Create a successful web presence you must have a business website *(register a domain), but having business website ready to go, as well as upgrading and looking after it, can involve a large number of tasks.
- When trying to increase in search engine rankings, you should ensure that your meta tags are different on every page of your website. The more varying terms you have on different pages, the more search directories will store your pages and list them separately.
- Frequent updates are a powerful tool in the ongoing effort to optimize a website for search engines. It is tempting to view search engine optimization as a one-time treatment for a business website, but in fact it is an ongoing process. Adding fresh content to a website – content that contains the same keywords as the rest of the site – can leverage the site’s position on search engine results pages.
- A great way to get people interested in your business is through blogging. You can blog about all sorts of things relevant to your business – industry news, new promotions, up coming new products, etc. You will want to make sure you keep your blog up to date and to post new entries on a regular basis to keep people coming back.
- When it comes to linking your keywords, whether on your own site or on someone else’s, quality beats quantity any day of the week. Make sure that your keywords are linked naturally in quality content. One proper, quality link will earn you much higher placement than 10 garbage links. Since web business is a marathon, it is good to plan around quality so that you last the long haul.
- With Google’s strategy of not focusing intently on Meta tags, you must pay quite a bit far more attention to title tags on your homepage. Your to begin with 66 characters are displayed in the search engine rankings, so this really is where your concentrate should really lie. You have to sum up what your small business is about correct from the start. Save the fluff and get straight towards the great stuff.
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A Successful Case of E-Marketing….I have come across and inferred.
Ms Supreena Narayanan, PhD Scholar, Department of Economics, Ethiraj College For Women, Chennai-600008 Email-supreenan@gmail.com, Ph:00-91-9884629368
Abstract
Best practice in e-marketing is an indefinable concept. Through a government supported ‘Teaching Company’ enterprise among University of Ulster and a popular export oriented small firm in Northern Ireland this notion is discovered in background. A two year longitudinal research study is testified in this paper with one of the authors reporting from the perception of participant-observer in the company over the length of the study. The case study is based on ‘Typerite Limited’, a Northern Irish SME that has planned and realized an e-marketing strategy including a full e-commerce facilitated web-presence for its on-line subsidiary InkjetsNOW. InkjetsNOW vends inkjet cartridges, paper and discs straight to the consumer. This paper sketches the challenges Typerite faced in developing the e-commerce web site, the integration of the on-line business with its existing ‘bricks and mortar’ (physical premises e.g. office building or retail shop) business and the planned and operational marketing activities commenced to make this initiative highly productive.
Introduction
The Internet is seen to establish a real revolution such that company-customer relationships can be advanced and preserved. The interactivity offered by the Internet permits this co-production (Carrington et al 1997) and suggests that the web enables one-to-one marketing (Peppers and Rogers 1995). As such it cultivates loyalty and provides scope to create enduring relationships with customers and a broader network of contacts. Undeniably in B2B (business-to-business) circumstances, while visits to sites are lower the proportion of sales is pointedly greater than that for B2C (business-to-consumer). For some observers the Internet possibly offers the absolute tool in real relationship marketing, (Zineldin 2000, Bloch et al 1996, Rayport and Sviokla 1995, Schwartz 1997, Stroud 1998).
Notwithstanding many government creativities, new research piloted in Ireland has revealed that SME Internet connectivity levels are lower than previously supposed, at only 4 – 5% (Ibbotson and Smyth 2000). Connectivity points in Northern Ireland, the emphasis of this study, are worse still and while the UK in general delays behind Europe in acceptance of the importance of e-commerce, Northern Ireland in precise has yet to come to terms with the status of the Internet in upcoming business activities (McGowan et al 2001, Durkin and Lawlor, 2001).
It is consequently appropriate to inspect how e-enablement goals at the function levels of government and policy makers are being understood into practical events that will empower original small business to embrace the web efficiently. This is the application discovered here by way of the case study ‘Typerite Limited’, a Northern Irish SME that has efficiently executed an e-commerce site on the web and a plan for e-marketing plan for its operational subsidiary InkjetsNOW (http://www.inkjetsnow.com/).
Company Background
Typerite Limited produce and stock a large variety of printing aid items, comprising of thermal fax rolls and ribbons, MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) and cartridges among others. The company wholesales straight to businesses and 70% of its ‘bricks and mortar’ business is outside the UK and Ireland, in 42 countries universal. Movements in exchange rates and competition from inexpensive foreign imports have adversely affected Typerite’s sales. The benefits obtainable by e-commerce were understood as significant in the growth of a new business plan. The company saw excessive possibility in the consumer market for certain of its products. In August 2000, Typerite boosted an on-line subordinate InkjetsNOW – an e-commerce web site marketing straight to the consumer.
Company Objectives
i) To cultivate and promote a web presence.
ii) To advance and devise an on-line sales capability.
iii) To participate in the web facility with prevailing systems to guarantee well-organized distribution and superiority customer care.
iv) To appraise effectiveness and revise plans / actions accordingly.
Challenges
Web Site Development
There are a number of issues to reflect when developing a web site. For instance it is vital to choose a domain name that is stress-free to remember and replicates the nature of the business being endorsed. Typerite choose ‘InkjetsNOW’, firstly because it was obtainable and secondly because it designates that it sells ‘Inkjet’ (cartridges) and the ‘NOW’ represents the urgency of needing ink when the printer runs out of ink. When selecting a web hosting company, you must understand the package you are paying for, as well as the terms and conditions. Typerite’s plans to launch the InkjetsNOW web site were outstanding by months because the web designers did not meet the decided deadlines. In the end, the company had to alteration web hosts / designers because the first company they used did not offer actual customer support. When planning the design of the web site, it would be sensible to visit competitors’ web sites to find out how their site is laid out and what they are suggesting. Make the web site easy to traverse with three clicks i.e. click to view, click to order, click to pay. Moreover, brand the web pages quick loading, as web surfers are very intolerant.
Owing to the dishonest press in current years, people are anxious about Internet security and credit card deception. Another technique to build trust on-line is to use a protected payment system to ensure money is transmitted securely over the Internet. Web surfers can render a fee for goods or services at the same time as on-line by using credit or if the case may be debit cards.
Incorporation with Existing Business
Typerite required to incorporate the on-line business with the current business to guarantee that operations would run effortlessly. Employees were qualified to process on-line orders
e.g. packaging of goods and receipts, as they would be dissimilar from the old-fashioned business. The old-fashioned business-to-business orders are in main part and invoiced, while the new business-to-consumer orders are made up of lesser quantities and paid for promptly. The company bought new computers with Internet access to permit employees to view orders for handling and responding to customers’ emails. Typerite is executing a computerised system of accounting that will stand as evidence on every product sold. With this information, it is possible to forecast what is going to sell in the future and who will buy it. This henceforth would assist the collection of new stock. It is significant to get operations functioning effortlessly; or else it will affect the conveyance of your product and customer service.
Marketing
Amazon expended a lot of money evolving its brand name and has only in progress to make a profit this year. Though, not many companies will obligate the same budgets as Amazon, there are techniques to make unquestionable you can get your web site observed. Make sure that your web site address; email and contact details are on all your business materials. Use different media e.g. web site, stationery, and too vehicles and they all need to be reliable and incorporated. Utilise on-line and off-line promotions to support each other e.g. advertise your web site in the media and advertise on other web sites (by means of hyperlinks and banner ads). Furthermore, it is significant to measure the success of your campaigns e.g. through web site analysis of visitors to the site and number of direct sales or enquiries.
Strategies to Overcome Challenges
Typerite confronted the web site development, integration with its current business and marketing challenges with the subsequent strategies:
The development of the InkjetsNOW web site was an educational experience for the company. In 2000, web design companies were insufficient in number and e-commerce sites were very new. Typerite spent a lot of time investigating other e-commerce sites and attended training courses and seminars on ‘web development’ and ‘doing business on-line’. The lessons knowledgeable from developing the InkjetsNOW web site made it relaxed and faster to advance the corporate web site – Typerite (http://www.typerite.com/) e.g. in selecting a reliable web host / designer.
The company piloted an internal audit of its processes, which upkeep the
on-line business. The report recognized areas for incorporation in order to rise efficiency and improve customer service e.g. it suggested the review of the company’s stock maintenance policy and computer networks.
A combination of on-line and off-line promotions was used to endorse the InkjetsNOW web site. On-line promotions comprised: search engine and directory registration, creating email campaigns, creating sales promotions, adding hyperlinks, adding email signatures and on-line advertising. Off-line promotions encompassed: adding the web site address to business materials (merchandise and print), by means of word of mouth, sending direct mail such as newsletters and flyers, showing at events, advertising in the local press and directories. Typerite have found the subsequent marketing activities most effective: sales promotions (e.g. 10% off) and hyperlinks (e.g. on search engines, trade and business directories). In recent years, banner advertising has been seriously promoted as the means to drive traffic to a web site. However, Typerite found that many banner ad companies take commission on the on-line sales, which makes it hard for the company to be price competitive. Indeed, many consumers shop on-line because prices are supposed to be more competitive on-line e.g. for books, music and flights.
Evaluating Web Site Success
A commonly quoted figure is the number of ‘hits’ (requests for file(s) from a server) a web site receives, but there are more refined measures of success e.g. meeting the objectives set, cumulative of the number of customers and repeat customers, increasing sales, cost savings in marketing and more well-organized processes. Moreover, Typerite has been given for its fruitful e-commerce web site and e-marketing strategies.
Company Achievements
InkjetsNOW has been in business for over two years and there are a quantity of significant accomplishments e.g. a new target market (consumers), growth in sales of over 40% and a number of awards. In October 2000, Typerite earned the British Telecom Northern Ireland ‘E-Business of the Month’ Award and went onto win the general BT NI ‘E-Business of the Year’ 2001 Award. Furthermore, the company was extremely acclaimed at the ‘Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Northern Ireland Marketing Awards 2001’ in the Electronic Marketing category and it was short listed for an ‘E-Commerce Award 2002’ in the
E-Trading category of the ‘UK Online for Business Awards’.
Conclusion
Typerite’s success in e-commerce has been a consequence of a formal relationship between academia and industry through the UK’s Teaching Company Scheme enterprise. The participant-observer researcher connected the gap between theoretical marketing concepts in the on-line world and practical application in a competitive ‘real world’ environment. The consequence was a marketing focused approach to web-site development and the methodical incorporation of the on-line business with its current traditional business model, which give rise to in improved sales, profitability and internal competences. The awards for ‘best practice’ gained by the company in this twenty-four month period are revealing of a realisation of the ambitions of government to e-enable the SME community in Northern Ireland. Typerite Ltd is a model for other SMEs to survey and take example.
References
Bloch M, Pigneur Y and Segev A (1996): ‘On the road to electronic commerce’,
http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~mbloch/docs/roadtoec/ec.htm
Carrington, M.ST.J; Langguth, P.W and T.D. Steiner (1997) “The Banking Revolution -Salvation or Slaughter? How technology is creating winners and losers”, London, Financial Times Pitman Publishing, 1997
Durkan, P.; Durkin, M. and Gillen, J. (2003), ‘Exploring efforts to engender on-line trust’, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, v9 (3), (forthcoming 2003)
Durkin, M. and MA. Lawlor (1999) “The implications of the internet on the Advertising Agency-Client relationship”, The Service Industries Journal, V21, 2, pp175-190
Ibbotson, P. and Smyth, M. (2000) ‘Electronic Commerce: A baseline study of Irish SMEs’, Irish Banking Review, Summer 2000, pp14-25
McGowan, P; Durkin, M; Allen, L; Dougan, C and Nixon, S (2001) “Developing competencies in the entrepreneurial small firm for use of the Internet in the management of customer relationships”, Journal of European Industrial Training, v25, n2/3/4, pp126-136
Peppers, D. and M. Rogers (1995) ‘A new marketing paradigm: Share of Customer, Not Market Share’, Planning Review, v23, 4, pp278 – 281
Rayport, J.F. and Sviokla, J.J. (1995): “Exploiting the virtual value chain”, Harvard Business Review Nov/Dec
Schwartz, E. (1997) Webonomics, Penguin Books, London
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