Learn how electronic commerce can move your business into the next millennium
By Stacey Wenzel
Back in December, when just about everyone was hustling to complete his or her holiday shopping, a booming number of people turned to the Internet.
A study conducted by Jupiter Communications, New York, estimated that 44 percent of the online households in the U.S. shopped via the Internet during November and December--spending $3.14 billion.
What does this prove?
Consumers are demanding that businesses have online options--and companies that don't may lose out on sales to competitors who are online.
Distributors can use the Internet to help grow their businesses by prospecting for leads, generating quotes with an instant printed record and finding unique savings through special offers, for example.
E-bound Customers
"With the electronic side of the industry on the rise and with the Internet in general, it's obvious that electronic commerce is the future," said Jeff Hallstrom, vice president of sales and marketing at TFP Data Systems, Oxnard, Calif. "Not getting involved would be a big mistake."
According to Hallstrom, TFP's Web site is very user-friendly. "We take our page and customize it for the distributor. For a fraction of the cost the distributor would spend doing it himself, we can make the site look and feel like the distributor's," he said. "End-users don't realize they are actually jumping to the TFP site."
Hallstrom added that orders are routed two ways--to the distributor or directly to TFP.
"The billing depends on the situation," he said. "It typically goes to the distributor first, and then is di-rected to us.
"Our Web site is really a work in progress," added Hallstrom. "It's taken about two to three years to really make it worthwhile and have functionality. Our site is a tool for the customer, not just information."
Features on TFP's Web site in-clude online ordering, tracking, or-der status and information on government-compliant issues. "We up-date the site about three times a day," he said.
Aaron Hyte, president of EMA Speciality Envelopes and More, At-lanta, has spent approximately two years developing EMA's Web site and the Envelector, a 150-page online guide to envelope products. Quotations, ordering and requesting samples are just a few of the functions offered on the site.
"A lot of sites out there are just a three-page brochure that a sales representative could easily hand out," Hyte said. "There has to be some more substance to it. You have to satisfy your customer to bring him back again.
"You want to create a tool that your customer will continue to use," he said. "Some ways of doing this are by offering exclusive sales cou-pons as a gift to Web site visitors, and adding areas within the site that have great depth about the products."
Hyte added that EMA is a trade source that gives its distributors the leads it receives from the Inter-net. "End-users see information on our Web site and contact us directly," he said. "What we do is look up one of our distributors in the end-user's ZIP code and ask if they are interested in contacting the end-user. If we have no distributor customers in that area, then we look up a prospect."
Hyte said that EMA then follows up by sending an e-mail to the end-user explaining that the distributor will be calling that day to respond to the inquiry. "Distributors now call EMA to be put on our calling list," he added.
"We really don't have a choice with electronic commerce," said Jeff Neely, senior vice president and central regional manager for the Dallas-based distributorship, Pre-cept. "Distributors are solutions providers. We have to meet [customers'] needs or someone else will.
"Precept has found many advantages to doing business online," Neely said. "You can be more creative in providing solutions and also conduct business more efficiently. Electronic commerce can eliminate faxes, proofs and other processes." He added that electronic commerce is an excellent way to gather and distribute information.
"We have a system that includes features such as Internet-driven forms management, services and electronic forms with several levels of intelligence," he said.
Speed and flexibility are just two of the benefits of being on the In-ternet, according to Hallstrom. "Our customer service representatives are located on the West Coast and try to cover all the time zones," he said. "With the Internet, a customer can get the information needed 24-hours a day."
In addition, Hallstrom noted that while using electronic commerce eliminates human error, "That also means that customers don't talk to people, which can be seen as a downside."
Hyte noted some other areas that need improvement.
E-mailing art work. Hyte explained that distributors need to e-mail the correct fonts, documents and picture files. Faxing a copy of what the art should look like is also critical.
E-mail confirmation. Whether a distributor is receiving quotes or a manufacturer is sending confirmations, it can be difficult to know when or if the other side received the information sent.
Delivery time. "People think that e-mail gets to the recipient in-stantly, but it doesn't always," said Hyte. "Using a fax machine is still faster for the urgent request."
- Companies:
- Envelopes & More
- TFP Data Systems