| OK, so you have a great idea and you can’t wait to sell it. This baby sells itself, doesn’t it? You may be wrong there and if you are, it will cost you dearly. Converting concepts to successful money making businesses is not easy and requires the following steps.
Viability:–
To put an idea into execution, you need to check on its viability. It may sound really good in theory but not work when put into action. There have been great ideas that have not planned out, simply due to a lack of utility or the lack of a market for the product or service. Make sure that you ask your mentor, or other industry experts for advice. This can be a bit tricky if you don’t want to give your idea away. Alternatively, try to find some small way of testing it out. Another separate and equally important aspect is to decide whether your product or service has an online market. Ask yourself whether people go online looking for your offering and whether these people would buy this offering online. This will help to establish the online viability of your concept.
USP:–
Remember that people are looking for value in your product or service and if you can differentiate yourself by coming up with a unique selling proposition for your business, you will be more successful. Your idea must have merit, essentially and offer something unique that sets it apart in making it attractive to customers. Keep in mind that you are up against a lot of competition on the internet before deciding to go ahead with your plan. Remember also that if your idea is not unique, some other aspect of your approach should be.
Marketing:–
This may be one of the pillars of your online business if you can get it right. Your great concept will only get you so far – to get people to find and buy your product you need the help of a great marketing effort. If you can hire a good search engine optimization team, do that. If not, try to research and read up on the subject to the best of your abilities. Definitely get a good web developer who will follow World Wide Web Consortium standards and will also optimize the structure of your site to make the job of search engines that much easier. Further, get good content that is informative and intelligent to attract customers. Most importantly, look for affiliate programs, email marketing opportunities, start newsletters, blog marketing, banner ads, pay per click and so on. These are the various techniques that help a site get attention from its customers. It is important to get relevant visitors who are looking for your offering or something similar.
Planning/ strategy:–
Have a plan. Create a business model, do projections, make a marketing plan, be ready for difficulties, identify problems and work on problem solving. Educate yourself about your business, the internet and about the product or service you are selling. Once you master this, you will know more about how to plan and structure your start up phase and be ready for future growth. As in any business, an online business needs to have a strategy in place to make money and convert ideas to money making businesses.
William King is the director of Wholesale Pages: http://www.wholesalepages.co.uk , Pakistan real estate and property portal: http://www.zameen.com , Daily Trader: http://www.dailytrader.com , and Australia Wholesalers: http://www.australiawholesalers.com . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers, entrepreneurs and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements. |
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