The Advantages of Electronic Commerce
Electronic commerce is essentially a marketplace on the internet, including buying, selling, trading, and all the traditional aspects and services of a market. The Electronic commerce emerged recently through the information based-age, and is universally impacting the traditional conceptions and manners of the limits of business. At first the outsourcing conception transformed the material production industry and is now extending into all areas of profession including that of the legal field. The following is a list of the significant potential ways in which EC can alter the legal field:
- Electronic commerce enables law firms to find and face new markets all over the world economically and effectively, this approach greatly assists the law firms in the way that they “sell” their service to the entire world via the network. The network also permits customers to “purchase” the services offered by law firms from home and abroad, without the need to make long drives to see the attorney in person.
- With the web-secretarial service, websites can be constantly updated and modified to reach a broader client population, whether it be adding an additional language translation function or offering web-secretaries that offer direct online customer service.
- With a customer service platform, as provided by DE, the law firms may have a recorded case status for clients to view in an online portfolio of the client, accessible only through a password. This way communication between law firms and clients can be more expedient and trustable, replacing the age old phone call updating and the stamp postage costs. Clients can check their case, any information the attorney have left them, and leave questions for secretaries to answer right through the customer service center.
- E-commerce can greatly increase the cooperation between legal fields, being able to recommend clients to each other and create a web of support for each others insufficiencies. A service that one law firm is unable to provide can be easily transferred to a partner firm through the web.
- Through electronic commerce, law firms can promote their products and service online such as the area of practice, seminar tapes, legal books, online-consultation services, and so on.
- Direct online consultation between the clients and the law firm’s website is one of the greatest technological advantages for service related occupations. Clients can ask questions and get ready responses right on the web, without fearing what to say, or have their voices exposed. With such a readily available communication platform, not only are efficiency between current clients made optimal but also serves as a great marketing strategy to draw in potential clients.
- The transferring of funds through the internet has recently become more and more the preferred means of payment, whether through the services of banks, credit cards, or online payment companies such as PayPal. Electronic commerce utilizes this efficient way of transferring money and eliminates the much more time consuming pay-by-check or money order delivery.
- Electronic commerce on websites enables law firms to provide potential clients with a searching-for-service device to better prepare their profiles. This way any client interested in the relevant services the law firm provides, the client may search first and then ask their questions accordingly.