In today’s digital marketing age, more and more retail stores are building ecommerce websites. An ecommerce site enables any size retailer in any place of the world to have a global market reach. When promoted effectively, an ecommerce site can also offer immense cost-efficiency for customer acquisition and product sales.Parallel to the enormous growth in ecommerce, most industries and product sectors are being dominated by a few major ecommerce giants. These powerful players often have a prominent brand image accompanied by targeted search engine ads and wealthy online marketing budgets. This has made competing against such ecommerce sites a difficult endeavor, especially for small e-retailers with limit ad spend.In sectors where it might seem impossible to steal market share from ecommerce goliaths, there is usually always a way to capture a good chunk of customers. The trick is to get the creative juices flowing and find out which channels are the most relevant, least competitive, and cost-efficient. Below we highlight three tips that can help small business ecommerce sites compete with big budget brands.Carve a Fine Niche
One of the most important approaches to building a successful ecommerce store is to establish a very specific market niche. This is particularly significant for boutiques and small business retailers with a very distinguished inventory. Unlike some large ecommerce stores that offer a broad range of goods, determining a very focal niche will help to establish a retailer as a specialty provider for a certain category of products. This can help to promote greater trust and credibility in potential customers.Well-established ecommerce sites typically sell all sorts of products within a certain category, such as ‘motorcycle clothing.’ Take the time to do some research on the inventory that your ecommerce competitors offer with respect to your own product lines. Your objective is to pinpoint the areas that could be the most profitable for your ecommerce efforts. This may involve narrowing your focus to very select product categories as the overall theme for your online store, such as ‘leather motorcycle jackets.’Starting off slow in a niche that you’re confident will drive sales is an excellent tactic for small business ecommerce. As you begin to dominate one product category, you can start exploring new categories to expand your sales potential.Mix Up Your Marketing Efforts
Marketing your ecommerce site can seem like a daunting task. However there are a few primary channels that are paramount for ecommerce. These include Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, organic search engine optimization (SEO), and social media marketing. In a nutshell, ecommerce marketing hinges on being found in the search engine results as well as being recognized on social media platforms. But before picking which channels are priorities, think of approaching a marketing plan with a more holistic approach.Between SEO, PPC, and social media, none are more powerful than the other. Although each channel is very different, that all share the same degree of potential in attracting more customers. More times often than not, including a blend of search engine marketing tactics that use both SEO and PPC is the best approach. Because SEO is a long-term effort, using PPC to test which keywords are most profitable is one of the best strategies. This can save a lot of work down the road by optimizing for keywords that only provide sufficient profit margins.Social media platforms, like Facebook, Google+, and Twitter, help to build more recognition in your brand. These platforms can help sustain loyalty as well as funnel traffic to your website. Social media offers a great way to share content, generate interest, and build a following. This can help sustain ecommerce success by promoting repeat purchases and the viral sharing of great content that’s connected to your brand.Promote with Richness
Online shoppers in particular feed off insightful information that’s presented in a rich media format. The use of images, audio, and video can be momentous for ecommerce marketing. The ways in which you can use such media offer endless ideas.Reviews are big deal in the ecommerce arena. Customers see a lot of value in quality reviews that accurately describe the features, benefits, and pitfalls of certain products. For this reason, recording your own reviews or product highlights in the form of a video can be an ecommerce game changer, especially if those videos are optimized and found in the search engine results.Visual stimulation is huge on the Internet. In addition to videos, including a wealth of images on your product pages can significantly help sales. In fact, product page mini-galleries are becoming popular for many ecommerce stores, so adopting this strategy is becoming essential. The use of more informative images, or infographics, is also a creative way to attract customers. Social media can be used to share this content, which can help lead to more exposure and the potential to go viral.Successful ecommerce is rooted to empathy. That is, how well you as the marketer can put yourself in the perspective of your target audience. Understanding how to present your brand, as well as your communications is key. Good ecommerce marketers have a sharp sense of awareness. They know what it is their target customers are looking for, and how to best enlighten them on how their ecommerce store can meet their needs.
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Business and Market Overview on Philippines
ECONOMY. Philippines’s economy suffered through mismanagement under the country’s late president Marcos who ruled the country under martial law from the 1960s to 1980s. To revive the country’s economy, former president Fidel Ramos opened the country to foreign investments in the early 1990s. During Ramos’ term in office, foreign investments increased from only US$42 million in 1992 to US$2 billion by 1997. The Philippines weathered the Asian economic crisis of 1997 in much better shape than many other Southeast Asian countries due to the large number of Filipino overseas workers regularly remitting money into the country and low external debt.Philippines’ GDP was US$85.1 billion with a GDP per capita of US$1,042 in 2004. The economy of the Philippines grew at annual GDP growth averaging 4.6% from 2000 to 2004 contributed mainly by growth in the service sector, agriculture and exports of electronics. Inflation declined from 6.5% in 2000 to 2.5% in 2002 but trended upwards to reach 8.6% by 2004. Unemployment remains relatively high compared to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore ranging between 9.8% and 10.9% from 2000 to 2004.The service sector contributes to half or 52.8% of the Philippines’ GDP in 2004 while manufacturing contributed 31.8% and agriculture 15.3%. Major industries include electronics, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, processed foods, petroleum refining and fishing. Major agriculture products include sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas, cassavas, pineapples, mangoes and seafood.DEMOGRAPHY. The Philippines comprises of nearly 7,100 islands but eleven islands account for 90% of the country’s total population. Main islands are Luzon and Mindanao accounting for 65% of the population. Other major but less populated islands include Negros, Samar, Panay and Palawan. Filipino society and culture is nearly homogeneous and 90% of the population are of the Malay descent. Other ethnic groups include the various indigenous tribes and Chinese immigrants. Spanish-Mexican culture brought by the former Spanish colonial rulers who ruled the country from Mexico has an influence of Filipino culture. The country is predominantly Catholic accounting for 81% of the population followed by various Christian denominations (11%) and Islam (5%). Tagalog is the national language and widely spoken across the islands while English is predominantly used in government and business.The proportion of the Filipino population living in the urban areas increased from 49% in 1990 to 62% by 2004. Philippines’ main city is Metro Manila (comprising of the city of Manila and 16 surrounding cities and municipalities) has a population of 10 million. Other major cities include Zamboanga, Baguio, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu City, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.The Philippines suffers from a high level of income inequality and an estimated 30% of the population live below the poverty level. Another 50% of the population belong to the low-income group while the remaining 20% belonging to the middle and high-income group. The average income of those living in Metro Manila is twice than the national average.INFRASTRUCTURE. Telecommunication services within and between the islands is adequate while international services is relatively good. Internet broadband coverage is mainly concentrated in the major cities and towns of the islands. The islands are adequately served by roads and road transport. Travels between the islands are by air or coastal boats. All the major islands are served by international and domestic airports and sea ports.INTERNATIONAL TRADE. Philippines’s exports increased nearly 4-folds from 1995 to 2004. Major trading partners include Japan, US, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea. Main exports from the Philippines include electronics, garments, optical instruments, coconut products, fresh produce, copper products and chemicals. Main imports include machineries, equipments, fuel, vehicles, transport equipments, plastics chemicals and food grains.CONSUMER USAGE OF TECHNOLOGY. The total number of fixed-line telephones installed in the Philippines was 3.4 million or a penetration of 8 fixed-line phones per 100 population in 2004. However, the penetration for mobile phones is much higher at 39 mobile phones per 100 population. The penetration of computers in the country is low estimated at 2% of the population while the estimated number of internet subscribers is 1.2 million and internet users is 8.0 million. The average penetration of televisions among households in the Philippines is 71% but higher in the Metro Manila at 96%.RETAIL MARKET. There are nearly 360,000 retail establishments and the traditional “mom and pop” stores account for 98% of the establishments. The remaining 2% are the store brands comprising of hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores and speciality stores. Shopping in these establishments is popular among middle and high-income consumers. These modern outlets are mostly concentrated in Metro Manila accounting for 30% of the Philippines’ total retail sales. However, many store brands are expanding their businesses outside Metro Manila into other major urban areas in Luzon and Mindanao. Between 2004 and 2007 and estimated three shopping malls will be built in the Philippines annually.FOOD CULTURE. Like most countries in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, rice is the staple food in the Philippines. Filipino cooking is a blend of sweet, sour and spicy tastes. Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican and Spanish cooking have an influence on Filipino food culture. Traders and immigrants introduced Indian, Chinese and Japanese cooking while the Spanish colonial rulers introduced Mexican and Spanish cooking. Filipinos are also accustomed to western foods especially American style fast foods, bakeries and snacks.
Take in Offbeat Johannesburg in Your South Africa Travel Plans This Summer
To locals, Johannesburg, the largest city of South Africa, is endearingly Joburg or Jozi; and when you are done with your visit to this teeming metropolitan town, there is likely to be a little endearment or two you have in mind for this place yourself.Johannesburg is a vibrant city of great extremes. It has deep roots in European culture as well as African culture; there is business, culture and art of the highest order in its old world atmosphere and its glittering skyscrapers; and there are miles of shantytowns, traffic that knows no laws, and people, people everywhere. The city is home to some of the worst apartheid atrocities ever known of; and it is the home of an inspiring freedom struggle.When you visit South Africa, travel to Johannesburg has to be the highlight of your trip; the city may be a bit dangerous in some of its seedier areas, but most of the places you would want to venture to are pretty great.Let’s cover some of Jozi’s best offbeat attractions in pubs and restaurants, art galleries and everything else. Let’s start with Arts on Main, an exciting bunch of shops, all hidden away in a reclaimed warehouse right in the center of the city. The whole enterprise is a part of the city’s plans to take advantage of the history that the city possesses. There are galleries and little bohemian shops by the dozen that should easily take up a couple of hours spent exploring. Check out http://www.Artsonmain.co.za for details.If you want a piece of history for your South Africa travel plans this time, try the Market Theater, otherwise known as the Theater of the Struggle. During apartheid times, the theater’s management felt that art could have a great contribution to make to the country’s political struggle, and frequently put up shows that challenged the government’s policies. A visit there today, and you’ll see some of the best that South Africa’s arts and music scene has to offer. Check out http://www.Markettheatre.co.za for details.Keeping with the apartheid theme, how about a trip out to the suburb of Soweto, a massive place that all blacks in Johannesburg were forced to leave for each evening in the apartheid era, after their work in the city was done? Soweto featured prominently in the country’s freedom struggle, and is home to hundreds of thousands black South Africans. Things aren’t as desperate around here as they once were. The economy in Soweto is booming, and the energy in the air is palpable. It would have to be, what with two Nobel Peace Prize winners living there, on the same street (Vilakazi Street) no less. What South Africa travel plan would be complete without a visit to Nelson Mandela’s home (converted into a museum now)? For a little authentic Soweto cuisine, try the Nambitha Eatery, the Sakhumzi Restaurant and Wandies Place. You could be in for a treat with ox tail stew and other South African delicacies.If you truly want to get in touch with the earth in South Africa, travel to the world heritage site of the Cradle of Humankind. It’s just a half-hour’s drive outside the city, and here you will find stunning exhibits of exactly where it is that the human race came from. The Sterkfontein Caves are a part of the tour, and they contain the oldest fossils of pre-Homosapien primates ever found. Or how about trying the site of one of the lustiest gold rushes ever, the Old Kromdraai Gold Mine?