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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|


My Business is Afraid of the InternetBill Gates, CEO of... Read More
Thanks to the ubiquity of the internet, online virtual businesses... Read More
The key difference between an (old-fashioned) Intranet and a PortalWhat... Read More
One bright spot on the economic horizons around the world... Read More
Nowadays, shopping online is a very common thing. Making your... Read More
What does "helping your visitors" mean exactly?It means writing your... Read More
After building and transferring many e-commerce sites it still amazes... Read More
This may not be a popular view, but I think... Read More
The Internet may not be useful for all businesses, nor... Read More
How much holiday shopping did you do on-line this year?... Read More
Let's face it, there's just way too much information out... Read More
Do you sell something online? Do you have a business... Read More
If you are interested in selling online, it is quite... Read More
There are many tools available to a webmaster to analyse... Read More
I recently published a short e-book called 'One Thing I... Read More
Customers are tough cookies. They're extremely media aware and increasingly... Read More
Just because you've built your e-commerce website doesn't mean the... Read More
ClickBank.com can offer you multiple solutions for your e-commerce business.... Read More
Congratulations! You created an impulse in a customer to buy... Read More
Deciding when to get your own merchant account for internet... Read More
Simply put, business plans can make or break your business.... Read More
Choosing a carefully pinpointed niche market should be one of... Read More
The principle of "permanent establishment" is very important for avoidance... Read More
In my last column I discussed the process of credit... Read More
This article will show small businesses how to get free... Read More
THE CURRENT WORRIES1. Content SuppliersThe Ethos of Free ContentContent Suppliers... Read More
The 21st century has introduced the world to a new... Read More
If your business features products or services for sale, undoubtedly... Read More
In Part One we talked a little bit about what... Read More
How four partners build and manage an exclusive art posters... Read More
Selecting the right emarketplaceAlthough, IT spending has been staying flat... Read More
The Internet brought a great deal of benefits to our... Read More
--Online Commerce--E-Commerce website is all about selling products and services... Read More


A common frustration among merchants who sell online via a... Read More
Often times people to stop to realize the income potential... Read More
Choosing a carefully pinpointed niche market should be one of... Read More
Most people who get into business know what's involved. They... Read More
While getting less public handwringing than during holiday season, the... Read More
Maria's new lifestyle: Short story about the benefits shopping on... Read More
There are F words in business. We have seen many... Read More
When it comes to e-commerce everything is a little bit... Read More
There are two major ways to accept credit cards on... Read More
With consumers purchasing billions of dollars of merchandise online each... Read More
We have to make amendments in existing substantive and procedural... Read More
I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days... Read More
When shopping for e-commerce hosting there are a lot of... Read More
Customers are tough cookies. They're extremely media aware and increasingly... Read More
Using an Address Verification System (AVS) when processing your online... Read More
With a third party merchant account you will have a... Read More
If you learn how other people make money online, I... Read More
This is a short article because in the constraints of... Read More
Let me share with you a secret that most marketing... Read More
ClickBank is the Internet's most popular payment processor for online... Read More
You're excited. You have a great idea for a profitable... Read More
Because of this encouraging surge in activity, many individuals are... Read More
Pitfalls of E-business solutions installation processA large distribution company has... Read More
Building BridgesI have often used the analogy of building a... Read More
If your business features products or services for sale, undoubtedly... Read More
If you are interested in selling online, it is quite... Read More
Overview:What is web advertising?Internet Advertising is popularly known as web... Read More
I spent a lifetime in retailing and I'm still at... Read More
Whether you sell a product or merely sell time to... Read More
This article will show small businesses how to get free... Read More
E-commerce offers customers the chance to eliminate many stages in... Read More
Businesses, which are still sitting on sidelines and not doing... Read More
Did you know that over 90% of all online orders... Read More
E-commerce |