 |
 |
 |
           |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
The Census and the E-Commerce Wave
Understanding business and product sales can sometimes put me in a whirlwind. My job tends to get me involved with loads of different opportunities dealing with all sorts of product lines. It is not my job to understand every single type of product, but it is my goal to assist my clientele with the broadening of their product market. The tidal wave of the E-Commerce platform is just starting to build up speed. The US Census Bureau explains that E-Commerce sales are "sales of goods and services where an order is placed by the buyer or price and terms of sale are negotiated over an Internet, extranet, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) network, electronic mail, or other online system." Although the overall percentage of E-Commerce sales in comparison to total retail sales may seem small, the acceleration rate is indeed enormous. What does all this mean? Take a look at a business associate of mine that sells cleaning supplies. He has a small warehouse in Las Vegas that moves a little over 10 million dollars worth of product a year. Without any Internet presence whatsoever, 100% of his sales come from conventional marketing near and around his local market. He services the greater part of the West Coast, but doesn't venture too much outside of that boundary. My preliminary research has shown that Based on the results from some of the major search engines including Yahoo and MSN, an estimated 2000 searches a day are done for "Carpet Cleaning." Other viable searches include: Carpet Cleaners - 1100 per day Carpet Cleaning Supplies - 800 per day Cleaning Supplies - 900 per day Cleaning Products - 500 per day With those five search queries alone, a website could potentially be seen by over five thousand (5000) visitors a day. That adds up to over one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) search queries each month with just a few select terms. In certain markets, there are very few companies lobbying for the top search engine positions, yet, some are saturated. If you have a product that is conducive towards Internet based marketing and sales, but you have not tapped into the territory yet, your competitors may be beating you to the punch. Why would I want this? Hmmm? Let's assume your business is predominantly in the Central Valley and perhaps spreads a little throughout California. You already ship product here and there. Are you setup to handle some additional sales to the Midwest or the East Coast? What about Europe? The point is that the Internet has no boundary. If you offer your products and services online, through an E-Commerce system, it is like having a huge international storefront that welcomes the wondering visitor. The only thing left to do is a marketing campaign, simple or robust. But don't be fooled. The marketing campaigns can really get you. Setting up the storefront is the easy part. Managing the storefront is also easy. Putting the sign out there to attract the customers may tend to be a grueling task, unless you plan ahead. What is the bottom line? Here's the deal. If you aren't in a hurry, but think you want to have an E-Commerce system in play in perhaps a year or so, it will be to your advantage to develop it now. Internet based marketing campaigns take 6 months to a year to mature. I don't care what anyone tells you, unless you want to fork over tons of cash on a regular basis, a solid Internet marketing campaign takes time. The Census shows that Internet based sales are increasing faster than conventional retail sales. The census shows that over sixty-nine billion dollars ($69,000,000,000) were spent last year in E-Commerce sales, up 23.5% from 2003. The census show that if you are not planning for the future, your competition is. The Pickle You can get carried away with overhead if you are not careful. Internet based marketing can turn into the ever hungry monster that you have to constantly feed on a regular basis. The goal is to plan a year in advance and have a strategy that will create a system that will offer your site search engine presence and stability over time. But if you want more, more is available. A Rule for the Road: If you want to know who is good at Internet based marketing, just check online. Do a search for "Fresno Web Design" and see what you find. Greg Richburg a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and the owner of Netricks, Inc. a network consulting, web design and hosting company in California. As well, Greg runs a web based distributorship for Ujena swimwear and clothing. Please visit My Shop Girl Sexy Swimwear and Web Bikini Store and Clothing for Women for details. All past articles written by Greg Richburg are available at Netricks Tech News.
MORE RESOURCES:
Ecommerce - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How Measuring Key Performance Indicators Can Improve E-Commerce Strategy - Part One The problem with most e-commerce marketing strategy today is that companies don't understand how they use things like web analytics. Most e-commerce directors or web marketers are given a budget and told to stick to it, and good analytics don't usually come cheap. Online Credit Card Processing - How to Accept Credit Cards - Ecommerce 101 Back in 1998 (through 2000 or so), I worked for a small company (called PaymentNet / then Signio) that handled online transactions. Verisign later purchased this company, and the product team I led integrated the "client" - the portion that took the credit card information and sent it to our servers for processing. Ecommerce - Boost Your Business ROI Did you know that over 90% of all online orders are processed by credit cards and that web sites that offer customers the ability to pay with credit cards can achieve up to 300% more sales than those that do not?It's a fact. Not only do more customers buy, statistics prove that customers actually buy more when given the option to pay with their credit card. Top Ten Qualities to Look for in an Online Pharmacy As you may have noted, there are thousands or even hundreds of thousands of websites selling pharmaceutical products or drugs. These are called ONLINE PHARMACIES or PHARMACIES ONLINE. Prompt Delivery Rules - Internet Product Sales The Internet is the fastest growing source of mail order sales. The explosive growth in the goods and services sold online has in the past taken many online sellers by surprise: demand has outpaced supply, depleting inventories and disappointing customers. How To Accept Credit Cards Online Anyone with an online business, whether for auctions, services, or virtually any type of product, has asked the same question at some time during their quest to create the ultimate online business - "How do I accept credit cards?"Since over 90% of all transactions on the Internet involve customers paying by credit card, accepting plastic money rates a must for almost any business.The problem for most small online business owners involves the high cost of setting up and maintaining a credit card merchant account. Simple Steps to Start a Profitable Member Only, Subscription Web Site Having a successful member only, paid membership site is one of the best ways to make money online. A successful membership site can give you the steady income of a CEO ?. Creating Legal Framework for E-commerce Taxation; non-tax statutes We have to make amendments in existing substantive and procedural laws to make it compactable with changing technological advancement of e-commerce?Amending Contract Act, 1872I recommend the amendments in section 3 and 4 of contract Act 1872 so as to make the compactable with section 13, 14 and 15, of the electronic transaction ordinance 2002 related with attribute of communication, acknowledgement of receipt and time and place of the communication between the parties. Either additional section should be added for acceptance device of 'electronic communication', or words be added in matter connected with electronic communication relevant section 13,14 and 15 be evoked while interpretation of section 3 and 4 of contract Act 1872. Shopping from Your Cell Phone with Froogle Wireless Many surfers already know about Froogle, Google's shopping portal that is still in beta testing. Google has now expanded their Froogle service so that it is available on WML-enabled cellular phones. The Secret Science Of Online Shopping In theory you could create a retail web site with a limitless selection; an online store where every kind of merchandise known to man could be sold. Would people be interested in buying from such a huge enterprise?Why do people buy online?Location: You can shop online from almost anywhere as long as you have access to a power supply and a telephone connection. Cheap Cigarettes, Discount Tobacco and Cigars Online - Is It Legal? Many people online today still believe that buying tobacco products via the Internet is an experience that is doomed to failure. Either, the package will go astray, or the HM Customs and Excise storm troopers will smash down the door and abseil from the roof to collect the pennies that they are allegedly due for "tax evasion". Online Merchant Account - Costs and Alternatives Merchant Account BasicsA Merchant Account is a commercial bank account established by a merchant to receive payment via credit cards. Three parts are required to accept credit cards. The Internet Challenge In spite of the increasing attention on how the Internet is changing the business landscape, many small business owners are still struggling to understand its influence. But unlike the ceaseless blinking of the home VCR, the impact of the Internet cannot be ignored. Selling From Your Website Greetings!Friends and relitives ask us all the time " How do sell from your website?" and no doubt you want to know as well. Over the next two issues we will be covering this very thing! We decided to divide it into two camps - tangibles and non-tangibles. The Plain Man's Guide to Making Money Online I'm a plain man who uses plain thinking in devising strategies for making money online.I do not spend obscene mounts of money attending high ticket web conferences nor do I rush to purchase the latest collection of web casts at outrageous prices. The Five Steps of E-Commerce You set up a retail business, you advertise in your local newspaper, you get customers coming into your store, and you receive payment at the cash register. Create an online store, and. Cyber Banking The use of electronic cash as a means of transacting internet business may prove to be an acceptable alternative to credit card payments. It is reported that the withdrawal of major players from the attempt to develop e-cash is a significant setback. The Essential Christmas Web-store Makeover Ten great tips to turn online holiday shoppers into eager buyers - and satisfied customers.When meeting potential clients, you wouldn't dream of showing up late in a mismatched outfit, hair disheveled, with food on your tie and no business card, would you? And if they asked for testimonials or explanations about your company policies you'd hardly say, "Sorry, I don't give out that information. Guide To Safe Online Shopping Online shopping can be a little frightening to people who are new to the internet,but as long as you follow a few easy rules you should have no problem shopping online.What are the rules ?First before buying from an online store find out what that online stores return policy is. Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built - Now What? When I first got my web site built, I thought I finally had a presence on-line. Wrong! I soon found out that I needed someone to host my site, and I needed a domain name.
|
 |