Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Doing Business Online, Will you Make or Lose Money?

Most entrepreneurs these days think getting a website and some product to sell online is a great way to make money, also, most advertisers make it seem quite easy with all the bells, whistles, promises and the marketing tools they present. To think of it these marketers themselves are actually tying to make a sale, so they pump you up and let you go with a product that ends up in your recycle bin. Most of the times you will realize at the end you have wasted hundreds of dollars on the so-called “easy to make money” software and advertising packages.

Some packages promise top listing, some promises millions of contacts, don’t be fooled, this is just a prank for you to get SPAMMED in most cases. It has never and will never be a walk in the park when it comes to online marketing. In most cases the existing price war will eat your entire budget and more. I listened to a program sometime ago on BBC stating that marketing is dead and I am now almost at the point of concurring. Are the household names eating away the possibilities for small and upcoming businesses?

Another big question is, are online advertisements too rich for small companies or individuals? Do small businesses need a “Gold Card” with huge credit limits? Tons of emails, websites, marketers, and SEO’s explain how to get the most important piece of online sales “traffic”, some even promise traffic, but what sort of traffic do you really get. After working and spending good dollars on trying to get “good” traffic I find it only gets more frustrating and if you are not careful it makes you want to pack up and leave the online world. Many small and promising companies have folded because of this frustration and wish or even hoped they had made other decision for marketing online but as always they were late.

Many search engines promises you great traffic, stating how much money can be made from visitors they send your website, yes the stats change and online visits increase on a click basis, but, what happen to all the money that was promised. Is it that these promises are not realizable? Is it another way to spend more money for nothing? Or is it, as the old saying, promises are a comfort to fools?

Take a good look at the listings for most products and the costs, no matter how many and how cheap the products are most online spenders still spend with the “big guys”. Where does this leave the small businesses? Most online spenders come online with the intention to purchase form the “giants” but they still shop around, when its time for the spending they still wind up with the giant. Is this because of the feeling of security?

After all the promises and the marketing “mumbo jumbo” about making money online with website that people just click and spend, after all the explanation of creating content that holds the viewers, after all the work to get the information out to potential customer you wind up with nothing. Will a day come when ranking is not the primary reason your website or business to end up at the top of heavily trafficked sites? When will the nightmares of spending money with no income in return end for small businesses and entrepreneurs?

As most aspiring businesses and entrepreneurs will soon realize the “big boys” always in most cases get the sale, your website might look impressive, your website might be fast, (as most marketers will urge you to make it) but still you rank low. Does looks, usability, and content rich websites rank over name? These are only a few online considerations along with the price wars that rage over the online playing field that suffocates upcoming businesses.