Re: UKNM: CommerceNet?

[Neil Ellul]

Clay / Steve


Thank you both for your insightful comments, even if they are a little 

misinformed.


 >> Anybody know anything about this "scheme"? Or CommerceNet? And is this

 >> as much of a bald-faced grab to badger merchants into paying in for a

 >> worthless kite mark as it seems?


If you had bothered to look into this, you would have seen that the 

Internet Marketing Project has little to do with developing kite marks.


ComerceNet Members are looking to formulate viable "processes" for 

ecommerce development. The only logical way to do this is to talk to the 

companies using these processes and have the industry agree the minimum 

quality levels it is prepared to endorse.


 >Still the best 'best practice' code available is the IMRG's


While IMRG's code is a very worthwhile document, I tend to think its better 

to develop best practice through experience, discussion and practical 

implementation rather than just making it up and attaching a pretty logo.


 >There are no costs associated with using the code (so long as you don't 

want to wear the IMRG's 'kitemark')


We won't be charging for a logo as there is little value in that. There may 

well be varying charges for the accreditation process itself (depending on 

what level is sought), but this will not be a commercial activity on 

CommerceNet's part (being a non-profit organisation). CommerceNet Members 

will decide any charges and how they will be implemented.


Personally, I would like to see the project concentrate on an entry level 

that is accessible to the smallest of companies. There are many new media 

companies going out of business due to market forces, however, it is their 

customers that are getting screwed along the way.


Conversely, larger companies do find value in accreditation processes, and 

there will be a "framework" developed for them also. This end of the 

accreditation will go in to great detail with regards to best practice, 

training, policing of "other" kit marks (Date Protection etc) and liability.


 >The barrier to ecommerce is *starting* the consumer relationship. Once 

someone has had a good >experience - Amazon, Travelocity, anywhere - they 

no longer need to be sold on the idea of >ecommerce generally


That is total rubbish. Because a consumer has a good experience with 

Amazon, doesn't mean they are an ecommerce devotee for life. A consumer's 

impression of shopping online is only as good as their "last" transaction.


It only takes one bad experience to put consumers off permanently, and lets 

face it, most of what happens online is "often" a bad experience.


IMHO, it is naive to think that online retailers will develop best practice 

because they are nice people. The brands that concentrate on customer 

services will do better, but there will be many more people doing it wrong 

in the meantime.


 >I do like the idea of a checklist of 'evolved common sense',


Glad to hear it, because that is exactly the purpose of the project, 

although we are trying to push the "evolution" a bit faster.


 >but I'm guessing that CommerceNet is trying to turn that into a revenue  stream

 >with this cloaked-in-secrecy plan of theirs


Hmmm!!. By "cloaked-in-secrecy" I presume you mean (Clay) you haven't read 

it properly.


We did send the project plan out under NDA to non-Members, but that was 

purely to focus the minds of the people reading it. In other words, they 

had to commit to looking at it before we sent it to them. This has made for 

very productive meetings, and I am glad we did it this way.


BTW its at http://www.q4.com/cnet.objects/ExtObj-1/CNUK5003-IMPProjPlan.pdf

for all to see.


(Note: be gentle with it as our new site is still in beta. Also, it only 

really works with IE4+ at the moment)


And did anyone tell you that the accreditation is going to be branded as 

"CommerceNet"? I'd like to know if they have, because that hasn't been 

decided yet!


Cheers

Neil



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Check out

http://www.commercenet.org.uk/about/aboutdocs.html

for current Members list and activities

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Neil Ellul

Managing Director

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Tel:0171 916 2875  http://www.commerce.net

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