The four types of e-commerce and its importance

A consumer looking for a gift browsing an online shopping website. A business owner bought lots of bonds in a manufacturing company. One mother posted a slightly used crib on her social media that she wanted to sell. And an influencer who agreed to become a brand manager. These situations convey a business model called electronic commerce. And that’s what the marketing industry revolves around today.

Electronic commerce, or probably called e-commerce, refers to the purchase and sale of products and services that use the Internet. It is often used for the sale of physical products online and can also be defined as all commercial transactions that are facilitated via the Internet, such as bank and money transfers.

While e-commerce refers to all aspects of online business, e-commerce refers exclusively to transactions of goods and services. Since your company is now an e-commerce company, you work online and customers can also contact you via online customer service. Due to the limitations of some companies, especially start-ups and small marketers who only have a short budget, they choose to outsource their customer service.

Outsourcing customer service operates in four important market aspects:

Business to Consumer or B2C is a business transaction between a company and a consumer and considers the most typical type of e-commerce. An example is when a consumer bought a pair of shoes from an online retailer. It is a business-customer relationship, and a business owner must provide outsourced customer service if he wants to maintain customer loyalty to the brand.

Business to Business or B2B – it refers to the business transaction between companies. Consumers are not involved in this type of e-commerce, but only for both companies. An example of B2B is a company that receives service from an accounting firm for its accounting processes. Thus, it can also refer to customer service.

Consumer to Consumer or C2C is one of the earliest forms of e-commerce. C2C refers to the purchase and sale of goods and services between consumers. For example, you sold your used device to another consumer by publishing it on your social media account.

Consumer to Business or C2B refers to consumers who sell their products or services to a company. For example, a professional digital artist sells his artwork to a publisher.

Now that you know about e-commerce and its kind, your next question may be the importance of e-commerce in your business. The first meaning of e-commerce is that it gives you marketing opportunities. It’s better when your business has an online look, a website, or a page. It is one of the best marketing tools that lead you to more chances to reach potential customers by using SEO and finding in search engines. You can also take advantage of other digital marketing such as pay-per-click advertising, social media marketing, and email marketing.

Another importance of outsourcing customer service, it helps reduce your costs. With an online store, you do not have to present all your products in one physical space. Therefore, e-commerce can save your operating costs such as rent, electricity, Internet, and others. E-commerce can also expand your brand. From bricks and mortar, you can take your products or services to a more innovative and large marketing horizon. Due to the Internet availability, you have the opportunity for more business expansion. You can reach millions of people around the world, especially that you can offer your products 24/7.

Outsourcing customer service is best done through OnlineFactory.