Consumers are shopping online in greater numbers than ever before. Kore Technologies is working to help its brick-and-mortar clients begin to adapt to the e-commerce world.
Kore Technologies offers the KommerceServer eCommerce Suite, which contains a webStoreFront, webPortal, webAdminstration and Mobile Edition. The suite also contains out-of-the-box functionality for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) eCommerce environments.
According to Ken Dickinson, co-founder and managing partner at Kore Technologies, e-commerce is a growing force and not all business executives are convinced that e-commerce fits their business model. In addition, some businesses are concerned they may not have the manpower or technological acumen to operate an e-commerce site for their organization.
And, once an e-commerce site is created, there are still other factors to consider. “It’s not easy. You just don’t put a website up, and people start coming in droves. You have to develop and maintain relevant content and drive traffic to the website,” said Dickinson.
A key factor to driving traffic involves Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which is the process of making websites more visible through search engines. “There are other marketing activities that can help drive traffic,” explains Keith Lambert, vice president of marketing and business development, “online ads, email and social media campaigns can be used to increase traffic and support the business model.”
Another consideration is the competition on price that brick and mortar stores often face. Certain companies can offer discounted prices for their online merchandise because of their lack of a physical presence. But while it may sound daunting, Kore contends there are approaches that brick and mortar stores can deploy to create e-commerce success.
According to Dickinson, there are emerging strategies to position the e-commerce site with respect to the brick and mortar stores. One is to deploy a website that is an extension of the physical store, honoring the same product pricing. Another strategy is to use the website to help drive customers to the physical stores through content and promotion. It may be strategic to have the website drive traffic to your actual customers, who may be retailers or service providers (e.g., contractors). Some companies have chosen to create an online-only store that is not affiliated by name to the brick and mortar store.
In each case, a physical store is still valuable for customers. With the proper strategy, adding an e-commerce presence can be complementary to the business, says Dickinson. He notes the benefits of an online presence are now so compelling that it has become difficult to ignore.
For more information, go here.