eBusiness & eCommerce Development

The Changing Landscape of Commerce

eRichards Consulting has been working in the web space since 1995, with the creation of a payment mechanism for Bankers Trust. Since then, we have branched out to other industries, including the publishing field with the following clients: Simon & Schuster, Pearson, Scholastic and Taunton Press. We have worked on companion websites, marketing, informational, portals and eCommerce sites in both the B to B and B to C space. eRichards has expanded into other industries, including: Financial, Utility, Media, Direct Selling, Manufacturing, Insurance, Non-profit and Retail. Some of our web channel clients include United Illuminating, MoMA, Chanel, Greenfield Online, Nabisco and L.L. Bean. 

One of eRichards key services is providing web channel assessments for our clients. This service has been warmly received by clients who are looking to take their website to the next level by evaluating the current state of their website. The web is constantly evolving, so clients need to review their site on a periodic basis to stay current and leverage new paradigms. Doing this can make the client’s web channel more efficient, whether by increasing revenue, providing service, marketing new products or raising the awareness of a single brand. In fact, the significance of the web channel to a company’s bottom line is an annual revenue of over $2 trillion in North America alone.

• Open Source, .Net and Java
• Complete Implementation and Customization
• Integration with Legacy Systems
• SAP (All Modules)
• Enterprise Infrastructure
• Staff Augmentation
• Consulting and Permanent Positions

eRichards has a methodology that covers: Goals, Traffic, Stakeholders, Metrics, Marketing Strategy and Alignment, Growth Drivers, Brand Analysis, Web Site Functionality, Strength of Community, Web Assets Usage and Corporate Culture within the web channel.

Here is one example of a recent utility’s web channel assessment. Upon the completion of the assessment, the following occurred: more people started paying their bills, which increased revenue from $10 million to $15 million per month or an increase of 60 million dollars per year. The client’s internal awareness on their website also rose, which resulted in additional funding, ownership and visibility on the CEO’s radar. The www.uinet.com brand rose within the organization because all groups became aware of its importance, especially the significant relationship to the call center.

Service is one of the major growth drivers in the utility sector. Service is a crucial growth driver and focal point; therefore, it needs to be owned, funded and measured.

Some of eRichards successes include:

• Quadrupled revenue at MoMA
• Creation of Nabisco’s eBusiness Technical Architecture
• Construction of the eCommerce backbone for Simon & Schuster
• Construction of the eCommerce backbone for Pearson
• Consultation with L.L. Bean to reduce costs on legacy silo
• Web channel assessment for United Illuminating
• Web channel assessment for Herbalife
• Web channel assessment for Shaklee
• Web channel assessment for MoMA
• Creation of a Single Sign-on for Con Edison
• Creation of portal for Greenfield Online
• Construction of the payment mechanism for Bankers Trust
• Technology assessments for internal groups at Bankers Trust
• Technology assessment for Onyx Environmental Services
• Technology assessment for Enzon Pharmaceutical

The web has become the most important communication channel for businesses and organizations today. It can often be the first touch point with your customer and it must process communication in an effective manner. The web has the ability to influence events, raise brand awareness on products, people and events; and broadcast critical information through many devices. eRichards believes that the web strategy we develop for clients needs to be a collaborative effort between eRichards and the client. CEO of eRichards, Mark Richards brings over 15 years of web channel expertise from enterprise to mid-market cap clients.

Web Channel Assessments provide the roadmap to a web strategy. Through this process much of the company’s business model is reviewed. Each distribution channel requires a consistent strategy and marketing message as all of these channels have a direct relationship to each other.

Creating an effective web decision model is critical for a website’s success. Without ownership, funding or vision the web channel cannot be directed in the right direction or be expected to attract both traffic and revenue. eRichards proposed a decision model at another utility company that was adopted and successful.

Social networking is one critical area which should be leveraged in broadcast communication to all of the users for that company. This allows instant broadcast capability to the user base which is much quicker than email or phone, plus it is available 24/7. Additionally, it allows companies to communicate directly with their customers, thus creating authentic conversations and improving customer satisfaction.

This becomes especially critical in the utility sector, when there are outages longer than a few hours, and the need to communicate directly to your customers on emergency procedures is critical. Through the use of mobile apps, the web channel becomes the natural path to follow, thus providing much needed relief to their customers in a very stressful time.

eRichards is passionate about the web channel and all of its possibilities. When people start identifying with sites, the usage soars. One example of a grassroots idea swelling is Facebook. Currently, they have over 500 million users, yet they have created a momentum that is much different than traditional TV advertising or other web channels. It is a prime example of bi-directional conversations that every company needs to be having with their customers. Facebook is also used by Accenture, a global consulting firm with no corporate headquarters; they use Facebook as a global directory within an intranet.

The web channel has become so strategic and critical for all organizations, regardless of type, that users become more dependent on this web asset. In turn, this raises the bar for those 2-way communications and, ultimately, for that company, event, product or person.