Due to the ever increasing globalization of markets and customers, it seems appropriate that The Nassau Guardian should provide some insight on how any Bahamian business can operate successfully within e-commerce.
As managing director of a top U.K. web design company, Jed Wylie spent years researching the best online techniques used by the most successful e-commerce companies. The result is a book providing a practical step-by-step strategy to create online success titled "Make Your Website Sell".
You don't need to be an IT expert to understand and implement these strategies, and Wylie makes good use of humor. "Make Your Website Sell" provides a nine-step strategy that includes: turning visitors into customers, generating website traffic, seven principles of Internet marketing, website planning and performance analysis as a route to online success. This is underpinned by practical ideas and simple how-to guides dedicated to increasing online profits.
Wylie explains that, although web designers create commercially successful websites, they are not experts in promoting your business. This remains your responsibility and successful website marketing involves exploiting multiple channels including: search engine optimization, Google AdWords, joint ventures, affiliation with other organizations, blogging and using social media.
A key theme within "Make Your Website Sell" is that you must focus on the benefits your product/service offers to customers using the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) technique. It's alarming to note that, on average, 99 percent of visitors leave websites without actually doing anything. However, Wylie suggests offering free incentives in exchange for your visitors' contact details to address this.
Amazingly, few businesses realize the potential of Google, despite it handling over 4.5 billion monthly searches. Google Adwords can be used to display appropriate adverts when keywords are typed into their search engine. Google Analytics provides free access to website performance data, including the pages visited and sales that people made upon visiting your website. Wylie underpins this goldmine of information with his unique Profit Calculator to benchmark your marketing efforts.
Consumers and businesses are increasingly using the Internet to find suppliers of products and services, thus placing websites at the heart of e-commerce. By applying the strategies within "Make Your Website Sell", Bahamas businesses can start accessing this multibillion-dollar global marketplace - today.
"Make Your Website Sell" by Jed Wylie and published by Marshall Cavendish Business.
o Keith Appleton JP, BA (Hons), N.Dip.M, MInstLM has extensive experience within an academic, managerial and strategic leadership role. He is a member of the U.K. Institute of Leadership & Management and can be contacted at KeithAppleton@hotmail.co.uk.
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