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Why should a business take advantage of e-Commerce?
Business should take advantage of e-Commerce because of the following reasons:
- Reach a Global Audience - When you offer your goods and services online, you are "opening" your business to a potential customer base of more than a billion people. Before, your customer base was only as large as the number of people that would see your shop or advertisements. Now the entire world can buy what you have to offer.
- 24-Hour Availability - one of the major weaknesses to ordinary commerce is that you could only offer your goods and services while your shop was open. When you sell online, your shop is open 24 hours per day. Customers have the convenience of being able to buy your product or service at any time.
- Substantially Less Overhead - An online presence requires only a small financial commitment. There is no need to pay rent and employee salaries each month and startup costs are much cheaper. An online shop can often be run with only one or two people. The only fixed expenses required are monthly hosting fees and the initial cost of setting up the e-shop. These costs amount to much less than those required for opening and maintaining a physical store.
What is needed to start?
To integrate your business with e-Commerce, the first thing you need to do is come up with a business plan. An e-Commerce venture should be treated as seriously as any other business venture. This is why you need to have a good understanding of how you want to sell your products and services online. It may be helpful to review and discuss this plan with a local e-Commerce expert.
You need to contact a service provider that can build the required solution needed to support your sales strategy. During this stage, you also need to contract with one of the payment service providers to connect your online solution with a payment gateway (this will allow you to collect online payments).
The final step is launching and promoting your online business. Your customers and potential customers need to know that your new offering is available and how they can take advantage of it. If you truly want to be successful in e-Commerce, you have to keep improving your offerings and promoting your business as much as possible. Simply building a website and assuming people will use it will prove entirely ineffective.
What e-Commerce solutions are available?
The most common e-Commerce solution available is called an e-Shop. If you have products or services you would like to sell, an e-shop is the easiest way to do this. Service providers such as Azercell, Bakielectricshebeke, and AzeriGaz can implement a solution that is connected with their internal billing systems. When customers pay, their account is updated automatically. Charities can use even a simpler solution that doesn't require any billing system integration. They can collect donations online using Paypal or any other such service. Very little effort is required for this.
One of the great things about e-Commerce is virtually any business can incorporate it. It is simply a matter of determining what will work best for you.
Success Stories
There aren't many success stories in Azerbaijan because e-Commerce is such a new concept. A few local companies that have really embraced e-Commerce are Bakielectricshebeke, Bakcell, and TQDK. Each offers online bill payment services that have been quite successful.
Amazon, Paypal, and Expedia are international examples of major e-commerce successes.
Common e-Commerce Mistakes
Here are a few common mistakes companies make when integrating e-Commerce:
- No Business Plan - As mentioned earlier, an e-Commerce venture should be treated as seriously as any other. This means doing the required market research, ensuring that finances are available, and developing a thorough business plan. Developing this information will often lead to a change in plans or even the realization that an e-Commerce solution is not appropriate to the nature of your business or business goals.
- Little or No Promotion - Implementing an e-Commerce solution is not and should not be the end of the story. Customers are not going to magically appear at your e-shop just because you launched it. The key here is letting people know what is now available. This means spending money on promotion, just like you would for a physical store.
- Lack of Continued Improvements - Once you launch your e-Commerce solution, it is important to continuously monitor it and make improvement where necessary. Listen to your customers' feedback as to what is working and what isn't working.
What is the current state of e-Commerce in Azerbaijan?
e-Commerce is still in its infant stages here. Most major merchants have implemented some form of online payment solution, whether it is collecting bill payments or selling products, while consumers are slowly getting accustomed to the idea that they can make payments online.
e-Commerce Law
Azerbaijan has a law governing e-Commerce as well as other statutes that affect some aspect of e-Commerce. The Government is considering the possibility of changes to the e-Commerce Law as well enacting a law to address cybercrime in line with the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime that has been ratified by Azerbaijan.
The draft e-Commerce law is available here
The draft e-Signature law is available here
Useful Links
Goldenpay – an online payment service provider in Azerbaijan
Azericard – an online payment service provider in Azerbaijan
e-commerce.ru – Russian e-Commerce site
e-commerce.com.ua – Ukrainian e-Commerce site
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Information on electronic commerce was provided by the USAID-funded Trade and Investment Reform Support Program (TIRSP), a three year program (2007-2010) designed to improve the transparency, predictability and market friendliness of the trade and investment policy and institutional environment in Azerbaijan. |
