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The #1 Internet Myth
The arrival of the Internet in the mid nineties and the unprecedented explosion it has experienced ever since is certainly close to mythical. However, not every myth about the Internet is mythical. For starters, let us take the widely prevailing belief for instance that running an Internet business is much easier than running a brick-and-mortar operation. It is not. Far from it, it just might be more complex because in addition to everything else-- all else being equal-- you will need to get a sound handle not on a single technology but at least a dozen technologies and their respective variants. You may choose not to become a coder or application programmer who specializes in the web space. However, you will surely need to develop a basic understanding of how many of these technologies work in tandem in order to preserve your competitive advantage. Technologies you will need to read about every day include but are not limited to:
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Mobile marketing
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E-Mail marketing and auto responders
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Hosting platforms such as Windows hosting and Linux hosting
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Domain registration and management
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Scripting platforms such as PHP .NET and others
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Payment gateways and merchant authorizations
You probably get the picture especially since this is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are other myths that we will surely share with you over the course of this year. However, on a more positive note, let us tell you about a few things you can certainly do to become the next Amazon success story.
The Incubation Strategy
Like any other business, Internet businesses too take time to generate a positive cash flow. Amazon took three years to hit the black register. Other companies have taken even longer. Facebook continues to lose money in spite of 700 million officially registered users. Why do they all hang in therefore so long? Simply because when the floodgates open, it pours. It does not rain. Moral? Just hang in there and be patient. Every dog has its day!
Acquire Domain Knowledge
You really need to know what you are doing when you hang your shingle in cyber space. Simply look around and you will notice that your competition is always busy reading blogs, posting comments on blogs, attending industry trade shows and leaving just about no stone unturned to learn more about the chosen niche or industry vertical. At the end of the day, all this translates into better products, improved quality of offerings, promotions and incentives not to mention an enhanced brand of customer engagement through live chat software and other customer service delivery platforms. Transfer as much of your domain knowledge to your live chat operators while they engage with your customer community and watch them achieve miracles.
The Customer is not just King he is Divine
The loyalty marketing gurus have proven beyond a shadow of doubt that no business-- regardless of whether it occupies the offline or online space—can achieve success without repeat customer business. Therefore, it is an excellent idea to treat every customer with the utmost level of TLC you can garner. Simply browse our newsletter archives because there is six years of business intelligence awaiting you in this focus area of our website.
A Unique Value Proposition
Constantly explore the possibility of offering unique products and services to your customers and website visitors. It could take the form of hard-to-find products priced affordably that solve specific problems not available on your competitors’ websites. It could be a free giveaway such as an e-book where the value perception is experienced by your customers first hand.
Ongoing Employee Training and Updating of Skills
Finally, this happens to be an area often ignored by entrepreneurs regardless of whether they deliver online or belong to a traditional operation. Your employees provide front end access to your customers. Their responses on live chat, e-mail, phone and any other engagement solution you adopt need to be remain well above board..
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