Behaviors Inherent in E-Tailing (in Business-To-Consumer Relationships

¶ … behaviors inherent in e-tailing (in business-to-Consumer relationships / communications). Note the communications medium in which each behavior occurs.

Explain how each medium enables e-commerce.

E-tailing is the business of electronic retailing or retailing over the Internet (*). There are three types of e-tailing behavior: independent, intervening variables, and dependent variables.

Independent:

The independent retailer will want to know two variables of the people who generally resort to e-commerce. These are: (a) personal characteristics and (b) environmental characteristics. The retailer will want to know the buying habits of the consumers in order to target a given market. These demographics include age, gender, marital status, occupation and income.

The retailer, too, will want to know the environmental variables, namely background variables of what or who influence the consumer; where the consumer shops; what the consumer would like to buy and so forth. This is so in order that the retailer would know where to advertise.

2. Intervening variables

These are variables that the retailer controls and that include factors such as pricing, advertising, branding, technical support and consumer service. Advertising is mostly done by social media outlets such as Facebook or blogs. Online pricing has to be competitive and includes shipping rates. Since e-commerce is extremely competitive with consumers browsing for cheapest rates, retailers have the challenging task of combining quality with attractive cost.

Retailers monitor success of their 'intervening variables' by hosting consumer service on their website. This enables the business to see whether consumers are interested in their product and return for more.

3. Dependent variable

This factor actually involves consumer decision-making protocol where consumer decides what it is he actually wants to buy, which site seems to be most attractive, where it would be cheapest for him to go, which product would be better for him to buy, and so forth. In other words, this involves all the elements that constitute the buying decision.

All three variables singly and together constitute, and enable, e-commerce to occur.

Analyze each behavior using the communication process. The analysis should include descriptions of the purpose, sender, receiver, message, environment, technology, noise, and feedback.

Each of these factors of the communication process makes up the milieu of e-commerce.

The purpose is the reasons that the consumer wishes to browse the web: he is seeking something specific to buy at a certain, undetermined or predetermined cost.

The sender is the seller. The seller 'sends' the message that he has one or more products that can fulfill consumer's needs

The receiver is the consumer. The consumer sends the message that he may be potentially interested in one or more products on retailer's site. He wonders whether product meets all of his needs.

The message is that which is sent between sender and receiver consisting of the attractiveness of the e-commerce website and the message of what it is that buyer has to sell.

The environment consists of the online environment which is where sender and receiver are communicating.

The technology is the internet. It is the internet which relays message and serves as medium between buyer and consumer.

Noise is distractions form other sites, distractions inherent in internet, possible internet disturbance, and possible distractions in client's own environment.

Feedback represents recipient responding to sender, usually via consumer service, and sender trying to understand recipient's needs.

Develop and Write your own sample persuasive message aimed at a virtual audience

We each want to be happy today and are told that happiness involves looking within and searching out one's faults. What about if it were the reverse and constituted looking without and searching the faults of the society that one lives in? There are so many tales of unhappy people who are made so by their society. Just look at the starving people of the Indian continent? Why do they become so? Because they believe that they have to eat stocking legs for breakfast. This is nonsense and only demonstrates how harmful a society's teachings can be.

These ideas and how to recognize and retaliate them are presented in this NEW, ORIGIANL, ONE-OF-A-KIND e-book that has just now been produced by Seagates & co. All your friends will be cramming to buy it. Why not be the first? The price is cheap: only $1.00 -- reduced to 50 cents for first comers. You think that your environment may not be polluting? Research has found that all environments are. We all want to make the best choice: climb the right mountains in life. Doing so will help you now and in the future.

This e-book is a revolutionary as Rachel' Carson's 'Silent Springs'. Rather than dealing with physical pollution. It talks about social pollution. Most people will want it. Be the first to agree.

evaluate why it is (or isn't) effective.

The mock-situation, absurdly contrived, hypothetical letter is partially effective and partially not. I wrote it with the 11 persuasive techniques in mind. These are: repetition, reasons why, consistency, social proof, comparisons, agitate and solve, prognosticate, go tribal, address objections and storytelling. (Clark, 2010).

Repetition -- this involves repeating a certain point a few times, possibly by using a quote or an example as per technique. I failed insufficiently to do this. The message may have been more effective had I, in different ways, elaborated on the purpose of my e-book and how it would satisfy consumer's needs (even if they do not recognize those needs).

Reasons why -- I gave them a reason why they should buy the book: they want to make the most of their lives, identify and select 'social pollution' in order to live the right way and be happy. Perhaps I should have amplified and made this clearer.

Consistency -- I tried to be consistent in my message throughout; to display one consistent meaning with a beginning, middle, and end and not to confuse readers with different directions. Ideally, there should be one point and all linking to that one point. Product also needs to show that it is consistent with consumer's other needs and that people are generally interested in it.

Social proof -- this is done sometimes but not always. It constitutes testimonials from other content consumers. I did not include it in this place since product is new.

Comparison -- comparing product to other so consumers can understand product's value. I compared it to Carson's system. In another case, I can show how product is cheaper to that sold by another (major) company.