Ecommerce Basics: Metrics of Success

As an ecommerce vendor, you face a common challenge with and brick-and-mortar stores, namely, how to measure the success of your marketing programs. You however, have a number of significant advantages in addressing this challenge. Online applications give you almost instantaneous feedback to track and adjust marketing campaigns.

Ecommerce metrics 101

In other words, you have a wide variety of metrics of success by which you can measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

CAC is really a measure of the efficiency of a marketing program. A lower cost of acquisition means that the program is more efficient. Many ecommerce vendors simply divide their marketing campaign costs by the number of new customers drawn in by the campaign to determine CAC.…

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SME Website Design: Are You Missing These Basics?

Website design is evolving. Hosting is cheaper. Design is faster. Screen sizes are many. And your visitors are expecting a lot more from your small business website than in the past. You need to be at the forefront of the industry.

Small business web design

Small businesses need a website that not only sells the potential customer but also informs them.

1. Customer Journey Basics

Your small business is all about the customer. There’s a message you want to send to the people that visit your site and are considering your service. You also need to consider the visitors’ journey in the buying cycle.

A plumber, for example, may craft content that:

  • Informs the reader through blog posts
  • Educates the reader
  • Offers a solution to the visitor

You have to consider that the visitor may be a residential person who has a leaking pipe that needs to be fixed.…

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Small Business Success: Scaling Upwards, Outwards and into the Cloud This 2018

Challenging as it is, getting your small business off the ground can be one of the most rewarding endeavours, however, it is a never-ending race. Once you have found your footing, the next thing should be to grow outwards and upwards. While there are various directions you can go in terms of growth, there is one core technology that can help you scale as needed: the cloud.

Business cloud solutions

Are you using the cloud to its full potential?

The cloud has been around for a while, but many businesses haven’t yet used it to its full potential. By virtue of its nature, there is really no limit to how the technology can be deployed and by whom.…

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Debt Settlement Dos & Don’ts

Are you barely staying above water making the minimum payments each month? This might seem like the only viable strategy available but in reality, you’re only spending more money in interest each month. Financial freedom is nowhere near. What are you to do? Sell all your things? Set a strict budget? Move in with family?

Debt settlement

All these measures are good ideas if your debt has gotten out of control, but depending on the amount you owe, they might not be enough to save you. While debt settlement certainly isn’t the wisest option for all debtors, it can be an effective last resort in dire situations.…

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How to Motivate Your Employees to do More

Study after study seems to confirm that happier employees tend to perform better at their job. Beyond this, a happier employee is more likely to work harder at their job.

Busy employee working hard

There are plenty of books on personal motivation and success from Chet Holmes to Tony Robbins. But what about motivating your own employees to work harder?

As much as we hate to agree, some of us do bring our personal problems into work. Others tend to look at work as a retreat from their personal life and as a place of solace.

Regardless, the best managers always seem to be the best motivators and can get their employees to jump off a bridge with them if they ordered so.…

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Is PPC Marketing Dead?

If you ask a hundred people when they think the world is going to end, you’ll get a hundred different answers. Nobody could possibly know, right? And, as the old saying goes “Opinions are like (insert expletive).”

Is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising dead? For some people, it definitely is. That’s because it’s no longer the set-and-forget marketing method that it was in the mid-to-late 2000s.

PPC marketing

In order to get online campaigns converting in 2018 and beyond, marketers need to be smart about how and what they choose to market on pay-per-click advertising platforms like AdWords, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, and the other numerous lesser-known ad networks out there like One by AOL.…

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5 Priorities for SMBs Undergoing Digital Transformation

Almost every part of our lives is in some ways enhanced or modified by digital technologies. The way we communicate has changed. So did the ways we gain knowledge, spend our money, and entertain ourselves. Thanks to new, innovative technologies, we live in a world where we can access almost anything we want with a couple of clicks.

Digital transformation program

The world of business is not immune to this transformation. Businesses of all sizes are increasingly relying on digital technologies for everything from customer acquisition to employee onboarding. While digital transformation is a huge trend, there is still a sizeable number of businesses that are resisting it.…

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5 Options To Consider When Buying A Server For Your Startup

When it comes to buying a business server, your startup have many options to choose from. The overall process can be confusing and down right frustrating if you are unsure about what your startup needs. Meanwhile, many business technologists will claim that you should just go straight to the cloud. Yet, you still want to have control of your own dedicate server hardware configurations and ability to maintain cost savings as the business gets larger.

Dedicated business servers

As a small business CEO, you should carefully consider the following options before buying a server for your startup.

Choose An Operating System

Before getting into your hardware options, CEO’s should consider the type of software that the startup will use.…

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3 Ways Office Employees Can Get Better Insurance

Does your current employee benefits and life insurance package make you feel more appreciated for the work you do? While the Department of Labour’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) offers various compensation programs (that provide wage replacement benefits, medical treatment, and other benefits) your employer’s health insurance programs may not fully take care of you or your family.

Employee insurance

Administering insurances for HSAs, COBRA, or CDH accounts can be a headache and logistics nightmare. Especially if you’re an employee who doesn’t know what you rightfully deserve in terms of benefits and health plans.

1. Employee Wellness Programs

Wellness Programs are expected to have a huge “breakthrough” in 2018.…

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4 Tactics For Winning Asset-based Business Loans

Whether you’re a start-up, limited liability corporation (LLC) or a sole proprietorship, an asset-based loan is key for expanding your company. These forms of loans are based on assets (such as inventory) that is used as collateral. You are essentially promising the bank/lender that your revenue will match (or surpass) their initial loan payment.

Asset-based business loans

If you have a few minutes, I’d like to share some insights for making sure lenders look favourably on you.

1. Stand Strong

Business partners, colleagues and even your friends may try to deter you from taking out an asset-based loan. Citing risks such as default payment, using the process as scare tactics or even losing your business.…

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