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WWW allows companies, small and large, to vie for customers on an international level playing field. Establishing a web presence is essential to continued growth and development; however, there are several considerations to take into account. The advent of the World Wide Web (WWW) has created a dynamic shift in the way businesses compete in the marketplace. The WWW allows companies, small and large, to vie for customers on an international level playing field. Establishing a web presence is essential to continued growth and development; however, there are several considerations to take into account. Some challenges facing companies transitioning into the world of ecommerce include: website design, development, hardware, software and strategic planning. The first step in creating an e-commerce business is to create an internet marketing plan. This is the strategic plan that a company follows to capitalize off of its existing resources while taking advantage of the additional opportunities offered by the WWW. A business should examine its mission/vision and re-purpose it for the web. A comparative analysis should be made of competing businesses websites and internet marketing strategies. A successful e-commerce business will integrate new and emergent strategies with best practices of classical strategic planning traditionally used for brick-and-mortar companies. An e-commerce business must be flexible enough to adjust the constant innovations in technology that may affect its online operations and customer relationship management tools. Secondly, with a solid internet marketing plan in hand, an e-commerce business needs to design and develop a functional website. Website design and development has many elements. Of course the site itself should function within the identified mission/vision of the organization it represents. This means that all of its content should be clear, understandable and logical information relevant only to the products and/or services the company desires to promote. Any industry-specific jargon and technicalese should be limited and defined for the target audience. The individual website pages should be titled and indexed appropriately so that they are easily navigatable by site visitors. There should be as few distracting graphical images and special effects (i.e. flash, animations) as possible to maintain quick and easy access to the information being sought. Sites should stick to basic design conventions. All of these elements add to a websites functionality and usability to site visitors. Additionally, the website needs to be found. An easily identifiable but simple domain name (URL address) should be chosen. A major keyword phrase and/or the business name should be used within the site address. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and other traffic generators should be carefully chosen to drive the targeted audience to the site. This may also include the use of Web 2.0 tools such as social media, integrated site search capabilities, interactive chat features, video, shopping carts and other multimedia avenues that help to create the overall site atmosphere and streamlined experience for the end user. Throughout the entire process, software and hardware needs must also be considered. An e-commerce business has the choice to host their website internally on their own servers or use an external hosting service. If using ones own servers, as in the case of an intranet site, networking hardware comes into play. The applications used to design the site can be internal like MS FrontPage or external such as templates included with most hosting packages. Choices for security features to maintain customer privacy and the types of virtual merchant accounts or shopping cart applications are also vast. Finally, since the online world is constantly changing, e-commerce businesses must develop emergent strategies to consistently monitor and adapt to online innovations and maintain site usability. Tools that offer analytics and regular site maintenance are essential to maintaining a competitive advantage.

There are many concerns when breaking into the online marketplace; however, with a solid internet marketing strategy and well thought out considerations for creating a usable site and streamlined experience for the target audience, almost any business can establish a successful web presence. The primary element to remember is to continuously be ready to address the dynamic and ever-changing nature of the World Wide Web

The Challenges Facing International E-Commerce Posted: May 26, 2009 |Comments: 0 | Views: 1,546 | The fact of the matter is that almost 46 percent of current Internet companies turn away international orders because they do not have processes in place to fill them. Therefore, although the Internet makes it possible for a company to sell items in an international marketplace, many companies are not prepared to go global. Many Obstacles to selling across national boundaries exist. They include communication barriers, cultural differences, global shipping problems due to a lack of sufficient infrastructure and varying degrees of Internet capability in countries. Companies preparing to launch global e-commerce sites should keep in mind that a key step is to prepare for international shipments. Smaller products mean air transport is affordable and DHL Worldwide Express, FedEx And UPS offer excellent shipping options. Larger merchandise normally is shipped by some type of freight forwarder. Both express delivery and freight forwarding companies usually will be of assistance in shipping to countries they serve. These companies offer specialized logistics software and also provide the proper documentation and forms to meet the regulations of each country. Making shipping arrangements is not all that must be done. Internet companies must examine both export and import laws in the countries involved. After working on the shipping, payment mechanisms must be installed. Each country differs not only in terms of type of currency but also in methods of payment. For example, in Europe, debit cards are preferred to credit cards. Europe also has a high rate of credit card theft which increases the risks associated with accepting them. Another challenge in the international arena is developing websites that appeal to the audiences of each country. This entails adding information that someone in another country would need such as the country code for telephone numbers. It also requires removing or changing any colors, words or images that might be offensive to a particular group of people in another country.

This might seem easy, however, simply translating an English site into another language is not sufficient. The company must have someone who understands both the language and the culture of the target area in order to ensure no one is offended by a company's marketing efforts. Also the cultural assimilator should check to make sure the proper meaning is being disseminated for each communication effort. Using local firms to translate the Web pages often prevents these types of communication problems from occurring. Probably the most difficult challenge companies face in the international market is the technical side of the e-commerce site.Software compatibility is a major technical issue that has not yet been resolved. Countries vary in terms of how they handle e-commerce and these various technologies must be merged into one system. Information Technology (IT) people must be involved in every step of an internationalization process. In the future, the growth of international e-commerce is likely to be explosive. Firms that - - get in on the ground floor - - may have a major marketing advantage in the years to come.

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