Product reviews are a really effective way to get a flood of traffic in one shot
to your website. But it stops there - once the review is over, the traffic will
probably taper off.
Reviews are great if you have your own product and you’d like to build
awareness for it. If you drop ship, reviews might not have the best ROI
because a lot of other people are selling the same stuff, too.
If you approach a blogger for a review, they probably won’t say no - it’s an
opportunity to try free stuff! Sometimes, bloggers can send the item back to
you once the review is done, so you might be able to send it back to your
drop shipper, too.
When scouting a place to do a review, make sure that they have a decent
sized blog, with a good following and a generous number of social media
followers.
Best case scenario: You get a flood of orders and a giant customer database
to do email marketing.
Worst case scenario: You get a nice relevant backlink.
32
The ROI on the worst case scenario is much lower, of course, so make sure
you do the math properly before you go ahead with this one.
Quick Tip: Reviews are effective for low-cost, consumable products. If you
have something like that, definitely go for it. But if your goods have lifespans
of years, perhaps you could better spend your money elsewhere.
As it can be seen, most of the arrows are
bi-directional. This is because there is influence on both sides. More
specifically, limitations of Mobile Networks (e.g. relatively low bandwidth) or
of hand held terminals (e.g. small screens) impose certain requirements on MEC
applications and services and, at the same time, limitations of existing
applications demand further improvements from networks and hand held terminals.
The arrow from mobile network infrastructure on hand held terminals denotes
that
·
There are higher risks to
data stored and transactions performed in mobile devices, since it is easier
for mobile devices to be accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost than for fixed
devices.
1.1
Mobility
The big promise of wireless networks is the
mobility that is offered to users. Apart
from C-autonomy, mobility is the other main factor that determines the network
architecture. GSM infrastructure allows roaming all over the world, i.e. the
user can get access to voice and data services basically in any other GSM
network (in practice of course the operators must have roaming contract).
Further, GSM technology guarantees that voice calls and data services are
available while moving, irrespective of the cell borders. That is, user can
drive through several cells and be able to continue a phone call or data
connection without interruption, even if the base station servicing the device
is changed maybe several times. This is
facilitated by the so-called hand-over mechanism. Similar mechanisms exist for
WLANs. The network infrastructure keeps track of the location of the devices automatically.
They need only to register at one base station.
Mobility causes diverse phenomena. First, while visiting a foreign
country, the services offered by the telecom network used might differ from
those at home. This might have drastic consequences for MEC, if the e-commerce infrastructure used needs
them. Maybe the user cannot recharge the battery in the country.
Then, in a smaller scale, the bandwidth
might vary, if a mobile terminal rely on low bandwidth networks outdoor, while
inside a building it may be offered reliable high-bandwidth connectivity or
even operate connected via wireline connections. Moreover, there may be areas
with no adequate coverage resulting in disconnections while on the move. There may be also
variability in the provision of specific services, such as in the type of
available printers or local weather reports. Finally, the resources available
to a mobile element vary, for example, a docked computer or PDA has more memory
or is equipped with a larger screen.
Mobility also raises very important
security and authentication issues. Is this device that registers stolen? Is it
certainly the device it claims to be? Is
the user really that one who he/she claims to be? These issues are handled more closely in
(Tang, Veijalainen, 2001).
2.
Applications
and Services in Mobile E-Commerce (MEC)
2.1 Factors affecting MEC
applications and services
Hand held terminals can be
considered as access devices to Internet. As such, they don't change the nature
of Internet applications. However, services and applications successfully being
offered over the Internet (e.g. financial or travel services), in order to have
similar success in MEC, they need to take into account the peculiarities of
mobile wireless computing and wireless devices analysed before as well as the
different needs of mobile users and the different usage of hand held devices:
users need location-based services (e.g. maps, nearby restaurants) as well as
personalized information and services, e.g.
time management facilities and access to personal information in an easy
and secure way. Furthermore, the use of mobile terminals makes them an ideal
candidate for becoming an electronic wallet. Security issues are essential and
compromises have to be made between the provided security and functionality.
Figure 1 shows the impact of various factors on MEC applications and services.
