Principles Behind Ecommerce 2.0

The concept of ecommerce 2.0 evolved from the principles used to explain Web 2.0. These same six principles can be adapted and used to identify the key principles of Internet marketing. These six principles, identified in the following paragraphs, are simple to define, but offer limitless possibilities.

Product Availability

The first principle concerns product availability. The more available a product is, the more it is seen, and marketed. Customers expect to find a good product easily available, marketed by call centers, as well as a number of websites and online market sites like Amazon.com. The days when the concept of multi-channel marketing meant direct sales, a single call center, an Internet site, and perhaps even a related channel, are long past. Today, customers expect to find products at numerous websites, marketplaces, and online shopping sites such as Bizrate.com.

Target Market

Online marketers who are able to develop and make contact with a niche market that offers exceptional Internet service can take advantage of newly discovered sources of income. Previously, retailers attempted to identify a target market and then use mass marketing to advertise the product to that market. Selecting a niche is an essential step in this process.

Today, most Internet marketers have adjusted to this by using different methods and techniques for targeting a specific, or niche, market. As a result, they can sell to a market that has not been overwhelmed by big brand names and that responds favorably to content or online information that specifically targets that market. This is made possible because big brands simply have not met the needs of niche markets like these. This principle, often referred to as the long tail, concerns the marketer’s capability for stretching beyond conventional prospects and tapping into the potential offered by niche markets.

Importance of the Customer

The third principle of ecommerce 2.0 can be summed up in a single phrase: The customer rules. The Internet is a buyer’s market. Content created by buyers, like blog pages, product review sites, and social networking has at least as great an influence on buyers as any advertising or product promotion online marketers can manage. Sites like Facebook and Twitter emphasize the importance of consumer input in marketing.

Quick and Easy Checkout

Make shopping fun and painless sums up the fourth principle of ecommerce 2.0. People often consider shopping to be a form of recreation, and Internet shopping is no different from going to a physical store. As a matter of fact, as a result of fast Internet speeds and sophisticated marketing applications, online marketing sites are becoming ever more popular. These sites provide both entertainment and pleasure. Just like buyers in brick and mortar shopping stores, online buyers hate lengthy checkout lines. Remember, quick checkouts make happy buyers who will return to purchase more!

Ecommerce Integrations

Integration and collaboration are crucial. Integrations must be introduced, modified, and utilized. The environment of ecommerce 2.0 is founded on numerous connected systems and procedures that need a dynamic exchange of information. This occurs between a number of systems as a result of one person’s user experience within the context offered by an interaction or an order. Uninterrupted access and interaction is crucial to sales as well as buyer loyalty and referral.

Data Collection

The final principle to remember is that data reigns supreme. Cash in on a variety of opportunities. Forget about the past when marketers focused solely on operational reports. While there is nothing wrong with comparing the number of listings in a marketplace, this will not offer a comparison to the performance of other marketers. Nor will it describe a marketer’s performance during a given time frame, or identify other, potentially more profitable, channels. The concept behind ecommerce 2.0 involves the collection and management of data from a number of Internet sites that facilitates good business choices. Finding these opportunities depends on the careful definition of business objectives, the identification of key performance indicators, or KPIs, and the ability to act on the continuous data as it is received.