WHOA HO HO! IS YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS?

http://www.mywebsource1.com/

No one needs to tell you that the United States economy tanked in September, 2008. As I write this, banks have been bailed out, the government is questioning the future of the “Big Three” car companies, and the internet is a-buzz with tales of woe on the holiday sales season.

But is it as serious as everyone is saying?

According to Forrester Research, we will spend an estimated $200 BILLION dollars online this Holiday Season – which is up from the $175 billion spent last year at this time. So how can you get a piece of this Internet Holiday Pie? Preparation.

If you haven’t started preparing for your online holiday sales, you are already behind the eight ball. Never fear though, because the present is better than any to start selling to your online shoppers. Just know, holiday shopping starts earlier than the “Black Friday” sales after the Thanksgiving rush and you should note this for next year.

Below are some helpful tips for getting the most out of your online store.

OCTOBER

Q: When should you start preparing online for the Holiday Rush?
A: Early Autumn (Anytime in October.)

If you have the type of online store that caters to consumers, start preparing with new “Gift” categories, create a wish list application and start offering gift cards so you can collect pre-sells.

Re-evaluate your inventory and lines of distribution so that customers won’t be let down with “out of stock” notices. Additionally, make sure you post a shipping deadline on your web site so that your customers know when they need to order a gift to have it delivered on time.

Start developing Holiday landing pages that will bring shoppers right to your gift selections. This should tie in with your pay-per-click campaigns.

Review with your staff the holiday protocol. Make sure your web design, purchasing, customer service, and shipping departments are all on the same page to make all sales go smoothly.

NOVEMBER

Prepare your email list for a blast email in the early part of November. This list should be uploaded to your newsletter service provider and ready to go when you are.

Your first newsletter should hit within the week prior to Thanksgiving. The reason I suggest this date is because the week of Thanksgiving, everyone is preparing for their holiday dinner or travel and your blast newsletter may get lost in the holiday rush.

If you are using Comparison Shopping Engines, make sure you prepare all of your Holiday Sales items to be competitive.

Launch your holiday pay-per-click campaign the week of Thanksgiving. This is also the time to launch your holiday category pages that you made in October.

Follow your pay-per-click campaign closely from now until the holiday season is over. People will increase their PPC cost and you don’t want to find yourself ten pages back for the entire season.

DECEMBER

Cyber Monday is December 1. All of your preparation comes down to this day, but don’t forget other sales days. If you celebrate Christmas, don’t forget your customers may also celebrate Hanukah, Kwanza, and other days of celebration.

Send out your second holiday email blast to encourage customers to shop from you. This should be done ten days to two weeks from the first. DO NOT spam your customers.

Keep an eye on your pay-per-click. You should be able to lower your cost-per-click the week of Christmas because your shipments will not reach your customers in time.

Send out another email blast on December 26. This is Boxer Day in many countries (including Canada) and a huge shopping day in the U.S.


While you are putting this all together, prepare for NEXT year by adding these dates into your calendar. This way, when October comes around, you will be ahead of the game and be prepared for the holidays.

As the old song goes, “The Season comes but once a year…” and it is imperative for your business to be prepared if you want to succeed. Follow these tips and prove the naysayers wrong by excelling in these tough economic times.

Small Business Can Succeed No Matter What The Economy

by Jimm Fowler
http://www.mywebsource1.com/

“How is business going?”

I ask this question almost 50 times a week while trying to sell my web design and marketing business. The economy is in the tank. The lending to businesses is teetering on the edge of calamity. What are small business owners supposed to do?

They advertise. They advertise and they are realizing the benefit of a web site. This is obvious because I see more and more people building their own business to stave off the failing economy. I see people working on small business ideas because they are so unsure of what tomorrow is going to bring. Our presidential candidates are offering vague suggestions of what they are going to do to help us.

It would seem by the bleak economic news that we see each day, starting a small business would be bad, but people are falling back and becoming self-reliant. What’s more, they are getting business! People still need things. The big businesses are not what drives today’s economy. Small businesses do.

Here is some advice to continue your business in our current financial state:

1. Stick to your guns. Don’t cut your prices even though you may have the instinct to go that route. The money is out there, you just need to find it. People don’t buy things they don’t need because it is 15% off. They buy things they need because they need them. The only thing you succeed in doing when you undercut your product is your profits and the perceived value what you offer.

2. Network and grow. What is your percentage of closing a sale? You need to know that number and then get in front of the people to reach those goals. Waiting for the phone to ring or come in through the door is a failing business plan. Go out and spread your name. Get people to know who you are and then get them to purchase from you. If you can close 25% of the sales you get, and you need 25 sales a month to survive, you better be talking to 100 people each month.

3. Contact those people that you have spoke with in the past. Whether you are sending out a newsletter, blogging, or just picking up the phone – you need to TALK to people that have shown interest in your product. Keep in touch with suppliers, too. These are your lifeline to future business and being on a friendly basis with them will keep you moving forward in the future.

4. Keep looking for financing. Just because the news is saying that we are in a money crunch doesn’t mean you can’t get the funding you need to continue your business to grow. You just have to be smarter in getting the funds for your business. This means you need to have a well, drawn out plan. You have to illustrate how that plan will be implemented and then you have to go after the people who will see your vision and offer you the money to succeed.

5. Finally, keep looking forward. It really doesn’t matter what the economy is doing at this time if you have a great idea. You may have to curtail portions of your idea to meet with the times, but a money-making idea will always make money – no matter what the environment says. If you don’t believe that, go out to your local restaurant area and see if their parking lots are empty. Go into your local shopping district and see if it is a ghost town. Sales may be at different levels, but people are still shopping.

Go forth with your business and succeed. The only thing stopping you IS you.