NetNews our ONLINE NEWSLETTER (Latest issue)

Developments in web marketing, site design, and web services

The Online Newsletter from Net Commerce Solutions

The Credit Crunch is clearly creating hard times and changing behaviours. Although online trading growth has been stronger in recent years than non web retailing (see section (2), it is clearly hard going in most sectors currently.

So in our first item we give some ideas, based on practical experience of our own, and our clients, which might help manage the effects of the downturn - I hope you find something useful there, and can keep your own business moving forward despite the pressures of the recession.

1.The Credit Crunch - how online trading can keep your business growing

The shift to online trading is continuing, and should help website owners during the Credit Crunch, but the question is how? So here are some thoughts from our team and our clients which we hope will help.

a) Turn a niche market into a scale opportunity - products where the market in their immediate locality is too small to generate worthwhile income. However, the web helped turn this local niche into a scale market as buyers around the UK and internationally began to search out their sites.

This has worked for site owners selling high value camera accessories, personal fashion items, and electronics maintenance.

Even old, declining, physical markets can be become profitable as the wider selling reach of the web brings potential clients from the surrounding areas eg many repair services used to be in every High Street for many products. Now, to find these, people will scour the web to find the service you want – we have clients for whom this has worked well.

b) Try newer areas – for quite a while, the web was used most strongly for travel, books, music and electronics. Increasingly now, other physical product sales are growing strongly, eg food and clothing have become high growth areas, so why not check out any ideas you might have - we can help you estimate the possible demand for these before you incur significant spend.

c) Improve your price proposition – Aldi supermarkets have achieved a 64% increase in site visits, and 34% of web users are now interested in using shopping comparison sites (nma.co.uk). Moreover, 22% are increasing their use of value supermarkets and auction sites.

So make sure you have pricing or a specific price offer, which addresses the new cost emphasis in shopping. 

d) Diversify – it is sound business advice to “stick to your knitting”, and “maintain focus on core activities” and we don’t challenge this. However, the web does let you research and test a new business idea more quickly and at lower cost than previous, physical models.

So, if you have built an understanding of how the web works, with one business or product, why not check out the idea you have been carrying round. Firstly though, use some careful keyword research to check out the size and nature of the market – if required we can always assist with this. 

e) Maintain your presence – web marketing costs are low, compared to physical domain marketing. So don’t let your ranking slip. Use the full range of promotion tools to win links, and build your web presence using Article marketing, Press Releases, a 
programme of site changes, and directory and non-directory links to help win a higher position.

Please contact us if you would like proposals to increase your visibility.

f) Try a facelift – can you improve the visual impact of your site? Try some new graphics, some video material? When did you last change the colours or text on the site?

And how about some fresh content too - remember that Google prefers those sites which do change or renew their content to those with static content.

We have extensive experience of content and design options to achieve this - just contact us if you wish to pursue it further. 

2. NET HAPPENINGS
News, themes and trends from the Internet – home and abroad 

Text messaging - in 2008, volumes grew by 38% on previous year, ie some 216m text messages were sent each month in the UK, equating to 1213 text message per person in 2008!! (mda.org)

Mobile web use – the number of users accessing the web via their phones grew by 100% during 2008. (Comscore.com); some 7.3m people in UK access the web in this way.(Neilsen Mobile)

Social Networking – Facebook had 23m unique UK visitors in February, a 75% increase on February 2008.(comscore.com) It now outscores the combined figure for Bebo and MySpace.

e-Retailing spending -  grew by 9% month on month in March 2009 (imrg.org), achieving annual growth to date of 19% - this growth figure of course far surpasses the physical retail spend pattern.

Continued shift to internet promotion - around 70% of European advertisers plan to increase their online ad spend during 2009. Traditional media, especially TV and Newspapers, are seeing spend move away as budgets are shifted to online media. (nma.co.uk)

In 2008 online ad spend overtook newspaper and magazine advertising. (nma.co.uk)

 3. NET TIPS
Some hints you could consider

Add a News Page – it doesn’t have to be ambitious. A few lines on changes you have made, or on what you are offering - now or in the future, will give you the core of the material needed. With an efficient Content Management System, and a simple page
structure, making the changes can be straightforward.

Enhance your content – add a new section either giving information related to the products you offer, or a “how to” section, eg how to use the products you offer on the site.

Perhaps give advice; eg if you sell fashion products, you probably have good fashion awareness; why not offer suggestions and ideas on the site?

4. NCS FOCUS
News and services from NCS that might help

NCS Free Directory Submission Service – high quality free directories are a valid source of inbound links, but finding them has become increasingly difficult. Many appear free and emerge as paid only at the final stage when a fee is sought. 

Over the past few months we have reviewed over 2000 such directories and developed from these a database of fully free, high quality directories. It includes UK and  International Directories, and Commercial and Shopping Directories.

The database will be maintained, and allows us to offer this service speedily and cost- effectively. Contact us if this looks relevant for your business.

NCS Web Advertising Service – in addition to maintaining Pay Per Click programmes for our clients, NCS now undertakes keyword research, optimisation and banner services for any business wishing to advertise its services more widely on the web.

Just contact us if you would like our support to help increase your web advertising.

Dave Abernethy,
Managing Director,
Net Commerce Solutions Ltd

Tel:     (+44) (0) 870 246 7642

info@net-commerce-solutions.co.uk     Web site: www.net-commerce-solutions.co.uk

Registered in England and Wales. Company number 4052885: 6 Bramble Close, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 4AN