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Small Businesses Making It Big Online
At first it seemed that anyone with a website would become a millionaire overnight. Then, almost as quickly, owning an Internet business became the fastest way to obscurity. Now that the dust has had time to settle, it would appear that the reality is somewhere in between. Money is being made on the Internet and the likes of eBay and Lastminute are good examples of successful businesses trading online. What is less well known, however, is that you don't have to be big brand to make it big online.
Something that you do have to do is to treat your online business in the same way as if it were an offline business. What was forgotten during the exuberance of the initial boom was that the Internet is like any other business environment. Businesses operating within its boundaries, therefore, need to adhere to the same laws as that of the traditional business world. You need to create a process of supply and demand by identifying what customers want and charging at a level that is competitive and reflective of the value that they place on the product.
That product however, does not have to be something physical. In fact many smaller companies are making money through the sale of their online content or service for which there is a rapidly growing market that has only been made possible by the Internet itself. Last year the European online content and services market was worth 0.6 billion Euros, much of this revenue being generated by a wide range of content including, mobile, music, national newspapers, family tree and betting forecasts.
The Internet boom and bust taught us that having a sustainable revenue stream is vital for businesses small or large. But how can the smaller player get their fair share? Many factors contribute to making successful online businesses, but for the smaller players to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who have bigger investment capability, three key factors apply:
Harness the experts within. As a smaller player you have expertise on your side. ace-to-race.co.uk uses proprietary technology to forecast horse racing results, which enabled it to successfully achieve breakeven within one year of launch. It puts this down to successfully tapping into a niche market for racing devotees to have a more scientific approach to making their betting choices.
Having proprietary software is by no means essential, but you do need knowledge. Walking World is finding an amazing level of success by offering maps and information on favorite walking routes around the UK.
Structure for choice. You have content or a service that is valuable to the customer but how do you convey this to them? In an offline environment your customers might have the option to try before buying, not something that is easily conveyed online.
When the Independent's website was originally designed, the newspaper gave all of its content away for free, but it has since started charging for the more valuable elements of its site - opinion pieces, archived material, etc. The key to the Independent's success is its tiered approach to payment, which gives customers plenty of opportunity to try the content before committing. Instead of making them sign up immediately for monthly or yearly subscriptions, it allows them to sign up for a day or for one specific section.
Outsource the non-essential. Mygardenteam.co.uk is another success story as it has concentrated on what it is good at; giving gardening advice to people with no gardening experience who wish to create a garden at home. Back office tasks such as chasing late, and querying, failed payments, following up chargebacks and dealing with customer enquiries have been outsourced to their payment solution provider. In doing so, the site has achieved significant cost reductions and in turn its experts continue to concentrate on delivering a superior service to its customers.
The message is clear, if you have a web presence, now is the time to exploit it. Discover the opportunities for premium content or look to reveal extended services that could create a further revenue stream.
Online sales, particularly of digital content and services can only increase as the number of Internet literate consumers with home computers continues to grow. You don't need to be a big brand to make money, but you do need to have something to sell. Knowledge may be power, but in the Internet age, it is also a valuable commodity.
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