How to Double Your Business in Any Economy

For a lot of entrepreneurs all over the world, times are tough. Unemployment is high, prices are high, debt is high, it’s difficult to get financing, and even some of the largest companies haven’t been able to weather the storm. But it’s not all doom and gloom out there. Some companies have actually been thriving through the economic challenges of the past few years. How do they do it? What does it take to not only survive but grow when others are failing?

You might think we’re talking about industries that tend to do well in a down economy, like dollar stores or other discount businesses, but you might be surprised at some of the companies that have taken the lemons of this economic climate and turned them into lemonade – premium lemonade!

A Shining Example

One such company is Blue Fountain Media, a website design, development and online marketing company based in New York City. Far from being a discount service provider, this 5-Star Dun and Bradstreet rated firm produces award winning work (including web design, branding, communications, and all aspects of online marketing) for some very high-end clients, which include the likes of the National Football League, the New York Yankees, O: The Oprah Magazine, Public Broadcasting System (PBS), Proctor & Gamble, and the U.S. Mint, to name a few. In addition to working with larger established companies and institutions, Blue Fountain Media assists startups and not-for-profit organizations in a wide variety of fields and industries, from beauty and fashion to health issues.

So how have they done it? “I strongly believe that difficult economic times are the best times to grow your business,” says Gabriel Shaoolian, Blue Fountain Media CEO & founder. “When times are tough, every penny a firm spends is critical. Companies come to us because we have earned a reputation for delivering substantial return on their investment.”

Gabriel hits the nail on the head when it comes to how to thrive in any economic climate. Smart buyers – especially business people – are always more concerned with value than price, and that’s never more true than when finances are tight. Just as Gabriel and Blue Fountain Media have done, any entrepreneur can thrive, regardless of the economy, if they can communicate superior value to their clients and potential clients. It’s about giving people more than they expect for their dollar – going above and beyond to provide a product or service that has a higher perceived value than the actual cost. When you can do that, what you’re offering looks like a bargain, whatever the price tag might say.

One factor Shaoolian points out as key to his company’s success is his staff. “When your employees take that much pride in the work they do – and feel personally invested in the company – the results are amazing,” says Shaoolian. “The people who own the company are the people who work here.”

What it Takes

The key to doubling your business in any economic climate? Provide amazing value and leave your audience with no doubt about that value. How do you do that? Bring in the best people to execute the work, and treat them well enough to want to stay and give your customers their all. The formula isn’t easy, but it’s simple, and if Blue Fountain is any indication of potential results, it’s obviously well worth the effort.

(Credit)

Bagaimana Mendapatkan Testinomial Dari Pelanggan (Dengan segera)

Salah satu cara yang terbaik untuk memasarkan produk anda ialah mendapatkan testimonial atau maklumbalas dari pelanggan yang sedia ada. Testimonial adalah sangat penting, kerana ia adalah pengalaman sebenar dari seorang pengguna atau pelanggan yang pernah berurusan dengan syarikat anda, di mana jika urusan anda dengan mereka baik dan berjalan lancar, maka baiklah testimonial yang anda akan dapat.

Bagaimana mendapatkan testimonial dari pelanggan dengan segera.

Salah satu cara untuk mendapatkan testimonial (yang positif) dari pelanggan anda ialah dengan memberikan layanan yang terbaik untuk mereka. Memberikan servis dan penjagaan yang berkualiti kepada mereka ini akan menjadikan setiap urusan anda buah mulut kepada mereka. Apabila tersebar, ianya secara automatik akan menjadi bualan dan maklum balas positif kepada rakan-rakan mereka.

Memberikan sesuatu yang amat berkualiti

Walaupun kita sering kali di beritahu supaya mendapatkan segera ‘referral’ dan testimonial selepas jualan, tetapi ada jalan lain yang lebih efektif, iaitu memberikan ‘sesuatu yang amat berkualiti’. Ianya begini, apabila pelanggan selesai membeli produk atau servis anda, terus sahaja berikan sesuatu yang berkualiti sebagai follow up kepada jualan tadi. Ianya boleh jadi, kandungan buku, informasi perniagaan, laporan dan pujian kepada perniagaan pelanggan anda. Sebagai pulangan mereka akan member pula pujian kepada produk atau servis anda. Manusia memang gemar tolong menolong sesama sendiri. Cubalah sendiri.

(Kredit gambar)

How to Run a Home Business… Away From Home

The appeal of working from home is enough to drive many employees down the long and winding road of entrepreneurship. There’s something mythical about the thrill of no longer having to commute to work, or getting to spend more time with friends, or maybe simply working on a laptop in your underpants.

For some entrepreneurs, the home business is an oxymoron. Many of us are still drunk on the promise of books like Four Hour Work Week, and other bibles for a generation that has grown up believing entrepreneurs can take over the world overnight thanks to the power of the Internet.

What we really want to do is grow a business that allows us greater freedom in life. We want the ability to travel, to break the Monday to Friday grind, and to take back control of our lives.

Traveling while running your own business is an enormous challenge, but one of the greatest thrills of the job. The online professional has scores of beautiful countries to work from, but there are some obstacles to overcome along the way. Doing a Truman Burbank and eloping to Fiji isn’t the smartest idea if your business isn’t ready to board the plane.

Who can you trust back home?

Most businesses have a registered office where all post, checks and important mail is sent to. If you’re going to be trawling around mountains or chilling in rainforest hammocks, you’re going to need a trusted ‘secretary’ to deal with any mail that gets sent your way. It doesn’t take long to handle banking, or to open letters, but you need somebody to handle the task.

I would recommend bribing your loved ones with money, or using a mail redirection service – which varies in price from country to country.

Before you leave, switch from paper to online statements across all your major accounts. You can set up a Skype voicemail account to trap any important messages without getting charged to kingdom come in International calls.

Delegate the simple boring tasks to virtual assistants

This piece of advice has surely been thrown around enough times to become gospel.

When you’re slowly topping up your sun tan in a tropical paradise, with a cocktail by the beach and a mental list of all the work tasks you have left to do, do not be surprised if you end up neglecting those annoying little tasks that breach your chipper mood.

Here’s a simple way to look at outsourcing: if the task is easy enough to condense in to a How To guide, it’s definitely simple enough to outsource. Why waste your creative and innovative juices on work that a lemming could handle? Get rid of it! Easy Outsource is a personal favorite stomping ground for recruiting cheap but talented labor.

Become ‘hard drive independent’ with The Cloud

Most people work from laptops on their travels. But if there’s anything you should remember about laptops, it’s that their portability can often lead to their demise. We’ve all heard tales of shattered screens, clumsy accidents and luggage going missing. Unfortunately, theft can also be a concern when you’re traveling in to the unknown.

Protect yourself against the worst-case scenario by utilizing Dropbox, a brilliant synchronization service that saves your data to computers, phones and Dropbox itself.

Prepare for any time difference adjustments

Depending on where you plan to travel, time difference is likely to influence how you stay in touch with any important contacts. If you’re catching forty winks while customers and clients are badgering furiously for your attention, compromises need to be made.

You can do this by delegating to a virtual assistant or simply adopting the email-only line of communication (until a genuine emergency arises where you do actually need to retreat from the hammock).

Switch to online accounting

There is nothing worse than being messaged by the Taxman, in the outer reaches of Mongolia, asking for some information about your financial records, which you conveniently left at home.

Online accounting, preferably by a third party, makes life so much easier when you’re working on the road. Services like Crunch and E-Conomic are matches made in heaven for the entrepreneurial nomad who doesn’t like boarding planes with a copy of the books tucked away in his hand luggage.

Once your accounting is in good hands, and these other steps have been taken, there’s no better feeling than whipping out the passport and adventuring in to the unknown. The home business has never been more portable than it is in 2011. Take advantage!

(Source)

22 Tips Untuk Maksimumkan Keuntungan Kedai Online Anda (All in One Articles)

1) Meletakkan kedai pada status 'Penambahbaikan' supaya pengunjung tidak keliru.

2) Offer pelanggan anda produk yang lain yang mungkin mereka minati.

3) Gunakan forum sebagai medium untuk merapatkan diri dengan orang ramai / Public relation.

4) Kaji permintaan di internet sebelum menjual sesuatu produk / servis.

5) Gunakan Facebook fan page untuk menambahkan lagi 'Brand Recognition' produk anda.

6) Mencari trend pengguna di Twitter.

7) Memasang Favicon untuk mempamerkan logo brand atau produk anda seterusnya meningkatkan 'awareness' pengunjung.

8) Meningkatkan ranking kedai Lot.my di Google dengan beberapa optimasi di laman web.

9) Menambahkan widget yang berguna untuk memudahkan pengunjung anda melayari kedai Lot.my anda.

10) Membuat setting 'Weight Based' pada produk anda.

11) Membuat pemasaran di Facebook secara terus menerus.

12) Memastikan kandungan surat jualan atau iklan produk anda di kedai Lot.my anda sentiasa dalam keadaan terbaik.

13) Upgrade ke akaun Premium Lot.my untuk lebih feature dan 'items limitation'.

14) Memastikan 'Windows Shopper' menjadi pembeli sebenar dengan mengoptimasi kedai Lot.my.

15) Tidak melakukan Spam semasa melakukan pemasaran kedai Lot.my anda.

16) Menggunakan Google Analytics untuk memudahkan proses analisis kedai pada masa akan datang.

17) Menjadikan produk anda viral di internet dan mudah di kongsikan oleh pelanggan.

18) Menggunakan Mall sebagai platform untuk mendapatkan pengunjung ke kedai anda.

19) Mendapatkan backlinks kepada kedai anda dalam usaha meningkatkan ranking kedai Lot.my anda di search engine.

20) Memahami kenapa pelanggan tidak membeli produk anda.

21) Meletakkan diskaun secara berpada-pada dan terancang.

22) Menulis blog dan menggunakannya sebagai medium untuk mendapat lebih lagi 'leads' kepada kedai Lot.my anda.

Do You Market Solutions, Or Just Stuff?

People don’t really want your products. They’re not out searching for your service.

They want easier lives. They want to be entertained. They want their struggles extinguished and their problems solved.

This, then, is how you sell to them with email marketing: solve those problems. Stamp out those struggles.

Focus on meeting people’s needs in a way that positions your product or service as their solution. In other words, do what these eight marketers did.

Selling Solutions

These businesses had jackets, tickets, and memberships to sell. But they knew better than to just send a message saying, “Stuff on Sale!” Instead of stuff, they sold:

Style

Every morning, most women, many men, nearly every girl and even a handful of boys stand in front of their mirrors and demand, “What should I wear today?”

Usually, the mirror doesn’t answer back. So Neiman Marcus did instead.

With five new outfit ideas, shoppers need to find a way to recreate the looks themselves. And since they’re already on the Neiman Marcus site…

Entertainment

Instead of tickets, Brooks & Dunn present something fun to do with your pals. They even offer free tickets (and a party bus!) to one lucky winner.

You don’t necessarily need a giveaway (though they’re a great way to ramp up interest). The key here: if you’re selling an experience, keep the focus off the fees and on the fun.

Time

With the subject line “Could you use more time?”, The Container Store pretty much guaranteed themselves a high open rate.

Find a way to grant your subscribers that most precious of commodities, and they’ll not only want to click the “buy” button, they’ll be grateful to.

Street Savvy

The Motorcycles Only newsletter shares pro riding tips so bikers can talk the talk with the biggest and the toughest.

The best part? The email doesn’t actually give the answer – it explains the question further, then leads readers back to the site!

Kid-Friendly Recreation

Harry & David sells pre-assembled gifts, delivered straight to the recipient. It’s a perfect holiday option for busy families.

And since happy kids make happy parents, H & S threw in an activity for the little ones – with a prize designed to promote their signature product.

Adventure

REI had GPS units to sell, so they repackaged them as opportunities to “Navigate With Confidence.”

And the rest of the subject line promises “Easy-to-Use GPS Units.” Not only is your journey safe (your GPS will keep you on the beaten path) it’s also easy – perfectly manageable for the everyday consumer.

Parenting Solutions

Giggle knows that parents worry when their tots embark on a liquid diet or a three-month PBJ binge. especially with childhood obesity rates burgeoning in some areas of the globe.

With their “healthy eaters” broadcast, Giggle offers not only the products that can help, but suggestions for how to use them.

Try It Yourself

The key to selling solutions is first finding out what your subscribers want, then figuring out how your products can deliver it. Ask yourself:

1. “What do I have?” Make a list of your assets – long weekend hours, quirky salespeople, an overstock of flat irons.

2. “What do they need?” Consider basic human needs – safety, friendship, freedom. Then ask what your customer base wants – foolproof site editing, ways to impress their coworkers, a good night’s sleep?

Now match them up. And when you’re ready to make the sale, remember to explain what buyers will really be getting!

Resource - Aweber

Kelebihan eCommerce berbanding Blogshop

Blogshop menjadi trend kepada kebanyakan peniaga online di Malaysia. Boleh di katakan kebanyakan peniaga online menggunakan blog sebagai platform untuk menjual produk mereka.

Blogshop mungkin sesuai menjadi platform untuk mereka yang baru bermula berniaga ataupun melakukan perniagaan secara part time. Bagi mereka yang mahu mempunyai perniagaan yang berkembang, mungkin kurang sesuai menggunakan blogshop sebagai platform perniagaan. Ini kerana ada beberapa ciri pada ecommerce yang tiada pada blogshop:

Menguruskan Produk

Dengan menggunakan software ecommerce, anda boleh menguruskan maklumat produk anda samada menambah deskripsi tentang produk atau lain-lain melalui admin panel. Anda boleh menguruskan inventori anda, dan akan mendapat alert terkini tentang inventori produk. Produk juag boleh di import ke dalam kedai secara pukal dan ia boleh di lakukan dengan satu klik.

Shopping Cart

Dengan ecommerce, pelanggan anda boleh menggunakan Shopping Cart untuk memudahkan pembelian mereka. Dengan Shopping Cart anda lebih mudah untuk menguruskan diskaun atau kupon, kos penghantaran atau berat produk secara automatik.

Menguruskan Tempahan

Tempahan dari pelanggana anda dapat di rekodkan secara automatik di admin panel anda dan notifikasi akan di sampaikan ke email anda. Segala maklumat berkenaan tempahan pelanggan akan dapat di terima oleh anda. Jadi ia memudahkan anda untuk menghubungi pelanggan anda apabila produk sudah di hantar kepada mereka.

Menguruskan Pelanggan

Seperti yang di ketahui sebelum ini, maklumat pelanggan akan di rekod secara automatik di dalam database anda, jadi tak perlu merekodnya semula secara manual di dalam Excel dll. Selain tiu, anda akan mendapat newsletter secara percuma, untuk memudahkan anda mengemaskini kepada pelanggan anda tentang produk atau promosi terkini anda.

Rekod Jualan dan Statistik

Melalui pengurusan pelanggan anda juga akan mendapat maklumat lengkap tentang pelanggan anda di dalam database berserta dengan rekod jualan dan statistik. Ini akan memudahkan anda membuat analisis tentang jualan anda dan akan memudahkan anda membuat penambahbaikan kepada produk anda dan seterusnya meningkatkan jualan dan keuntungan.

*Sekadar beberapa fungsi utama. Ada pelbagai lagi kelebihan sistem ecommerce berbanding blogshop.* Sign Up untuk mencuba sendiri kelebihan sistem ecommerce.