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24 July 2008
Corporate Blogging: A new marketing communication tool for companies
0 comments Posted by Creative E-com at 10:22 PM
Corporate blogs are still in the infancy phase. Yet many have been launched in recent years. There are many considerations an organization needs to weigh when thinking about launching a blog or encouraging the use of social media tools on behalf of the company. A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs. The advantage of blogs is that posts and comments are easy to reach and follow due to centralized hosting and generally structured conversation threads. All current browsers (including Firefox, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer 7) support RSS technology, which enables readers to easily read recent posts without actually visiting the blog, which is very useful for low-volume blogs. Blog provides a powerful informational vehicle for the association. The Board of Directors and association staff can keep the membership up to date with the latest initiatives and activities of the organization. Information for the membership can often be very time sensitive. A blog can provide almost immediate information distribution to the membership, the media, and other interested parties. The lead time for printing a hard copy magazine, or even preparing an online newsletter are unable to be as instantaneous as a blog. Because a blog is constantly updated, with fresh content, the organizational leaders can maintain up to the minute contact with the members. When combined with the power of the organization's existing e-mail newsletter and print publications, the blog completes the informational time consideration with its immediacy.
Besides that, blog is a tool that helps the organization fulfills a business goal if company thinking about publishing a blog for its business, it has to make sure it's not just to have one. Businesses need to keep the best interest of the organization in mind. Redeploying scarce resources just to have a blog makes no sense if there is no business case for one. A blog can be useful extension of the company image in the marketplace. It is however no substitute for bad products or lack of commitment to customers. It provides an opportunity to open a two-way channel between employees and customers. There are potential pitfalls like inadvertent disclosures you should address up front. The other big issue companies need to address here is that of the star blogger(s). What if the blog becomes popular and they leave? What if they leave because they feel their talent can be invested elsewhere?
Corporate blogs are not only interesting and useful, they are also helping the companies that author them develop a totally new relationship with their customers. In some cases, the blogs have helped the company move the needle in reputation, likeability and thus purchase consideration. For example: Direct2Dell - this team is extremely plugged in the blogosphere and social media in general. This is one of those blogs where one would welcome being part of the blogroll. The about statement is right in the banner: "A blog about Dell products, services, and customers". Southwest Airlines - the tone reflects the company brand. The content and the information are top notch without being overly done. From their about statement: "Nuts about Southwest is all about our Employees, Customers, airplanes, and airports. We really are Nuts about Southwest and we hope that our Readers will share that passion by posting their own comments."
However, there are risks for Corporate Blogs and the likelihood that they will occur. The most common ones are negative comments - for this one the company should get your team in a room and put the worst case scenarios on the table to understand how you would address them. Next risk is loss of control over message - let's face it, it is much worse for a business if the marketplace is not talking about it at all. The company should train their subject matter expert team to be facilitators of conversations or hire people who already are. In addition, when a customer is put at the center, it's about them, not the company. Neglect is also another risk involving corporate blog. This is probably the biggest hindrance to starting. It is recommended that setting aside a good number of posts before going public, just like many prolific bloggers do, as this involves the company’s image. The content strategy will also help here. If series of posts is created on certain topics (especially after looking at the interest/traffic) or regular themes, it will be easier to know what to write about.
13 July 2008
(Identity theft: Cases on stolen laptops, hacking and lost CD)
The newest laptops are powerful, light, and thin enough to fit easily into the slenderest of carry-on baggage. This makes them a great accessory for flying or any other mode of travel, but also easier to lose or have stolen.
It pays to be extra alert at airport security checkpoints where thieves know people can be flustered. The user should also store the laptop in the seat in front of you, instead of in the overhead compartment when you fly.
But even if you're extra careful, it's still possible to lose your laptop. If spend some time securing laptop before go on the road, it could help keep your personal or financial information from falling into the wrong hands.
Here are several top tips to help the user to secure the information on laptop.
1) Protect your information. If you keep a lot of personal or financial information on your computer; invest in an operating system that includes file protection. Windows Vista and Windows XP Professional have the tools to protect your information through a process called encryption. To learn more, see Encrypt Your Data to Keep It Safe .
2) Protect your laptop with a strong password. If you travel with your laptop frequently, you should secure it with a strong password. Check your computer's Help and Support service to learn how to add or change your system password. To find out how to create passwords that are tough for hackers to crack, but easy for you to remember, see Strong passwords: How to create and use them.
3) Back up before you go. Always back up your information before you take your laptop on a trip. You can't always avoid the financial loss of your equipment, but you can avoid losing all your information in the process. To learn how to make copies of all of your information using Windows XP, see How to back up manually or by using the Windows XP Backup utility. For Windows Vista, see Windows Vista: Windows Backup. If you use Windows Live OneCare, see Windows Live OneCare Backup and Restore.
10 July 2008
Pre-paid cash cards have been a popular concept throughout
This card plays a vital role in controlling the consumers spending. The pre-paid card gives much greater control of spending and budgeting. Statements with a full breakdown of what was bought and from where are provided periodically, just like a credit card statement. It can also be used as an alternative way for parents to give money to their children. A pre-paid card can be handy if a person don't have a bank account, or don't want to carry cash for security reasons.
Besides that, there are no credit checks being carried out. Therefore, so consumer can get a card even with a poor credit history. If one has no credit footprint in the
Technological advances in prepaid enable cardholders to manage their prepaid card account using mobile phone. The use of M-Transactions (mobile transaction) functionality adds significant value to client card programs, and in turn provides cardholders with the maximum flexibility and accessibility to manage their funds. The development of proprietary technology enables Prepaid Card cardholders to initially load the card, top-up their account, obtain a balance, transmit funds to secondary cardholder (Money remittance) and temporarily block a card.
M-Transactions is typically available in one of following formats
1. A web portal for card holders, banks, and programs featuring card to card transfers, mobile to mobile transfers, balance inquiry, transaction history, statement summary.
2. SMS service offering that provides the ability to do card to card transfers, mobile to mobile transfers, balance inquiry, card locking and unlocking.
3. Java Mobile Technology - JME (Java Mobile Edition) software that provides the ability to do card to card transfers, mobile to mobile transfers, balance inquiry, card locking and unlocking with a higher level of security through private key encryption of the message data.
The payment card industry is undergoing a revolution through the emergence of prepaid cards. Prepaid Card solutions are ideally positioned as a replacement to cash and paper-based processes. For cardholders, Prepaid Cards are an innovative, cost effective, convenient and secure payment method.
09 July 2008
E-Government in Malaysia: Its implementation so far and citizen’s adoption strategies.
0 comments Posted by Creative E-com at 9:17 PME-government is the use of information technology in general, to provide citizens and organizations with more convenient access to government information and services and to provide delivery of public services to citizens.
The implementation of e-government in Malaysia and also the issues are information technology provides some powerful supporting tools for e-government, which may empower government to provide additional and/or new services to the public that otherwise, may not be possible. Future studies can look into how to provide new and value-added services through integrated e-government. It is also has qualification and training issues in e-government. While e-government has a potential to substantially change the current way the public sector operates and functions, new qualification requirement arise for users, managers, and decision makers in public administration. As a result, effective training programs should be worked out to meet this potentially large demand from the public sector. However, little researcher has been done in this area.
Adoption and usage by citizens is the one of the most important issues in implementation e-government. Warkentin et al. (2002) constructed a model that attempts to explore this issue. They believe that the adoption rate depends on many variables. One of the major variables is “trust in e-government,” which is itself determined by several variables. Other variables, such as perceived ease of the use and perceived usefulness, are generic to EC adoption. Moderating variables, such as culture, also are important.
06 July 2008
Mobile payment systems in Malaysia: Its potentials and consumers' adoption strategies
0 comments Posted by Creative E-com at 9:06 PMMobile Money can advance the function of mobile phone to allow registered users to pay for goods and services at anytime, anywhere by using only a mobile phone coupled with a 6-digit security Personal Identification Number (PIN) via Short Messaging Service (SMS).
Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd is one of the biggest mobile payment service providers in Malaysia which implements the MM wallet and allows customers to send a payment request through an SMS text message by personal identification number (pin) authorization to pay their bills. Consumers can SMS-transfer money to anyone, anywhere, and anytime.
In Malaysia, with 25 million mobile phone subscribers, therefore there are immense opportunities to leverage on mobile phones to accelerate the migration to electronic payment. The higher the number of mobile phone subscribers, the higher rate of participation of the population in the banking system. With this favorable market condition, there are many mobile banking have been launched in recent years. However, by up to date information, there are only 1.8% mobile phone subscribers in Malaysia registered to the mobile baking and payment service. Therefore, there is a potentially lucrative market for mobile banking and payment services.
In conclusion, mobile payment system may seem to be attractive and beneficial based on above discussion. However, mobile payment system in Malaysia is not well established. Consequently, merchants’ involvements, as well as consumers’ supports are greatly appreciated and required to popularize mobile payment system.
Things to take note to prevent e-auction fraud when a consumer participating in an e-auction
0 comments Posted by Creative E-com at 10:50 AM
Electronic auction (e-auctions) is auctions conducted through online. There are many people buying and selling products or services through the internet. But, the fraud occurring today became the big problem for the people who doing the transactions.
There are some prevention method for e-auction fraud such as:
- Feedback Forum: The eBay Feedback Forum allows registered buyers and sellers to build up their online trading reputations. It provides users with the ability to comment on their experiences with other individuals.
- Verification system: Through verification, third parties will evaluate and identify an item through a variety of means. For example, some collectors have their item “DNA tagged” for identification purposes. This is a way of tracking an item if it changes ownership in the future.
- Authentication service: Product authentication is a way of determining whether an item is genuine and described appropriately. Authentication is very difficult to perform because it relies on the expertise of the authenticators. Because of their training and experience, experts can (for a fee) often detect counterfeits based on subtle details. However, two expert authenticators may have different opinions about the authenticity of the same item.
- Appraisal services: Appraisers use a variety of methods to appraise items, including expert assessment of authenticity and condition and reviewing what comparable items have sold for in the marketplace in recent months. An appraised value is usually accurate at the time of appraisal but may change over time as an item becomes more or less popular in the marketplace.
- Nonpayment punishment: eBay implemented a policy against those who do not honor their winning bids. To help protect sellers, first-time nonpayment results in a friendly warning. A sterner warning is issued for a second-time offense, a 30-day suspension for a third offense, and indefinite suspension for a fourth offense.
- Escrow services: An escrow service is a licensed and regulated company that collects, holds, and sends a buyer's money to a seller according to instructions agreed on by both the buyer and seller. Typically, once the buyer receives and approves the item from the seller within an agreed time frame, the escrow service then sends the payment to the seller.
You may have probably heard from a friend or may have read in an article online about this very profitable, very easy and trusted way to earn money in the internet. You are probably interested as you have always wanted to earn some income even while you’re at home with the kids. The problem is you still haven’t decided yet if this electronic currency trading is really for you. You are scared to take on the risk and scared to try. Maybe you are thinking that this is just another one of those business hypes that require you to give out much money and have little or no returns.
What is e-currency?
Electronic currency means the money that we use over the internet. Electronic currency allows its holder to buy the goods and the services that the hugeness of the internet offers. Electronic currency trading, therefore, means buying and selling of this internet money. Just like in normal everyday monetary currencies, electronic currencies are also varied. Each one of them is backed by an underlying monetary currency or in some cases, even valuable or precious metals.
Benefit of e-currency
One of the primary benefits about electronic currency trading is that it allows us to do business and earn with only a few dollars of investment. In fact, some electronic currency trading experts even suggest that beginners should start with only a few dollars so that they can first learn the ropes about electronic currency. Electronic currency trading does not demand much and it is really up to you if you want to increase your investment or not. With electronic currency trading you are given many opportunities to profit without spending too much on investment.
The second thing about electronic currency trading is that it has a low transaction cost. Unlike other businesses that eat up your profit with exorbitant fees, electronic currency trading allows you to do business with minimal fees giving you more profit and more money for you.
The third benefit about electronic currency trading is its flexibility and convenience to the persons involved. Since you do business online, you are given much freedom on how to schedule your day. You can work with any electronic currency trading market that best suits your needs for any time of day. The electronic currency trading business does not sleep so night or day; the world is just at your fingertips. Aside from the schedule flexibility, electronic currency traders can also conduct business anywhere in the world. Whether they are at home, in their regular place of work, at the park, at the coffee shop or virtually anywhere, so long as there is an internet connection, electronic currency trading can be had. Electronic currency trading is not only very profitable it is also very convenient for us.
One of the example of e-currency Website www.paystone.com.
In this Website, we can know that Pay stone micro payment is cost effective, convenient, easy to managed and secure.
05 July 2008
What is Phishing?
Phishing is a new type of network attack where the attacker creates an imitation of an existing Web page to trick users into submitting personal, financial, or password data to what they think is their service provides’ Website. The frequently used attack method is to send e-mails to potential victims, which seemed to be sent by banks or online organizations. In these e-mails, they will make up some causes, e.g. the password of your credit card had been mis-entered for many times, or they are providing upgrading services, to attract you visit their Web site to conform or modify your account number and password through the hyper link provided in the e-mail. You will then be linked to a fake website after clicking those links. The style, the functions performed, sometimes even the URL of these faked Websites is similar to the real Website. It’s very difficult for you to know that you are actually visiting a malicious site. If you input the account number and password, the attackers then successfully collect the information at the server side, and is able to perform their next step actions with that information like withdraw money out from your account.
How to Prevent Yourself from Phishing?
The best way you can prevent yourself from phony phishers is to understand what legitimate financial service are providers. Most importantly, legitimate entities will not ask you to provide or verify sensitive information through an email.
Follow these five simple steps to prevent yourself from phishers:
- Pick up the phone to verify — do not respond to any emails that request personal or financial information, especially ones that use pressure tactics or prey on fear. If you have reason to believe that a financial institution actually does need personal information from you, pick up the phone and call the company yourself using the number in your rolodex, not the one the email provides!
- Do Your Own Typing — Rather than merely clicking on the link provided in the email, type the URL into your web browser yourself or uses a bookmark you previously created. Even though a URL in an email may look like the real deal, fraudsters can mask the true destination.
- Beef up your security — Personal firewalls and security software packages with anti-virus and anti-spam are a must have for those who engage in online financial transactions. Make sure your computer has the latest security patches, and make sure that you conduct your financial transactions only on a secure web page using encryption. You can tell if a page is secure in a couple of ways. Look for a closed padlock in the status bar, and see that the URL starts with “https” instead of just “http”.
- Security Tip: Some phishers make spoofed websites which appear to have padlocks. To double check, click on the padlock icon on the status bar to see the security certificate for the site. Following the “Issued to” in the pop-up window you should see the name matching the site you think you’re on. If the name differs, you are probably on a spoofed site.
- Read your statements — don’t toss aside your monthly account statements! Read them thoroughly as soon as they arrive to make sure that all transactions shown are ones that you actually made, and check to see whether all of the transactions that you thought you made appear as well. Be sure that the company has current contact information for you, including your mailing address and email address.
- Spot the sharks — Visit the Website of the Anti-Phishing Working Group at www.antiphishing.org for a list of current phishing attacks and the latest news in the fight to prevent phishing. There you’ll find more information about phishing and links to helpful resources.
02 July 2008
The causes of credit card debt are poor money management, saving too little or not at all, financial illiteracy. The poor money management is a monthly spending plan is essential. Without one you have no idea where your money is going. You may be spending hundreds of dollars unnecessarily each month and end up having to charge purchases on which you should have spent that money. The saving too little or not at all is means it is not to prepare for unexpected expenditures by saving three to six months of living expenses. The financial illiteracy is many people don't understand how money works and grows, how to save and invest correctly, or even why they should balance their checkbook.
The preventions are planning is no more difficult than writing down your expenses and income and reconciling the two. You will be surprised at how powerful you'll feel when you are making thoughtful decisions about where and when to spend your money. It is to avoid unwanted debt, the saving is important and if anything happen, it will not cause immediate financial strain and increase debt. It is better learn to get educated and get in control at the money.
01 July 2008
• The threat of online security: How safe is our data?
0 comments Posted by Creative E-com at 5:00 PMCurrent software allows one to transfer data from networked computer to outside computer, thus providing flexibility especially to the corporate field. However, the same software creates breeches to the security. One of the most common crimes in the era of technology is identity theft. It is also a fast growing and a serious crime that has penetrated in the recent era.
Identity theft happens both online and offline. One of the ways that identity thieves collect personal and financial information about members of the public offline is to filter through carelessly discarded trash. Many people throw bank statements, utility bills and other potentially sensitive documentation away without shredding it first. An identity thief can find enough about someone - just from their dustbin or mailbox - to steal their identity. Identity thieves steal personal and financial information online more purposely, with phishing attempts for example but it is often because of carelessness or complacency, regarding personal and financial information.
Once an identity thief has obtained someone's personal or financial information identity thieves will steal your money from your accounts and savings, run up enormous credit card bills, and obtain passports and other official documents, empty bank accounts - even using their ill-gotten gains to fund other crimes, such as drug running and terrorism. The legitimate owners of the information identity thieves’ abuse can spend vast amounts of time and money trying to undo the damage to their finances and their reputations. This often raises the question of how safety is our personal data online. There are many ways of obtaining ones personal data. For example:
1) Email-Transaction Identification
2) Web-Transaction Identification
3) Location Extraction
4) Routinised Self-Identification
5) Dataveillance
The road to recovery after the identity has been stolen is a long one but it is not impossible to repair the damage. Because identity theft is such a high profile crime, it is easy to get help and support whilst one check their details and put measures in place to contain the threat. However, there are several ways to repair the damage as quickly as possible. Firstly, call law enforcement and report the identity theft. Make sure you get an incident number. Secondly, report all lost or stolen documents, such as passports, driving licenses, credit cards, chequebooks. Thirdly, notify your bank, credit card company and any other financial institution that holds you details. Tell them directly that you are contacting them about identity theft. You will need to close any accounts that have been compromised, which will be inconvenient but will prevent an identity thief from stealing any more of your money (assuming they have not already emptied your accounts).
Cancel your checkbooks, credit and ATM cards and get anew PIN[s] besides notifying the postal service[s] if you think that your mail has been tampered with or redirected. Then, contact any companies where accounts have been opened in your name and tell them that you are a victim of identity theft. They will have a policy in place to deal with your inquiry. Finally, contact the main credit bureau, tell them that you have been a victim of identity theft, and ask them to monitor your credit activity. Ask them to send you a credit report that, when you receive it, study very carefully for discrepancies.
There are several steps to minimize the risk of ones identity being stolen. However, no matter how careful or what steps been taken to safeguard the information, it is a sad fact that as with all crime despite the best efforts, it can only minimize the risk. Being cautious is not the same as being invincible.
25 June 2008
The application of 3rd party certification programme in Malaysia
0 comments Posted by Creative E-com at 8:17 PM
Besides, VeriSign Secure Site is use to ensure data confidentiality and integrity, all information transmitted over the Internet is encrypted using the 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol from Verisign Certificate Authority. SSL is a secure way of transferring information between two computers on the Internet using encryption. Strong end to end encryption is also adopted within the bank’s computer networks and resources. SSL helps you deliver a secure and convenient way for your customers to interact with you over the Internet. When you display the VeriSign Secured Seal, your customers will recognize the most trusted security mark on the Internet and gain the confidence to complete their transactions with you.
Lastly, by applying 3rd party certification, there are more safeguard for online shopping, which means the customers can shop safely. In addition, the confidentiality of customers towards the internet will also be enhanced and hence the organizations will be able to earn more profits.
24 June 2008
Here are a few approaches on how to safeguard our personal and financial data:
· Avoid using passwords that are easy for someone to guess, such as the name of your favorite pet or your date of birth. Never write this information down and never carry it in your wallet or briefcase.
· Regularly scan your computer for spyware - Spy ware or adware hidden in software programs may affect the performance of your computer and give attackers access to your data. Use a legitimate anti-spyware program to scan your computer and remove any of these files
· Do not reveal any personal information or particularly passwords to anyone. After using any of the Financial Data Center or member services, must remember to log out properly before leaving the Financial Data Center.
· Establish guidelines for computer use - If there are multiple people using your computer, especially children, make sure they understand how to use the computer and Internet safely. Setting boundaries and guidelines will help to protect your data
· Follow corporate policies for handling and storing work-related information - If you use your computer for work-related purposes, make sure to follow any corporate policies for handling and storing the information. These policies were likely established to protect proprietary information and customer data, as well as to protect you and the company from liability.
· Avoid unused software programs - Do not clutter your computer with unnecessary software programs. If you have programs on your computer that you do not use, consider uninstalling them.
· Pay attention when using an ATM and keep your eyes peeled for anyone who seems a little too interested in your transactions. Use your free hand to shield the keypad when entering your PIN. Besides that, banker can add on fingerprint scanning on ATM machine.
· Keep software up to date - Install software patches so that attackers cannot take advantage of known problems or vulnerabilities
· Use and maintain anti-virus software and a firewall - Protect yourself against viruses and Trojan horses that may steal or modify the data on your own computer and leave you vulnerable by using anti-virus software and a firewall. Make sure to keep your virus definitions up to date.
· Follow good security habits - Review other security tips for ways to protect yourself and your data.
· Keep your card close. Whether you are out shopping or eating out, watch how clerks handle your card. Then take your receipt with you and never throw it away in a public place.
· If share information with another user or use our services on a public computer such as in a public library, school computer lab or Internet cafe, must remember to close the browser window. That is to prevent other users from reading your personal information and mail.
19 June 2008
Millions of collectible, decor, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, and sold daily. In 2005, eBay launched its Business & Industrial category, breaking into the industrial surplus business. Some items are rare and valuable, while many others are dusty gizmos that would have been discarded if not for the thousands of eager bidders worldwide. Anything can be sold as long as it is not illegal and does not violate the eBay Prohibited and Restricted Items policy. In June 2006, eBay added an eBay Community Wiki and eBay Blogs to its Community Content which also includes the Discussion Boards, Groups, Answer Center, Chat Rooms, and Reviews & Guides.
EBay has a robust mobile offering, including SMS alerts, a WAP site, and J2ME clients, available in certain markets Best of eBay is a new specialty site for finding the most-unusual items on the eBay site. In 2007, the total value of sold items on eBay's trading platforms was nearly $60 billion. This means that eBay users worldwide trade more than $1,900 worth of goods on the site every second. eBay offers various online help features, including a library of self-help resources, e-mail contact forms and "Live Help," which lets users chat with customer service representatives via instant messaging. Although this is not available to users on international sites such as eBay.co.uk, members of international eBay Web sites are welcome to utilize eBay.com's Live Help service. eBay does offer some phone support to its customers although this is limited to sellers of the rank "Bronze PowerSeller" and above, the company's term for members who sell at least an average of $1,000 worth of goods per month on the site, as well as to eBay Store owners. PayPal is an e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. It is also a European bank based in Luxembourg. It serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as cheques and money orders. PayPal performs payment processing for online vendors, auction sites, and other corporate users, for which it charges a fee. It sometimes also charges a transaction fee for receiving money (a percentage of the amount sent plus an additional fixed amount). The fees charged depend on the currency used, the payment option used, the country of the sender, the country of the recipient, the amount sent and the recipient's account type. On October 3, 2002, PayPal became a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay PayPal enables any individual or business with an email address to securely, easily and quickly send and receive payments online. It has 149 million registered users and is accepted by millions of merchants worldwide - on and off eBay. PayPal's Q1 2008 global total payment volume of $14.4 billion accounted for nearly 9 percent of worldwide eCommerce. Acquired by eBay Inc. in October 2005, Skype is the world's fastest-growing Internet communication company that has revolutionized the way people talk online. With more than 309 million registered users as of early 2008. In addition to its presence on eBay, Skype has relationships with a growing network of hardware and software providers. Other key acquisitions have strengthened eBay Inc.'s portfolio of ecommerce companies, Stubhub, a leading online marketplace for the resale of event tickets; rent.com, the most visited online apartment listing service in the U.S.; StumbleUpon, an online solution that helps people discover and share content on the web; and market-leading online classifieds sites including LoQUo.com, Intoko, and Netherlands-based Marktplaats.nl.
18 June 2008
E-commerce forces you to become efficient and to provide value; if you don't, your failure will be swift. The new business paradigm that has resulted from B2B e-commerce technology has a tendency to weed out low-value players quickly, simply because the technology has created a more level, and infinitely larger playing field. If you participate in an open electronic venue, then you will undergo intense scrutiny. If someone else is selling the same product for a half cent lower, then your buyers will know about it immediately.
Many electronic venues have feedback mechanisms as well.eBay is perhaps the best-known example of this. When somebody buys something on eBay, they have an opportunity to rate the seller and make comments. These comments are readily accessible to any other potential buyer, who may review them before making a purchase. This sort of mechanism keeps you honest, but it also is very unforgiving. Botching two or three deals could greatly diminish your chances of selling much there ever again.
Failure cause in today's electronic economy are a lot different than they used to be, and long-standing relationships may fall apart in the face of intense scrutiny and heightened competition. Some common factors involved in failed B2B e-commerce initiatives include:
- Relying on long-term relationships -- Getting comfortable and assuming that a business relationship, because it has existed for years, will continue to exist. Long-term business relationships are a thing of the past in the electronic world, and the ability to see everyone's wares at once makes us fickle.
- Focusing too much on the "e" in "e-commerce" -- Customers still need personal attention; this is why successful e-businesses have multiple channels of communication, not just the Web. The whole concept of e-commerce is so electronic, there is a natural tendency to overlook the actual human customer at the other end of the transaction.
- Vertical integration -- Trying to do everything under one roof. More companies are outsourcing technical support, fulfillment, security management, Web hosting, and almost everything that doesn't have to do with their core businesses. Companies that do this are nimble and efficient, and they run rings around huge, monolithic companies that try to bring everything inside.
- Attempting to hoard information -- You can't keep secrets in an electronic marketplace. Whereas a traditional company may have flourished by keeping information on a "need to know" basis, this no longer works. Information is the fuel of the new economy, and you, as a business participating in B2B e-commerce, have to kick in your share.
17 June 2008
How E-commerce can reduce cycle time, improve employees' empowerment and facilitate customer support.
0 comments Posted by Creative E-com at 6:58 PM
Now, let get started to discuss how e-commerce can reduce cycle time,improve employees' empowerment and facilitate customer support :-
1) E-commerce can reduce cycle time
The cycle time is the time it takes to build a product. Because E-commerce enables greater efficiency in coordination of the entire production process, it also acts to reduce time. One of the following example can be seen is the Dell Computer Company. Dell Computer Company website allow the customer to enter the order status information through online. So that the customer easily track their product orders and more rapidly gain access to routine technical support information. Besides that, when this website is available online, the customer do not need to queue up to buy the computer or its accessories. This can help customer to save their valuable times even the costs. Furthermore, online catalogs can provide considerably more information and be more current than their paper-based counterparts. Even in cases where sales representatives travel to visit clients at their facilities, they can have absolutely current information about products, inventories, and order status through the use of such technologies as laptop computers combined with modems. Now let us look at the Dell Computer Company again. Although Dell Computer Company has a number of standard designs, each computer assembled may be customized by the customer. Recently, Dell has developed sets of standard packages for each of its large customers through its Premier Pages program. This program provides paperless purchase orders, approved product configurations, global pricing, real-time order tracking, purchasing history, and information on Dell's account team for each major customer. Besides that, E-commerce are provide 24-Hour Access which is the online businesses never sleep as opposed to brick and mortar businesses. E-commerce allows people to carry out businesses without the barriers of time or distance. One can log on to the Internet at any point of time, be it day or night and purchase or sell anything one desires at a single click of the mouse. Moreover, E-commerce can help to reduce cycle by quicker delivery. Quicker delivery allows quick delivery of products and services especially with digitized products.
2) Improve employees' empowerment
E-commerce can help to improve employees' empowerment by giving the training to them. Some company will recruit their employee by giving the benefit and bonus and select their employee by giving the test to them base on online basis. Employees will have more authority and power to make their decision through E-commerce. It provides more information to employees when their employees are face the difficulties, so E-commerce can help the employee to access the information which are needed.
3) Facilitate customer support
Consumer behavior is more complex today than ever before. If the customer is satisfied your services provided, they will be a loyalty customer for the company and vice versa. Nowadays, many companies will have their own website. This website is try to attract their customer to purchase their product online. Moreover, like McDonald and Domino Pizza, they provide a delivery of fast food service to increase the customer satisfaction. The customer can place a order online or make a phone call in order to get a foods. In addition, many of the company will provide a FAQ in their own website. This system will answer the questions which are normally been ask by the customers. Some more,FAQ system can bring more convenience and satisfaction to their customers. All this kind of system can bring the good image to their own company.
11 June 2008
The top 5 websites that I always visited are http://www.yahoomail.com/. This website allow me to check and send mails. second is http://www.friendster.com/ allow me to keep in touch with friends. Next is http://www.thestar.com/ because this website for me to keep up with current issues. Besides that, http://www.indiamoviezone.com/ can allow me to download songs and movies. Last is http://www.google.com/ . This website can help me to look for information.
The top 5 Internet activities chatting on MSN or Yahoo Messenger,playing online games, watch movies online, looking for current information on certain issue, listening to songs.
Let bygones be bygones.......Live life to the fullest as though there is no tomorrow....
1) www.friendster.com
This website can help me to keep in touch with my friends.
2) www.baidu.com
This website can help me to reduce my stress when I listening
the song and music which applicable at this website.
3) www.yahoo.com
Normally the reason for me to visit this website is because this
website provide the international news. I will open this website
everyday to looking for the current international news.
4) www.google.com
This website can provide me all the information when I face a
difficulties to understand something...
5) www.world2.com.my
This website is a 'Perfect World' online game forum. I alwaysa
come to this website to search the information about the game.
Sometime I will post the comment into this website in order to
give some idea as well as comments to the players in this online game.
The top 5 internet activities that I like the most are chatting with friends through MSN or Skype, playing 'Perfect World' online game, check mails, view my friends' blogs and watch online movies.
Lastly, I am a friendly girl. If you face any problem, you can come to me, I will be a good listener.
Be happy always =.=
10 June 2008
My name is ANG YEE LING. I am 21 years old. I have a diploma qualification and also be selected to join national service at Kem Warisan, Masjis Tanah. My hometown is Johor. I have a lovely family. My family has 5 members. The 5 of website which i always visit are http://www.friendster.com,www.yahoo.com,www.utar.edu.my,www.emeimei.com,www.google.com/. i like sulf the first website because i can add many friends,give comment or send messages to my friends.i aslo can edit the profile. The second website is because i can send email to everyone and also received email.It is very useful for everyone. The third website is my universities's website which i can check any new information from my school,check my result.Next,the website is similar to friendster website,but it has a forum. The last is i can find information from this website. The internet is very useful.i can download and uploading any file,chat with friends on msn,play online game,searching information,listen music.
I am a year 3 semenster 1 student at Universities Tunku Abdul Rahman. I am taking accounting course. I am going to graduate on May of 2009.It is so happy because it is just left about 1 year to graduate. Ha. I am appreciate all the things happen at here and nice to recognize many friends who is always treat me very good. I want to say thank you at here. After graduate, I think I will work at Singapore and continues to study at the same time. But it is no sure yet.
The earthquake at Sichuan is big and serious news in this year. I watch the news from television Program and see the people at Sichuan who are very suffer and cry at that time, I also feel very want to cry because it was a lot people died. But luckily, all people from the world come and help them and donate money for the people at Sichuan.
Last, I just want to say try to enjoy personal live, be truth to ourselves. I wish my friends and my family always happy and healthy. Good luck and happy always. Wow, finally finish. Ha.
