The Essential Online Solution The 5-Step Formula for Small Business Success

by Segel, Rick; Callan-Bogia, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780471920533
• ISBN10: 0471920533
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-10-06
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

With big-box stores dominating today's business landscape, small business owners are facing serious challenges. But there is a way to level the playing field and win-and The Essential Online Solution will show you how. Written by industry experts, this book outlines a five-step formula that will allow you to harness the power of the online world and improve your company's bottom line.

Author Biography

RICK SEGEL, CSP, a seasoned retailer of twenty-five years, owned one of New England's most successful independent women's specialty stores. He is the marketing expert for Staples.com, the cocreator of the Retail Technology Assessment for Microsoft, and a founding member of the Retail Advisory Council for Johnson & Wales University. Segel is the Director of Retail Training for the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. He is also the creator of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts Awards of Excellence Program (RAMAEs), which has recognized over thirty of the most innovative retailers in the state. Segel holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation and has been a featured speaker in over 1,400 presentations. He is also the author of Retail Business Kit For Dummies (Wiley), which became the number-one selling retail how-to book in the United States.

BARBARA CALLAN-BOGIA is a speaker and trainer who conducts seminars to thousands of people on influencing, leading in multiple locations, communication, and office politics. She is also the owner of Callan Consulting, a successful national management development consulting firm founded in 1996, and cocreator of the Retail Technology Assessment for Microsoft.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction	1
Step I Uncovering the Possibilities
2 Online Business Solutions	7	(10)
Where Are We At? Understanding the Past, Present, and Future of Online Business
3 Why Do People Buy Online?	17	(16)
What Motivates Them?
4 The Big Picture	33	(10)
The Levels of Online Commerce
Step II Building Practical, Powerful, Professional Web Sites that WORK
5 Understanding Web Sites	43	(12)
The Front Door to Your Online Business
6 Our Rules for Killer Sites	55	(12)
7 Building Your Web Site	67	(20)
It's Easier than You Think
8 The Winners and Losers	87	(20)
Web Site Critiques of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Step III Positioning You as the Source: Creating Expert Status
9 E-mail Marketing or Is It Pinpoint Marketing?	107	(12)
10 The Blog	119	(12)
The Tool that Can Change Your Business
11 Podcasting	131	(24)
The Sweet Sounds of Success
Step IV Creating the Buzz with Clicks and Clends
12 Web Positioning	155	(18)
How Do They Find You?
13 Pay Per Click: A.K.A. Pay for Performance	173	(16)
A New Way to Advertise
14 Advertising	189	(10)
Traditional and Nontraditional
15 Viral Marketing	199	(14)
Step V Sell, Sell. Sell
16 Going, Going, Gone— eBay and Online Auctions	213	(24)
Are They Right for You?
17 Sell for Me	237	(12)
Affiliate Programs Get in on the Map
18 Bringing it All Together	249	(14)
Index	263