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Your Lesson From The Halloween Guide To Trading Candy Instruction Video

The Guide To Trading Halloween Candy: Lessons For Your Business

I was reading a local newspaper today and noticed a link to this video. While of course the video is a humorous tongue in cheek guide to trading your Halloween Candy, there are some lessons for business owners.

Lesson One: Get Online – Everywhere and Anywhere You Can

The one thought in viewing this video (outside of its homour) is that everything you need to or could ever want to know is on the Internet.

The Internet is ever increasingly closing in the world. For an example, the other day I was in a line up at the Motor Vehicle Branch and 9 out of 10 people where on their smart phones in the line up. While one year ago there would have only been a few.

Regardless of your business, you need to get online and start to promote all aspects of your company now. From hiring to selling, the use of the Internet is not a “luxury” anymore, it is essential to the success and survival of your business.

Lesson Two: 1.5 Million Hits And Counting For This Video – Give Value

It is very important to offer value to your customers. Give them something they can use. Be as forthright with information as much as possible. If you sell something online give them links to the competitors! Well maybe not, but the idea is to give them all they need to know from you. If you don’t, they will just simply leave you and go to another search and find someone who can.

A business can no longer control the information, more and more it is being controlled by the consumer. You need to give them all that they want or they will go elsewhere, they did not drive 1/2 an hour to see you – they found you in seconds and can leave in seconds.

Lesson Three: Some Candy Is Better Than Others – But You Won’t Know Until You Start Trading

One of the most important aspects of Internet online development is the two way process. Through the process of building your online relationship with potential and existing customers you need to measure the effectiveness of the communication.

While this humorous Halloween Candy Trading video may have been created for the pleasure itself, however it is possible the an important purpose of the video is to draw people in to become Youtube “Buzzfeed” subscribers.

Oh…Another Important Piece of Information

If there are any traders out there who like Necco Wafers or the Yellow and Black Gooey Candies, make sure to send me an email.

Online Marketing – Market Your eCommerce Site In Canada Using Other Selling Sites

How To Market Your eCommerce Site In Canada Using Other Selling Sites

This discussion will assume you already have a eCommerce site developed. If you are looking to set up an eCommerece site please Click Here

There Are Many Things You Can Do To Invigorate Your Online Sales: Something You Can Do Is Utilize Other Third Party Online Sellers.

Canadian online retail lags behind the American store. It is difficult for a Canadian online retail store to get visitors and thus online sales. While Canadians are one of the world’s most wired and digitally social people, Canadians only spent $18-billion online in 2010, or 3.4 per cent of total retail sales, according to Boston Consulting Group. This is far behind other countries such as the United States at 5 per cent and the UK at 13.5 per cent. While online spending is expected to nearly double by 2015, Canada is expected to fall even farther behind. “Canada has been a little sleepy as far as getting online” to shop, said Jeffrey Grau, an analyst with U.S. market research firm eMarketer.

One theory for this lack of online sales in Canada, is the lack of a catalogue-buying tradition in Canada, but demand clearly goes unfulfilled here: Four in 10 dollars spent online goes abroad. Below are some site that you can use to help you gain back some of those online sales leaving Canada.

Below Are Some Sites Where You Can Market Your Products

1. Ebay Ebay was at one time the primary means for a merchant to sell goods outside of their own website. It is still one of the biggest avenues for a retailer to sell goods in Canada, but there are now other choices like amazon.ca. While ebay.ca is primarily an auction site, it also allows merchants to set up “Fixed Stores”.

2. Amazon. The site is the Canadian version of Amazon.com, and it has all the features of the American Website. Amazon.ca is not only a place for Canadians to sell books, movies and CDs through Amazon’s merchant program; you can also sell other products.

3. iOffer. iOffer has evolved since 2002 into one of the fastest growing destination for interactive social commerce. With millions of item listings, virtually anything is available through spirited, open negotiations.

4. ShopToIt. Began as a well respected product search listing site in Canada. It has recently branched out into hosting an online store for retail merchants in 2012. You might want to try it out.

5. Shopca.This new Canadian selling site, opened up in June of 2012. It is a new URL and big ambitions and hoping to change the Canadian online landscape. Shopca hopes to become one of Canada’s top shopping website. Wanting to become the Amazon north of the border with free shipping & returns and a large selection.

In setting up your free listings, the most important rule is to have as much information about the product as possible and you could consider purchasing (if they do not offer it free) a weblink back to your website. This greatly enhances the search of your site. Good Luck!!

This article has been provided by eosFirst.com AuroraCon, a computer technology and online website development company. Any questions? Click Here to contact us

Website Development – The State of Retail Today

16 Jul 2012
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eosfirst
eCommerce, Online Development, Online Marketing

The State Of Retail Today With The Greater Influence of eCommerce

History

The state of the Canadian retail industry can be more fully explained with historical context. A great shift in Canadian retail began with the opening of box stores and most importantly when USA retail giant Walmart entered Canada with the purchase of the old Woolco stores in 1994. On products available at Walmart, there was downward price pressure on these products for other retailers.

In order to survive retailers could no longer “sit in the middle”. The retail store had to move to great value or unique products and/or upscale brand. Probably the most notable retailer who tried to stay “in the middle” too long was Eatons which went into bankruptcy in 1999.

From about 2000 to 2006 the influence on Canadian retail from the larger category and discounter bricks and mortar retailers continued (online internet sales in Canada was about 3 years behind the USA retailers). The influence of online retailers was primary on unique and hard to find items not carried by the physical store retailers. However in the 4th quarter of 2006 something began to change in Canadian retail and things were about to undergo the greatest shift yet!

Possibly The Greatest Shift Yet

The USA was ahead of Canada with internet shopping, however in 2006 Canadians started shopping online. For the physical retailer the competition with the larger discounters and box stores was now accompanied by non-physical “Gorilla warfare” internet stores. There was also an influx of online auction sites like eBay and listing services like Craigslist.

These internet stores and selling sites with little overhead (it can cost $50,000 to $200,000 to leasehold a new store and rents are often $4000 to $20,000 per month for smaller stores) and nimble brand positioning were able to offer unique products, often at a more affordable price then the physical stores. So the physical retailers were now competing against the small nimble online stores and the larger value sellers.

Can’t Beat Them, Join Them!

In today’s retail environment, retail stores with a unique proprietary product and brand might be able to still be successful, but other retailers without some type of internet eCommerce presence are going to find their product selling to be threatened by the online stores and discounters on both sides of them.

The good news is that retailers are advantageously poised to sell online. They already have a customer base, products, information about products & hopefully even images. If they operate their online sales out of their store, they can also have their internet operation as with little or no overhead. I have seen stores increase overall sales by 20% with little additional investment.

If you would like to explore more on getting your store online, please follow this link.

eosFirst.com located in Oakville, Ontario. It’s President, Garrett Hall, has brought his own retail store from 70,000 to 7 million dollars in sales over 15 years. He eventually sold his store to a large retail company. He has been using his expertise to help other retailers across North America set up or optimize their online selling ever since.

Category : Online Marketing