to maintain. Maintaining global market via internet can be hectic but this can be managed by letting the ...