Hope Floats In A Bad Economy With E-commerce (Sven Makowal)

Jun 8, 2009

In 2006 the Internet was second only to television in capturing adult media attention. By late 2008 almost one-third of all Internet users were age 55 and up. These changes, from a younger persons media to a more accepted mainstream media for everyone, means more purchasing power is available to the internet retailer. With the growth in the numbers of older adults using Internet services, escalating gas prices and a more firm movement towards Green, on-line shopping and the many Shopping Carts available to buyers today will only fuel its popularity and use. Although demographic research suggests that the higher the family income, the more likely they are to use on-line shopping, the above trends will no doubt start to affect that as well.

Any company that is able too but is not doing business over the internet is putting themselves at an extreme disadvantage. Consider the following. According to statistics recently released by eMarketer the US is expected to see their on-line shopping grow at 65% from 2008 to 2013.To put it in a more meaningful way, revenues will go from $113B to $203B US. Hard on its heels Canadians will also see very strong on-line shopping growth. Their growth is anticipated to grow from $13.8B in 2007 to $22.8B by 2012. Therefore, any business not engaged in a shopping cart solution has certainly not missed the boat and they can learn a lot from others as they climb on board.

With all of the unpleasant economic news recently its difficult to not be adversely affected. Rather than fall victim to the negativity the various news media seem to prey on consider the possibilities that are presented to all of us through the internet. How many of us today would like to derive another income, a secondary one that allows us to provide a few extras for our family or for ourselves? The truth is there are always options for those who know where to look. Multiple income streams are a strategy that can help safeguard us while this downturn sorts itself out. Two things make it easy for anyone with a product or an idea to attract and sell to prospects. The internets global reach and the ability to perform e-commerce transactions with shopping cart solutions means you have a global audience for your product or service. Depending on your creativity these technologies make a second or even third income stream possible with minimal overhead. And don't forget about the advantages of working from home. Even for those who don't have a product or service ready to sell right now there are a number of Affiliate Programs available where all the work has been done for you. All the individual need do is source one or two that may align themselves with their pending product or service and start sooner than later. This method allows the newcomer to understand how on-line shopping and its associated marketing strategies all link together.

In today's economy cash stretched businesses are moving away from the traditionally more expensive advertising methods of Newspaper and Yellow Page ads and are taking greater advantage of both the Internet and the many new Social Advertising media such a Face Book, U-tube, Twitter and more. And here's why! No matter how bad the economy appears, and although it may appear that it is bad everywhere, there are always pockets that continue to flourish and even prosper. This is why the Internet is such an important technology in this economy. These pockets will change over time as different influences kick in or depart. The constant is that your presence on the Internet combined with your e-commerce abilities, means that your business is always open, always available to these people that are still ready to purchase today.

Regardless of any economy there are always people wanting to buy today and people looking to gather information to purchase later. If your product and website are convincing enough and your e-commerce solution easy to use then you will get the now buyer. But the shoppers need to be convinced. Therefore, any good shopping cart will have a capability to stay in touch with the shopper. The wise internet seller can source other technologies that can work with their shopping cart and e-commerce programs to deliver on-going campaigns keeping your prospects up to date and interested in your products and services. This means they don't have to constantly surf your site to see when a sale or other special is on. For an example of a company with an excellent marketing campaign technology check out www.AutomatedMarketingSolutions.com. The social networks such as Face Book, U-tube and Twitter are also excellent ways to build rapport and credibility with future buyers so that when it does come time to buy, your name and product are at the top of their mind. These media provide excellent ways of measuring the reception of your products and services and gauging the readiness of the public for an idea you may have. Therefore, don't limit yourself in how you reach out to your current and future prospects and customers.

The last two years have not been kind to large companies and some of their outdated practices have given rise to significant animosity. Ill mention AIG and let it go at that. However, we can still learn from them. For example, a February 2009 report suggests that CMOs or Chief Marketing Officers, in their list of Top 10 Priorities for 2009, list the integration of their traditional media and marketing programs with internet services as number 2. There are obvious advantages of doing this and they include reduced costs and overhead in the marketing departments. For the entrepreneur and the small to medium business these same benefits accrue. An on-line enterprise combined with an e-commerce capability, if properly thought out and marketed, can be the key to a second income and additional peace of mind. It could be a stepping stone to a whole new business. As with everything else in the world however, how effective we are in using these tools to attract, convert and retain will differentiate us and our success.
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