How is technology powerful in business? It is an important question in the business. In the 21^st century, technology has changed the way people buy and sell. The Internet market is becoming more common in the whole world. E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services across the Internet. It allows business the ability to sell products online. Customers may easily find the goods that they need.

Internet commerce is the next big opportunity for business, for financial institutions and for customers. But doing business on the Net means finding a secure, cost-effective and reliable way to collect payments and process transactions. Online consumers must enter their credit card number over a secure site.

Now, everyone can go shopping online. Business has more opportunity to sell their product, either on the Internet or in the store. Also, business can make more money. Business design must a well-known web sites that cause customers easily get what they want and to save money.

To start a business on the Internet, a company should have a full and good web site for customers. First of all, you should make a domain name as simple as you can. A domain name is applied and available on the head of the homepage. A simple domain name makes the buyer know your company deeply. Another one is the search engine, which allows buyer to enter a keyword to easily find a product or service. Then, text should be in one short sentence. Otherwise, the buyers will refuse to read long text and stop loading your web page. The next one is homepage. The homepage tells what is your company about, what do you sell, or offer to customers. A homepage is a form of communication to customers across the web, and any customer can come from anywhere in the world and type your address and access your home page. However, a homepage must explain simply and clearly for the buyers. In addition, web site translation makes the web site easy to understand for different buyers. Web sites should provide more than one language. Even if a Chinese person doesn't know English, she/he still can buy the products on your web site. Also, a mailing list provides buyers with an incentive to leave their name and e-mail with your business. Then you can send them full information about your product and service with extra offers. It is important for the Internet business to allow the buyers to use any credit card. If the buyers don't have a Visa Card, they can use Master Card instead of Visa.

Advertising on the Internet is focused on selling targeted ads that sell quality, material, brands and markets. When you advertise online, your ads appear in a highly focused environment. Why advertise on the web? It is a good question. Businesses advertise on web because they want to easily connect with customers. There are about a million people who get online in a day. Business will reach out to consumers all hours of the day. Business will keep asking consumers questions about their product and service. Web advertising is larger than any television, radio and newspaper ads. Also, web advertising has more information than any of them, and it is less expensive. It is one of high-tech ways to sell products.

Although every business can take full advantage of e-commerce opportunities, not all business are e-commerce companies. Even if you are not an e-commerce company, your business still can learn good lessons from the Internet. There are a series of e-commerce inspired concepts that can benefit any company (www.justsell.com):

• Become a multi-niche marketer-A few years ago, location was a big problem for the Internet customer. Now, the Internet can help customers find a good location. Customers using the Internet gravitate to those web sites that provide products and services that most closely meet their needs.
• Keep changing the company-The Web site is an important part for business in e-commerce. Customers shop on your site because they need your product or just are interested in it. To make customers come back, businesses must up-date their information everyday. For example, businesses should change the ads on their product. Customers get bored if the web repeated and repeated the same message and information.
• All of life is life-E-commerce becomes part of entertainment in our life. It allows people to express their feelings for a free life. When people get tired from their work, they just click on the web site and it transports them to so many places such as games, chat, shopping or travel, and it runs quickly.
• Give customers what they want - Information. Information is free in an e-commerce environment. The Internet knocks down all walls of access. Whether a company is to be involved in e-commerce or not, it must be an information resource for the customers.

In the 2lst century, many people get on the Internet and shop for products on the web. Now, customers are so smart! If the web isn't interesting to the customers, they won't shop again at your web sites. Even if they check the information about the products, they won't buy them. The reasons may be that the price is too high, the products are not new brands, and or there is no enough information to persuade them. People won't buy if the web sites don't provide a refund/return policy. They are afraid that if they aren't satisfied with the product, they can't return it to the company. The company may take a long time to deliver. Most customers like to hear about available products, gather information about competing products, compare that information and then they can determine whether to buy products or not. Customers won't buy a product without any information. Also, customers can shop online anytime they want to. They don't need to worry about the time because the online business is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. It is very good for busy customers.

Of course, technology runs fast in the business. The technology has changed the 4Ps in marketing. The first P is Product. It focuses on the lowest worldwide price for well-known goods. It also focuses on using technology to deliver inquire goods at the lowest worldwide price. The second P is Place. Customers don't need to run far away to the store because there is a worldwide marketplace. Customers just get on the Internet and go shopping from desktop computer. It will deliver to their house directly. The third P is Price. Customers can buy any product with the lowest price. The software agents will locate the lowest worldwide price for the customers. The last P is Promotion. This is based on web sites and targeted on personal interactive ads. The ads are posted with offers or benefits when customers check the product. An advertisement can tell all information about the product.

Before I did this project, e-commerce had never appeared in my brain, and I didn't know what e-commerce was. Doing this project, I found out e-commerce stands for electronic commerce, which means selling and buying products through the Internet. I am a person who doesn't use the computer often. I also don't like getting on the Internet. When the professor asked us to do the research project through the Internet, I realized that technology has developed so fast. In the year 2000, almost everybody has their own personal computer and there are a million people who get online everyday. Do you know how much money a business on the net can do in one hour? I think it will be a huge number. Still, I think customers like to buy online because companies have great web site designs that attract buyers.

This research helped me to know what is the task for e-commerce. The task is persuading the customers. I feel the Internet exists anywhere. It is not only businesses selling products online. Some schools or organizations are starting to work with the Internet. We can find any product in the Internet. Even when you can't go to the store, you can just click on the computer and you will find what you want. I couldn't believe it. I don't have to buy the product face to face. I don't even know who is the manager in charge of this company. The return policy is too complicated for me. I thought my credit card and privacy wouldn't be protected. Anyone can trade the credit card number. If someone stole my credit card number, and I might not know it. Some company may charge you more than you offered. That's why I refuse to shop online. Now, I am changing my mind because almost everybody get on the Internet, and they may shop on the Internet. Why don't I try? The Internet will have more fun, as I know.

My major is Travel & Tourism and I want to be a travel agent. Being a travel agent, I must have good knowledge of technology. The Internet is one of the most important parts in travel commerce. I must know how to reserve an air ticket on the Internet. This project has made me understand how products survive on the Internet. Some factors are advertising in the Internet, developing a good web site and knowing customer's behavior. These factors may affect businesses on the Internet. In my opinion, the technology has made fewer problems for business. However, it has also created more problems for business. In the future, because business will depend on technology on a lot, technology will control business. The business will not control technology. This will be a serious problem for business. Business is doing everything online. Do we still need to go to work or can we just sit in front of the computer?

Conclusion

E-commerce has established a new interactive way of doing business. Technology has changed the way of communication between the Internet and business. The Internet has become part of markets. To be successful in business, markets must work with the Internet. Technology has not only enhanced customers' satisfaction, but has also provided insight for improving products and services. E-commerce will replace the television, radios, and newspaper in the future as it helps the way we are purchasing and selling goods and services.

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