Product Sales Beat Ads Sales for Web RevenuesWritten by Rob Spiegel
Most entrepreneurs who launch a Web site are seeking product sales revenue or advertising revenue. Even corporate brochure sites frequently sell advertising. As you click through sites while you're online, proliferation of advertising gives impression that Web ad sales could be a logical (and potentially profitable) way to offset expenses of building, maintaining and promoting your site.But before you make call to Monster.com to ask who places their advertising, you may want to consider these statistics from Jupiter Media Metrix, and premier online advertising tracking company: · Online advertising accounts for under 2 percent of total advertising. If all goes well (and right now online advertising is not going well at all), research company predicts that will rise to 5.2 percent in five years. · Online advertising rose an impressive 69 percent last year, but this year online ad revenue is only expected to rise 12 percent, and over next five years, growth will hover below 15 or 20 percent each year. This means online advertising will have to fight hard to rise to level of billboard advertising. · Jupiter also reported that advertisers have their doubts about online advertising. Advertisers believe Internet ads do not reach enough people and are too expensive. · More bad news for those who want to sell ads is Jupiter's finding that cost of Internet advertising has fallen 30 percent over past year and these costs are expected to keep falling into fall of 2001. Online advertising is one of casualties of dot com crash. "Online advertising was built on false expectations set up in Internet bubble when everyone believed Net was magical and didn't need to be measured," said Carla Hendra, president of OgilvyOne North America, a major online advertising firm. "For first few years, if someone looked at a Web site and said 'cool,' that was enough. Now clients are becoming more conservative." This translates into "Forget about it" for those who believe they can attract advertising dollars to their Web site. Product sales at Web sites, however, present a completely different story. Even with dot com crash, Americans are spending more money than ever online. The Web continues to be fastest-growing retail channel. According to Boston Consulting Group, online retail revenues grew 65 percent in 2000, hitting $44.5 billion. The research company expects revenues to reach 66 billion this year, up 45 percent from last year.
| | Being The Best – What Does It Take?Written by Marcella McMahon, Motivator and Personal Coach
As I read an article from a Continental Airlines Magazine (The Technovangelist, by Kevin Markey) about Philips Components which is worlds largest supplier of drives, subassemblies and components for TV and is number one in LCD screens and screens for handheld devices like one I am typing on right now, I am struck by large print question this company asks itself, "What do we have to do to become better?" Philips has actually created an entire internal learning organization, which keeps asking that question of itself as a company. How many of us ask ourselves “What do I do to become better?” in our own lives, personal or professional. Look at your company, do they ask what it is that they can do better? Or if you are a manager, how often do you stop to reassess what it is you can do better? Or how you can help your staff to do better? What does it take to be best?Being best takes: 1.Self Assessment 2.Group Assessment 3.Utter Honesty 4.Ability to Handle Criticism Appropriately 5.Perpetual Search for Growth These steps work for anyone in any aspect of life, be it personal, family, spiritual, physical, or business. Since this is a Sales Newsletter – let’s focus on business life. Self Assessment Take a look at where you are in your career. Good Questions to Ask Your Self: ·Am I where I want to be? ·Where do I need to grow? ·The one thing I would change about my work is... Now you have some areas you might change. Take for example, one of my clients who made this common statement, “I want to grow my earnings.” You’ve heard statement, “Think outside box.” That’s what I want you to do next. Whatever your issue, don’t think along conventional lines. So take increasing your earnings and think outside normal and use brainstorming techniques, which means no criticizing ideas at this point (see archive articles Brainstorming). Some ideas on increasing earnings for a commissionable position may include: ·Self-Marketing and Networking – How can I increase my customer base? In turn will increase my revenue. ·Treating my job as self-employment – Since sales is commission based more sales I make more earnings I acquire. Maybe I could hire an assistant to help me accomplish more in a day. Maybe I could develop an email marketing campaign and drive sales directly to me. Or maybe I could… Group Assessment Assess your group means: analyze whom you group yourself with: ·Which company do you choose to work for ·What type of sales team you have ·Who you hang around
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