It's Wednesday again and as I have promised that I will dedicate wednesdays for techie stuffs that web developers like me use.
I'll introduce to you JingProject.
One of the biggest challenge in my daily affair with the internet is communication. It is a powerful tool but at the same time can be the #1 reason for misunderstanding. Why? Because most of my conversations are done virtually. I work at home and my co-workers either lives in the US or other part of the Philippines. Usually we argue about things that they see but I don't see in the websites that we are checking or vice versa. So to make things easier, we had to prove to each other that we really see or not see anything using JingProject. It's free (we always opt for the free ones ;))! This software allows you to capture desktop moments and convert them to image or video and you can post them on the web with a single click for free! Did I say it's free? We just found it a few months ago and everyone are already using it, it makes our lives simplier and stress-free. Visit their website for more info.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Planning for E-Commerce
The success of getting online depends on how well you know your options and what are your plans and goals. Today, I’ll discuss these options and how to start.
First things first, it is very important that you already have a computer and internet connection. If you don’t have yet, apply in Smart Bro, PLDT , Globe or Bayantel. Some packages already gives a FREE computer or laptop. If they don’t have one, for as low as P25,000 pesos you can buy a really good laptop. At P15,000 pesos you buy a good computer. You need these two in order to maximize your time and your business.
The Plan
There are 3 important things before you create your first online store. You’ll have to take the following steps:
1. Form a Team
An ideal team would have
2. Define business plan
You may want to create a project charter that includes the following information:
3. Decide which technology to use
You have four options to choose from and these all depends in your budget, goals and technical capabilities. You have already defined that in step 2 and below cross examine which is best for you.
The above are overviews of your options. I will provide a more detailed post for each options. If you want to know more, there is a webinar from getelastic.com that tackles whether you should buy, build or leverage ecommerce solutions. Another great article from the same site discussed how to deliver a successful enterprise projects.
As long as you understand what you want and what you want to achieve, internet has solutions for you. If you have questions or additional information, just write it down and I’ll reply to the best of my abilities. Until next time!
First things first, it is very important that you already have a computer and internet connection. If you don’t have yet, apply in Smart Bro, PLDT , Globe or Bayantel. Some packages already gives a FREE computer or laptop. If they don’t have one, for as low as P25,000 pesos you can buy a really good laptop. At P15,000 pesos you buy a good computer. You need these two in order to maximize your time and your business.
The Plan
There are 3 important things before you create your first online store. You’ll have to take the following steps:
- Form a team
- Define business plan
- Decide which technology to use
1. Form a Team
An ideal team would have
- A person who knows the business
- A marketer
- Technical person
2. Define business plan
You may want to create a project charter that includes the following information:
- What is the business (description)?
- What are your goals? Sample questions below
- Browser to buyer conversion rate - how many should be converted to a successful checkout
- Average order value - how many orders do you intend to generate on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
- Targeted traffic to the website - how many and what kind of visitors do you intend to gain on a certain period?
- Brand penetration generated by marketing – what are your metrics?
- Improved time to market – how long will it take until the site is ready to be used?
- Efficient order management – how to efficiently manage orders locally and abroad?
- Enhance customer satisfaction, loyalty, and trust – how many loyal customers do you intend to generate?
- How you will promote the new site? Given your goals, how do you make it into reality?
- How will you finance it? Can you operate for a year with no profits from your on-line site?
- How will you operate and manage it? Some questions to help you out.
- Who will be in charge? How competent are they?
- How do you handle customer feedback and orders?
- How do you maintain the site? Do you need a web developer, a content maker or a general admin or you do it yourself?
3. Decide which technology to use
You have four options to choose from and these all depends in your budget, goals and technical capabilities. You have already defined that in step 2 and below cross examine which is best for you.
- Information site (FREE)
A company name and address and stating the business in free classified ads in the internet is a must for everyone nowadays. It doesn’t cost a bunch, only time posting the details about your company and the return might be a couple of new and existing customers. So where do you find them, below are some list of Philippine classified ad site.- www.sulit.com.ph
- www.craigslist.org
- www.filipinolinks.com
- www.classifiedsph.com
- www.phadpost.com
.. and a lot more. Just search for “philippine classified ads” to get more listings
You can also create your own pages for free.- pages.google.com
- sites.google.com
- multiply.com
- Free platforms – ideal for SME
If you need to sell something and you have a more budget, this is for you. There are two options for free platforms:- Use services from well known ecommerce stores such as amazon.com and ebay.com
- Use ready-made applications or commonly known as open source applications and customize it
The first option depends in cost but they are very much affordable. Amazon and Ebay only get commissions from the items that you sell. They are ideal for small business owners who are non-technical and has less time doing the details and budget conscious. The look and feel is more generalized.
Pros- Set-up the ecommerce solution you need in minutes, without development effort or anything to install
- Create your items once and sell through multiple marketplaces without complication
- Sell products from your own free branded online store and pay no hosting fees, listing fees, or final value fees!
- No additional hardware and lower internal staffing requirements
- Fast to market
Cons- Penalized for success (pay more for more traffic, revenue etc)
- Cannot innovate on your own pace, features you want may not be on their roadmap
- Difficult to integrate with internal systems
- Full dependence on vendor
The latter on the other hand allows you to select from diverse selections of free softwares that are being used by big and small companies for their online needs. Some examples are:- Magento
- Zencart
- Oscommerce
- Prestashop
- Drupal
- Joomla
.. and a lot more.
Pros- Free
- Feature rich packages
- Investment by provider into new features and enhancements maybe continuous
- Time to market slower than SaaS but significantly quicker than build
- Some prebuilt integrations may be in place
- Some modules are available for free to extend the capabilities of the store
Cons- You may get more features that you actually need, features you want may not be on their roadmap
- Monolithic solutions that may be difficult to adopt, may be hard to integrate with existing IT systems
- Complex application to learn and manage
- Locked with provider solution, difficult to switched if not satisfied
- Uncertain when the release of updates and upgrades since the developers are not paid
- Security concerns (Firewall, for example)
- May require knowledgeable IT staff or SI (systems integrators) if additional solution is complex
- May not fit your unique requirements
- Uncertain if the software is robust and well tested and securities concerns
- SaaS (Software as a service)
The best analogy for this is when you want to rent an office space that includes the furniture, cleaning personnel, guard, etc. All you have to do is redesign the place a bit and add your stuff and you are ready for business the next day. This is SaaS. They are ready-made softwares that are hosted by a vendor and can be used on a contract basis. Payments is usually per subscription or monthly or yearly basis or per order. Example is the Yahoo! Small Business.
Pros- Fast to market
- Lower upfront cost
- Easy to scale with demand
- Continuous enhancements via ongoing updates and upgrades
- No additional hardware and lower internal staffing requirements
- No worries about upgrades
Cons- Penalized for success (pay more for more traffic, revenue etc)
- Cannot innovate on your own pace, features you want may not be on their roadmap
- Difficult to integrate with internal systems
- Security concerns (Firewall, for example)
- Full dependence on vendor
- There may be some compliances issues that will prevent you from using them
- Custom (buy and customize or build from scratch)
This option is more appropriate for bigger companies who need to integrate ecommerce business with their existing system or those who have high international or global customers. You may check the pros and cons of custom ecommerce.
A. Buy
Pros- Feature rich packages
- Continuous investment by vendor into new features and enhancements
- Time to market slower than SaaS but significantly quicker than build
- Some prebuilt integrations may be in place
- Vendor support with operational issues
- There are SI and developers with previous experience
- Robust and well tested and used system
Cons- Expensive
- You may get more features that you actually need, features you want may not be on their roadmap
- Monolithic solutions that may be difficult to adopt, may be hard to integrate with existing IT systems
- Complex application to learn and manage
- Locked with vendor solution, difficult to switched if not satisfied
- Pace and freedom to innovate are limited
- May not fit your unique requirements
B. Build
Pros- Build exactly to your needs
- Take the full advantage of internal systems
- Be unique in market place, competitive advantage
- Fully leverage your previous investment in ERP and other internal systems
- More abilities with existing brick & mortal experience
Cons- Longer to implement than SaaS solution
- Requires knowledgeable IT staff or SI (systems integrators)
- Initial cost is higher than SaaS
The above are overviews of your options. I will provide a more detailed post for each options. If you want to know more, there is a webinar from getelastic.com that tackles whether you should buy, build or leverage ecommerce solutions. Another great article from the same site discussed how to deliver a successful enterprise projects.
As long as you understand what you want and what you want to achieve, internet has solutions for you. If you have questions or additional information, just write it down and I’ll reply to the best of my abilities. Until next time!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Are you addicted to RSS? - Explore d' Web Edition
I am! I use RSS to bookmark the blogs and news site that I will often have to visit. Using an RSS reader/feeder, I read blogs and news in my reader. I don't have to open new windows or tabs and type in the url of all the sites I am visiting. It just saves me a lot of time! I also don't have the luxury readings news all the time but when I do, I use rss to scan topics that I catch my attention.
Are you new to the concept of RSS? Here is a video that explains it all in layman terms.
Checkout how to quickly find RSS links in a website.
So what do you think? Let me know in the comments!
Are you new to the concept of RSS? Here is a video that explains it all in layman terms.
Checkout how to quickly find RSS links in a website.
So what do you think? Let me know in the comments!
Explore d' Web - Wednesday Free Techno Tips Day
As a web developer, I make sure I explore the newest things in the market. It's part of our job and our "ego" to always be up to date — know the latest trends and technologies. So, I decided to post a topic on technologies and tools every Wednesday. Why Wednesday I hear you ask. Nothing special, just spur of the moment :D
What you will expect?
I'll be talking about tools, trends or technologies that can make your surfing experience better or worse or spontaneous or help you with your ecommerce site. The topics will be random thoughts. If compared to an artist, this will be the place where I get creative!
What will you do?
Aside from subscribing to my blog, I would be happy to hear what you want to know so I can discuss them on the next week. Anything goes in here. No boundaries, no limit.
See you then tomorrow :)
What you will expect?
I'll be talking about tools, trends or technologies that can make your surfing experience better or worse or spontaneous or help you with your ecommerce site. The topics will be random thoughts. If compared to an artist, this will be the place where I get creative!
What will you do?
Aside from subscribing to my blog, I would be happy to hear what you want to know so I can discuss them on the next week. Anything goes in here. No boundaries, no limit.
See you then tomorrow :)
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Reasons to Start and Not to Start your own online business - Part 2
I have written the part 1 post of Reasons to Start your own online business. In this post, I'll discuss the reasons why you should think twice.
While it is easy to set up your online store, it is not for the impatient. It is not a Get-Rich-Quick-Scam if you really want to make money. Ask yourself if your business is ready for the following.
It's a tough competition out there
Don't think that once you put up your website and you’re done. You aren't! Though you have increased your market to global, thus your competition. Billions of websites are out there and probably one of them offers the same product as yours. Online world is the same in the area of marketing, you need to get the word out and get traffic, traffic and more traffic. You have to be visible. Marketing online is called SEO or search engine optimizations. Know this and you know your way up.
It's is not an overnight success
Just like any other business venture, it takes time. You need to have focus, strategize, set milestones, contingency plans, budget and what else in there. To quote someone, "When you start an e business you will put forth a lot of initial effort to get the ball rolling. Stick with it until you experience success. Once you have some success you will be inspired to do more."
You have to be open to new ideas and new ways and open to learn new things
I started in this business 3 years ago and I have never stopped learning. IT rapidly changes overtime and you need to catch up. Your strategy today might not work tomorrow. Or tomorrow, a new application has been introduced which could double your earnings.
It’s ok if you are not well versed in IT terms and ways but it is important to have the patience to learn them unless you have experts to do the job for you. Even if you have someone else working, it is still beneficial as the owner or manager of your website to learn what are happening in and out of the business because it might save you a lot of money and time.
Know your budget
I might have implied that most things are free online. While it is true, your time or your employee who is managing the system might be worth hundreds per hour. Or you probably transferred to a paid server for a more reliable service. Know how much you will need to run and operate your business, how much time before income will start to accrue, but do not be fixed on this date. Many small business fail due to not planning out unexpected costs, make sure you have a budget for this.
It is not for everybody
You’ve seen the numbers in the previous post. Most Philippine consumers are not yet tech savvy. Know your target market and product/service before diving in and ask if these people will use your site. If the majority is not, you might just opt for an information page rather than a full bloom online store. Even just an information page is equally important compared to a complete online store. It doesn't mean you can't sell your products online you do not have use of the web. Learn how to utilize it to your advantage.
Last say
If you are thinking about it, weigh the pros and cons of putting your business online. If you think majority of your customers would not, it still a good idea on putting up a information page about your company. There are a lot of free services that are available online. I'll discuss these options someday.
I still hope though that one of these days I’ll see more Filipinos doing more business with us. There are more benefits of doing business online compared from the cons.
While it is easy to set up your online store, it is not for the impatient. It is not a Get-Rich-Quick-Scam if you really want to make money. Ask yourself if your business is ready for the following.
It's a tough competition out there
Don't think that once you put up your website and you’re done. You aren't! Though you have increased your market to global, thus your competition. Billions of websites are out there and probably one of them offers the same product as yours. Online world is the same in the area of marketing, you need to get the word out and get traffic, traffic and more traffic. You have to be visible. Marketing online is called SEO or search engine optimizations. Know this and you know your way up.
It's is not an overnight success
Just like any other business venture, it takes time. You need to have focus, strategize, set milestones, contingency plans, budget and what else in there. To quote someone, "When you start an e business you will put forth a lot of initial effort to get the ball rolling. Stick with it until you experience success. Once you have some success you will be inspired to do more."
You have to be open to new ideas and new ways and open to learn new things
I started in this business 3 years ago and I have never stopped learning. IT rapidly changes overtime and you need to catch up. Your strategy today might not work tomorrow. Or tomorrow, a new application has been introduced which could double your earnings.
It’s ok if you are not well versed in IT terms and ways but it is important to have the patience to learn them unless you have experts to do the job for you. Even if you have someone else working, it is still beneficial as the owner or manager of your website to learn what are happening in and out of the business because it might save you a lot of money and time.
Know your budget
I might have implied that most things are free online. While it is true, your time or your employee who is managing the system might be worth hundreds per hour. Or you probably transferred to a paid server for a more reliable service. Know how much you will need to run and operate your business, how much time before income will start to accrue, but do not be fixed on this date. Many small business fail due to not planning out unexpected costs, make sure you have a budget for this.
It is not for everybody
You’ve seen the numbers in the previous post. Most Philippine consumers are not yet tech savvy. Know your target market and product/service before diving in and ask if these people will use your site. If the majority is not, you might just opt for an information page rather than a full bloom online store. Even just an information page is equally important compared to a complete online store. It doesn't mean you can't sell your products online you do not have use of the web. Learn how to utilize it to your advantage.
Last say
If you are thinking about it, weigh the pros and cons of putting your business online. If you think majority of your customers would not, it still a good idea on putting up a information page about your company. There are a lot of free services that are available online. I'll discuss these options someday.
I still hope though that one of these days I’ll see more Filipinos doing more business with us. There are more benefits of doing business online compared from the cons.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Reasons to Start and Not to Start your own online business - Part 1
Let’s get some facts first.
Double or triple sales
Online users have no time limit and boundary. Just for example in my case, I am online 16 hours a day due to my work. If I want to buy something, I go to amazon.com or ebay.com in the middle of the night or sometimes within office hours. It only takes me one or two clicks and my product is on the way. That is already 1 sale from someone who is just inside the house or an office. Let’s suppose another OFW in Canada would like to buy something for their family here in PH. PH and Canada has 12 hours difference and he/she is probably like me who likes to buy things online. If you have a website, there is a good chance that this person at the other side of the world would buy to you or someone plainly working who got the urge to buy for a utility for their house would find your site. That is another sale that will never happen with a brick-and-mortar shop. Stores online are run by computers therefore they are accessible 24hours a day, 7 days a week and ou don't have to pay for overtime work or monitor customers every now and then. Boundaries between countries do not exist anymore, only interconnected cables and wires.
It is also worth noting that Filipino online users are more likely have finished college and have jobs. According to the research made by DigitalFilipino.com in year 2000, 64% of respondents are college graduate. 21% of them finished graduate school. 36% of 57% respondents are female whose income is on the average of P15,384.50 per month while 25% of 51% of the respondents has an average income of P36,173.68 per month. You can target your market more accurately.
(keywords: availability, accessibility, target specific market)
Increase customer retention
Blogs, social networks, youtube ads, podcast, text message, twitter, contact forms, emails, newsletters – these are some of inexpensive forms of communications available in the internet that you can leverage to talk with consumers and get real time feedbacks. In traditional ways, you could use brochures, catalogs, telephone calls, seminars, bootcamps and trade shows to market your product and services but these do not practice two-way communication and are quite expensive. The first builds brand trust and loyalty when used appropriately. There are also multiple proven ways that are being used to keep customers in your site with the help of this technology.
(keyword: better communication)
Increase company productivity and save more money
New technologies allow you to take virtually any part of your business online, that include supply chain management, billing, shipping, procurement etc. Streamlining these business processes through online systems will allow companies to cut costs significantly in almost every sphere of any business. For example: companies can reduce more than five percents of their maintenance, repair and operation costs by adopting e-business solutions. This five percent savings can turn into 50% of a company’s net profit! A web site can also reduce expenses associated with the production of brochures and other collateral materials.
(keyword: automation)
Low start up cost
Have you heard of FOSS (Free and Open Source Solutions)? Many people offer softwares for free and it’s no joke. Many bloggers share what they know for free, just like this blog. You can choose to DIY (do it yourself) or hire experts to do the job for you. It depends on your business need and expectations. While the latter is more expensive but with things that can be accessed and used for free online, you can already cut half of the costs compared to building an ecommerce 10 years ago. DIY is more appropriate for sole proprietors or with tight budget. DIY can mean free as a beer but the trade-off is a person’s commitment.
Summary
A website has low start up cost but it can do magic in your business but only if properly utilize. There are also other reasons why a website is not suited for you. Read my next post about the reasons NOT TO start your business online.
- According to Yahoo! there are more than 300 million people worldwide online, more than 85 million are in the United States.
- In 2002, there are 554,000 Filipino Internet users according to DigitalFilipino.com. It’s hard to tell how many Filipinos are using internet in 2009 but being recognized by media, such as Jessica Soho report, we can assume those numbers have doubled or tripled for the last 7 years.
- According to iTnews, the total number of people online will climb to 1.8 billion by 2012, encompassing roughly 25 percent of the planet.
Double or triple sales
Online users have no time limit and boundary. Just for example in my case, I am online 16 hours a day due to my work. If I want to buy something, I go to amazon.com or ebay.com in the middle of the night or sometimes within office hours. It only takes me one or two clicks and my product is on the way. That is already 1 sale from someone who is just inside the house or an office. Let’s suppose another OFW in Canada would like to buy something for their family here in PH. PH and Canada has 12 hours difference and he/she is probably like me who likes to buy things online. If you have a website, there is a good chance that this person at the other side of the world would buy to you or someone plainly working who got the urge to buy for a utility for their house would find your site. That is another sale that will never happen with a brick-and-mortar shop. Stores online are run by computers therefore they are accessible 24hours a day, 7 days a week and ou don't have to pay for overtime work or monitor customers every now and then. Boundaries between countries do not exist anymore, only interconnected cables and wires.
It is also worth noting that Filipino online users are more likely have finished college and have jobs. According to the research made by DigitalFilipino.com in year 2000, 64% of respondents are college graduate. 21% of them finished graduate school. 36% of 57% respondents are female whose income is on the average of P15,384.50 per month while 25% of 51% of the respondents has an average income of P36,173.68 per month. You can target your market more accurately.
(keywords: availability, accessibility, target specific market)
Increase customer retention
Blogs, social networks, youtube ads, podcast, text message, twitter, contact forms, emails, newsletters – these are some of inexpensive forms of communications available in the internet that you can leverage to talk with consumers and get real time feedbacks. In traditional ways, you could use brochures, catalogs, telephone calls, seminars, bootcamps and trade shows to market your product and services but these do not practice two-way communication and are quite expensive. The first builds brand trust and loyalty when used appropriately. There are also multiple proven ways that are being used to keep customers in your site with the help of this technology.
(keyword: better communication)
Increase company productivity and save more money
New technologies allow you to take virtually any part of your business online, that include supply chain management, billing, shipping, procurement etc. Streamlining these business processes through online systems will allow companies to cut costs significantly in almost every sphere of any business. For example: companies can reduce more than five percents of their maintenance, repair and operation costs by adopting e-business solutions. This five percent savings can turn into 50% of a company’s net profit! A web site can also reduce expenses associated with the production of brochures and other collateral materials.
(keyword: automation)
Low start up cost
Have you heard of FOSS (Free and Open Source Solutions)? Many people offer softwares for free and it’s no joke. Many bloggers share what they know for free, just like this blog. You can choose to DIY (do it yourself) or hire experts to do the job for you. It depends on your business need and expectations. While the latter is more expensive but with things that can be accessed and used for free online, you can already cut half of the costs compared to building an ecommerce 10 years ago. DIY is more appropriate for sole proprietors or with tight budget. DIY can mean free as a beer but the trade-off is a person’s commitment.
Summary
A website has low start up cost but it can do magic in your business but only if properly utilize. There are also other reasons why a website is not suited for you. Read my next post about the reasons NOT TO start your business online.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Finding Opportunities in Internet for SMEs
Ever since I worked in web development 3 years ago, I've been amazed at the incredible opportunity it can bring to anybody. I've been exposed to a lot of knowledge from different cultures. The biggest thing I learned is that it is easy and cheap to start your own company here. No need for an office space. No need for a expensive equipments. No need for strict marketing strategies that only experts can do because anyone can learn it for free. I've seen many Western start ups that have grown and succeeded over the years with very minimal cost and they are now successful at it.
As I pass the Olongapo road going to SM and Robinson Mall in San Fernando City, I see a couple of sash factories at the side of the hi-way. Very few times that I have seen people stop by and checked what they had to offer. I kept on wondering, do these small businesses know that they can get more opportunity and exposure online with little cost? They can become international with a few clicks! Maybe yes, or maybe not. One thing for sure, I want to help them find their own gems in this world. There are already a few sites and blogs that do that and another one might not be that bad, right? So I decided to dedicate this blog to be another source of information about online ecommerce. I'll post technical and non-technical tips and true to life stories on how to start and maintain web businesses.
I hope this one becomes a fruitful endeavor for everyone!
As I pass the Olongapo road going to SM and Robinson Mall in San Fernando City, I see a couple of sash factories at the side of the hi-way. Very few times that I have seen people stop by and checked what they had to offer. I kept on wondering, do these small businesses know that they can get more opportunity and exposure online with little cost? They can become international with a few clicks! Maybe yes, or maybe not. One thing for sure, I want to help them find their own gems in this world. There are already a few sites and blogs that do that and another one might not be that bad, right? So I decided to dedicate this blog to be another source of information about online ecommerce. I'll post technical and non-technical tips and true to life stories on how to start and maintain web businesses.
I hope this one becomes a fruitful endeavor for everyone!
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