There are many people who say that you can not make money online, they will tell you that it is all scams. Then there are those who tell you that they tried and failed or knew some one who lost money. The problem more likely was that they went about marketing on the internet wrong. When you market online the correct way it will have dramatic effects on your outcome
You need to start by creating an effective marketing plan. There are some simple things that you need to include in that plan. You need to know your product and market, know who and where your prospects are and know your competition.
Getting to know the product or service that you are selling is a must, so make sure you use it yourself. When you use the product then you get to know the strengths and weaknesses of it. You will also have the ability to answer questions that your prospects may have about it.
Once the strong points are known then you have identified who your target audience is. You can now set up a marketing campaign promoting the strengths of the product. This will be advertising to your target audience and not to everyone. This is half the battle in internet marketing, too many people advertise to everyone and not there target audience. Look at commercials do car companies run commercials during children's programming, no that is not there target audience and a waste of time and money. You need to do the same on the internet.
Now you know your target market, so you need to know where your prospects are. Find out where they are online and be there also. Do not openly market your products to them as this will only turn them off. Get to know your prospects, what they are looking for and what problems do they have. Since you know your product and the strengths ands weaknesses you can figure out how your product can provide a solution for them. This is something to incorporate into your marketing campaign.
You will also want to study your competition. Get to know the strengths and weaknesses of their product also. Once you know the weakness you can point that out in your marketing also. See who they are advertising to and how they are advertising. Are they doing something that you can incorporate into your advertising?
Once you have all the information of the the product, your target and your competition you can put together an effective marketing plan. Put it all together by appealing to your prospects, showing the strengths of your product over your competition and how your product help them solve there problems.
In order to succeed online there is one important thing that you must do and that is not quit. Success will not happen overnight. It will take time and research. If once approach does not work try something different. But the only way to fail is to quit.
Author: Theresa Stauffer
Sabtu, 05 April 2008
Making Money At Home With Clickbank Elite : A Product Review
An easy way to start making money at home almost effortlessly with your online business is to set up a Clickbank website. This site would offer electronic products available through the Clickbank marketplace that you can sell as an affiliate and earn commissions from. Clickbank is probably the best way online to sell affiliate products.
I wouldn't say that Clickbank is a business for making money at home in itself. Rather, it is something that allows you earn extra cash, big or small, from product sales to boost your regular online business income. In my opinion, it should be used as a supplement to your internet business, not as your only means of generating income.
I say that because an online business is more than just selling products and services to make money at home. A business means you offer something of quality to customers over the long haul in hopes that they will become repeat customers because you have offered information or services that are unbeatable from a source they can trust.
If you want to start making money at home quickly to supplement your business, Clickbank works like a charm, but you have to know how to use it effectively if you want to make the sales.
That's where Clickbank Elite comes in. Clickbank Elite is both a manual and software that will help you choose the top-selling items at Clickbank that you want to promote on your site or blog, or other advertising means. It is updated regularly so you know what's hot and what's not.
The software gives you a search screen where you can select products by keyword, categories, subcategories, commissions earned, popularity, gravity, and so on. You can further sort the data you receive with dropdown menu choices and even export it to a spreadsheet if you want.
Product rankings will let you know which products will help you start making money at home. You can even track where your sales came from, find products that will soon become hot sellers, and create ads that look like Adsense ads to promote your products.
Will this software really generate more sales for you and get you earning more money at home? Well I have been using Clickbank Elite for several months now, and while it is great at helping you find the best products to promote online, it has really not helped me anymore than one person's advice on a forum.
If you have no idea what products to promote, or what gravity and $/sale means, then it's a good idea to get a copy of Clickbank Elite because it will help you start making money at home.
But if you have a good or even basic knowledge already of what gravity means, how much you want to earn, and $/sale, then you really don't gain a lot more by ordering Clickbank Elite than you would by simply going to the Clickbank marketplace and choosing products based on gravity and $/sale.
The thing to remember when making money at home with Clickbank is that if you choose products that are extremely popular sellers, then as a newbie internet marketer, you may not generate any sales because all the top dogs are using their savvy advertising skills and profits to beat you out.
Therefore, making money at home for you would mean knowing how to choose what's popular, but not too popular. For someone just starting out, you might want to choose a product where gravity is about 60-100, and $/sale is more than $20.00. These numbers are listed right on the Clickbank website.
Now I admit to not always being on top of the game with Clickbank and Clickbank Elite, as there are people making fortunes who are using Clickbank Elite on a regular basis, downloading the updates and new products daily. If you do this, you will have an advantage by using Clickbank Elite.
However, with a solid background in internet marketing, and a knowledge of what products to choose based on the criteria mentioned above, then you will still be making money at home with Clickbank without using Clickbank Elite. Much of my income comes from here, so it's a good thing to consider!
Author: Liane Bate
I wouldn't say that Clickbank is a business for making money at home in itself. Rather, it is something that allows you earn extra cash, big or small, from product sales to boost your regular online business income. In my opinion, it should be used as a supplement to your internet business, not as your only means of generating income.
I say that because an online business is more than just selling products and services to make money at home. A business means you offer something of quality to customers over the long haul in hopes that they will become repeat customers because you have offered information or services that are unbeatable from a source they can trust.
If you want to start making money at home quickly to supplement your business, Clickbank works like a charm, but you have to know how to use it effectively if you want to make the sales.
That's where Clickbank Elite comes in. Clickbank Elite is both a manual and software that will help you choose the top-selling items at Clickbank that you want to promote on your site or blog, or other advertising means. It is updated regularly so you know what's hot and what's not.
The software gives you a search screen where you can select products by keyword, categories, subcategories, commissions earned, popularity, gravity, and so on. You can further sort the data you receive with dropdown menu choices and even export it to a spreadsheet if you want.
Product rankings will let you know which products will help you start making money at home. You can even track where your sales came from, find products that will soon become hot sellers, and create ads that look like Adsense ads to promote your products.
Will this software really generate more sales for you and get you earning more money at home? Well I have been using Clickbank Elite for several months now, and while it is great at helping you find the best products to promote online, it has really not helped me anymore than one person's advice on a forum.
If you have no idea what products to promote, or what gravity and $/sale means, then it's a good idea to get a copy of Clickbank Elite because it will help you start making money at home.
But if you have a good or even basic knowledge already of what gravity means, how much you want to earn, and $/sale, then you really don't gain a lot more by ordering Clickbank Elite than you would by simply going to the Clickbank marketplace and choosing products based on gravity and $/sale.
The thing to remember when making money at home with Clickbank is that if you choose products that are extremely popular sellers, then as a newbie internet marketer, you may not generate any sales because all the top dogs are using their savvy advertising skills and profits to beat you out.
Therefore, making money at home for you would mean knowing how to choose what's popular, but not too popular. For someone just starting out, you might want to choose a product where gravity is about 60-100, and $/sale is more than $20.00. These numbers are listed right on the Clickbank website.
Now I admit to not always being on top of the game with Clickbank and Clickbank Elite, as there are people making fortunes who are using Clickbank Elite on a regular basis, downloading the updates and new products daily. If you do this, you will have an advantage by using Clickbank Elite.
However, with a solid background in internet marketing, and a knowledge of what products to choose based on the criteria mentioned above, then you will still be making money at home with Clickbank without using Clickbank Elite. Much of my income comes from here, so it's a good thing to consider!
Author: Liane Bate
Discover Financial Freedom with an E-book Home Business
Financial freedom can only be recognized with hard work, innovation, and a popular - but reliable - product or service. But with an Internet business, these three often get clouded with having almost too many opportunities. You can easily get discouraged when researching the overwhelming number of business venues that are available online. But with e-books, many small business owners are discovering financial freedom while offering long-lasting products of value.
E-books are electronic books that might contain graphics, photos, sound, and content relating to any subject. They can also contain links to various web pages for promotions or illustrations. It's very inexpensive to create an e-book, but yet people enjoy reading them every day. E-books are popular online because they are usually inexpensive or free and offer advice and tips on a variety of subjects. The subjects can be anything from "how to earn money online" to "how to start a home business." E-books may also cover more specific subjects such as "how to make money with a crafts business" or "cross-stitching tips for the beginner." The possibilities for e-book subjects are unlimited.
E-book Home Business Facts
Starting an e-book business means you are offering e-books for sale online to a specific target audience. You might sell only one or a few e-books, or you might even sell hundreds of them. The choice is yours, but of course, the more e-books you offer, the more chances you'll have to earn a lucrative income.
Here's how it works. You'll promote your e-books using various techniques such as an e-mail newsletter (e-zine), search engine promotions, paid ads, and other methods. Customers will visit your website to read your presentation. When they purchase one of your e-books, they will download it directly from your website or from an e-mail. You can even automate the entire process to make things easier on you and the customer.
The reason e-books are so successful for gaining financial freedom is because once they're created, you don't have to do anything except promote them. You can create an automated cash system that works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. E-books can be sold and downloaded by your customers while you sleep!
Resell E-books to Earn Money
If you don't want to write your own e-books, you can also create a cash system and enjoy financial freedom by reselling e-books that others have written. With this type of home business, you will purchase rights to various e-books, sometimes hundreds of them, and resell them as your own products. Keep in mind that other companies will likely be selling these titles as well. But the Internet is so big, there's plenty of room for everyone!
Some companies provide business opportunities in which you'll receive a number of benefits along with hundreds of e-books to resell. These opportunities may cost a little up front, but are definitely worth the investment for starting your own home business. The e-book products alone can generate a very healthy cash system for years to come.
As with any home business, selling e-books will take some time to build and promote. But once the ball's rolling, you'll enjoy financial freedom and success like never before!
Author: Chris Robertson
E-books are electronic books that might contain graphics, photos, sound, and content relating to any subject. They can also contain links to various web pages for promotions or illustrations. It's very inexpensive to create an e-book, but yet people enjoy reading them every day. E-books are popular online because they are usually inexpensive or free and offer advice and tips on a variety of subjects. The subjects can be anything from "how to earn money online" to "how to start a home business." E-books may also cover more specific subjects such as "how to make money with a crafts business" or "cross-stitching tips for the beginner." The possibilities for e-book subjects are unlimited.
E-book Home Business Facts
Starting an e-book business means you are offering e-books for sale online to a specific target audience. You might sell only one or a few e-books, or you might even sell hundreds of them. The choice is yours, but of course, the more e-books you offer, the more chances you'll have to earn a lucrative income.
Here's how it works. You'll promote your e-books using various techniques such as an e-mail newsletter (e-zine), search engine promotions, paid ads, and other methods. Customers will visit your website to read your presentation. When they purchase one of your e-books, they will download it directly from your website or from an e-mail. You can even automate the entire process to make things easier on you and the customer.
The reason e-books are so successful for gaining financial freedom is because once they're created, you don't have to do anything except promote them. You can create an automated cash system that works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. E-books can be sold and downloaded by your customers while you sleep!
Resell E-books to Earn Money
If you don't want to write your own e-books, you can also create a cash system and enjoy financial freedom by reselling e-books that others have written. With this type of home business, you will purchase rights to various e-books, sometimes hundreds of them, and resell them as your own products. Keep in mind that other companies will likely be selling these titles as well. But the Internet is so big, there's plenty of room for everyone!
Some companies provide business opportunities in which you'll receive a number of benefits along with hundreds of e-books to resell. These opportunities may cost a little up front, but are definitely worth the investment for starting your own home business. The e-book products alone can generate a very healthy cash system for years to come.
As with any home business, selling e-books will take some time to build and promote. But once the ball's rolling, you'll enjoy financial freedom and success like never before!
Author: Chris Robertson
How To Start An Online Business
This is by far the biggest one I hear over and over again, day in and day out by newcomers and many advanced marketers.
I know you want to start making money online and I know it’s hard to get started but if you have a step by step formula to follow it is much, much easier and very possible.
As I have already pointed out, one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people who want to start their own, profitable Internet business is a lack of business ideas.
What kind of business can you start? How do you create your own product? How can you resell branded products using a warehouse or drop shipper? Where do you find these products and drop shippers? And how on earth do you find out what to research?
YOU need to know where and what to look for!
VERY BIG TIP!!! A very important point here that many so called guru’s on the net will not tell you. To really make the big incomes we are going to talk about you must have something that can produce HIGH RETURNS for every cent you invest. Otherwise you will not get WEALTHY. You will not become an internet MILLIONAIRE if you just sit back on anything below 35% profit margins.
The last thing you want to do is spend a whole year of your life spending money on a business with zero profit or heaven forbid a loss.
There are a few ways to make money on the net but the two main categories when selecting what to sell;
INFORMATION or PRODUCTS
If you want to market products you can do so by selling someone else’s INFORMATION or their PRODUCT via affiliates that many set up via their own site or through www.clickbank.com for example. Others use wholesalers and reseller sites.
There are many out there who prefer the AFFILIATE route so they don’t have to bother with spending the time and effort to set up their own business or find ideas and niches themselves. WHY? This involves work.
In this case you will need to know how to get traffic and build your lists. If you want to spend less time on your business then this is the best method and it’s fairly easy to make money but you are limited and there may just be a whole lot of other people out there flogging the same horse.
The other way is to have your own INFORMATION or PRODUCT and build your own affiliate network. It’s tougher from the start but once you have that MOMENTUM you will notice the profits become greater and your effort less for more.
Imagine you are in your current job. Let’s say you are a salesperson who has targets to achieve each and every month. It’s tough as your targets are always getting put up just out of reach and unless you work 12 hours a day you have little chance of making target and collecting big bonus checks.
Now, think how much easier it would be if you have a hundred other sales people working for you and giving you qualified leads
They make all the calls, see all the clients and all you have to do is get them to sign your paper work. All for a small commission but only once the client has signed. Wow! That’s a big Wow!
What a great idea. Well, this is just how the affiliate works on the net but you can build them up to be in the thousands. I mean tens of thousands.
AND NO PRODUCT OF YOUR OWN
Many people think that to sell products themselves they need to invent some new way of making a wheel or they put in weeks or months of work to create an e-book that most people would never buy or even read.
INFORMATION or content would be information products which include e-books, DVDs, CDs, manuals, books, blogs, websites, ezines, newsletters etc.
BUT, if you want to make the most profit then having your own information or content or products is a must. Simply reselling another persons content or product is not enough and it has a definite life cycle.
In short, if you really want to sell other peoples products make sure they are closely related to your own and to the subjects of your blogs or newsletters. Otherwise you will not sell a thing and risk losing them as a subscriber. Remember the thought about integrity. Don’t just try to make money.
The most success will come from adding good products in a skillfully written email that makes you sound like their friend and gains their trust but only once you have given them something of value. If you don’t have their trust they will not buy.
A lot of brand new people to this business will have been to many a seminar telling them to simply resell someone else’s product and make millions within a year.
NOT SO MY FRIEND!
“RUBBISH” I hear you say. “I have seen the guys who do this at seminars and the proof of income.” Actually, I have also seen them all. I can name the successful ones on one hand. Yes, they are extremely hard working.
You can fail here very easily because… IT’S TOO EASY FOR OTHERS TO COPY. Once this happens your market is almost dead. You need to be at the top of the tree here.
There are also many sites out there that are offering you FREE websites all setup and ready to go. Got one? Well if you have then thousands of others have too. We will talk about niches in the next section where this will all come clear.
The Internet has huge opportunities to make lots of money in various ways with all types of info products and merchandise, but, like all things these will always need the most effort from YOU.
YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO WORK FOR THIS.
OK, so that covers a bit about Information products and as you have read it is hard work and it takes a lot of research to find that great content. If you choose just to be an also rand and copy all the ideas on the net without thinking about what it is that you are doing to help someone then your struggle will be an uphill one.
Let’s talk about PRODUCTS you can resell.
To make it clear this is what I would call stuff like cars, car parts, TV’s, Video players etc. Companies may include GM, Ford, and Panasonic etc. They all have their own great product that is as they say UNIQUE. Some try to sell them online too. But, the difference being that they are selling their own products. You will never see Panasonic selling a Phillips product in a Sony shop.
There are also many resellers out there that sell other peoples products. Wal-Mart in the US and Tescos in the UK are experts at selling other peoples products. They are true merchants or resellers. They buy at wholesale and sell at retail. The profit is the difference between the two.
Here are some more examples of merchants, ToyRUS, Sears, Kmart, Topshop, Next, Amazon and many, many more.
None of these actually make their own products. Some are branded but they don’t actually make them.
Confused? The thing to remember is that most of what’s being sold is being sold by people like us. Marketers, or in some cases you may call yourself a publisher, and not the actual manufacturer of the product.
In this case you don’t have to sit and think up a product, you don’t have to make a thing. What you can do is use a drop shipper so you don’t even have to store the products or buy them. Just like going to the store to buy something. You don’t pay until you buy.
You can make a lot of money with your own ecommerce store selling merchandise. They can be cheap and simple to set up.
WORD OF WARNING
When it comes to making money from your own ecommerce store, there is a very large threat to your success.
As you know there are a lot of so called genuine wholesalers out there and one of the biggest problems about this strategy to make money is;
WHERE DO I FIND A REAL TRUSTWORTHY WHOLESALER?
I can tell you that there are a few who make a lot of money doing this but a whole lot more who just get burned. And I mean burned.
WHY?
Because they use a wholesaler that they know very little about and one that has no credibility at all. In fact there are a lot of these, so how do you choose the right one.
Well I know a handful that I would trust but one in particular hits the top of the list. I’ll tell you in just a moment.
The people from Amazon, Wal Mart, Buy.com, etc. don’t make mistakes easily, and you can bet they have a great relationship with wholesalers that they trust.
Ultimately gives these guys the time to do what they do best of all MARKETING THE PRODUCTS.
Have you worked it all out yet?
The simple ingredients for starting your own business on the Internet are;
1. You need a large LIST OF PEOPLE who are hungry for your product. Hungry for your niche and ready to pay for your solution
2. You need a PRODUCT to sell whether this is your own or one that has been produced by someone else. This is temptation.
3. You need to CONTACT these people in anyway you can. Using the Internet, including ezines, newsletters, classified ads, etc
4. You need an initial OPT-IN offer to get them to hand over their names and email address.
5. You need BACKEND products to increase your profit margins
6. You also need to IMPROVE somebody’s LIFE
Like me you are always eager to get stuck into the information knowing you are going to learn something. This can lead you to miss out certain points that are very important. It’s a bit like watching a movie. The second and third time you always pick up on little things that make it even better.
You may have picked up on the fact that I am here to stay and I want the internet to start producing better quality products. Especially in the highly profitable area of digital products or information products.
There are two types of people who set up a business on the net.
Those that just want to sell sell sell no matter what the price. This is their number one focus. You know the newsletters you get always trying to get you to buy buy buy. Full of affiliates links. None of which has all that much quality content.
Then there is the type of person who wants to generate great content. They want to HELP solve those problems. They actually care about what they produce. This to me is making someone’s life a little bit better.
See how important it is to know your customers problems and how to solve them.
YOU NEED to think about what it is your customers want. DO NOT ASSUME.
If you want to get rich, wealthy, financially free or how ever you want to state it then you must shift the FOCUS onto your consumer base. You will find that you will have people recommending friends, family and colleagues to you and your products.
Think of the real world of commerce. Think for a minute what would happen to Wal-Mart if they decided to start sell inferior products to all those millions of trusted consumers.
CONTENT IS KING… Heard that one a few times, right? What does it actually mean though? It means that you need to offer great information that is going to help solve peoples problems and keep them coming back for more. This is absolutely essential to your success.
Start writing THE BEST CONTENT on the net for your products.
Try giving it away for free too. You will be surprised what people will buy off you if they think the free content is great.
If you want to stand out from the crowd you simply must have the best content. This is the reason you need to think strongly about what product you are going to sell. If you are not interested at all in watches then ho ware you going to write about them.
You may be the best chef anyone knows. I bet you could get passionate about telling people how to cook a great steak.
You need to keep people who click on your site on your site as long as possible. You will only do this with amazing content. If you do this I promise you this;
YOU WILL BE SUCCESSSFUL
The number one reason that you will fail in this business is that your content is rubbish. Once again, your content will either kill you or make you.
Repeat this 10 times to yourself….
KILLER CONTENT WILL MAKE ME RICH
Killer content can include, e-books, video/DVD, CD’s or audio, newsletters, blogs.
What else can you do to help you become successful?
Well as you have read it takes a combination of all the things you have read about. Hard Work and commitment is very important as too is courage and integrity. If you can answer yes to all these then you are on your way.
However, knowledge is key. You can get knowledge from all sorts of places including the library, internet, newspapers, TV, CD’s, Videos etc etc etc.
The greatest place to get HELP and KNOWLEDGE is from those that share a common passion and interest as you do. They are equally honest and equally committed to great content and serving the consumer.
Where do you find these people? At seminars, on blogs, on the PHONE, in person. Lunch, dinner, breakfast, and virtually anywhere you want. You just have to contact them.
These people are your friends.
These friends will accelerate you to an enormous income and an incredible contact base. (You know how important a trusted list is)
By the way, do not buy lists that are randomly advertised. This is your fast track to getting spammed)
Ok, before I go on about FRIENDS, I need to make sure you understand what your essentials are for starting an internet business;
1. You must have GREAT CONTENT
2. You must have TRAFFIC
4. You must have INCOMING LINKS
4. You will need AFFILIATES
5. You must RESEARCH
6. You must TEST and act on the results
7. You need a list of OPT-Ins to create you LIST of customers
8. TRUST in the market place.
9. KNOWLEDGE about your product and your consumer
10. SURVEY to get to know your consumers
11.BLOGS to create traffic organically
12. SEO for on and off page. Be nice to Google
Yes, that is a big post but I felt it was time you at least new the basics behind an online business and what you need to start and become a success.
Author: Ashley Banfield
I know you want to start making money online and I know it’s hard to get started but if you have a step by step formula to follow it is much, much easier and very possible.
As I have already pointed out, one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people who want to start their own, profitable Internet business is a lack of business ideas.
What kind of business can you start? How do you create your own product? How can you resell branded products using a warehouse or drop shipper? Where do you find these products and drop shippers? And how on earth do you find out what to research?
YOU need to know where and what to look for!
VERY BIG TIP!!! A very important point here that many so called guru’s on the net will not tell you. To really make the big incomes we are going to talk about you must have something that can produce HIGH RETURNS for every cent you invest. Otherwise you will not get WEALTHY. You will not become an internet MILLIONAIRE if you just sit back on anything below 35% profit margins.
The last thing you want to do is spend a whole year of your life spending money on a business with zero profit or heaven forbid a loss.
There are a few ways to make money on the net but the two main categories when selecting what to sell;
INFORMATION or PRODUCTS
If you want to market products you can do so by selling someone else’s INFORMATION or their PRODUCT via affiliates that many set up via their own site or through www.clickbank.com for example. Others use wholesalers and reseller sites.
There are many out there who prefer the AFFILIATE route so they don’t have to bother with spending the time and effort to set up their own business or find ideas and niches themselves. WHY? This involves work.
In this case you will need to know how to get traffic and build your lists. If you want to spend less time on your business then this is the best method and it’s fairly easy to make money but you are limited and there may just be a whole lot of other people out there flogging the same horse.
The other way is to have your own INFORMATION or PRODUCT and build your own affiliate network. It’s tougher from the start but once you have that MOMENTUM you will notice the profits become greater and your effort less for more.
Imagine you are in your current job. Let’s say you are a salesperson who has targets to achieve each and every month. It’s tough as your targets are always getting put up just out of reach and unless you work 12 hours a day you have little chance of making target and collecting big bonus checks.
Now, think how much easier it would be if you have a hundred other sales people working for you and giving you qualified leads
They make all the calls, see all the clients and all you have to do is get them to sign your paper work. All for a small commission but only once the client has signed. Wow! That’s a big Wow!
What a great idea. Well, this is just how the affiliate works on the net but you can build them up to be in the thousands. I mean tens of thousands.
AND NO PRODUCT OF YOUR OWN
Many people think that to sell products themselves they need to invent some new way of making a wheel or they put in weeks or months of work to create an e-book that most people would never buy or even read.
INFORMATION or content would be information products which include e-books, DVDs, CDs, manuals, books, blogs, websites, ezines, newsletters etc.
BUT, if you want to make the most profit then having your own information or content or products is a must. Simply reselling another persons content or product is not enough and it has a definite life cycle.
In short, if you really want to sell other peoples products make sure they are closely related to your own and to the subjects of your blogs or newsletters. Otherwise you will not sell a thing and risk losing them as a subscriber. Remember the thought about integrity. Don’t just try to make money.
The most success will come from adding good products in a skillfully written email that makes you sound like their friend and gains their trust but only once you have given them something of value. If you don’t have their trust they will not buy.
A lot of brand new people to this business will have been to many a seminar telling them to simply resell someone else’s product and make millions within a year.
NOT SO MY FRIEND!
“RUBBISH” I hear you say. “I have seen the guys who do this at seminars and the proof of income.” Actually, I have also seen them all. I can name the successful ones on one hand. Yes, they are extremely hard working.
You can fail here very easily because… IT’S TOO EASY FOR OTHERS TO COPY. Once this happens your market is almost dead. You need to be at the top of the tree here.
There are also many sites out there that are offering you FREE websites all setup and ready to go. Got one? Well if you have then thousands of others have too. We will talk about niches in the next section where this will all come clear.
The Internet has huge opportunities to make lots of money in various ways with all types of info products and merchandise, but, like all things these will always need the most effort from YOU.
YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO WORK FOR THIS.
OK, so that covers a bit about Information products and as you have read it is hard work and it takes a lot of research to find that great content. If you choose just to be an also rand and copy all the ideas on the net without thinking about what it is that you are doing to help someone then your struggle will be an uphill one.
Let’s talk about PRODUCTS you can resell.
To make it clear this is what I would call stuff like cars, car parts, TV’s, Video players etc. Companies may include GM, Ford, and Panasonic etc. They all have their own great product that is as they say UNIQUE. Some try to sell them online too. But, the difference being that they are selling their own products. You will never see Panasonic selling a Phillips product in a Sony shop.
There are also many resellers out there that sell other peoples products. Wal-Mart in the US and Tescos in the UK are experts at selling other peoples products. They are true merchants or resellers. They buy at wholesale and sell at retail. The profit is the difference between the two.
Here are some more examples of merchants, ToyRUS, Sears, Kmart, Topshop, Next, Amazon and many, many more.
None of these actually make their own products. Some are branded but they don’t actually make them.
Confused? The thing to remember is that most of what’s being sold is being sold by people like us. Marketers, or in some cases you may call yourself a publisher, and not the actual manufacturer of the product.
In this case you don’t have to sit and think up a product, you don’t have to make a thing. What you can do is use a drop shipper so you don’t even have to store the products or buy them. Just like going to the store to buy something. You don’t pay until you buy.
You can make a lot of money with your own ecommerce store selling merchandise. They can be cheap and simple to set up.
WORD OF WARNING
When it comes to making money from your own ecommerce store, there is a very large threat to your success.
As you know there are a lot of so called genuine wholesalers out there and one of the biggest problems about this strategy to make money is;
WHERE DO I FIND A REAL TRUSTWORTHY WHOLESALER?
I can tell you that there are a few who make a lot of money doing this but a whole lot more who just get burned. And I mean burned.
WHY?
Because they use a wholesaler that they know very little about and one that has no credibility at all. In fact there are a lot of these, so how do you choose the right one.
Well I know a handful that I would trust but one in particular hits the top of the list. I’ll tell you in just a moment.
The people from Amazon, Wal Mart, Buy.com, etc. don’t make mistakes easily, and you can bet they have a great relationship with wholesalers that they trust.
Ultimately gives these guys the time to do what they do best of all MARKETING THE PRODUCTS.
Have you worked it all out yet?
The simple ingredients for starting your own business on the Internet are;
1. You need a large LIST OF PEOPLE who are hungry for your product. Hungry for your niche and ready to pay for your solution
2. You need a PRODUCT to sell whether this is your own or one that has been produced by someone else. This is temptation.
3. You need to CONTACT these people in anyway you can. Using the Internet, including ezines, newsletters, classified ads, etc
4. You need an initial OPT-IN offer to get them to hand over their names and email address.
5. You need BACKEND products to increase your profit margins
6. You also need to IMPROVE somebody’s LIFE
Like me you are always eager to get stuck into the information knowing you are going to learn something. This can lead you to miss out certain points that are very important. It’s a bit like watching a movie. The second and third time you always pick up on little things that make it even better.
You may have picked up on the fact that I am here to stay and I want the internet to start producing better quality products. Especially in the highly profitable area of digital products or information products.
There are two types of people who set up a business on the net.
Those that just want to sell sell sell no matter what the price. This is their number one focus. You know the newsletters you get always trying to get you to buy buy buy. Full of affiliates links. None of which has all that much quality content.
Then there is the type of person who wants to generate great content. They want to HELP solve those problems. They actually care about what they produce. This to me is making someone’s life a little bit better.
See how important it is to know your customers problems and how to solve them.
YOU NEED to think about what it is your customers want. DO NOT ASSUME.
If you want to get rich, wealthy, financially free or how ever you want to state it then you must shift the FOCUS onto your consumer base. You will find that you will have people recommending friends, family and colleagues to you and your products.
Think of the real world of commerce. Think for a minute what would happen to Wal-Mart if they decided to start sell inferior products to all those millions of trusted consumers.
CONTENT IS KING… Heard that one a few times, right? What does it actually mean though? It means that you need to offer great information that is going to help solve peoples problems and keep them coming back for more. This is absolutely essential to your success.
Start writing THE BEST CONTENT on the net for your products.
Try giving it away for free too. You will be surprised what people will buy off you if they think the free content is great.
If you want to stand out from the crowd you simply must have the best content. This is the reason you need to think strongly about what product you are going to sell. If you are not interested at all in watches then ho ware you going to write about them.
You may be the best chef anyone knows. I bet you could get passionate about telling people how to cook a great steak.
You need to keep people who click on your site on your site as long as possible. You will only do this with amazing content. If you do this I promise you this;
YOU WILL BE SUCCESSSFUL
The number one reason that you will fail in this business is that your content is rubbish. Once again, your content will either kill you or make you.
Repeat this 10 times to yourself….
KILLER CONTENT WILL MAKE ME RICH
Killer content can include, e-books, video/DVD, CD’s or audio, newsletters, blogs.
What else can you do to help you become successful?
Well as you have read it takes a combination of all the things you have read about. Hard Work and commitment is very important as too is courage and integrity. If you can answer yes to all these then you are on your way.
However, knowledge is key. You can get knowledge from all sorts of places including the library, internet, newspapers, TV, CD’s, Videos etc etc etc.
The greatest place to get HELP and KNOWLEDGE is from those that share a common passion and interest as you do. They are equally honest and equally committed to great content and serving the consumer.
Where do you find these people? At seminars, on blogs, on the PHONE, in person. Lunch, dinner, breakfast, and virtually anywhere you want. You just have to contact them.
These people are your friends.
These friends will accelerate you to an enormous income and an incredible contact base. (You know how important a trusted list is)
By the way, do not buy lists that are randomly advertised. This is your fast track to getting spammed)
Ok, before I go on about FRIENDS, I need to make sure you understand what your essentials are for starting an internet business;
1. You must have GREAT CONTENT
2. You must have TRAFFIC
4. You must have INCOMING LINKS
4. You will need AFFILIATES
5. You must RESEARCH
6. You must TEST and act on the results
7. You need a list of OPT-Ins to create you LIST of customers
8. TRUST in the market place.
9. KNOWLEDGE about your product and your consumer
10. SURVEY to get to know your consumers
11.BLOGS to create traffic organically
12. SEO for on and off page. Be nice to Google
Yes, that is a big post but I felt it was time you at least new the basics behind an online business and what you need to start and become a success.
Author: Ashley Banfield
How to Effectively Manage Online Business Easily
For struggling owners of internet businesses utilizing affiliate marketing, the biggest problem encountered is usually managing the different aspects of the business. These could include monitoring payments received, tracking affiliate performance, doing product inventory, creating sales reports and basically, making sure that the entire business is running smoothly. With all these things to take care of, it would help if you have an all-in-one solution to your problem. In this case, an affiliate marketing network portal might make managing your business easier. But you should make sure that your affiliate marketing network portal features the following:
Accept Different Payment Methods
In order to provide your customers with more convenience, you must make sure that you can accept different payment methods. This means that aside from credit card payments, you must be able to accept PayPal and Moneybookers as well as receive direct payments thru payment gateways such as Google Checkout, Authorize.net and Worldpay.
Handle Multiple Merchant Accounts
In addition to offering multiple payment methods, your affiliate marketing network portal should allow you to manage all your merchant accounts easily. This is possible with a user-friendly interface, which will allow you to see details of the sales and check all transactions as well. Having an affiliate marketing network portal can also allow you to see the performance of your business in its entirety.
Minimize Clutter in Your Sales Page
In order to make your products’ sales pages more customer-friendly, you should make an effort to de-clutter by reducing the number of payment methods. It would surely create a more professional looking sales page and it would minimize confusion for your clients. Aside from this, you will also be able to save time when you are adding payment buttons on your sales page. You simply have to add one and you will receive all payments from PayPal, Moneybookers, payment gateways and even directly!
Increase Sales with Affiliate Marketing
With an affiliate marketing network portal, you will be able to enjoy built in networks of affiliates. You should also make sure that it allows your affiliates to place payment buttons on their website and direct these payments to your merchant accounts. This way, your sales page is not the only one generating sales but your affiliates’ sites as well. Your affiliates will, of course, enjoy commission for each successful sales transaction.
Offer Monitoring System
With all these things going on, it would help if you are able to monitor affiliate performance as well as track sales quite easily. It would mean that you can determine how well your business is doing. Aside from this, having a monitoring system will provide you with a way to assess your business and look for ways to improve it!
Although there are many affiliate marketing network portals, you must only trust reliable providers such as Click2Sell.EU ( www.click2sell.eu ). You will only have to sign up, add your items in the Marketplace, put payment buttons on your website and see your profits soar. You will surely enjoy their many benefits!
Author: Egidijus Andreika
Accept Different Payment Methods
In order to provide your customers with more convenience, you must make sure that you can accept different payment methods. This means that aside from credit card payments, you must be able to accept PayPal and Moneybookers as well as receive direct payments thru payment gateways such as Google Checkout, Authorize.net and Worldpay.
Handle Multiple Merchant Accounts
In addition to offering multiple payment methods, your affiliate marketing network portal should allow you to manage all your merchant accounts easily. This is possible with a user-friendly interface, which will allow you to see details of the sales and check all transactions as well. Having an affiliate marketing network portal can also allow you to see the performance of your business in its entirety.
Minimize Clutter in Your Sales Page
In order to make your products’ sales pages more customer-friendly, you should make an effort to de-clutter by reducing the number of payment methods. It would surely create a more professional looking sales page and it would minimize confusion for your clients. Aside from this, you will also be able to save time when you are adding payment buttons on your sales page. You simply have to add one and you will receive all payments from PayPal, Moneybookers, payment gateways and even directly!
Increase Sales with Affiliate Marketing
With an affiliate marketing network portal, you will be able to enjoy built in networks of affiliates. You should also make sure that it allows your affiliates to place payment buttons on their website and direct these payments to your merchant accounts. This way, your sales page is not the only one generating sales but your affiliates’ sites as well. Your affiliates will, of course, enjoy commission for each successful sales transaction.
Offer Monitoring System
With all these things going on, it would help if you are able to monitor affiliate performance as well as track sales quite easily. It would mean that you can determine how well your business is doing. Aside from this, having a monitoring system will provide you with a way to assess your business and look for ways to improve it!
Although there are many affiliate marketing network portals, you must only trust reliable providers such as Click2Sell.EU ( www.click2sell.eu ). You will only have to sign up, add your items in the Marketplace, put payment buttons on your website and see your profits soar. You will surely enjoy their many benefits!
Author: Egidijus Andreika
E-business: A business necessity?
E-business (electronic business) is not only about buying and selling, but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners on the Internet.
In the late '90s, e-business was seen as the Holy Grail of commerce - the next big thing. Promises included increasing the efficiency of distribution, disintermediation, reducing marketing and procurement costs, and decreasing errors in data distribution. Investors pumped billions into companies with no more than a business plan and a spreadsheet. It was a revolution and virtually everyone was on board.
Then, between March 11, 2000 and Oct. 9, 2002, the technology-focused NASDAQ Composite Index lost 78 percent of its value as it fell from 5046.86 to 1114.11. E-business became the butt of jokes on "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live." Virtually everyone got out of the tech stock sector. Investors and decision-makers were overenthusiastic during the rise and overenthusiastic during the fall of the tech sector. The truth and the value of e-business lies somewhere in between.
There were numerous problems with the implementation of e-business in the '90s, as there have been problems with technology implementations all along. (Note the FBI's recent abandonment of its four-year, $170 million software project to track terrorists.) Obviously some of the business plans were not viable (selling dog food online comes to mind), but many others were. Some ideas required revamping legacy systems in a short period of time, which was impractical.
Technology has been changing so quickly in the last 20 years that nontech companies have found themselves challenged to keep up. When business strategy and technology come together, you often have mature, experienced business managers who lack an understanding of technology interacting with younger IT people who understand the technology, but not the business uses. Communication between the two can be difficult at best.
Perception vs. reality
According to the eWorld Survey by IDC, one of the premier global market intelligence and advisory firms in the information technology industry, there are a number of areas where the promise of e-business has fallen short of the reality.
The perception has been that the website is the primary focus of e-business initiatives. In reality, it is also about tying existing systems to a server that allows information to be accessible to the Internet. The study says, "There is still a lot of work to be done. Sales, logistics, supply chain, customer relationship and database software investments can and must be leveraged by corporate websites." The gap between what companies expect of their e-business investments and what their existing e-business infrastructures are capable of exists in two dimensions: the capabilities of the websites themselves and integration with core business systems.
E-business for small business
Although there are many examples of well-executed, relatively small e-businesses on the Internet, some still believe that the hurdles are great for small businesses desiring to conduct integrated e-business ventures. The truth is that declining service provisioning costs, like server, communications and hosting have allowed smaller businesses to make big waves in this arena.
According to the IDC study, "Small enterprises can benefit from the Web by gains in productivity and by tapping markets not previously available to them. While many small firms are particularly challenged by the complexity of inhabiting the (Internet), they need not make giant leaps to get there. Online capabilities can gradually evolve from e-mail to simple websites, then to providing pre- and post-sales online environments, then leveraging their Web investments to make internal processes more efficient."
While it is certainly true that the first generation of e-marketplaces has had trouble gaining critical mass, the IDC study found that brick-and-mortar companies know about e-marketplaces and plan to use them.
Regardless of the pitfalls and problems, the Internet has clearly revolutionized the way we do business. Internet-based product research and procurement, e-mail, the ability to sell surplus items on eBay, Internet-based Electronic Data Interchange and other Internet-based functions have all become accepted and even critical parts of our everyday business lives.
Despite its slow start, successful e-business projects in the aftermarket are many and diverse. From the Technology Enhanced Standards-Based Trading (TEST) program, which uses industry standards to create an automated trading environment between Dana and O'Reilly, to ArvinMeritor's exceptional Web-based trading exchange, aftermarket companies are realizing and implementing e-business to finally achieve some of the goals that were promised a decade ago.
Here are a few other examples that come to mind.
Bob Moore, in his opinion piece, "Staid Carquest makes bold acquisition" (in the December issue of Aftermarket Business), mentions Worldpac. He states, "They have been a remarkable case study in taking the traditional aftermarket business model, standing it on its ear, kicking backsides and taking names."
Worldpac is an Internet-based ordering system that has built a several hundred million dollar aftermarket business that focuses on providing high-quality parts for high-end specialized import repair shops.
The HDeXchange, Inc. (www.hdexchange.com) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the efficiency of the heavy truck parts industry through electronic commerce solutions. Edward Kuo, general manager, states that there are currently 120 major distributors using the exchange, which represents more than 50 percent of parts purchased by independent distributors in the market. HDX is currently examining how their model could be employed to benefit the automotive aftermarket.
One example from the performance and accessories side of the market is Reliable Automotive, a performance and accessories aftermarket WD, headquartered in Kansas City. Alise Miner, Reliable's IT director, pointed out at the Aftermarket eForum in Chicago last August that their Internet-based ordering transactions have increased from 24 percent to more than 80 percent in the past two years.
Realizing the hurdles
Here are a few final hurdles to realizing the advantages of e-business.
"The Last Mile" is a phrase developed to describe the difficulty of getting broadband Internet service into homes and businesses. Delivering technology to the end user in our market represents a similar challenge. According to "e-Commerce in the Canadian Aftermarket," a 2003 report funded by AIA Canada, interview and focus group discussions indicate that lack of participation among installers could be a barrier to achieving e-commerce goals within the aftermarket.
Legacy systems are probably the biggest issue affecting the adoption of e-business technology. Much of the legacy software and methods of doing business in the aftermarket will need to change. Current problems include information scattered across different physical locations on computers running disparate operating systems.
A third hurdle is difficulty getting cooperation within the enterprise. Here's a quote from the Dana/O'Reilly TEST Report: "Central among the findings of the TEST team was that cultural issues, not technological issues, were the greatest impediments to effective implementation of standards-based trading. It seemed that more time had to be spent selling the idea of adopting standards than on the actual compliance with them."
Tapping into technological potential
Some of the other rewards of all this hard work, most of which have yet to be realized, are data mining, knowledge discovery and artificial intelligence.
Data mining is the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases.
Knowledge discovery is the process of identifying valid, novel, potentially useful and ultimately understandable patterns and models in data. One famous example is the discovery by a supermarket chain that there is a high likelihood that men who purchase beer also purchase diapers. Who knew?
Artificial intelligence is the work of programming computers to make decisions in real-life situations. An example would be a software program that notes a sharp decline in inventory of a best-selling product and automatically places a reorder with the preferred supplier.
Here are some questions that might be answered by data mining and knowledge discovery tools. Does the average 30-year-old Caucasian male in the Atlanta suburbs purchase a bug deflector to enhance the look of his vehicle or to limit bugs on the windshield? When are the primary bug hatching times in St. Paul, Minn.? Will extreme winter weather in the Northeast enhance the sales of batteries and coolant? How will stainless steel exhaust systems affect exhaust system installers in the north central states vs. the northeast states vs. the southern states? Should we be geographically repositioning assets?
A recent Gartner Group Advanced Technology Research Note listed data mining and artificial intelligence at the top of the five key technology areas that "will clearly have a major impact across a wide range of industries within the next three to five years."
One final concept that can be implemented in stages and begun immediately is a concept we will call "Data Maximization." Data maximization is the process of discovering all of the existing and potential desires of various sets of information recipients and then planning and building toward the sum of those desires using data that is currently in our control. Some of this information will be the normal items stored in a database: purchase orders, product numbers, specifications and installer locator data. Other sets of information might not be currently stored in a database, such as installation diagrams, product images and material safety data sheets.
Put yourself in the data user's shoes. If you are a replacement brake manufacturer, a repair shop might need installation diagrams, service notes, technical service bulletins, recalls, safety notes, part specifications and a part number cross-reference. Online training could also be provided, and WDs may need online ordering and information to assist them in supporting their jobbers and installers, as well as current promotions, sales training, and pricing and inventory.
Data maximization is a two-way street. The more value you provide to the user by meeting their needs, the more information you will be able to glean from your user base, either through online ordering habits, tracking their online behavior or user surveys.
The cost of technology implementation is often more heavily weighted on the side of training and acceptance than it is on actual software and hardware. The cost of beginning technology implementation and then abandoning it can be devastating. This may require more extensive research and planning than other business processes and perhaps needs a healthy dose of skepticism. The bottom line is that e-business is a must in order to compete in today's environment. Ignore it at your peril.
Author: Dan Jondron
In the late '90s, e-business was seen as the Holy Grail of commerce - the next big thing. Promises included increasing the efficiency of distribution, disintermediation, reducing marketing and procurement costs, and decreasing errors in data distribution. Investors pumped billions into companies with no more than a business plan and a spreadsheet. It was a revolution and virtually everyone was on board.
Then, between March 11, 2000 and Oct. 9, 2002, the technology-focused NASDAQ Composite Index lost 78 percent of its value as it fell from 5046.86 to 1114.11. E-business became the butt of jokes on "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live." Virtually everyone got out of the tech stock sector. Investors and decision-makers were overenthusiastic during the rise and overenthusiastic during the fall of the tech sector. The truth and the value of e-business lies somewhere in between.
There were numerous problems with the implementation of e-business in the '90s, as there have been problems with technology implementations all along. (Note the FBI's recent abandonment of its four-year, $170 million software project to track terrorists.) Obviously some of the business plans were not viable (selling dog food online comes to mind), but many others were. Some ideas required revamping legacy systems in a short period of time, which was impractical.
Technology has been changing so quickly in the last 20 years that nontech companies have found themselves challenged to keep up. When business strategy and technology come together, you often have mature, experienced business managers who lack an understanding of technology interacting with younger IT people who understand the technology, but not the business uses. Communication between the two can be difficult at best.
Perception vs. reality
According to the eWorld Survey by IDC, one of the premier global market intelligence and advisory firms in the information technology industry, there are a number of areas where the promise of e-business has fallen short of the reality.
The perception has been that the website is the primary focus of e-business initiatives. In reality, it is also about tying existing systems to a server that allows information to be accessible to the Internet. The study says, "There is still a lot of work to be done. Sales, logistics, supply chain, customer relationship and database software investments can and must be leveraged by corporate websites." The gap between what companies expect of their e-business investments and what their existing e-business infrastructures are capable of exists in two dimensions: the capabilities of the websites themselves and integration with core business systems.
E-business for small business
Although there are many examples of well-executed, relatively small e-businesses on the Internet, some still believe that the hurdles are great for small businesses desiring to conduct integrated e-business ventures. The truth is that declining service provisioning costs, like server, communications and hosting have allowed smaller businesses to make big waves in this arena.
According to the IDC study, "Small enterprises can benefit from the Web by gains in productivity and by tapping markets not previously available to them. While many small firms are particularly challenged by the complexity of inhabiting the (Internet), they need not make giant leaps to get there. Online capabilities can gradually evolve from e-mail to simple websites, then to providing pre- and post-sales online environments, then leveraging their Web investments to make internal processes more efficient."
While it is certainly true that the first generation of e-marketplaces has had trouble gaining critical mass, the IDC study found that brick-and-mortar companies know about e-marketplaces and plan to use them.
Regardless of the pitfalls and problems, the Internet has clearly revolutionized the way we do business. Internet-based product research and procurement, e-mail, the ability to sell surplus items on eBay, Internet-based Electronic Data Interchange and other Internet-based functions have all become accepted and even critical parts of our everyday business lives.
Despite its slow start, successful e-business projects in the aftermarket are many and diverse. From the Technology Enhanced Standards-Based Trading (TEST) program, which uses industry standards to create an automated trading environment between Dana and O'Reilly, to ArvinMeritor's exceptional Web-based trading exchange, aftermarket companies are realizing and implementing e-business to finally achieve some of the goals that were promised a decade ago.
Here are a few other examples that come to mind.
Bob Moore, in his opinion piece, "Staid Carquest makes bold acquisition" (in the December issue of Aftermarket Business), mentions Worldpac. He states, "They have been a remarkable case study in taking the traditional aftermarket business model, standing it on its ear, kicking backsides and taking names."
Worldpac is an Internet-based ordering system that has built a several hundred million dollar aftermarket business that focuses on providing high-quality parts for high-end specialized import repair shops.
The HDeXchange, Inc. (www.hdexchange.com) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the efficiency of the heavy truck parts industry through electronic commerce solutions. Edward Kuo, general manager, states that there are currently 120 major distributors using the exchange, which represents more than 50 percent of parts purchased by independent distributors in the market. HDX is currently examining how their model could be employed to benefit the automotive aftermarket.
One example from the performance and accessories side of the market is Reliable Automotive, a performance and accessories aftermarket WD, headquartered in Kansas City. Alise Miner, Reliable's IT director, pointed out at the Aftermarket eForum in Chicago last August that their Internet-based ordering transactions have increased from 24 percent to more than 80 percent in the past two years.
Realizing the hurdles
Here are a few final hurdles to realizing the advantages of e-business.
"The Last Mile" is a phrase developed to describe the difficulty of getting broadband Internet service into homes and businesses. Delivering technology to the end user in our market represents a similar challenge. According to "e-Commerce in the Canadian Aftermarket," a 2003 report funded by AIA Canada, interview and focus group discussions indicate that lack of participation among installers could be a barrier to achieving e-commerce goals within the aftermarket.
Legacy systems are probably the biggest issue affecting the adoption of e-business technology. Much of the legacy software and methods of doing business in the aftermarket will need to change. Current problems include information scattered across different physical locations on computers running disparate operating systems.
A third hurdle is difficulty getting cooperation within the enterprise. Here's a quote from the Dana/O'Reilly TEST Report: "Central among the findings of the TEST team was that cultural issues, not technological issues, were the greatest impediments to effective implementation of standards-based trading. It seemed that more time had to be spent selling the idea of adopting standards than on the actual compliance with them."
Tapping into technological potential
Some of the other rewards of all this hard work, most of which have yet to be realized, are data mining, knowledge discovery and artificial intelligence.
Data mining is the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases.
Knowledge discovery is the process of identifying valid, novel, potentially useful and ultimately understandable patterns and models in data. One famous example is the discovery by a supermarket chain that there is a high likelihood that men who purchase beer also purchase diapers. Who knew?
Artificial intelligence is the work of programming computers to make decisions in real-life situations. An example would be a software program that notes a sharp decline in inventory of a best-selling product and automatically places a reorder with the preferred supplier.
Here are some questions that might be answered by data mining and knowledge discovery tools. Does the average 30-year-old Caucasian male in the Atlanta suburbs purchase a bug deflector to enhance the look of his vehicle or to limit bugs on the windshield? When are the primary bug hatching times in St. Paul, Minn.? Will extreme winter weather in the Northeast enhance the sales of batteries and coolant? How will stainless steel exhaust systems affect exhaust system installers in the north central states vs. the northeast states vs. the southern states? Should we be geographically repositioning assets?
A recent Gartner Group Advanced Technology Research Note listed data mining and artificial intelligence at the top of the five key technology areas that "will clearly have a major impact across a wide range of industries within the next three to five years."
One final concept that can be implemented in stages and begun immediately is a concept we will call "Data Maximization." Data maximization is the process of discovering all of the existing and potential desires of various sets of information recipients and then planning and building toward the sum of those desires using data that is currently in our control. Some of this information will be the normal items stored in a database: purchase orders, product numbers, specifications and installer locator data. Other sets of information might not be currently stored in a database, such as installation diagrams, product images and material safety data sheets.
Put yourself in the data user's shoes. If you are a replacement brake manufacturer, a repair shop might need installation diagrams, service notes, technical service bulletins, recalls, safety notes, part specifications and a part number cross-reference. Online training could also be provided, and WDs may need online ordering and information to assist them in supporting their jobbers and installers, as well as current promotions, sales training, and pricing and inventory.
Data maximization is a two-way street. The more value you provide to the user by meeting their needs, the more information you will be able to glean from your user base, either through online ordering habits, tracking their online behavior or user surveys.
The cost of technology implementation is often more heavily weighted on the side of training and acceptance than it is on actual software and hardware. The cost of beginning technology implementation and then abandoning it can be devastating. This may require more extensive research and planning than other business processes and perhaps needs a healthy dose of skepticism. The bottom line is that e-business is a must in order to compete in today's environment. Ignore it at your peril.
Author: Dan Jondron
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)