Following last weeks IGAP finale, this is a guest post from IGAP 1 participant Alan O’Rourke of Spoiltchild, creators of the Toddle business newsletter tool. Alan talks candidly about the 10 biggest mistakes he’s made in online business.
The following are all assumptions / mistakes I made over the years.
1. It costs nothing to start a business online.
It is true that infrastructure costs have come way down. With the right technical knowledge you could set up an online shop or simple web application for about €50 and a little time. With no technical knowledge, costs are closer to €10,000 and up. For you reading this, it is probably somewhere in the middle. Compared to setting up a physical business on the high-street it is still a pittance.
But your website only gets you about 10% of the way. Now you need to start building a business. Time, marketing, advertising, sales guy(s), running costs, legal …did I mention time? Without upfront investment to hire the above resources, expect 2-3 years of hard work before your business starts supporting its self. Can you support yourself for that long?
2. Build it and they will come.
Why would they? How do they know you exist out of the trillions of websites out there? If they do happen across your site why will they remember to come back when they actually need what you sell?
3. The website must be perfect / fully featured before you launch. (more…)
eMarketing, IGAP, online, Potential Exporters
As the online and offline worlds become ever more entwined, it’s important to blend your marketing efforts across both sales channels. If you manage to combine them successfully, you can increase sales in both worlds.
But if you neglect either offline or online marketing, you will lose out on potential business.
(more…)
eBusinesslive, eMarketing, Marketing, multi-channel, online
Choosing whether or not to establish an online store is one of the biggest decisions an SME can face. The potential for global, 24/7 selling and the low-cost nature of setting up an online store (when compared to the cost of opening a physical store) make e-commerce a hugely attractive proposition.
So, for those yet to develop an online store, what processes – and costs – are involved in going online? And what is a reasonable level of expectation to have for your online presence?
eBusinesslive, eMarketing, internet, online, Selling, web
Rebranding will definitely have an effect on your company’s performance in search engines. A new domain name takes time to gain trust with the search engines and it will take some time to crawl back up the result rankings.
“There are things you can do to speed up that process and get that process rolling smoothly, but pretty much no matter what you do – especially if you’ve got a large site – you’re going to take a hit over the short term,” says Caelen King, CEO of WhatClinic.com, a company that recently changed its name from RevaHealth.com. “If done incorrectly, it can be an unbelievably large hit and it can last a very long time. It can wind down your business, effectively.” (more…)
Branding, eBusinesslive, eMarketing, online, Rebranding
Previously we looked at some low-cost online tools you can use to provide additional customer service support, including Skype and instant messaging software.
If you would like to integrate all your customer service functions in one tool, however, there are other options you can use – special help desk/customer service software packages that run in your web browser. (more…)
Customer service, eBusinesslive, eMarketing, online, Tools
Managing all your customer conversations in today’s digital world can be a daunting task.
With customers potentially connecting with your business via email, chat software and social networking platforms like Facebook and micro-blogging service Twitter, it’s important to ensure consistency of service across all the various platforms. (more…)
Customer service, eBusinesslive, eMarketing, online, Tools
Fraud losses on credit, debit and ATM cards amounted to EUR16.7 million in Ireland in 2009, according to the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO), the representative industry body of the payments industry.
IPSO reports that as much as 64 percent of all fraud carried out on Irish-issued cards is mainly through use of stolen card data to purchase goods on the internet, which are then resold by thieves for cash. That challenge is set to grow as more and more Irish consumers turn to electronic payments. In fact, e-payments now account for about 41 percent of all non-cash payments in Ireland. (more…)
eBusinesslive, eMarketing, Fraud, online, Protection
Centaur Fund Services is a professional financial services company that provides a specialist service to hedge funds, combining institutional infrastructure and technology with a tailored approach for clients. Karen Malone, Ronan Daly and Eric Bertrand founded the company in 2009 and all three have extensive experience working in the financial services industry.
The company currently employs ten staff and its offices are located on Dawson Street in Dublin. (more…)
Case Study, eBusinesslive, eMarketing, online
Murco Gas Detection was founded in 1993 by Lorcan Maher. It supplies gas detectors for refrigeration and air conditioning systems to the commercial, marine, municipal and industrial sectors.
The company exports 95 percent of its products to 40 countries, installing, monitoring and maintaining these devices. Its clients include Coca Cola, Irvine and Johnson, and Barclays. The SME also supplies products that companies such as Danfoss and Hansen Technology re-sell under their own brand names. (more…)
Case Study, eBusinesslive, eMarketing, online
There has been a notable increase in the number of new Irish businesses being set up online. Organisations like the Irish Internet Association (IIA) have monitored this growth and found several reasons for the surge in new businesses.
One large driver is the current state of the economy. Companies and individuals are looking at ways to use the web to make doing business cheaper. (more…)
Customers, eBusinesslive, eMarketing, online
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