It appears that clothing and footwear are the areas losing out on high street sales but they are the big winners online.

To read the full article visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7512779.stm

Camille supply lingerie and nightwear throughout the country via a series of retail outlets and concessions as well as their on-line store. If you know the brand or want to find out more visit www.camille.co.uk to discover what else is on offer.

The website features a zoom facility enabling you to get a detailed view of the products and fabric. Visitors can also sign up for news and offers as well as buy gift vouchers all from the comfort of their armchair. The site also features swimwear and a new section for costumes.

Local readers may know the Camille store based at the East Midlands Designer Outlet M1 J28 /A38 junction. If so you can have the best of both worlds and stock up on your favourite lingerie sets. So what are you waiting for? Get on-line today and bag yourself a treat!

The events are FREE and take place at several location in the region.

For more information visit www.ebusinessclub.biz

Rather than withdraw from the ’scene’, now may be the time to ‘get out there’ and promote your business. When times are hard businesses shop around more, they look for value added services, they look for products or services that improve their productivity, they may be looking for you! If you are not there being seen in the right places, making your presence known and keeping in touch, before you know it the customers you have already may be gone!

When considering how to market and who to market to perhaps asking yourself a few key questions may highlight where you lack the right tools to do the job.

• Image: Does your company create the right impression? Strong brand? Logo?
• Product/service: Do potential and existing customers know what you are offering?
• Communication: Are you keeping in touch regularly with your customers?
• Service: Do you review your service levels and respond to customer feedback?
• Sales: Do you make it easy for people to buy from you?

The list could go on. In essence the real question is, do you communicate effectively with your customers and are you reaching out to potential new customers? It may be worth considering some of the following areas as a way of developing awareness and keeping the lines of communication open.

Email marketing- a way of sending your message quickly and easily to large volumes of people. With the right tools you can assess the response to your message and have more insight into where customers interests lie.

Dynamic forms - by adding some extra funtionality to your website like forms and questionnaires you can gather useful information from your clients using drop down boxes to select. You could even set up booking forms or customer feedback forms etc

News pages and blogs-adding a news page or having a blog built into your website can provide you with a facility for changing what could be an otherwise static site as well as relaying useful industry or product news. They also provide an opportunity to add ‘keyword’ rich content which makes them a useful tool for generating interest from the search engines.

Content Managed Sites - upgrading to a site that you can manage yourself although initially dearer can provide you with flexibility. You can amend the site regularly, keeping it fresh, as well as managing products and information. When taken to the extent of e-commerce you can sell goods online and take orders. How far you take this type of solution depends on your requirements and your budget.

Design - professionally designed websites create a positive company image. Investment in getting the right look and feel for your business can influence the type of clients you get and their anticipation of the service you will provide.

Photography - good photos can make all the difference on a website /company literature etc. Investing in a photoshoot where required can pay dividends in terms of portraying your company’s products to best advantage.

Pay-per-click - as well as traditional marketing consider trying out on-line marketing and promotion through Google for example. Taking your products direct to the people searching may not be cheap but it will give you a good indication of the level of demand and help with ongoing organic search engine positioning in the longer term.

Generally things in business that are worth doing will have a cost element however by viewing this more as an ‘Investment’ it is posssible to reap the rewards in the longer term. So what are you waiting for? get marketing to grow your business!

If your ‘business’ is looking after ’customers’, educating them or providing a service to them then perhaps you need to re-look at what your website is offering.  Ask yourself the following:

• what is the purpose of the site?
• what information or activity could encourage a repeat site visit?
• what do your clients expect to see?
• what can you offer on-line that you would normally do by telephone/fax /post?
• what do your clients think of your website?

By asking yourself and your customers questions about how you do business together you will no doubt highlight ways that your relationship can be improved. Often this can be translated into a feature on your website by building in ’interactive tools’. Many sites have more activity behind the scenes than it first appears.

For example have you considered any of the following:

• feedback form- to gather thoughts on site improvements / testimonials /on line questionnaires / booking confirmations etc
• news page - display articles about new services you are offering / industry news/ events you are appearing at or offering your clients / people you are sponsoring /new staff etc
• blog - a branded blog can add functionality and is a brilliant tool for adding ‘keyword’ rich content to your site (see previous blog articles) but it also has a built in facility for feedback.
• calendar - to display availability or encourage booking
• log-in area -customer - do you have information you only want certain customers to see / download?
• log-in area - staff - do you have staff working remotely who need access to documents or alternatively who need to feedback information to the office?
• Mailing list - would you like to encourage visitors to sign up to your newsletter or receive information about special offers?

If you want your website to work harder for your business and you want to improve your levels of customer service then IT4B are able to offer an initial FREE CONSULTANCY.

To arrange a consultation email enquiries@it4b.org.uk or ring tel: 0845 226 0921

The amount of money spent by consumers shopping online increased by 35% to £14.7bn last year, retail analysts Verdict Research said.

The growth rate - the fastest in six years - is about 10 times that of the UK’s retail market as whole.

Among 4,000 shoppers quizzed, making better use of leisure time was the main reason given for online shopping.

The internet is widely perceived as a cheaper and easier way of finding lower prices and bargains in most sectors Malcolm Pinkerton Verdict Research

The growth in internet access and users making more regular and expensive purchases online meant the growth would continue, Verdict’s report suggested.

It forecast that online retail sales would reach £44.9bn by 2012, about 13.8% of total spending.

But while some of this was “cannibalisation” - people buying via their computers what they would previously have gone to shops for - physical shopping was far from doomed, the report said.

“There is still a need and place for physical locations - the key is to ensure that synergies with online retailing are exploited to drive footfall to stores,” Verdict said.

“While having an Internet presence is vital, giving the consumer choice by establishing strong links between the in-store and online offer is now essential.”

The development of faster broadband had made the process of shopping quicker and easier for many people, Verdict concluded, while many saw it as a way of getting cheaper prices.

“The internet is widely perceived as a cheaper and easier way of finding lower prices and bargains in most sectors,” said Malcolm Pinkerton, Verdict’s senior retail analyst.

“As the cost of broadband falls, consumers become accustomed to internet shopping and retailers continue to enhance their online propositions, the channel will find itself extremely well-placed to capitalise on the falling consumer confidence and lower levels of disposable income currently impacting the retail market.”

Statistics supplied by usability guru Jakob Nielson indicate that visitors are becoming less patient (we already know about the 3 click mantra!). Figures for 2008 demonstrate that only 25% of visitors arrive at the home page and then drill down into the site (as opposed to 60% in 2004). Visitors are accessing sites at the point of ‘deep links’ as a result of ’searches’ as they become more search savvy.

So what does that mean to the potential business website owner?

We hate to say we told you so, but in effect it means that that your website really must be built with the search engines in mind. It must also deliver information/products quickly (so hold off on the gismos and gadgets).

Setting up a new website? Then consider the following-

1. What is the purpose of the site? (information?products?)
2. Who is your target audience?
3. How will they find your website?

CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT

Content is king! Your customers are looking for specific products and services so help them by providing quality, keyword rich content and quality images to show off your products.

You know your product better than anyone, but do you know your customer? Take time to find out what they want from your website and what will make them return time and time again.

Assess your own ability to manage your website.

1. Do you know enough about search engines and how they work?
2. Do you know how to put a ‘pay-per click’ campaign together (adverts/sponsored links)?
3. Do you know how to write keyword rich content and related ‘title tags’ and ‘meta information’ (buzz words and product descriptions etc that can help drive ‘traffic’ to your site)?
4. Do you review your site regularly to accommodate visitor trends e.g moving popular products into better viewing positions so they can be found more quickly? (basic web stats and google analytics can help indicate how you have been found and search terms used etc)

If you would like some answers or just some general advice the contact enquiries@it4b.org.uk for more details.

Last year IT for Business Ltd (IT4B) ran a series of events about websites and eBay trading. We are now offering FREE one2one consultations where we will review your current website and offer advice on how to make it work harder for your business.

If you are looking to raise your profile, improve your sales and generally get a return on your investment (ROI) then contact us now to book your slot.

To book your FREE consultation email: enquiries@it4b.org.uk or telephone: 0845 226 0921

Troops directors Stephen and Philip pride themselves on supplying quality produce combined with excellent customer service. The company already supply locally produced fruit and vegetables as well as the more exotic varieties to a range of hotels, restaurants and smaller retail outlets. The new e-commerce website is set to provide a similar service direct to the consumer.

The impact of ‘food miles’ on the environment is all over the news so what better time to make the most of the Internet to source local produce and buy on-line?

For further information on website solutions contact kathy@it4b.org.uk

The Spring Fair www.springfair.com is one of the highlights of the year for companies looking for new products to sell and sets the trends for the seasons ahead. With regular features and news from the high street it is a focal point for businesses wanting to keep in touch with what’s hot in the world of retail.

While the news of poor sales on the high street is not helpful for the economy, the encouraging sales figures from Internet trading mean that spending has not come to a standstill. Companies wishing to embrace the Internet as a means of selling goods and services are able to make the most of this growth sector provided they have the right tools for the job, namely a well designed website and the right visibility (getting found in search listings)

If your business is looking to grow it’s on-line business then consider the following:

• Who is your target audience?
• Is your website getting the message across?
• Are you making it easy for visitors to buy?
• Is your site easy to navigate?
• What incentive is there to encourage customers to return to your site?
• Do your images do your products justice?
• Are you getting site traffic using your ‘keywords’?
• Are you getting a return on investment (ROI) for any advertising or promotion you are doing?

If you are looking for answers then please contact kathy@it4b.org.uk to see how our e-commerce solutions combined with pro-active SEO (search engine optimisation) tools and features can give your business a chance to shine on-line.