Electronic and Mobile Commerce - Essay Example

Electronic and Mobile Commerce Introduction Mobile commerce (M-Commerce) is increasingly becoming famous in the business community. The need for flexibility and mobility has been a major thrust behind the growth in M-commerce. Mariga (2003) defines e-commerce as “the trade of goods and services by electronic means.” With e-commerce, consumers needed to access the internet and shop for the items they want as they would in brick-and-motor shops. However, consumer pursuit for more convenient ways of satisfying their needs has driven business organization to embrace modern technological innovations. In response to the growing need for mobility by consumers, mobile commerce emerged out of e-commerce. According to Tarasewich, Nickerson and Warkentin (2002), M-commerce is “the ability to conduct commerce, using a mobile device, e.g. a mobile phone, while on the move.” in order to remain relevant most organization strive to establish their presence online, which as become a major competitive tool with the ever changing consumer behavior in the competition-ridden market. This paper explores tools and skills necessary to implement electronic and M-commerce in business. Steps Businesses Need To Follow To Create an Online Presence The following are some of the steps that business organizations need to adopt in order to establish online presence: i. Research On Relevant Directories and Get Listed There are numerous sites, such as Google places, that present the chance for business organization to connect with their target market online. Such tools enable the company to stay online making possible to draw a large audience for the business. The organization should stick with chosen sites that are popular and not bother with many others. The organization can decide to stick with Facebook and Twitter, which are supposedly the most popular social media sites. ii. Use Photography Technique Photographs tend to draw more attention than status updates. They are usually vivid, precise and welcomed by many users of social media. The fashion and music industries can reap big from using photography approach rather than posting mere status updates. Nonetheless, organizations in other industries can also make use of this approach by posting pictures of their products. This approach is likely to attract a large number of online communities into the organization. iii. Develop a Remarkable Website The second way to create an online presence for an organization is through creation of a website. A properly designed website can be a crucial marketing tool that can instill confidence in the business process and also act as an online storefront. All prosperous online business organizations have a fundamental platform that connects all social media profiles. The company’s website should appear formal, certified and established. To gain popularity, an organization needs to attach links to its website on social media posts and pictures among others. This will act as a decoy and lure many individuals to the organization’s site, where business can proceed. iv. Engage In Giveaways Handing out giveaways can work miracles for an organization’s online presence. An organization can further establish online presence by giving adequate attention to its online followers. It should keep the fans engaged through running competitions and draws. This could probably popularize the business. v. Active Blogging Blog sites help companies to launch new products and ideas in the market. Every time a company launches a new product, it should blog about it. Setting an exceptional blog and guest-posting on other trendy blogs contribute greatly to the establishment of online presence. The company can also engage a professional blogger to carry out the task on behalf of the organization. The Required Skills and Tools for Establishing Online Presence Some of the most critical skills for creating online presence include internet skills, blogging skills, website creation and management among others. Similarly, there are tools that are relevant for creating strong online presence. These include social networking sites, social bookmarking, blogs and personal websites. Developing a strong online presence is not an overnight task, but is process that needs time. The Opportunities and Challenges of Electronic and Mobile Commerce The first opportunity for M-commerce and electronic-commerce is the growing number of mobile phone users and technological push. Mobile phone has become an integral part of the community and has changed people’s life greatly. Cell phone has become more of a basic need for everyday life and hence the growing use of the gadgets. With increasing usage, there is likely to be a major boost for M-commerce. E-commerce and M-commerce also enables organizations to purchase goods cheaply and to easily access global market. They also enable people to buy products from global arena rather than local markets alone (Stair & Reynolds, 2010). Another opportunity for electronic and M-commerce is mobility. In the contemporary world, consumer behavior is fast shifting towards convenience. People want to shop while at home or at work. Fortunately M-commerce provides solution to this emerging trend in consumer behavior. Through M-commerce, consumers can shop for what they need and execute transactions irrespective of where they are. M-commerce offers high level of flexibility, which matches the demands of consumers (Stair & Reynolds, 2010). Electronic and mobile commerce also offer the mobile user greater opportunity to control data streaming into the mobile device. They customers have control over what they need and the mobile owner can also personalize the gadget as regards viewing and accessing data (Stair & Reynolds, 2010). Despite the existence of opportunities in e-commerce and M-commerce, there are some challenges that are associated with their use. To begin with, security issues have been a major force to recon with in both e-commerce and m-commerce. Businesses must make sure that mobile and electronic transactions are secured (Stair & Reynolds, 2010). Also, mobile phones may not provide graphic processing power similar to that of computers. As such, mobile phones are limited in technology. Mobile phones do not offer convenient log in into web pages like computers. Another drawback of using mobile phones in business concerns small screen size that may not offer adequate view of products by consumers. The small screen may also not allow consumers to view full websites of companies and may as well inhibit consumer-organization interaction. Lastly, mobile electronic commerce is provided by no-uniform networks, which may utilize M-commerce distinct from each other. The mobile user’s ability to access web pages of companies may be limited by network provider’s approach to M-commerce (Mennecke, 2003). Conclusion With advancing technology and changing consumer behavior, many business enterprises have shifted to the most convenient methods of reaching and serving their clients. E-commerce and m-commerce provide the opportunity for businesses to buy cheaply and sell to the global market. Because of its potential, many organizations strive to create online presence where their customers can find them at all times and do their shopping. Despite having benefits to both sellers and consumers, e-commerce and m-commerce also come with some challenges that business organizations must solve in order to realize the full benefit of such trade. References Mariga, J.R. (2003). Managing e-commerce and mobile computing technologies. Hershey, PA: IRM Press. Mennecke, B.E. (2003). Mobile commerce: technology, theory, and applications. Hershey, Pa.: IRM Press, 2003. Stair, R.M. & Reynolds, G.W. (2010). Principles of information systems: a managerial approach, 9th Ed. Boston, Mass.: Course Technology, Cengage Learning. Tarasewich, P., Nickerson, R., and Warkentin, M. (2002). Issues In Mobile E-Commerce. Communications of the Association for Information Systems. Vol. 8, 46-64. Read More