Archive for the ‘online business’ Category
Thursday, September 26th, 2013
Australians have spent $13.9 billion online in the past year, so that means if you’re a small or medium business owner or you have an idea that you think could fly online, now is the time to do it.
But don’t go in blindly, use these tips from the Sydney Morning Herald to help you.
Photo credit; SEOPlanter on Flickr
1. Look beyond eBay – Many online businesses start off on eBay because the auction site makes it easy to get your toes wet in the online marketplace. But if you’ve found that you have an aptitude for it, don’t just stay stagnant with eBay, push your products out into more places to try and reach as many potential customers as possible.
The best way to do this is by using multiple channels. You can get e-commerce management software to help you utilise a comprehensive range of channels, from Amazon, Trade Me and Facebook to comparison shopping engines like Shopbot.
2. Inventory management -If you are thinking about selling across multiple channels, you do need to maintain careful management of orders and inventory levels so that products are distributed on each channel effectively.
3. Information is king – You should spend the time and effort to publish as much information about your products or services as possible. Smaller retailers often struggle to do this. However, the more information you have and put forward, the easier it is for shoppers to find your product on Google, comparison shopping sites and eBay.
4. If in doubt, get advice - There are several options that retailers can take up to kick-start or grow their online business. Web agencies or independent developers can help retailers get up and running online; some also specialise in different vertical industries.
5. Invest in your own website – For more seasoned eBay sellers, it’s worth considering investing in your own webstore, which lets you ‘take back control’ of the customer experience and control your branding. You will also own the customer data and thus be able to harvest these customer details for marketing purposes.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: Australia, expansion, online business, Sydney Morning Herald, tips
Posted in Australia, business, E-mail & the internet, eBay, Facebook, internet usage, online business, Online Sales, online shopping, online stores, selling online | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 25th, 2013
London-based sports betting company William Hill, which acquired Australia’s TomWaterhouse.com.au recently, will scrap online betting brands Sportingbet and Centrebet from the Australian marketplace.
Photo credit; Tsutomu Takasu on Flickr
William Hill chief executive Ralph Topping told The Australian Financial Review that the London Stock Exchange-listed company wanted eventually to consolidate most of the businesses under the William Hill brand to take on what he described as “struggling” online operations of local companies such as Tatts Group and Tabcorp.
It would be the London group’s first move since the $40 million acquisition of Tom Waterhouse’s company.
William Hill spent $700 million establishing a presence in Australia through the purchase of TomWaterhouse.com.au and Sportingbet (which owns Centrebet) in March.
To read more about this story, click here.
Tags: Australia, business, Centrebet, online, Sportingbet, TomWaterhouse.com.au, William Hill
Posted in Australia, business, E-mail & the internet, online business | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 24th, 2013
Brands can be badmouthed, bullied, beaten up and bruised by anyone online but there are ways to fight back and repair the damage.
Photo credit; Joshin Yamada on Flickr
The Australia Business Review recommends that you:
Apologize if the problem has been caused by your actions or those of your staff and put it on your social networks, your website and anywhere else your customers can see it. Make it honest and straightforward.
Remove negative remarks if possible, even if that means having to hire a lawyer to help you remove them from other sites. Remove the ones that you have control over.
Drown the negativity with SEO by burying them with SEO campaigns until they don’t show up on Google’s search results until the 10th page (most people don’t dig this far back into search results).
Re-Direct attention away from the negativity by doing something positive and promoting it, like holding a contest or donating to charity.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: Australia, Australia Business Review, bad reputation, branding, business, damaged brand, online
Posted in Australia, business, controversy, E-mail & the internet, Facebook, internet bullying, internet usage, media, online business, Public Relations, search engines, social media, social networking, Twitter | No Comments »
Monday, September 23rd, 2013
Photo credit; Images Money on Flickr
Ladbrokes plc, one of the world’s leading betting and gaming companies, has agreed to acquire Gaming Investments Pty Ltd, a fast growing online sports betting business in Australia. Gaming Investment’s business includes Bookmaker.com.au Pty Ltd, operator of the online bookmaker Bookmaker.com.au and Panda Gaming Pty Ltd, operator of an extensive racing and sports focused affiliate network in Australia.
The acquisition sees Ladbrokes acquire Gaming Investment under its newly formed Australian arm ‘Ladbrokes Australia’ for an initial consideration of A$22.5 million, plus an earnout payable at the end of 3 years which is based on the EBITDA for Ladbrokes Australia for the year ending 30 June 2016.
To read more about this story, click here.
Tags: Australia, business, gambling, Gaming Investments Pty Ltd, Ladbrokes, online
Posted in Australia, business, E-mail & the internet, internet usage, online business | No Comments »
Friday, September 20th, 2013
MEDIA monitoring company iSentia has acquired social media creative agency Two Social.
Rich Spencer, founder of Two Social, said the company helped organisations understand “if, why, how and when they should engage through social media and, most importantly, how to leverage these channels to achieve business objectives”.
Last year iSentia acquired social media monitoring group BuzzNumbers.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: Australia, business, BuzzNumbers, iSentia, online, TwoSocial
Posted in Australia, business, E-mail & the internet, online business, social media, social networking | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 18th, 2013
Loveday fruit and vegetable growers Megan and Mark Whateley shut down their roadside produce stand in the Riverland region of South Australia and have opted instead to make sales online and deliver the produce directly to consumers’ front doors.
The convenience of online purchasing has proved popular for people in metropolitan areas.
Photo credit; Umstwit on Flickr
“We know it’s quite a popular thing in other country areas and in Adelaide, we’re not sure that anyone else has trialled something like this up here, so we’re going to give it a go,” Megan said.
The couple decided to start off slow with just a Facebook page but will soon launch a website to go along with it.
“Friends of ours would buy from us and we thought there was a bit of a need for it and we trialled it with a few people and it’s grown fast,” Megan said.
The service has appealed to the younger demographic including working families.
“It’s just the convenience, working people, busy families, mums, they can just have everything brought to their door,” Megan said.
“It’s what people are looking for, a lot of shopping is done from the comfort of your home, without leaving the house.”
The family grows primarily sweetcorn, broccoli and cabbage for South Australian and interstate markets.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: Australia, business, online, produce, Riverland, South Australia
Posted in Australia, business, E-mail & the internet, Facebook, internet usage, online business, Online Sales, online shopping, online stores, selling online, Success story | No Comments »
Monday, September 16th, 2013
From its humble beginnings as a five-person operation above a Perth hairdresser just a few short years ago, Moko has come a long way.
Photo credit; Richard Patterson on Flickr
And it is now set to try and crack the United States college market with its mobile social media advertising platform, plus a $US1 billion capitalisation on the world’s biggest technology stock exchange.
Next month, the Western Australia company will launch a service to connect advertisers with 5 million American college students, the ready-made audience that gave Facebook its start.
Although this means it will be competing with Google and Facebook for a portion of the $US7.65 billion ($A8.5 billion) US mobile advertising market, this is the first stage of a plan to list on Nasdaq, according to chief executive officer and founder Ian Rodwell.
Its first major deal with the American Collegiate Intramural Sports (AMIS) association gives it an initial audience of 5 million university students (out of 21.6 million) at 200 colleges across the country.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: Australia, business, mobile advertising, Moko, online, Perth, social networking, Western Australia
Posted in Australia, business, E-mail & the internet, internet usage, investment, media, online business, Online Sales, social media, social networking, Success story | No Comments »
Friday, September 13th, 2013
Photo credit; Tristan The Booklight on Flickr
Chris Burgess, Chief Information Officer for a non profit in Melbourne and manager of DNTrade, an online forum for discussing Australian domain names and online industry topics, shares his insights into what Australian businesses need to keep in mind when choosing a domain name.
Among his advice, Burgess recommends hosting your website with a hosting provider that has good support.
“It’s important to be able to pick up the phone and talk to someone if something isn’t working,” Burgess says.
Check out Burgess’ comprehensive advice on Australian domain names here.
Tags: Australia, business, Chris Burgess, DNTrade, online
Posted in Australia, business, domain names, E-mail & the internet, internet usage, online business, Online Sales, online shopping, online stores | No Comments »
Thursday, September 12th, 2013
Businesses.com.au has recruited Managing Director of Cudo and Deals.com.au Adam Schwab to share his insight about dealing with daily deals sites with readers.
For the uninitiated, deal sites are ones like Groupon, LivingSocial, Spreets, Cudo and Scoopon. These sites sell products and services from another business to site visitors and their database of subscribers that they have created. The deal sites advertise their clients’ services or products and collect money for vouchers for buyers to present to a merchant. For products, the deal sites send cash and the address to send the goods to the business that pays a commission for the sales service.
They basically act as a middleman between business and consumer, but they can draw in a lot of business so can be worth it for businesses to deal with.
But merely putting your service on these sites isn’t always a good idea, as businesses.com.au shares the horror story of one salon owner who advertised on one of the daily deal sites only to find she was unable to handle the influx of business it brought her.
With avoiding that kind of pitfall in mind, businesses.com.au invited Schwab to offer a bit of a tutorial on using the deals sites and what to expect.
You can find Schwab’s insights into Australia’s daily deals industry here.
Tags: Australia, business, Cudo, daily deals, groupon, LivingSocial, online, Scoopon, Spreets
Posted in Australia, business, E-mail & the internet, internet usage, online business, Online Sales, online shopping, online stores, selling online | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 10th, 2013
A recent report shows that Australia now leads the world in the pace of online business start-ups. Internet start-ups have increased 200% from 2010 and 2012, four times the pace in the United States and Britain.
With so many new startups popping up, Dynamic Business has released a set of tips for Australians who want to get in on all the startup action:
Manage your time. Whether you’re an early riser or prefer burning the midnight oil, find what works best for you. Running a store can require a lot of time and energy, but it’s important to separate your stress. Don’t let the worries of one job impact another and develop (and stick to) a routine that maximises productivity.
Think easy. Great designs are nice, but if your online store isn’t intuitive for customers, all bets are off. Re-evaluate the functionality of your homepage and make sure customers can get to where they’re trying to go.
Focus on quality. Use high-resolution product images and take the time to write detailed product descriptions from a customer’s perspective. If you want customers to spend the time reading it, spend the time writing it!
Try new forms of marketing. One of the most critical aspects for any online store is marketing, but it can be costly. Content marketing, such as blogging, is a great, low-cost alternative and offers small businesses a big bang for your buck.
Find your inspiration. Ultimately, success often boils down to having the passion and drive to keep things running through the highs and lows. When the going gets tough, remember what inspired you to start your own business. If you’re doing something you love, your passion will shine through and motivate to push on.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: Australia, business, online, startup
Posted in Australia, business, E-mail & the internet, innovation, internet usage, online business, Online Sales, online shopping, online stores, selling online, social media, social networking, technology, Woo Plugins, WooCommerce, WooCommerce Extensions, WooCommerce Themes | No Comments »
