Archive for August, 2010
August 30th, 2010 | 
Author: Did you know that, in Australia, 60% of small businesses fail in the first twelve months? For those of us who would like to start a small business — maybe even work from home — that’s a very discouraging statistic.
Does that mean that your business idea is doomed to failure? Far from it! There are steps you can take that greatly increase your chances of success. With a little time and some serious research you can hit the ground running. Let’s start from the beginning…
The bright idea
First, of course, you need to come up with an idea. Typically, business opportunities can be divided into four groups:
1. Offering an existing product/service in an existing market.
2. Introducing an existing product/service to a new market.
3. Offering a new product/service in an existing market
4. Introducing a new product/service to a new market.
At this stage of the game the only limit is your imagination. Inspiration can come from anywhere — maybe you have a hobby that you’d like to turn into a full-time job; you may be on the receiving end of bad service one day and decide to try doing it better yourself; or you may have a talent that you’d like to capitalise on.
Once you’ve come across something that you’d like to do, it’s time to take a look at the market and see what’s on offer.
Passing the test
So you’ve had a great idea and you’re keen to roll with it; now it’s time to put it through its paces. For the purpose of the exercise, let’s say that you have a passion for healthy living, and that you want to distribute a range of lifestyle accessories that promote healthy living with a do-it-yourself approach.
Ask around: Is there a market for products that promote healthy living? What sorts of products are available? Who would you be competing with and what do your competitors offer? Do you have the necessary skills to run such a business and — more to the point — what would those skills be? Where would your business be located?
Once you’ve answered those questions you should have a fairly clear picture of what your business will look like.
You source some products and decide to do some further research into the range of lifestyle products offered by a company called Vitality 4 Life. Your own life experience plus some work you’ve done as a dietician has given you the necessary skill sets, and you think that you’ll be able to work from home, giving you more time for family. There is an existing market, but there’s room for expansion. Now it’s time to take a closer look.
To be or not to be?
It’s time to get down to the nuts and bolts. You don’t want to jump into something feet first and find out the hard way that the budget just doesn’t work.
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First, and as important to your success as anything you learn here, is clearly understanding how eBay users find things to spend their money on.
No matter what type of buyer they are, no matter where they come from, they all use the same tool to find auction ads;
“They use the search bar to type in general terms..!”
Very rarely do buyers check the “Search Title and Description” checkbox and start browsing the more specific results. Heck; the checkbox isn’t even an option on the front page of eBay, you actually have to do an “Advanced Search” to even have that option. This just confirms the importance of your title keywords.
Some do browse categories rather than search, but we’re mainly concerned with general majorities here, not exceptions to the rule.
In case you’re unaware, this means that most searches are ONLY CHECKING YOUR TITLE, not the words in the description area of your ad!!!
Experience tells me that, since you now know this, you are actually way ahead of 70% of the other eBay sellers out there; and that’s a very conservative estimate..!
Now that you have a clear understanding of the importance of your title keywords, here’s a priority list for precisely picking the right ones for each of your ads:
Take these rules literally, but understand that each of these will not apply to every ad that you run. You have a maximum of 55 characters allowed for your title and just try your best to achieve as many of these as possible in this limited space.
1. Obvious keywords that are specific to the product you’re selling and make sure that they are spelled correctly.
2. One or Two misspellings of the obvious keywords from the last rule. (Google says that 33% of all searches are misspelled) …CATCH THAT? One Third! Don’t Forget This Part.
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In business, the customer is always right – sometimes confused, misinformed, rude, stubborn and changeable, but never wrong. Ever date anyone like that?
Customers are the reason you have a business. Without them, no matter what you do, there isn’t any business.
Therefore, you should approach customer service the same way you approach a date. Nurture it with good habits and relentless care. Each date builds on the previous one. Each sale does the same in building customer retention.
So, here are the simple suggestions for “dating” your customer and enhancing your business relationships.
* Dazzle customers with your service. The key to good customer service is treating all your customers well but not necessarily the same. Respond to their needs as individuals. While one customer might need a ton of help and attention, another might prefer an opportunity to browse with privacy.
* Anticipate the needs of your customers by emphasizing service over sales. Good service sells. But pushy service people who are always trying to sell more can be a major turnoff to all customers.
* Treat your customers well by being a problem solver. If you can’t help the customer, help him or her find someone who can. Customers appreciate your help – even when you aren’t directly profiting from a sale. Just consider it an investment. They’ll appreciate the advice and remember your business the next time they need your goods or services.
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