Remember those credit card deals that would let you transfer your balance from one credit card to another, pay few or no fees and get zero percent interest? If you thought those offers had gone away, guess what …these offers are back.
Deb Domke from New Horizons Credit Union joined us on Studio10 with some tips and things to watch out for. Please click on the video link to watch the interview.
Are these offers as good as they sound? Low interest balance transfer cards can provide significant savings for borrowers who use them to pay down their balances before the introductory rates expire.
Why did these offers disappear? For two reasons, the first was the Great Recession and the overall tightening of consumer lending. Second, federal lawmakers enacted legislation in 2009 that curbed some common practices by credit card companies. This CARDAct made a number of major changes to credit card lending and marketing practices. So card companies pulled back on some products that became less profitable.
What are some of the offers that are out there? You will see Zero percent interest on transferred balances as well as new purchases for 12 months. Another one charges a percent fee such as 4 or 5% to transfer a balance but offers zero percent interest for 24 months.
Any tips if you are in the market to transfer a credit card balance? The key is to pay attention to the fine print in the offer and use the new cards to pay down existing debt, not run up new
http://www.newhcu.org
SOURCE
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Cisco Exec Dishes On Business Ecommerce Solution
Industrialized countries like the United States and the United Kingdom lead the world in the development of online retailing. But many other countries are gaining ground, with their own cultural differences and habits in doing business online.
The state of worldwide ecommerce is the topic we discussed recently with Joanne Bethlamy. She's with Cisco, the worldwide technology firm, serving as a director in its Internet Business Solutions Group, which advises large, multi-billion dollar companies on Internet matters.
Practical eCommerce: What is the rough dollar volume of global ecommerce versus brick-and-mortar retailing?
Joanne Bethlamy: “Well, you see lots of different numbers. The way we are looking at it is by 2015, we think that the global ecommerce market is going to reach almost $1.4 trillion. That may be a larger number than your readers will see elsewhere. We include in that things like travel and auto. When you think about that $1.4 trillion in ecommerce, the United States will probably be a little over $450 billion, or 33 percent of that, still the largest market even in 2015. How predominant or how big a proportion ecommerce is of total retailing looking at brick-and-mortar varies by part of the world. In the U.S., again, you'll see different estimates, but we say that ecommerce will probably be somewhere around 8 percent of total retail, so obviously brick-and-mortar still predominates dramatically, but ecommerce is growing at a much faster rate. If you look on a global basis, it's even lower. Ecommerce is probably going to be about 4 percent of total retail, but, again, the growth rates typically that you'll see online are much higher than comparable rates in the physical world.”
PEC: Beyond 2015, does Cisco see a leveling off of ecommerce growth, or can you project beyond 2015?
Bethlamy: “Between now and 2015, we think the growth rate globally will average somewhere around a 13.5 percent each year. In those markets that are more developed — like the U.S. and the U.K. — we'll see lower growth rates, though still much higher than physical stores. Whereas other parts of the world that are really just getting on board with this — places like Spain, China, India, Brazil and Mexico — will be growing at a much higher rate."
PEC: What about specific products and services? Are there product or service categories that you see growing relatively more quickly?
Bethlamy: “Yes, absolutely. First, regardless of what your readers sell, every product segment is going to grow online for the foreseeable future. It doesn't matter what you're selling, you need to be online because all categories are going to grow somewhere between 10 and 15 percent per year for the next several years. There are some categories that are higher than that, such as motor vehicles, which we expect to grow about 15 percent, food and beverage about 13 percent, and furniture at 13 percent. Those are some of the higher growth sectors."
PEC: You mentioned that by 2015, somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 percent of total retailing in the U.S will be ecommerce. How does that compare with other industrialized countries?
Bethlamy: “I don't have those numbers right on hand, but it's in the middle. So, for example, in the U.K., they're at about 11 percent today. Eleven percent in the U.K. today of retail is ecommerce; so they're out ahead of us. Other parts of the world, for example Japan, they still prefer to shop in person even though they have very strong ecommerce, they're going to be a little lower. So, it will depend culturally."
PEC: Among industrialized countries, the U.S. is somewhere in the middle?
Bethlamy: “Yes."
PEC: Let's discuss consumer buying habits in other parts of the world. Do those consumer habits vary?
Bethlamy: “There are tremendous differences between countries. For larger retailers and those of your readership who are thinking about actually creating separate country websites, you have to be very in tune with each country's differences. To highlight some of the ways that they differ, [here are some examples.]
"We've talked about payment customs. Payment preferences vary dramatically across cultures, usually based on that country's history. For example, Germany, which had tremendous inflation after the last wars, don't tend to use credit cards as much. They want to pay for their online purchases with online bank transfers and PayPal more than they want to pay via credit card. Some places like Japan, Taiwan, and Mexico, a lot of people want to pay cash on delivery (COD), which is very different than the United States, where we use primarily credit card or PayPal.
"So, payment preferences really need to be looked at if you're going to open a separate country operation because you want to really unlock the revenue potential in any particular country. You want people to be able to pay in the way they want to pay so they want to shop with you. Now, for a smaller website, you won't get into that complication quite as much."
PEC: There are ecommerce merchants in different countries that sell products on a COD basis?
Bethlamy: “COD is quite common in Mexico, Japan and Taiwan. That is one of the major ways to pay for ecommerce, in those three countries."
PEC: Interesting.
Bethlamy: “So, for example, you asked differences, well, here are more differences. Different countries have actually more sophisticated shipment and pickup options than we do in the United States. Japan has a very sophisticated, fast and cheap delivery system for ecommerce. People expect delivery either that day or in one day, and they like to pick up their packages at a local convenience store. That's because there's much denser housing, so you just don't want packages sitting at your door when you're out working for the day. So, in Japan, many people pick up their ecommerce packages at local convenience stores and then they can pay cash on delivery at that time. The ecommerce providers have worked out agreements with the delivery carriers and the convenience store chains act as basically retail pickup for them."
PEC: Let's change directions and ask you to put on your entrepreneur hat. Assume you're a smaller merchant — the opposite of Cisco. You have a couple of employees, and you sell a product line based in the U.S. Let's say you do between $0.5 and $1 million a year in U.S. sales. What would be your strategy for international sales, or would you even attempt international sales?
Listen
Listen to the complete audio interview with Joanne Bethlamy.
Bethlamy: “Well, first of all, I'd ask myself what I sell, who is it interesting to? Do I sell things that are so unique that lots of people around the world would like it? Do I have a special piece that is in demand in other places and if so, where? And if that's true, then you start to ask yourself, well, what do I need to do? What can I do in relatively straightforward way to enable people from around the world to buy from me? How do I make it easy for them?
"The number one thing you can do is figure out how to ship to them globally. So, for example, a friend of mine has a small company in the Los Angeles area. This company is expert at embedding things like badges and memorabilia in Lucite. He now has orders from all over the world and his website looks like any small business website, but he does ship anywhere and he's worked out with companies like FedEx and DHL and the post office to ship anywhere. So, that's easy, that's the number one thing.
"Beyond that, you might want to consider closer-in international markets, Canada and Mexico. There are third-party suppliers out there who specialize in helping businesses just ship and deal with the customs and tariffs and currency conversions and so forth to Canada and to Mexico, or anywhere around the world now. If you have something in particular that the Hispanic market would be interested in, then perhaps you're going to want a Spanish version of your site or be able to ship easily into Mexico."
PEC: Does your friend's site translate any content into another language?
Bethlamy: “No. First, if you're going to do anything, just do one thing well. You're a small business. Just make sure that you have the capability to ship globally. If you're going to order from another country, you need to know it's going to get to you. You need to know that you can pay. In this case, keep it simple. You're going to offer credit cards or PayPal, and then much farther down the line, because it's fairly expensive, would be translation."
PEC: Any other thoughts for smaller merchants as they contemplate international sales?
Bethlamy: “Yes. Understand that it's a very interconnected world now. The world is much smaller. People are now ordering routinely from other countries, especially with things like eBay. So, not only is it smart because you want to get a global audience, but also realizing that you're now competing in a global market because merchants from around the world are actively soliciting U.S. consumers. So, it's defensive as well as offensive to think about gaining a global audience."
SOURCE
The state of worldwide ecommerce is the topic we discussed recently with Joanne Bethlamy. She's with Cisco, the worldwide technology firm, serving as a director in its Internet Business Solutions Group, which advises large, multi-billion dollar companies on Internet matters.
Practical eCommerce: What is the rough dollar volume of global ecommerce versus brick-and-mortar retailing?
Joanne Bethlamy: “Well, you see lots of different numbers. The way we are looking at it is by 2015, we think that the global ecommerce market is going to reach almost $1.4 trillion. That may be a larger number than your readers will see elsewhere. We include in that things like travel and auto. When you think about that $1.4 trillion in ecommerce, the United States will probably be a little over $450 billion, or 33 percent of that, still the largest market even in 2015. How predominant or how big a proportion ecommerce is of total retailing looking at brick-and-mortar varies by part of the world. In the U.S., again, you'll see different estimates, but we say that ecommerce will probably be somewhere around 8 percent of total retail, so obviously brick-and-mortar still predominates dramatically, but ecommerce is growing at a much faster rate. If you look on a global basis, it's even lower. Ecommerce is probably going to be about 4 percent of total retail, but, again, the growth rates typically that you'll see online are much higher than comparable rates in the physical world.”
PEC: Beyond 2015, does Cisco see a leveling off of ecommerce growth, or can you project beyond 2015?
Bethlamy: “Between now and 2015, we think the growth rate globally will average somewhere around a 13.5 percent each year. In those markets that are more developed — like the U.S. and the U.K. — we'll see lower growth rates, though still much higher than physical stores. Whereas other parts of the world that are really just getting on board with this — places like Spain, China, India, Brazil and Mexico — will be growing at a much higher rate."
PEC: What about specific products and services? Are there product or service categories that you see growing relatively more quickly?
Bethlamy: “Yes, absolutely. First, regardless of what your readers sell, every product segment is going to grow online for the foreseeable future. It doesn't matter what you're selling, you need to be online because all categories are going to grow somewhere between 10 and 15 percent per year for the next several years. There are some categories that are higher than that, such as motor vehicles, which we expect to grow about 15 percent, food and beverage about 13 percent, and furniture at 13 percent. Those are some of the higher growth sectors."
PEC: You mentioned that by 2015, somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 percent of total retailing in the U.S will be ecommerce. How does that compare with other industrialized countries?
Bethlamy: “I don't have those numbers right on hand, but it's in the middle. So, for example, in the U.K., they're at about 11 percent today. Eleven percent in the U.K. today of retail is ecommerce; so they're out ahead of us. Other parts of the world, for example Japan, they still prefer to shop in person even though they have very strong ecommerce, they're going to be a little lower. So, it will depend culturally."
PEC: Among industrialized countries, the U.S. is somewhere in the middle?
Bethlamy: “Yes."
PEC: Let's discuss consumer buying habits in other parts of the world. Do those consumer habits vary?
Bethlamy: “There are tremendous differences between countries. For larger retailers and those of your readership who are thinking about actually creating separate country websites, you have to be very in tune with each country's differences. To highlight some of the ways that they differ, [here are some examples.]
"We've talked about payment customs. Payment preferences vary dramatically across cultures, usually based on that country's history. For example, Germany, which had tremendous inflation after the last wars, don't tend to use credit cards as much. They want to pay for their online purchases with online bank transfers and PayPal more than they want to pay via credit card. Some places like Japan, Taiwan, and Mexico, a lot of people want to pay cash on delivery (COD), which is very different than the United States, where we use primarily credit card or PayPal.
"So, payment preferences really need to be looked at if you're going to open a separate country operation because you want to really unlock the revenue potential in any particular country. You want people to be able to pay in the way they want to pay so they want to shop with you. Now, for a smaller website, you won't get into that complication quite as much."
PEC: There are ecommerce merchants in different countries that sell products on a COD basis?
Bethlamy: “COD is quite common in Mexico, Japan and Taiwan. That is one of the major ways to pay for ecommerce, in those three countries."
PEC: Interesting.
Bethlamy: “So, for example, you asked differences, well, here are more differences. Different countries have actually more sophisticated shipment and pickup options than we do in the United States. Japan has a very sophisticated, fast and cheap delivery system for ecommerce. People expect delivery either that day or in one day, and they like to pick up their packages at a local convenience store. That's because there's much denser housing, so you just don't want packages sitting at your door when you're out working for the day. So, in Japan, many people pick up their ecommerce packages at local convenience stores and then they can pay cash on delivery at that time. The ecommerce providers have worked out agreements with the delivery carriers and the convenience store chains act as basically retail pickup for them."
PEC: Let's change directions and ask you to put on your entrepreneur hat. Assume you're a smaller merchant — the opposite of Cisco. You have a couple of employees, and you sell a product line based in the U.S. Let's say you do between $0.5 and $1 million a year in U.S. sales. What would be your strategy for international sales, or would you even attempt international sales?
Listen
Listen to the complete audio interview with Joanne Bethlamy.
Bethlamy: “Well, first of all, I'd ask myself what I sell, who is it interesting to? Do I sell things that are so unique that lots of people around the world would like it? Do I have a special piece that is in demand in other places and if so, where? And if that's true, then you start to ask yourself, well, what do I need to do? What can I do in relatively straightforward way to enable people from around the world to buy from me? How do I make it easy for them?
"The number one thing you can do is figure out how to ship to them globally. So, for example, a friend of mine has a small company in the Los Angeles area. This company is expert at embedding things like badges and memorabilia in Lucite. He now has orders from all over the world and his website looks like any small business website, but he does ship anywhere and he's worked out with companies like FedEx and DHL and the post office to ship anywhere. So, that's easy, that's the number one thing.
"Beyond that, you might want to consider closer-in international markets, Canada and Mexico. There are third-party suppliers out there who specialize in helping businesses just ship and deal with the customs and tariffs and currency conversions and so forth to Canada and to Mexico, or anywhere around the world now. If you have something in particular that the Hispanic market would be interested in, then perhaps you're going to want a Spanish version of your site or be able to ship easily into Mexico."
PEC: Does your friend's site translate any content into another language?
Bethlamy: “No. First, if you're going to do anything, just do one thing well. You're a small business. Just make sure that you have the capability to ship globally. If you're going to order from another country, you need to know it's going to get to you. You need to know that you can pay. In this case, keep it simple. You're going to offer credit cards or PayPal, and then much farther down the line, because it's fairly expensive, would be translation."
PEC: Any other thoughts for smaller merchants as they contemplate international sales?
Bethlamy: “Yes. Understand that it's a very interconnected world now. The world is much smaller. People are now ordering routinely from other countries, especially with things like eBay. So, not only is it smart because you want to get a global audience, but also realizing that you're now competing in a global market because merchants from around the world are actively soliciting U.S. consumers. So, it's defensive as well as offensive to think about gaining a global audience."
SOURCE
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
A Spanking New Sales Tactic, Branding Trademarks Using Free Classified Ads
Are you still trying to figure out how to increase sales in this downtime economy? Most likely you think that if you could just drive more traffic to your website that will surely increase sales. After all more traffic means you will have better odds of getting somebody to likely buy your products or services, right? Well that too is what almost everyone else is thinking.
You have to think outside the box to survive this recession. If you really want to increase sales and sustain this economic downturn you have to brand, brand, and brand more! That would be so easy if you had a big advertising budget like say $5 Million Dollars or more. That is what major corporations can devote to branding just one of their products and services offerings.
So how do you compete? You can do this virtually for FREE and in a very fast amount of time. The secret is to use free classified ads to brand and promote your products and services. If you think that classified ads are just for used cars and appliances or low quality products you are sadly missing out on some big time sales opportunities.
Classified ads are strategic online marketing and promotional strategies. Big corporations spend millions of dollars on advertising because they need exposure! Free online classified ads can give you the same type of exposure!!
Promoting your products and services on a reputable classified site like BackPage.com can really help you increase exposure. The service is FREE and you can use the BP Sender software, click here for special promotional offer. The BP Sender software will massively increase your exposure.
In your classified ad campaign you want to promote your trademark!!! This will ensure you increase brand awareness and deliver your message. This allows you to build a solid reputation using your brand’s trademark. Just like the major corporation do but without the big price tag.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Five Top Sites for Small Business Opportunity Networks
Looking for business opportunities focused on small business entrepreneurs? There is a wide variety of information on the web but narrowing down small business solutions can be a challenging task. Where to turn to decide on opportunities, resources, ideas, etc?
Here is a list of top sites catering to small business opportunity networks.
IdeaCafe
Business Owners Idea Cafe - Small Business ideas, resources, information. How to plan and start a business, get financing, grants, and run your business.
Business Know-How
This small business network includes a business directory, articles, advice, products and services, bulletin board, ideas and tools.
Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities Weblog
Opportunities, news, and links for small business entrepreneurs.
NetworkWorld
The Small and Medium Business research center is your source for the latest SMB news, analysis and research from Network World.
Small Business Opportunity
Browse the Small Business Opportunity site and learn about the top business and franchise opportunities available.
Want to make enough money to pay ALL the bills every single month? Join the Ultisky FREE Network, learn more
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Six Ways Every Small Business Can Receive Free Publicity
The one complaint from most small businesses is that they simply can’t compete with big businesses. Widely because large corporations often have big advertising budgets to market and promote their products and services.
Here is an article that I wrote and published over at Ezinearticles.com. The focus of the article is Six Ways Every Small Business Can Receive Free Publicity. Using these tips will surely assist any small business with buzzing up some free publicity.
Six Ways Every Small Business Can Receive Free Publicity
1. Anniversaries
Every Company has an anniversary and almost each one of them can capture local community attention by celebrating their anniversary. Offer customers special promotions during anniversaries - Anniversary Blowouts, Birthday Sales, etc.
2. Announcements
The media loves breakthroughs, product expansions, mergers and acquisitions, new product launches, etc. Reporting news allows a chance to capitalize from free media exposure.
3. Events
Community events are often covered in the news and if significant enough can receive national coverage. Inform the public when you sponsor local events for charity organizations, faith-based groups, and more.
4. Networking
Joining local and national affiliations can help to increase brand awareness and public image perception. Start social networking online using resources like MySpace.com, Facebook.com, and YouTube.com etc.
5. Blogging
Communicating via a website blog is an excellent solution to promote and market product offerings and services.
6. Website
A website can serve as a salesperson 24/7 hours a day and offer a cost effective solution to communicate to increase brand awareness and offerings. Additionally, utilize the website to report news and happenings.
There are many ways to promote a business and receive free publicity. Most often companies miss out on these opportunities because they fail to deliver news. It is important to stay in the headlines and keep reporting news.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Reach Millions of Twitter Followers Even Without Millions Following You
This video outlines how you can reach millions of Twitter followers and not have millions of people following you on Twitter.
Highlights:
- Twitter Handle (Username)
Your association status
- Tweet Cloud
What you Tweet about the most
- Degree Reach
Who is following who is following you (your secondary order followers)
URL:
- http://www.Twinfluence.com
Measure your Twitter degree reach. Who is following who is following you on Twitter
Example:
http://twitter.com/mosnarcomm
Highlights:
- Twitter Handle (Username)
Your association status
- Tweet Cloud
What you Tweet about the most
- Degree Reach
Who is following who is following you (your secondary order followers)
URL:
- http://www.Twinfluence.com
Measure your Twitter degree reach. Who is following who is following you on Twitter
Example:
http://twitter.com/mosnarcomm
Monday, October 19, 2009
Five Surefire Publicity Secrets to Attract Followers to Network Marketing
The competition for network marketing is very stiff these days. Even Donald Trump is now promoting network marketing through his Trump Network program. What that should tell you is that there is still a lot of money to be made in network marketing. Yes, even in a bad economy.
Now is the perfect time to jump into network marketing! People are desperate to find solutions to make money online and especially from home. Network marketing is a perfect business model to meet the demands to assist the hundreds of thousands of people out of work.
Five Surefire Publicity Secrets to Attract Followers to Network Marketing:
1. Market Yourself As The Expert
The first thing you should do is promote yourself as an expert related to your network marketing opportunity. Give tips, advice, expertise, etc inline with what you are marketing and promoting.
2. Offer FREE Information, Seminars, Videos
Promote your network marketing opportunity by offering free information, host seminars, teleconferences, videos etc. Educate audiences about features and benefits of your network marketing opportunity.
3. Release Press Announcements
The power of a press release can help build credibility for network marketing programs. Distributing professionally written press announcements is an excellent outlet to increase awareness and exposure for network marketing. Ideal to receive some free publicity!
4. Social Media Branding
Incorporate social media to promote network marketing. Target, attract, and engage audiences on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. A solution to promote network marketing to millions and millions.
5. Build Relationships!
Establish relationships that add value for network marketing. Leveraging strong relationships increases referrals, promotions, sales, etc.
Publicity is the one key advantage that will make your network marketing program standout in the crowd. Using these publicity tips will help you to brand yourself along with your network marketing opportunity.
Like to automate your Twitter account to engage, attract, and target ideal network marketing followers? Please contact UltiSky.com or send an email in confidence to ultiskyinc@gmail.com . The cost is $225 setup fee.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)