Week 4 Entry: E-commerce failure

SPRING 2011 COM 125: Introduction to the Internet

Blog Entry 4

E-commerce failure

Top 10 reasons why e-commerce fails (by www.bwired.com.au):

1) Lack of Strategic direction – No focus!

2) Poor user interface – Sites that are hard to use or navigate prevents people from searching any further. Solution: Have a “Site Map”!

3) Lack of Trust – Are there security settings put in place?

4) Payment gateway issues – Inaccessible payment methods.

5) Poor technology – When your site is not up-to-date.

6) Lack of Transparency – When information is not readily provided.

7) No personalization – Make sure your product promotions fit all. Not just certain groups of people.

8) Failure to manage customers – Not asking for feedback, which is very much needed especially on online sites.

9) No incentives – Lack of promotions or guarantees and so forth.

10) Poor product/service offering – When expectations are not met – like poor product quality – and thus, poor testimonies are given.

Based on the video that we watched in class the other day, there are 6 important things that need to be on any e-commerce website.

- Have an information page – “About us” page. This page tells people what exactly your company does, and what your company is all about.

- Have a “Contact us” page – with the email addresses, physical addresses, contact numbers, and times to call etc.

- Have a “Site Map” – this page allows users to easily navigate from page to page, without having to search too hard for page links.

- Have a “Why buy from us” page – the page that states incentives, guarantees, and other unique qualities and services that are offered.

- Have a “Legal information” page – this protects your business by laying out all the terms and rules.

- Finally, have a “Testimonial” page – the best things you can get out of products are stated in a black and white. If people love the product, their testimony would be one that is incredibly powerful.

Reflections on "The Social Network"

“The Social Network” depicts the beginning of one of the most popular social networking sites used in the world today. The main character Mark Zuckerberg is a brilliant, but socially-estranged young man who creates a program for the revolutionary, worldwide phenomenon Facebook.com. While he rises in fame and fortune, he loses the people who matter most to him in a series of court orders, neglect, back-stabbing and public humiliation.

I find that the movie had an interesting new concept to it as it was based on an ongoing success story from less than a decade ago. While the movie may be based on actual events in the life of Mark Zuckerberg, the script was romanticized and exaggerated to meet the demands of the audience today. The movie showed no real conclusion, which leaves it open for audience interpretation. This lack of finality might represent how constant changes are being made in our technological world, to a point that “nothing is definite”. Advancements are always being made within seconds.

I haven’t come across a person in Singapore who would actually say “Facebook me!” like shown in the movie. Even so, people of all ages in Singapore use this site daily to share thoughts, music, pictures and more in the most convenient method possible. That said, we still need to be weary of what we say or put on the Internet as everything is “recorded”, shared worldwide and can come back to haunt us - particularly in places where free speech is not tolerated.

My favorite part is where Zuckerberg sits alone in the Facebook and lawyer’s offices. The scenes emphasize his loneliness and the curse of being overly-active on the virtual platform - losing the ability to socialize in the real world. It doesn’t matter if you have a million friends on Facebook. It’s the actual interpersonal interaction that counts.