by theEmother | Jul 3, 2014 | business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, entrepreneur trends (past & present!), Online Strategy incl. www, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
Sounds pretty obvious I know, but in my experience it’s not!
Websites have the capacity to be profit centres in their own right.
I repeat that.
Websites have the capacity to be profit centres in their own right.
So when I’m approached about selling an “online business”, I will always ask about:
- the traffic
- the database
- the profit
Usually the answers come thick and fast about the first two and only muffled silence on the 3rd.
If your website is not making money in its own right, is it really an online business?
What invariably happens is that the online part is the front end, the marketing channel but it still has a manual backend.
Which means the Business Owner may have mastered the art of generating traffic and building a database but the fulfilment component and the collection of dollars are done in the more traditional ways.
So it’s not really an online business at all.
What Business are you building?
by theEmother | Jul 2, 2014 | business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, Online Strategy incl. www, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
I mean really. What does building a database mean to your business?
If it’s only about adding names to a spreadsheet and saying there’s a large number, that’s not enough.
It has to be about the level of engagement with the client/customer that you’re adding to the list.
Add as many names and contact details as you like.
But the value is actually in the relationship you build with these people.
Do you engage with them?
Do you touch base with them on a regular basis?
Do they come back to you and buy? comment? ask questions?
If they don’t, then having a list of people only is not enough… you’ve got work to do.
Building a database of quality is in the engagement, the care factor that is demonstrated from yourself and your client.
Working out what to do is about knowing your customers intimately.
If you don’t, then it’s time to get up close and personal.
But don’t rush them. You don’t want to frighten them off if what you’re about to do consistently hasn’t happened before.
Slowly but surely is the key…
by theEmother | Jul 1, 2014 | business ideas & thinking, buy | sell websites, entrepreneur trends (past & present!), Online Strategy incl. www, so you think you're in business, start with the end in mind, the business model
So, the last 3 days I have spent with Liz and Matt Raad, coming up to speed with the latest in Buying and Selling Websites.
Three days well spent I might like to add!
Now reflecting on the time got me thinking about the average Business Owner I meet and how well they understand the Internet and Online space. Fundamentally, the majority of them don’t. Nor do the advisors they seek the advice from. And they don’t know what they don’t know. It’s rather scary…
Just today, I read where a body I’m associated with is going to spend approx. $50,000 on Adwords. Google will be rubbing their hands in glee, even if they’re none the wiser. Given Google has recently “cleaned up” the function of search and has narrowed down those that will feature on the front page, whilst Adwords can be part of the consideration for generating traffic, it cannot be the be all and end all. It just won’t wash anymore.
The main point about “generating traffic” is Lead Generation.
If it’s not then why are you doing it or agreeing to have stuff done? Most searchers nowadays will bypass the advertised option and go for the organic top 10. The way to get onto the organic front page is based on content that is quality, relevant and consistent. This all goes back to understanding Google and the search engines, giving them want they are asking for in order to best serve you, its user.
To not understand Google is to do so at your own peril, and cost…
