1. 1 Chapter Seven Ecommerce Strategy

2. Learning objectives  Strategic positioning of ecommerce  Competitive advantage from ecommerce 2

3. Introduction  Internet has impacted on the way we interacted with friends, carried out our business operations  Has impacted on brand equity of a firm  Has created competitive advantage  Has built brand awareness in online markets through ecommerce route  existing brand assets online  competitive ecommerce initiatives 3

4. CASE : Indian Railways – strategic initiatives using ecommerce  The company initially dealt with automating business processes only. It provided ticketing facilities to customers who benefitted from its transparent operations (through ecommerce). Today, it has used ecommerce to collaborate with other logistics partners to provide tourism services, hotel accommodation, flight tickets. This case can also be compared with Amazon.com, where using ecommerce capabilities, they have taken strategic initiatives to provide kindle and tablet based ebooks. 4

5. Brand equity through ecommerce  Brand equity  attracts good human resources  justifies higher margins  builds influence over distribution channels  Takes time to be built over time by  investing in mass-media advertising  reliable customer service  Brand equity through ecommerce  Removes constraints of geography  timeliness,  at reduced cost  Mass advertisement  Deeper reach 5

6. Assessing readiness of existing brands  Determine brand equity  Assess the risks involved in being the first mover in the industry  Assess the readiness of customers for online surfing  Assess brand compatibility with ecommerce and online marketing  Assess the degree of transparency for the products (in terms of product information, pricing  Alignment with changing customer behavior  encourages customer-to-customer communications 6

7. Summary To remain competitive in ecommerce business, a firm should -  Increase in repeat business  Using interactive technology  Creating a brand equity  Strategic initiative to collaborate with business partners  Advertisement (digital)  Consistent performance 7