|
VIEWING 1 - 4 OUT OF 4 BLOGS.
Successful E-Commerce
DATE: 09/28/2007 13:15:12 / MOOD: happy
Internet activity soared in the late 90’s. Many joined the bandwagon of cyber technologies in their enterprises. For this reason, internet growth is impeccable resulting to the emergence of internet revolution. Then, Web 1.0 was introduced within the commercial sites and eventually, web business prospered. Web business owners later realized that putting up a business online is more than just putting up a website.
With the growing need in sustaining the customers’ online needs, eCommerce has been introduced, a new word that became so popular these days. E-Commerce depicts the vast market available in the World Wide Web (www). It’s unstoppable and is being innovated everyday.
If you’re into venturing business and you see that online business is good for you, learn E-Commerce. Understand that e-commerce carries anything and the web is such a complex market, yet money is involved in each online transaction. However, it’s important to know that similar to a typical business, there may be some mishaps happening in the long run. Unless you take note of your business needs and aim for a profitable goal, you can never tell what would happen the next day.
Online Business Success is e-commerce
How does one become successful online? Successful stories from the Web 1.0 phenomenon also abound and these successful businesses in their electronic commerce ventures are surprisingly alive and well in the Web 2.0 context.
How can one be successful in their e-commerce? There are certain pointers that can prove to be helpful in e-commerce. These are applied by the most successful merchants online.
1. Consumers use the web to do their homework i.e. compare prices of products, look into reviews, etc. however, most people prefer directly going to their local retailers because of its immediacy. This should be a pointer to consider in setting up an ecommerce, namely, how do you turn site visitors (the potential buyers of your product) to actual buyers of your product?
2. Most websites are overly decorated. Simplicity is beautiful when we are talking about the website’s loading time. Painstakingly slow loading time kills the website. If it takes a lot of time to load, site visitors will move on to the next site. The general rule is to limit your load time from 2-10 seconds.
3. There is a huge disparity between the emphasis to advertising and the process involved in nailing a deal or closing a sell. Web-based enterprises usually focus on the hype that advertising gives. Letting people into your site is one thing, but if they cannot navigate within the site properly, they will eventually give up trying to figure it out. The information architecture of the site should be as good as the advertising and the hype. The web site of your business should be intuitively designed. Shopping and looking for items on display should be as easy as going to the mall or grocery.
4. Many firms focus on fancy nitty-gritties such as sounds, flash animation and graphics without coherence with the e-commerce process of searching, reviewing, buying, etc. Find ways so that buyers can shop in a breeze.
5. Immediacy is important. Most sites do not have a feedback mechanism that is speedy and tangible. The customer should be given that assurance. Nowadays firms have call center hotlines to call, yet surprisingly, most e-commerce sites do not even list their phone numbers, leaving the prospective buyer to emails and online forms.
If you are serious with your e-business, then finding solutions to these most basic of online problems is a must. Remember that people would not come if the site is not sound and stable, and they won’t buy if they are not satisfied.
View Entry
Forming Business Joint Ventures
DATE: 09/28/2007 13:01:19 / MOOD: happy
Starting a new business entails a lot of risks. For instance, you will have to consider your capabilities and resources because if they fall short, your business might not be as successful. To minimize risks, some people choose to partner with established business entities. This is what is referred to as business joint ventures. Basically, this will involve the merging of two or even more businesses to achieve a specific business goal. It is only expected that all resources and capabilities will be pooled.
There are several benefits offered by business joint ventures. Some of these benefits include financial support, more potential for expansion, ability to develop new products and more efficient marketing and advertising. Before you think of entering into a business joint venture, it would only be wise if you consider certain factors. Here are some tips that could help you when forming joint ventures.
Looking for Partners
When searching for potential partners, you must first have a comprehensive business plan that you will discuss with your shortlist of candidates. This would allow you to screen out businesses whose goals are not the same as yours. It is also important that you check the business’s credentials. You can always speak to a third party regarding the business reputation of your potential partners. This is actually considered a good business practice.
It would also be smart to include in your business joint venture a detailed “terms of dissolution.” This can be a part of your exit strategy in case your potential partner does not deliver or fulfill their part of the bargain.
Creating a Legal Agreement
After successfully finding a business joint venture partner, the next step is coming up with a legal agreement. This agreement should cover the structure of the business, the objectives and goals of the joint venture, intellectual property right’s ownership, financial contributions of each partner, control and management of the responsibilities, sharing of liabilities, losses and profits, resolving disputes and of course, dissolution of agreement. In most instances, confidentiality and non-disclosure clauses are also included.
Making Business Joint Ventures Work
After outlining the agreement between you and your business joint venture partners, you should try your best to make the partnership work. Communication is an integral part of the success of the joint venture. Meetings and conferences are good venues to discuss issues and other concerns. You should also make an effort to share all information related to the business, especially financial matters. Building trust will ensure a more successful business relationship. Lastly, it is also important to be flexible. Setting realistic business targets and looking for ways to improve the system will benefit the business well. For disputes, look for solutions that will create a win-win situation.
Forming business joint ventures entails all these things and more. You must always be ready for unexpected situations and know how to utilize available facts and resources. It will initially be difficult, with all the adjustments, but if you try hard enough, then you will surely reap the rewards of all your hard work.
View Entry
Personal Branding
DATE: 09/27/2007 16:41:23 / MOOD: happy
What's Personal Branding?
"Personal Branding is the concept of influencing the way people percept onself -by employing a disciplined image and self-marketing strategy."
Wikipedia's Definition for Personal Branding:
Personal branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marketed as brands. It has been noted that while previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging. The term is thought to have been first used and discussed in an 1997 article by Tom Peters.
Wikipedia's Personal Branding website.
Personal Branding is simply the art of Standing out! Adobting this technique requires setting up your own strategy and having a high degree of self-motivation and discipline. Planning of self-marketing strategies usually starts with evaluating oneself and one's situation -what you are and what you stand for. It's all about you!
Try to find out what others think of you and how they percept you. Choose a couple of charachters from the different areas in your private and professional life and try to see yourself through their eyes. Consider the following points in your "survey":
- Values
- Positioning and Perception
- Class
- Image
- Distinction
Try to repeat this "self-check" regularly to find key issues that may influence success and failure in your branding, take feedbacks and critics seriously. Here's a short list of recommendations:
Dig deep to unearth who you are: Who are you and why?
Define your dreams and put them into action: If you don’t know where you are going, you will end up somewhere else.
Go after your target audience with a vengeance: Knowing your brand is just as important as knowing who you are going to sell your product to.
Don’t crash and burn –figure out what is stopping you: Be aware of internal /psychological & environmental barriers that hinder your progress.
Recruit a squad of brand cheer leaders: You’ve got to have friends!
Learn the secrets to packaging your brand: Appearances count big time! A package communicates the essential stuff of the product at a glance. It is not a disguise.
Get comfortable in your own skin: Style is all about personal presence, that which frames your personality: James Earl Jones’ voice (Verizon/This is CNN) –solid, authoritative;
Devise a plan and get on with it: Being good is not enough. We have to roll up our sleeves and work at it.
Successful Personal Branding requires continuous improvement and focused efforts. Therefore, you should be aware of your public presence and "maneuvers", and pay attention to all aspects that might affect your brand. Remember, the central idea underlying personal branding is the positive, powerful image and making a "bella figura".
Personal Branding is not that any different than major other marketing strategies -it can get tough and requires much self discipline.
View Entry
Bizzy24 Blog - Welcome!
DATE: 09/27/2007 14:27:30 / MOOD: happy
Welcome to Bizzy24 Blog. This blog provides business news and updates, business articles, information about special business events, and latest news and alerts from Bizzy24 team.
Read latest blog entry by Bizzy24:
09/27/2007 Personal Branding
09/28/2007 Successful E-Commerce
09/28/2007 Forming Business Joint Ventures
You can also visit our Business and Marketing Forums.
Not yet a member? JOIN US! It's free.
View Entry
|
