Network World highlights biggest e-commerce mistakes

[March 26th 2001]

Some of the most galling e-commerce gaffes and how they cost companies were highlighted in Network World's third-annual Electronic Commerce Issue published earlier this month. Network World asked industry experts what they learned when it comes to e-commerce and published these findings in its Electronic Commerce Signature Series Issue, which provides network IT professionals with a guide to designing, building and managing effective e-comm systems.

Here's a snapshot of some of the most common mistakes that companies make when implementing e-commerce initiatives.

• Customer Service Meltdown: Inadequate attention to customer service, whether by telephone or e-mail, is a surefire way to lose customers.

• Inadequate order fulfillment: Supporting single-unit online sales is entirely different than stocking physical stores. Seven companies, including Toysrus.com and Macys.com, were fined a total of $1.5 million by the Federal Trade Commission for missed shipping dates and failure to notify customers of shipping problems.

• Use of primitive search and transaction tools: Seconds count in online shopping satisfaction. The fastest of 12 apparel sites, benchmarked by performance monitor Keynote Systems, let visitors find an item in less than 10 seconds. The slowest sites took roughly 25 seconds.

• Failure to globalize: To compete, companies need to address a global audience, according to IDC. A start-up rushing to get online may postpone international plans, intending to get the kinks out of the business before expanding overseas. But that could give local competitors the edge.

• Building community, not clientele: Placing too much emphasis on building a community instead of clientele is a short path to insolvency.

• Insufficient budgets: Deploying the Web site is just the beginning of a company's e-commerce expenditures. Web site maintenance costs can mount rapidly and easily exceed development costs, so needs to be factored into the budget.

• Channel conflict: Existing companies often leap into Internet sales without considering their channel partners. An infamous example is Levi Strauss & Co., which launched a site that sold jeans to consumers and angered its authorized dealers. A year later, it was forced to retool the site and now refers consumers to its retailers.

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