When you are developing a Web site to make high profits on the Internet, it's important to understand the difference between electronic commerce (e-commerce) and electronic business (e-business). E-business is all encompassing, including any type of business you do online. It includes e-commerce (selling) and all other aspects of business online. If you only focus on the e-commerce aspect of e-business you may be missing a major opportunity for profiting from the Internet.

Most people associate e-commerce with the shopping basket type of Web site where you browse through various items for sale and add them to your shopping basket. Each item added to the basket is automatically recorded on your bill, which is summarized and usually paid at the end of your e-commerce session by typing in your credit card number and shipping address for the items you just selected for purchase.

In addition to this type of e-commerce, Web sites offer many other, sometimes overlooked, opportunities for e-business. A report by Ernst & Young LLP and the National Retail Foundation (NRF) shows the World Wide Web's power to drive consumer purchases to other channels is being overlooked.

NRF/Ernst & Young's study revealed 64 percent of those with Internet access use it to research products and services and later buy them through "traditional channels," including in-person retail and via the telephone. The 64 percent figure is double the percentage of consumers who research and buy the same products online.

"The Internet is much more than a passive advertising vehicle," said Ernst & Young Marketing Vice Chairman Stephanie M. Shern. Purchase decisions by consumers appear to be accelerated by the Internet. Shern said, "Retailers and manufacturers must understand this to unlock the incredible value of the Internet."

Many retailers have established Internet/online presences for marketing and brand development purposes. But some have no plans to use the Internet for direct sales because of the "unsuitability of their (products) for Web sales."

Items appearing to sell well on the Internet, according to the study, include computers, software, books, travel, music, and magazine subscriptions. In addition, apparel is emerging as a "viable" online category.

It is important to understand the frustrations of online shoppers so you can provide a friendlier, more satisfying shopping experience at your Web site. Not everybody has found a smooth-sailing electronic commerce experience, according to a study from new media research concern Jupiter Communications and NFO Interactive. The survey suggests retailers should be more concerned with customer service and retaining Internet buyers, rather than just generating sales and market share.

Even though e-commerce revenues for the past holiday shopping were higher than ever, many sites under-performed. A rush of traffic to some e-commerce sites either slowed or crashed them entirely. "Companies spent considerable dollars to acquire the customers that visited their sites," said Nicole Vanderbilt, senior analyst for Jupiter Communications. "If they do not shift their efforts to alleviate technology issues and improve customer service in the coming months, they risk losing the customers they spent so much to acquire."

The biggest source of consumer dissatisfaction came from items being out of stock, Jupiter said. High shipping costs came in second, while slow site performance placed third.

Those who shop online are no longer the early adopters who have more patience with new technologies and services; nowadays, the mass-market consumer is clicking on the "buy" button at e-commerce sites, Jupiter said. Those "typical" consumers are "far less forgiving of technical shortcomings," Jupiter officials said.

Consumer watchdog group Public Eye showed a failure to deliver goods on time was the greatest source of customer dissatisfaction with online merchants. When goods were not delivered on time, the Public Eye survey found delivery delays that ran from a couple days to a couple months beyond customer expectations.

If you already have an e-business Web site, this should give you a few things to consider to make even larger profits using the Internet. If you are just getting started on the Internet, be aware the you don't have to spend a small fortune to begin doing e-business or e-commerce. One of the easiest ways we have found to get started is to use a credible low-cost hosting service, like HostMonster (see ad below), that has excellent support to help you every step of the way. HostMonster is rather unique in that they only charge a very small monthly fee ($6.95/month) and that includes hosting all the Web sites you wish to have for the one low cost. HostMonster also has the best technical support staff in the business who actually answer their phones and quickly assist you in whatever you need for your Web site.

Terry Kibiloski, Editor of Computer Times, presented seminars at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) national convention on Creating a Successful E-Commerce Web Site. If you would like this presentation given to your company or group, send an e-mail to comptimes@aol.com with the subject line E-COMMERCE WEB SITE PRESENTATION.

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