In simple words, retailers cannot stay offline, otherwise, they will lose valuable customers easily. Thanks to e-commerce websites because they empower the customers to acquire a unique user experience of shopping online. So if you want to start an e-commerce business, the basic idea will be, begin with, a stellar-looking website. You can either choose to build one yourself or hire a web developer. Here, we will shed light on how you can build a good e-commerce website:

1. Consider the E-Commerce Platform

For your information, there are three different kinds of e-commerce platforms, open-source, SaaS, and headless commerce. Starting with the first one, open-source allows you to code freely without paying. This means it is free to install and can easily be customized according to your needs. However, it entails having advanced knowledge of coding to work on it. 

On the other hand, Software as a service is a platform that allows you to create a website by investing your money. Lastly, headless commerce provides you with a shopping cart and an additional layer of e-commerce sites for references. 

There are also lots of companies that allow you to create your website in a number of clicks. Check out Shopify, WordPress or Wix.  Depending on how complex you want your website to be, any of these are really good options. Some platforms focus only on e-commerce and they will probably be the easiest to manage your online store.  Some websites like buyv2ecigs.com, decided to use Bigcommerce which specialized in e-commerce. If you want something that is only for e-commerce, then check out Bigcommerce or Shopify. 

2. Website Performance

If your website takes too long to load or fails to load for first-time visitors, they won’t bother coming to your platform again. Now that there are hundreds of e-commerce websites out there, choosing the right one can be very daunting for the customer. However, a positive website experience is beneficial for ensuring the customer makes their purchase. 

In addition, your website should have the capacity to cater to the current traffic needs. You would not want a situation where your website crashes because too many people visited and your hosting package was not large enough.  

3. Website Should be Optimized For Mobile

A large number of online shoppers look for products and services from their phones, so if your website fails to load on their mobiles or is too slow, you will eventually lose a lot of customers. Look for different ways your website can be operated from mobile without any obstacles. 

This way, customers can easily find you, if your store is near their house. Also, don’t forget to offer secure payment modes to your customers.

4. Create an Interesting Domain Name

Always choose a domain name that resonates with your customers. Simply put, it shouldn’t be that hard to spell or type. Make it easy for your customers to remember you or to mention to their friends.  

Avoid generic names that have already been taken and try to stand out with your choice. Take your time and look for a brand-able name that can easily be recognized by the customers. Remember that your domain name will be a representation of your brand in the international market, so you need to be wise enough when choosing one. 

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads every week.

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This video is called, Why Now is the Best Time to be Online By Mike Pitt. If you want to subscribe to our YouTube channel, you can . Mike Pitt is the Founder of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd, a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London.

This post may contain affiliate links, please read our disclosure for more info.

In this video, Mike Pitt discusses, Why Now is the Best Time to be Online. This video will be of interest to business owners, B2B marketing managers, Content Marketing professionals, Social Media Managers and others who use Social Media to promote their businesses.

Be Online Now

The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns introduced around the world have meant that the way B2B businesses do business has had to change. The ‘new normal’ means that people are at home and online more now. You have a massive opportunity to connect with your customers and more of your prospects. In this video, I discuss this huge opportunity and how to take advantage of it.

Content Creation

When I state that it is very important to be online, I am referring to the creation of new content and then responding to engagement on Social Media. The most effective platforms for you are likely to be your blog, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. It’s amazing how many content creators do not respond to comments on Social Media platforms, this is a mistake. If your content starts a conversation, stay around to be in the conversation. The coronavirus pandemic will end and so will this opportunity to increase your company’s reach and customer base. Don’t miss out!  Watch the video for more details.

Take Action

Do you think you are creating enough new content now? If so, which content platform is proving to be the most effective for you? Let me know that in the comments section below.

If you’ve liked this post you will also like the following posts:

LinkedIn: Advice for B2B Businesses Playlist

How to Increase LinkedIn Company Page Followers

Why I Stopped Using LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn: Company Page Followers No Longer Viewable

How I Follow Up With LinkedIn Searchers

LinkedIn: How to Approach Leads the Right Way

Is Steemit Dead? 

How to use Telegram for New Business – Part 1

LinkedIn: Inside an Engagement Pod – Part 1.

LinkedIn Storytelling: How to Tell Stories on LinkedIn

My Most Viewed Post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn: Advice For B2B Businesses – Playlist

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247. You can also email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt

Founder, Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

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This is video number 354 and blog post number 556

The post Why Now is the Best Time to be Online appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

” It’s absolutely worth it.” – #onsettingupabusiness

” Start small. Think big – but do get started.”

” There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” Quoting #FranklynDelanoRoosevelt

On seeking funding…

” We applied to 20 banks and got turned down 20 times.” #onseekingfunding

Email subject line – ‘Does anyone know anyone rich?’ #onseekingfunding

“Maurice Pinto…he put in £250K and got out £30 million.” #talkingabouttheinvestorwhosaidyes

On a direct approach to distribution…

“We went to independent retailers over a bank holiday weekend and gave them 3 cases for free…45 out of 50 reordered.”

” We just got started…We were hungover and we needed something to make us feel better. ” – #innocentbeginnings

On working with a team…

” The three of us (founders) take credit when it’s the team of 300 that should take the credit. ” #teameffort

On role models…

“Richard Branson …I think in Britain he made entrepreneurs sexy…” #rolemodels

On being focused…

” Write down the dream. When you write it down – the dream becomes a goal.” #startingabusiness

On amusing Plump nuns copy on the ingredients label…

“You must either take off the reference to plump nuns or put them in your fruit juice.” #Letterfromadjudicationjudge

On business owners & entrepreneurs looking for investment…

“If you are looking for investment check out – http://jamjarinvestments.com/”

I hope this has given you a taste of the evening. You can follow @richardreedinno on Twitter. The next event will be announced fairly soon. Please also follow @es_bc for the latest updates.

If you’d like to discuss any aspect of your marketing requirements feel free to give us a call on +44 (0) 845 226247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com – We look forward to hearing from you.

We hope you have found this information inspirational.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt – Founder & CEO of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

The post What did entrepreneurs learn from Richard Reed at ESBC? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Business Relationships – 6 tips to create better business relationships

1. Face to Face meetings

Take time to meet new people face to face and extend your circle of contacts. Approach these intro meetings with an open mind and no agenda. Do not pitch during these meetings and listen more than you speak.

2. Deliver Value

Make a point to help help out your contacts whenever you can and to connect them with people that they should meet. Do so without point scoring or expecting anything in return.

3. Surprise and Delight Your Clients & Customers

Execute all contracted projects and tasks well but make one of your objectives to surprise and delight them by delivering beyond their expectations. If you are unsure how to do this your staff and customer feedback will give you some very strong indicators.

4. Be Authentic

One of the benefits of being a business owner or entrepreneur is that you can create your own company and remain true to your values and vision. Do not lose sight of this when you are starting business relationships even if there are monetary reasons to do so. If your gut tells you that a potential relationship will be problematic – go with your gut.

5. Establish Trust

For any relationship to work there needs to be trust on both sides. Major deals and agreements need to be written down and formalised but a good relationship should be the basis. Be worthy of trust, open and and trust in others.

6. Frequency and Feedback

Regularly communicate with your contacts – this applies equally to your staff as well as contacts external to your business. Encourage the giving of and be receptive to feedback and reviews.

Implement these points and you will establish better business relationships – relationships that will help you build better business. The last word goes to Dale Carnegie

“You can close more business in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” – Dale Carnegie

We hope you have found this information useful.

Need help creating better business relationships? Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt
Founder & CEO – Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

The post How do you Create Better Business Relationships? – 6 tips appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Hello everyone. I am going to start this post with an ugly looking word – productization. It is ugly but beautiful at the same time. Let me explain with a story. There was a business owner called Brad who owned an accountancy firm delivering professional services to small businesses. Over the course of a few years, he built up his client base and increased his number of staff to handle the increased number of clients. Brad’s business was growing – but only slowly. As the business got bigger Brad was getting pulled into activities that he did not perceive to be his strengths: activities like Human Resources, Health and Safety, Logistics. It seemed that the every small increase in profitability came at great cost to him in terms of time and focus.

During a weekend seminar, Brad heard about productization; productization is the process of creating products out of the services that your company or organisation provides. He also learned that it is easier to sell products online than it is to sell services. Bingo! Brad then created a new product development strategy that created products that included the following: proprietary accounting software, Ebooks, books, online courses, online workshops, webinars, downloadable PDFs, apps, podcasts and audio files. This enabled Brad’s company to reach many more customers than he and his staff could physically meet with during normal working hours. Over the course of the next 3 years, Brad’s company grew by a factor of five aided by productisation and appropriate use of technology.

Are you a professional services firm that would like to grow as Brad’s firm did? Below are 5 reasons why you should consider productization.

Productization – 5 Things to Consider

1. Scale – Productization well executed will create the opportunity to scale your business rather than grow.

2. Revenue – Productization can transform your website from purely an informational website into one that actually generates sales and revenue.

3. International Expansion – Once you have a suite of products available online you are able to do business internationally from the comfort of your own laptop. Platforms such as Amazon, the App Store and iTunes (for podcasts) deliver a level of kudos for your business too.

4. Business Card – Having a critically acclaimed product is a much better business card than any conventional business card. At networking events, you will be remembered.

5. Do the work once – Once you have created the product it is done. The book, the online course, the video series can be sold multiple times without you having to do any additional work. You may want to consider updates in the future but for the present the work is done.

We hope you have found this information useful. Productization can form part of a comprehensive Content Marketing strategy.

If you have enjoyed this post you will also like the following:

Should Your Book Also be an AudioBook?

Podcasting vs YouTube: Which is Better for Your Business? 

Professional Services: How Do You Fill Your Sales Funnel?

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247. You can also email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads on Wednesdays.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt

Founder, Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

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Online courses:

How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog
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The post Business strategy – Is Productization Right for you? 5 Considerations appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

I was interviewed by the lovely Melinda Yeaman for the Outlier Podcast series. Click here to listen to the interview.

Click here to listen.

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247. You can also email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads on Wednesdays.

I hope you find this information useful.

Best wishes,

Mike Pitt

Founder & CEO

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

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The post Mike Pitt – ‘Unleashing the Power of Content’ Podcast for Outlier Magazine appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Negotiation Tactics – Top 5 from Self-made Millionaires

1. Knock out the competition
Steve Jobs was a genius, and his negotiation strategy is probably the most unbelievable of them all. His tactic was to come up with offers that no other competitor could render. That’s exactly what happened when he wanted Lala (the future iTunes). Nokia offered $11 million for the startup, so Jobs took a piece of paper, gave it to the CEO, and the deal was closed. The amount was $80 million.

2. Play mind games
When Donald Trump chooses to take someone’s business, he arms himself with a couple of really good tricks prior to entering a negotiation. He knows all about playing mind games, so he spends hours chatting in the friendliest way possible. His counterparts will assume he’s just being a nice guy, but his goal is to find a weak spot and have the upper hand.

3. Leaving investors and lawyers at the door
Facebook CEO and multi-millionaire Mark Zuckerberg likes to acquire a start-up without consulting with his advisors. In 2012, Facebook agreed to a deal with Instagram worth $1 billion. He didn’t want to consult with his lawyers, and he closed the deal while eating ice cream with Kevin Systrom, CEO of Instagram. The deal was signed in a day and nobody knew anything about it.

4. If there’s no cooperation, end the whole thing
The moment Dick Costolo became Twitter’s CEO he had to deal with a dysfunctional board of directors, among numerous other things. Rather than accept unprofessional people on his team, he leveraged his power and fired everyone. He managed to demonstrate that Twitter was his company, and that the people who can’t play by his rules should go home.

5. Don’t forget that you have something they don’t
Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO and founder of Yelp, managed to stay very calm when Yahoo and Google mentioned they want to buy his review business. He told Fast Company that the negotiation didn’t live up to his expectations, and that both Yahoo and Google only wanted to know the worth of his company. So he turned them down.

Negotiations are challenging even for the richest people on the planet. However, they’re done differently as money is not the only incentive a seller wants from a buyer. Their negotiation tactics are all about maintaining their names on the floating line.

Need help with your negotiation strategy? Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation. We are a leading Marketing Agency in London.

We hope you have found this information inspirational.This guest post was written by Jason Philips of The Gap Partnership .

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post How do you negotiate like a self-made millionaire? 5 examples – Guest post appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Thank you for reading and interacting with our blog over the last year – special thanks to everyone who has been reading since 2010. In addition to this written blog we do also have an active YouTube channel with 67 videos uploaded that you will find helpful. Click on the links below to view 5 of the most recent uploads and subscribe to the channel to ensure that you are notified when a new video has been uploaded.

If this is the last blog post you read from us before Christmas have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year! For the rest of you – we will expect you back here next week!

Business owners – Are you ready for the long haul?

Business owners – Are you living in ‘Startup World’?

Business owners – Is it time to Vine?

Don’t ‘Fake it til you make it.’

‘How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog’ Book Testimonial – Sophie

We hope you find this content useful and inspirational.

Best wishes.

Mike Pitt

Founder & CEO – Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

The post Business owners – Are you ready for the long haul? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Improving Productivity – 4 ways through sports participation

1. Maximise Your Potential
It’s no surprise that many of the most successful entrepreneurs invest in having a healthy body and mind. They know that being fit and active puts us in optimal shape to make the best possible decisions. It is through sport that we challenge ourselves to grow and develop, training ourselves to maximise our potential.

2. Explore Comfort Zones
When hiring, entrepreneurs look for employees who have taken part, and particularly excelled, in any given sport. Why? It is when we push ourselves outside of our comfort zones to overcome obstacles in the pursuit of our goals that we achieve greatness. In sport, there are regular obstacles to overcome; you might get knocked down, lose the game, experience fatigue or be caught in adverse weather conditions. Sport provides a perfect arena to practice the skills we need for business.

3. Drive, Focus, Commitment
Any sport whether undertaken as part of a team or solo requires commitment. To improve in sports, we need to apply focus and motivation to train hard. When it comes to training, consistency is key and consistency requires commitment. Who wouldn’t want a driven focused and committed person on their team? When these qualities are applied to business – the results will speak for themselves.

4. Boosts Activity
A sporty person is an active person. Someone who enjoys being active will find ways to indulge this desire by finding more to do at work. They won’t be happy with sitting still, in either the physical or the metaphorical sense. If you hire a graduate who was captain of the football team at University, he’ll be knocking on your door asking for more work.

Need help for improving productivity? Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.

We hope you have found this information useful. This guest post was written by Sophie Radcliffe of Challengesophie.com . We are a leading Marketing Agency in London.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post Business owners – How will participation in sport increase productivity? – 4 ways – Guestpost appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

1. What has worked well this year?

2. What did not work well this year?

3. What new challenges do you expect next year?

4. What trends have you identified in sales of your products and services?

5. What are the trends in your sector or niche?

6. What would represent a massive achievement were you to achieve it next year?

7. Are you using the much vaunted Social Media platforms effectively?

8. Do you have a Content Strategy?

9. How successful do you feel your email activity has been?

10. Is it easy for you to identify the ‘raving fans’ of your business? Do you have a specific strategy for them?

11. What is your growth or scaling strategy?

12. Are you to busy to think about this because you are working in the business?

These are just a few of the many considerations for next year – we would be happy to help you create a plan for next year and introduced our Strategy Days for this specific purpose. We work with you to construct a plan for your business. Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to set up your strategy day or you could just fill out this form

We hope you have found this information useful.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

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