Online Business Adviser

The Forum For Online Business Success

Yesterday I was shopping for my wife’s birthday present, and was at the counter when I was asked if I had a Myer One card. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked this question – it’s the stock standard one that all Myer staff are required to ask.

But something different happened today. When I said no, I was asked, “would you like to apply for one?”

This is the first time I’ve ever had a sales person try to upsell me to their rewards card, and it made me wonder how many new card customers Myer is missing because not all of their staff ask this. Obviously not everyone would say yes (I still didn’t) but even if it gathered a few more applicants a day then surely it’s a worthwhile exercise?  Read more...

In business, there are measures of success, most of them around actual sales numbers. In online, there are so many measurements for the way people interact with your site that often times you can be bogged down in numbers and lose sight of those that are actually important to your business. So how do you work out and focus on those measures that actually matter?

Ideally, start at the end and take one step back.

What does success look like for your business? Is it sales? If so, revenue is obviously a key metric. Perhaps equally though, if not more important, is the number of people actually visiting the page BEFORE they commit to purchase. How many people get to that point and change their mind? If this number is too high, then you have a problem with how that page is set up.  Read more...

I’ve been active on eBay for the last 6 years, and am a big fan and advocate of the site. For buyers, it is a one stop shop for pretty much anything they want to buy, with the advantage of great low prices. For sellers, it has gone from being a place to get rid of unwanted stuff around the house, to a viable sales channel for all kinds of businesses.

The story of eBay itself is fascinating, I recommend reading The Perfect Store: Inside eBay. How it went from one man to the e-commerce success story of our time is inspiring.

eBay is not just about auctions. You have the ability to run your items at fixed prices, just as you would in a bricks and mortar store. You wouldn’t expect your customers to walk in the door and offer you one price and come back in a week.  Read more...