Selecting the Right Ecommerce Provider to Automate Your Sales Process
Because the internet enables shoppers to access your website 24
hours a day, 365 days a year without geographic limitations or
concerns for time zones, automation of the sales process is a
necessity. It would be incredibly expensive to staff your
internet business to accept orders 24 hours a day. An ecommerce
provider that can automate your ordering process eliminates the
need for a sales staff to take orders from customers.Selecting an ecommerce provider can be a bit mind boggling
because there are many options for an ecommerce provider and they
don’t all offer the same types of services and ecommerce
solutions. The costs associated with using an ecommerce provider
also vary from one provider to the next. The main thing to
consider when choosing an ecommerce provider is the availability
of payment options that they provide for your customers. If you
offer a limited number of payment options, you may make it
difficult for some customers to buy from you. By offering a wide
array of options, you can actually gain a competitive advantage
due to the customer-centric service you can provide.I am adamant about the necessity of accepting credit cards
through an online business. If you don’t accept credit cards, you
lose sales. It really is that simple. The majority of online
shoppers use credit cards to make purchases online, so if you
have to compromise in regard to the types of payments processed
through an ecommerce provider, be sure to choose the ecommerce
provider that accepts the greatest variety of credit cards.Other payment solutions that may be offered by an ecommerce
provider include the acceptance of checks online, accepting debit
cards, use of digital wallets (also known as e-wallets), person-
to-person email payments, and escrow services. Accepting PayPal
as a payment option is also a good idea as it is a popular online
payment method used by internet shoppers worldwide. Some
ecommerce providers use a web-based shopping cart that is
associated with your website to automate the sales process.It is important to understand that services offered by an
ecommerce provider are not generally all-encompassing. In other
words, they don’t necessarily provide all of the services for
various payment options themselves. Rather, an ecommerce provider
generally works as a consultant and coordinates various services
and ecommerce solutions to be sure that they work well together
and meet the unique needs of your business.Components that have to be compatible in order to efficiently
operate a website with an automated sales process include the
hosting plan, the website design, the software used for shopping
carts or order processing, and the payment processing solutions.
Because hosting and website design are included in the mix of
ecommerce solutions, it is best to choose a web development firm
that is an ecommerce provider and has the capability of hosting,
designing and developing your website. Otherwise, if you use one
company to host the site, another to design the site and another
as an ecommerce provider, you will likely have a hodge-podge of
problems that require reworking of previously developed parts of
your website which can result in unnecessary costs.So, what if you have already had your website designed and
launched, you need to add ecommerce solutions, and your web
developer is not an ecommerce provider? This is a dilemma that
many internet business owners face. At this point, you need to
find an ecommerce provider that has website design and
development capabilities. A good web development company that is
an ecommerce provider should be able to work with what you have
already and add ecommerce solutions to transform your basic
website into an ecommerce website with an automated sales
process.
Business Marketing on Mobile – The Latest on Mobile Marketing and Advertising
The world we live in gets easily bored and craves novelty. Smart marketers look for new ways to put a twist on old standby marketing and advertising techniques. Marketing through television and radio channels has been done to death and has more nuisance value than anything else as far as the audience is concerned.For marketers seeking new ways and means to expand their reach anywhere their prospects are — the future is here. Smart marketers and advertisers create a personal touch in their ad campaigns. This is one of the reasons why mobile advertising is rapidly increasing in popularity as an effective marketing tool. And the astonishing use of mobile devices leveraged this trend.There are over 1.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide according to the International Telecommunications Union with the highest growth percentage coming from emerging economies like China, Russia and India. The US has about 200 million mobile subscribers. Smart marketers are tapping into the potential to reach their prospects as they’re on the move. Mobile devices are practically a permanent attachment for people under age 34.Mobile Advertising is delivered in a number of formats. Text messaging, mobile internet advertising and mobile radio advertising are some of the common advertising formats. Out of these, text messaging (SMS) is the most widely used format.According to the joint Mobile Advertising Report (MAR) released by Limbo and GfK Technology, text message usage is about 74% in India, 48% in the UK and 22% in the US. Projections predict in the near future mobile internet advertising will surpass text message advertising (FierceWireless).In June 2008, Nokia launched the Nokia Advertising Alliance that aims to make mobile advertising easier for advertisers. This particular program includes services like providing marketing strategies, geographic targeting and related technologies to enhance customer captivation. Now advertisers can work in conjunction with Nokia to expand the coverage of mobile advertising with emerging mobile technologies for more powerful ad promotions.The best part about mobile marketing is mobile devices are more heavily used than traditional PCs. Mobile advertisements are delivered to the customer no matter where they are. Even with these advantages, mobile advertising is still in its “early adopter” stages with a long way to go. The main obstacles are in the form of data tariff structures, handset and mobile internet interactivity and quality of subject matter.Like the early days of the Internet, there are more advertisers than quality content. Add to that an acute lack of tools to assess the performance of mobile ad campaigns. Even though most of these difficulties will be solved in the future, mobile advertising will still face competition from other advertising and marketing methods. Google, Microsoft and Nokia are the prominent players in mobile advertising. The future holds a huge potential in terms of revenues from mobile marketing spend..According to a report released by Informa Telecoms & Media, it is estimated that marketing on mobile will generate USD 1.72 billion in 2008 and will rise to USD 12 billion in 2013. The report also advocates the use of banner ads as an effective tool in mobile advertising. The report highlights the significance of focusing on the long run and not the short term stumbling blocks.Yahoo jumped on the bandwagon in June 2008 when it partnered with Publicis to integrate Publicis mobile advertising agency (PhoneValley) with Yahoo’s mobile developer platform language (Blueprint). The partnership is aimed at developing brands, reaching customers and maximizing sales through new techniques. It also aims to initiate cutting edge advertising strategies in the future.Since the potential market for mobile advertising is huge, a few companies are exploring new horizons and expanding in new territory. For example, Millenial Media Inc., is venturing into Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Millenial develops ads for cell-phones and mobiles. Its CEO Paul Palmieri says “There is a tremendous growth opportunity for advertising on mobile on a global basis, as evidenced by a rich and active mobile direct marketing industry, as well as surging demand from top brand advertisers.”The media industry and brand advertisers are slowly catching on and making use of mobile advertising to increase market penetration. Mobile advertising has added support from applications like ringtones and pictures. Bluetooth advertising is also growing in popularity. Here, a company can advertise its products or services over a fixed area.The three major search engines: Yahoo, Google and Microsoft have already realized the potential and the possibilities of the mobile advertising market. MSN uses banner ads on MSN mobile pages. Earlier MSN’s mobile advertising was confined to countries like France, Japan, Spain and UK. Recently it expanded coverage to include the US. Google also launched mobile image ads. When the cell phone browser is opened these image ads are displayed on the screen. However, the ad size is much smaller as compared to those for web pages. These image ads are connected to a web page and they follow the price-per-click model Google AdWords uses.Advertising on mobile is one of best forms of mass medium advertising. It’s personal, and has a wider reach than any other form of advertising. It’s still early to comment on exactly how big or how successful it will prove to be. However, by all indicators “the future’s so bright you gotta wear shades.”The predictions about the future revenues generated through mobile advertising optimistic. A brand advertiser, a mobile advertising company and the consumer will have different perceptions of mobile marketing. However, advertising on mobile also comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Mobile ads are sometimes viewed as another form of spam and the advertisers as spammers. To resolve this issue, there are programs developed to give subscribers free talk-time for performing certain activities related to viewing ads. As far as the opinions of consumers are concerned, it’s a mixed bag. This is because people are simply not accustomed to being paid to view ads. Even if they are paid to view them, many still view the ads as a nuisance. It doesn’t make sense for the advertiser to pay a consumer to view ads if there are no conversions.
Secured Business Loan – Providing A Conducive Atmosphere For Business Growth
The amounts that a business will need as a business loan will generally be large. Unless, it is a bank that has utmost confidence on the borrowing enterprise, most banks and financial institutions will balk at the idea of lending a large sum to enterprises without any guarantee. This explains the genesis of secured business loans. A secured business loan is one where the borrowing enterprise pledges loan repayment by offering the loan provider a lien of certain asset/ assets.Borrowers do get business loans without having to pledge any such lien to the loan provider. These are known as unsecured business loan. However, such opportunities are not easily available. And if they are, the terms on which they come are very expensive. The APR that borrowers of the latter category will have to shell is many percentage points more than the Secured business loans borrower.Would you, as a borrower of business loan, unnecessarily increase the cost of finance to your business, knowing well that the assets are being pledged and not sold out? The assets pledged in secured business loans are available for use by the borrower. It is only when the loan is not paid in full that the loan provider undertakes to repossess the asset forming collateral. Is it that the creditors of unsecured loan do not demand repayment if the borrower doesn’t pay. In this case, the loan provider has to demand repayment. Since they do not have a direct stake on any asset of the borrowing enterprise, they will seek support from the courts in the recovery process. Often the borrower has to cough up the amount. Additionally, the borrower’s credit history is tarnished because of these proceedings.Secured business loans, thus is the safest bet for both the borrowing entrepreneur and the loan providers. Loans in this category will depend more on the value of collateral and the lending organisation chosen. Maximum amount can be had through a secured business loan.Since the secured business loan has been used specially for use in business, one is able to better mould the business loan. One can use the business loan in a variety of purposes. Ranging from the daily requirements in the form of working capital, the business loan can also be used for expansion purposes.Certain loan providers would insist on the borrowing organisation to fulfil certain preconditions in order to approve the loan application. Certain preconditions form standing orders that are applicable for the entire term of the secured business loans. For instance, loan provider will stipulate that the debt- equity ratio (the ratio of debt to equity in the capital) be kept to a particular level. Such preconditions amount to reduction in entrepreneur’s control over his business. Lender may demand immediate settlement of the secured business loan if at anytime the condition is not met. The borrowing enterprise must discuss well with experts about the implications of such clauses, before consenting to loan deals.As against individuals who would have to repay the loan through fixed monthly or quarterly instalment, entrepreneurs get to repay the loan through repayments that are flexible. Entrepreneurs, owing to their fluctuating income structure, get to pay through instalments that are not fixed. In periods when the business is going strong, the entrepreneur will pay a major part of the loan. This will be used as a pretext to smaller payments or payment holidays, as the case may be.Online processing of loans has caught up with secured business loans as it has with the personal loans. An entrepreneur planning to draw a secured business loan shall simply fill up the loan details and initiate the process of approval. The web technology is used by a few borrowers to compare between a number of loan deals available. The loan providers short-listed are requested to send a loan quote defining the terms of the secured business loan. This is a very important and effective technique of drawing information about the pros and cons of loans.Proper planning must precede any decision to draw a secured business loan. The business not only has an asset on stake, it is also the reputation of the enterprise that is tarnished when the business does not pay in full. Since a business is always in need of finance, it cannot afford to lose on reputation. This will make things difficult when the enterprise is again in need of loans. They will have to do with business loans on stricter terms because of the bad credit history. Businesses must thus decide the use or need of secured business loan beforehand.