After a few weeks of being immersed in new clients and some very exciting projects, it wasn’t until Saturday when I was eating Burger King with my family that I got some inspiration to write my next article.
I watched the last 20 minutes of a BBC Radio 4 program on channel 510 Bell TV. The presenter was interviewing three heads of major companies: Martin Sorrell of WPP, the chairman of the largest marketing & advertising agency in the world, the CEO of Vodafone UK, and the CEO of Euro Star-- the fast train from UK to Paris or the other way around.
The topic was about business and the economy and I was pleased to listen to their positive attitudes throughout the interview.
For me, the key points were another reminder of what is to come in the next few years for the small business and the Internet. All three shared similar views that the Internet now plays a critical role for any business.
Martin, who you have to consider the most powerful man in marketing, said that almost 20% of our time is spent online and that number will rise to 30%. WPP digital revenues are 25% of their total advertising revenue worldwide. WPP is Google’s largest customer when it comes to buying keywords--when I say big I am referring to the fact that they spent $4 billion just read the interview notes. WPP has spent a billion dollars buying Internet marketing companies around the world.
What does that mean? Well, consumers will spend more money online-- it’s a trend that has been growing at an alarming rate for the past 10 years, and if you apply common sense, it tells you that this will only continue to grow.
We already spend 10% - 12% of our household income online. So if you have not got an online store or even a professional website you are missing out on 12% of new business. Another fact is that 50% of our buying influences are now made on the Internet.
The CEO of Vodafone said the days of business owners not being connected to the Internet are over. He went on to say that one third of new customers who call or email a business and do not get a response in 2 hours will not buy from that business or call back.
None of this comes as a surprise to me as in the past few weeks more and more of our customers have requested that their entire store be put online. If you sell chocolates, gifts, furniture, shoes, clothes, gadgets, jewelery, or anything that can be sent by post or courier, then you need to have an online store.
If you have 10 or 10,000 items to sell and you want to grow your business, then $2,000 will get your store online with hosting, email accounts, domain, online payment system, website, and training. $2,000 to grow your business is not a big investment when you can increase your sales by at least 10%.
Even if you turnover $100,000, a 10% sales growth is $10,000!
The question is not whether or not you want an online store, the question is: do you want to grow your business?
If your answer is yes, then call us now toll-free at 1-888-211- 8133 or click here and fill in this simple form to get three custom online store designs and consultation for free.
CLICK HERE to take advantage of this opportunity NOW
Neil Patel, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
