What Kinds of Products or Services Can You Sell Best on the Internet?
The Web is a huge marketplace that has attracted businesses with its potential for big-time revenues. Dizzying success stories of ventures started in a basement that grew to become stock market's darlings are constantly parlayed in the media. Small businesses came to the Internet, tentative at first, and then in droves - eager to sell everything from fake estate jewelry to handcrafted tapestries.
As an aspiring entrepreneur, you read these stories with a tinge of envy as you begin to ask yourself how you can partake of the success other people are enjoying on the Internet. "What can I sell on the Internet?" becomes the crucial question.Not all products can be sold on the Internet. Some products may be better suited for online sales than others; others simply will not work on this new commercial medium. According to an Ernst and Young study, the most popular online purchases are computer related products (40%), books (20%), travel (16%), clothing (10%), recorded music (6%), subscriptions (6%), gifts (5%) and investments (4%).
The kinds of products and services that sell best on the Internet are those that take advantage of the convenience of the Net. Remember that convenience is the primary reason why consumers flock on the Internet in the first place. People can shop any hour of the day at any site. They can avoid crowded stores, irritating sales clerks, and even avoid pickpockets.
The success of any business starts with the right choice of product or service. Small business owners need to keep an open mind about the suitability of products for Web sales. To increase your chances of success in e-commerce, you need to choose products or service that exhibit the following characteristics:
High value. Offbeat or unusual products and services often attract online attention and sell strongly. You would not-in general try to sell items people can get at the corner store. Thus, few toothbrushes are sold on the Net; the same thing
- with daily food and beverage purchases. But special cheeses, rare cigars, Turkish plates, long-aged wines, even diamonds, can -- and do -- sell on the Net.
- Products suitable for shipping by mail. Most products sold by catalog and mail order also sell well on the Net. Choose products that could be shipped easily. Stay away from bulkier and heavier products that would result in higher shipping and handling costs. Higher shipping costs diminish the price competitiveness of online products and turns-off a lot of potential buyers. In fact, high shipping costs is the primary factor that discourages people from buying online more than any other single reason. Another Ernst and Young report shows that 53 percent of online shoppers are concerned with shipping costs that are too high, compared to only 19 percent who are concerned with credit cards being stolen.
- Information-based products. The Internet is primarily used to communicate, entertain, educate and research. It is thus no wonder that nonperishable, information-intensive products - including computers and software, books, travel, consumer electronics, magazine subscriptions - are the most popular online products at present. Content-rich sites, subscription-based sites to advertiser-supported sites focusing on a wide range of topics, have been sprouting all over the Internet.
- surfing school business that they established online, where people pay and come to their place to learn how to surf.
The Internet offers a lot of growth potential and opportunities. Growth will come from new markets, as well as new categories of retail. Just a few years ago, selling apparel online was not considered appropriate on the Internet. Today, apparel sales are growing rapidly.
Whatever your product, a successful e-commerce venture will be those that are able to provide convenience combined with superb service and outstanding reliability of delivery.
What is the product Mix…
The product mix of a company, which is generally defined as the total composite of products offered by a particular organization, consists of both product lines and individual products. A product line is a group of products within the product mix that are closely related, either because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges. A product is a distinct unit within the product line that is distinguishable by size, price, appearance, or some other attribute. For example, all the courses a university offers constitute its product mix; courses in the marketing department constitute a product line; and the basic marketing course is a product item. Product decisions at these three levels are generally of two types: those that involve width (variety) and depth (assortment) of the product line and those that involve changes in the product mix occur over time.PRODUCT-MIX MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITIES
It is extremely important for any organization to have a well-managed product mix. Most organizations break down managing the product mix, product line, and actual product into three different levels.Product-mix decisions are concerned with the combination of product lines offered by the company. Management of the companies' product mix is the responsibility of top management. Some basic product-mix decisions include: (1) reviewing the mix of existing product lines; (2) adding new lines to and deleting existing lines from the product mix; (3) determining the relative emphasis on new versus existing product lines in the mix; (4) determining the appropriate emphasis on internal development versus external acquisition in the product mix; (5) gauging the effects of adding or deleting a product line in relationship to other lines in the product mix; and (6) forecasting the effects of future external change on the company's product mix.
Product-line decisions are concerned with the combination of individual products offered within a given line. The product-line manager supervises several product managers who are responsible for individual products in the line. Decisions about a product line are usually incorporated into a marketing plan at the divisional level. Such a plan specifies changes in the product lines and allocations to products in each line. Generally, product-line managers have the following responsibilities: (1) considering expansion of a given product line; (2) considering candidates for deletion from the product line; (3) evaluating the effects of product additions and deletions on the profitability of other items in the line; and (4) allocating resources to individual products in the line on the basis of marketing strategies recommended by product managers.
Decisions at the first level of product management involve the marketing mix for an individual brand/product. These decisions are the responsibility of a brand manager (sometimes called a product manager). Decisions regarding the marketing mix for a brand are represented in the product's marketing plan. The plan for a new brand would specify price level, advertising expenditures for the coming year, coupons, trade discounts, distribution facilities, and a five-year statement of projected sales and earnings. The plan for an existing product would focus on any changes in the marketing strategy. Some of these changes might include the product's target market, advertising and promotional expenditures, product characteristics, price level, and recommended distribution strategy.
Market positioning
Falling in love! As entrepreneurs, we do it every day. Our passionate belief in, and commitment to, our product (or service) makes all things seem possible. The most successful entrepreneurs learn to transform their passion into position.
Positioning is a perceptual location. It's where your product or service fits into the marketplace. Effective positioning puts you first in line in the minds of potential customers.
As individuals, we continually position ourselves. The responsible older sibling, the class clown, a number cruncher, a super genius are all examples of positioning. These identifiers help us define ourselves and distinguish our abilities as unique and different from other people.
Positioning is a powerful tool that allows you to create an image. And image is the outward representation of being who you want to be, doing what you want to do, and having what you want to have. Positioning yourself can lead to personal fulfillment. Being positioned by someone else restricts your choices and limits your opportunities.
That's why it's so important for entrepreneurs to transform their passion into a market position. If you don't define your product or service, a competitor will do it for you. Your position in the market place evolves from the defining characteristics of your product. The primary elements of positioning are:
- Pricing. Is your product a luxury item, somewhere in the middle, or cheap, cheap, cheap.
- Quality. Total quality is a much used and abused phrase. But is your product well produced? What controls are in place to assure consistency? Do you back your quality claim with customer-friendly guarantees, warranties, and return policies?
- Service. Do you offer the added value of customer service and support? Is your product customized and personalized?
- Distribution. How do customers obtain your product? The channel or distribution is part of positioning.
- Packaging. Packaging makes a strong statement. Make sure it's delivering the message you intend.
Positioning is your competitive strategy. What's the one thing you do best? What's unique about your product or service? Identify your strongest strength and use it to position your product.
The product Nyquil was conceived as a superior daytime cough suppressant. Unfortunately, it made people drowsy. Determined to recoup product development costs, the side affect of drowsiness was then transformed into a powerful positioning strategy. Nyquil became "the night time, coughing, sniffling, sneezing so you can rest" medicine. Nyquil created and owned the nighttime cold remedy market.
As the Baptist minister of my childhood would say at the conclusion of a lengthy sermon, "I've said all that to say this". Positioning, when used effectively, can help you be first in the mind. Being first in mind equals ownership. Market ownership allows you to be a big fish in a small pond. When you're a big fish, you can always increase the size of the pond.
Product Components
Definition
Product Components provide additional functionality to the Tamino XML Server.This type of software often provides very new technology implementation which was not yet available with the product release or provides functionality, which changes very fast and needs to be updated and released more often than the base product. Product Components can only be used in conjunction with a valid license of the Tamino product line.
They are supported in the scope of a valid maintenance contract for the Tamino XML Server (please contact our customer technical support via
Marketing Product And Services - What Is The Difference Between Product And Service Marketing?
It may be commonly perceived by many people that there is a world of difference between product and service marketing. They could not be further from the truth because in fact there is hardly any difference. This may be because most people are not given to purchasing products and services. Instead, what makes them buy a product or service is the usefulness of the product or service and how it will benefit them.The product or service that people purchase is meant to be a solution to some problem, which may be simple or it could be serious problem. The job of marketing is to give to the customer something that is wanted and it may require attracting people to seek a particular solution that is a product or service. There must also be consistent follow-up action that will keep the customer informed about the benefits of the product or service being marketed.
Thus, the main difference between marketing products or services is that there is much more personal contact required when marketing a service as compared with marketing products. Marketing services may require meeting the customer in a face-to-face basis, or it may mean contacting prospective customers over the telephone.
In addition, you would also need to know what the potential customer wants and then give them just that, which is a sure shot means of getting more business. Getting more people attracted to your product or service will help you gather information that can be used to contact them, which is an important step in making a sale.
Once your marketing efforts get you good prospective clients who are coupled with follow-up action, the chances of converting a good percentage of these prospective customers into paying customers will greatly improve and there will be no real perceivable difference between marketing a product or service except perhaps the amount of personal contact made with the customer while marketing your product or service.
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