Real NetworkingWritten by /"Wild Bill/" Montgomery
What do you think of when somebody brings up networking? The dreaded Opt-in mailing lists, never-ending Newsgroups, or maybe it's those virtual or tele-meetings with other professionals?The main idea behind networking is to gain respect of other businesses and individuals for contribution you and your company can make. You rarely gain any alliances from an Opt-In list that is made up of different businesses or individuals trying to push their products or services onto each other. It's nothing but a nameless, faceless barrage of ads. And, for all virtual legwork required in newsgroups, very few connections that you might make there are far outweighed by time you will spend doing it. I do have to admit that with different types of electronic meetings that are available today, they are comparably better than newsgroups or opt-in's, but still cannot compare to Real Networking. Here in a simple form, is an example of my networking: The scene: Local Health Club. Admittably, a good place to meet other individuals who might have a chance of being in position to be a part of a successful network cycle for me. I see Don working out on stair stepper. I know Don to see him here, but have never really held a good conversation with him. I know that Don repairs computers for a lot of small businesses in area. I am myself am a web designer. The first part of initializing a network partner is getting that line of communication open. I go over jump on stair-stepper next to Don. I begin striking up a (non-business) conversation with Don. I eventually ask him what business he is in. Don tells me just what I expected to hear. He owns his own computer repair business and does a lot of work with smaller local businesses. I tell him that I also work with same type of businesses in Web Design field. I then ask Don if when session is over may I have one of his business cards, and when occasion arises, would he mind if I referred any of my customers needing his services. Well, unless Don was already so overwhelmed with work, he would certainly not mind getting some new business. Please remember this. One keynote of networking is not to expect something in return. What you're looking for here is a future network contact, not your next meal.
| | Benchmarks for a Winning Web BusinessWritten by Rob Spiegel
Leo Tolstoy wisely observed that all happy families are same, while unhappy families are unhappy in their own ways. Stretching that view a touch, same can be said of retail Web ventures. Failures come with thousands of different stories, but successful Web businesses share certain similarities. In its report, "Winning Online Consumer 2.0: Converting Traffic into Profitable Relationships," a study of 3000 online consumers, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) finds there are visitor and buyer ratios that winning Net businesses share in common.The report advises Web merchants to address five important benchmarks that help determine whether your site is growing in right direction. Once a retailer gets these numbers moving in a healthy direction, it can begin its road to profits. · Visitor-to-buyer conversion rates · Traffic, measured by number unique visitors · The proportion of repeat customers · Orders per customer · Ratio of repeat-order revenue to first-time revenue The numbers above will vary wildly from retailer to retailer, but numbers produced by companies that reach profitability follow a positive pattern. "Converting traffic into profitable customer relationships is a challenge few online retailers have mastered," said Peter Stanger, Boston Consulting Group's vice president and leader of company's Business-to-Consumer Topic Area. "A business model that is based on spending $100 to acquire a customer who places a $50 order and never returns to site is destined to fail" The online audience is certainly ready to support companies that their Net business right. By early 2001, online purchasing population had reached 68 million. They spent their dollars in more categories than they did just one year earlier, and they're optimistic about their future of their online spending. One in five expects to move at least half of his or her spending online in each of six major categories over next year. These include leisure travel, event tickets, music and video, computer software, books, and computer hardware. Yet many of retailers attempting to serve these eager buyers fall woefully short of retail competence. BCG found that 11 percent of consumers reported ordering and paying for a product they never received in 2000, double 1999 rate. Forty one percent reported they had stopped shopping at a site because of a purchasing failure. These experiences have a direct impact on amount of money consumers are willing to spend online. BCG found that least satisfied customers spent an average of $428 online over past 12 months, while most satisfied customers spend $673.
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