What are you expecting from your E-commerce investment?

Posted on by Doug Woodside

I did a search the other day using this keyword phrase: “Hockey sticks for kids”!

The number 1 site returned by Google was a site created by somebody to help parents and kids buy a hockey stick that was the right length with the right blade angle, very important for kids learning to play the game for the first time.

There was no attempt to sell anything to anybody, except perhaps a passing reference to a book on buying the right size hockey stick, written 40 years ago by Howie Meeker . (Could drive up local library visits!).

The second best site according to Google was an e-commerce-enabled sporting goods retail website, ready to take your money online and ship you the best darned hockey stick a kid could want! I had to wonder how anyone could purchase a hockey stick without trying it on for size, but that is the amazing thing about doing business online. More and more people are shifting their buying habits in ways that could never have been predicted 10 or 12 years ago.

So how is your online business doing? Got a product or service that you thought no one would buy online? Reminds me of that old advertising adage “Fish where the fish are” There’s a whole world of fish online!

For more ideas about making your website work a whole lot harder, get in touch with
Doug or Dan at MetaWave. We love a good discussion about our favourite subject.

Social Networking property – launched in October 2010, sold in April 2012…for 1 billion dollars! Why didn’t I think of that?

Posted on by Doug Woodside

Instagram is a free photo sharing program launched in October 2010 that allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it, and then share it on a variety of social networking services, including Instagram’s own.

Instagram was initially supported on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. In April 2012, the company added support for Android camera phones running 2.2 (Froyo) or higher. It is distributed via the iTunes App Store and Google Play, and has suddenly become one the best selling Apps ever!

On April 9, 2012, Facebook announced it would acquire the company (and its 13 employees) for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock, with plans to keep it independently managed.

Clearly, stories like this are a stark reminder that social media is where the action is. For businesses, the message is “Get with it on social media”. Start tweeting. Join Linked-in. Start a Facebook Page for businesses (the new format/timeline version is very suitable where the old Facebook personal page didn’t really work well for organizations). Even YouTube if you can create videos that will help market your products or services.

While the website model will always be important, the use of social media can do a lot to bring new visitors to your website and get you improved visibility among the younger, social media aficionados (which is starting to look like “everybody”!)

So what’s your big idea?

Decline of Yellow Pages. Rise of E-Commerce

Posted on by Doug Woodside

Remember when the Yellow Pages directory was left on your doorstep every year, and how it used to be the go-to source for finding where to buy almost anything you wanted?

Well, those days may soon be over (and waste disposal sites may never be the same)!

The reality is, that more and more people everywhere, are simply “Google-ing” for whatever they want to buy, in order to research products and brands, and to find out where to get it (online or off).

The emphasis, should be on the word “Everywhere”. Under the old paradigm, the yellow pages impact was limited to a merchant’s local market area, or even its local neighbourhood. Today, online sales can come from just about anywhere on the planet.

The other reality is, those businesses who offer their products and services for sale online, are already taking advantage of this e-commerce revolution.

I’m sure the Yellow Pages organization will angrily refute this opinion, but recent decisions to offer the directory on an “opt-in” basis, coupled with the cessation of the white pages directories in many parts of North America, point to the reality of the continuing decline. Just ask anyone under the age of 40 when they last used the Yellow Pages for anything but a doorstop!

Ads of the World!

Posted on by Doug Woodside

Having spent most of my previous life in the advertising agency world, I was delighted to happen upon a wonderful blog called “Ads of the World” which offers online views of some amazing and amazingly funny TV and Print advertising produced around the world.

I am always intrigued by the interest shown by the media and the public at Super Bowl time in anticipation of the premiere airing of the specially conceived  commercials created essentially with one overarching objective. To astound viewers, rather than just sell something.

But in fact, commercials that “astound” may well be the best possible approach to selling, as it positions the advertiser ahead of the competition in admiration and share of mind, even though everybody knows that it’s really about who can spend the most money.

But “ads of the world” clearly shows that wonderful ideas do not depend on money. They are created through an insightful comprehension of how the brand an advertiser is promoting can connect with audiences in a way that viewers notice, talk about and remember.

There is a lesson in this approach to advertising that we can all take to the creativity processes of our own communication to audiences.

Dare to be different!

So your business has a website

Posted on by Doug Woodside

Congratulations! And we hope it’s paying off big-time. Not just in hits, but in inquiries and sales results.

After all, any time you invest your money in conventional advertising, promotion or other business building efforts, you know where you get the bang for your buck. So surely your website investment is meeting those same performance expectations.

Or is it?

All businesses should take the time to assess how their online investments are performing. Look at your site traffic analytics. How many unique visitors are coming to the site each day? What is the repeat visit incidence? How long are they staying? How many pages do they view? Which pages? Where are they when they leave the site? If the numbers are sad, it’s time to learn about driving more traffic to your site and engaging visitors in your unique sales proposition.

How well does your site convert visits into sales opportunities? Do you sell online? Take orders or inquiries about your products or services? Your site visitors didn’t go there by accident. Something about your site name, description, or keywords led them there in the first place, so now it’s time for you to close the deal.

Remember, in the online world, your site isn’t just a presentation about your business… It is your business!

This is our blog. There are many like it, but this one is ours…

Posted on by Dan Cardoso

We are always looking for ways to keep our clients, partners, and suppliers up-to-date about what we are doing, or are planning to do.

So, we set up this blog which will allow us to keep you updated about our services and business activities that are relevant to your needs and interests. Information such as hosting maintenance and/or updates, changes to services and pricing, or just general info and tips you might find useful and informative.

We hope to see you around!