Featured Wholesale Products

Here are some featured new products from Trade.Meritline - Free B2B Marketplace of International Trade Leads for Wholesale Trade Service, for more information, just simple click the picuture.



Metal detectors for hobbies FEATURES 1.Recycle the deposed or old metals. 2.Detect or search for police department. 3.Detect underground metal cultural mineral and bullion material. 4.Check old metals, detect various metal minerals, valid to detect some high quality mineral, especially natural yellow metal. 5.Detect underground pipeline, wire, cable. It is the important tool for the task of building and constructing, fitmending tap water, offering changed eletricity and rebuilding city. PURPOSE Horizontal balance: Can eliminate mineralized reaction of the ground, own good penetrating ability. Identify: Can distinguish black and coloured metal Can detect all metals include gold, silver, iron, tin etc. And can penetrate clay,china, rock, plastic, cement, wood material which cover on it. Metal detector MD-5008 is a handheld apparatus, can be take portably. It has two detecting head. SPECIFICATIONS Signal frequency 437KHz Sensitivity 35cm for a US(25cent)quarter with meter Shooting frequency 6.99KHz Detecting depth(Max) 3m Gross weight 3.2Kg Disc Control Ground Balance Control Accessories battery box and battery bag Tune Control Sensitivity control



Product NO. Type Technology Parameters Application Fields LCD All In One EPC 171E CM440 1.6G; 512M DDR; 2G DOM; Integration display card; 17?LCD; Sound box Office of Hotel, family, government and enterprises; the cashier inquiries in the industry of Food and entertainment; Shopping guide in malls; the automatic inquiries in the business office of bank, telecommunication, securities, etc; the informationization of education and other special industries. EPC 170V VIA C3 1.0G; 256M DDR; 2G DOM; 10-100M Network Card; 17’LCD; With the function of TV (including remote control); External interface:1VGAport, 2 USB ports, 1 Network port, 1 PS/2. EPC 190V VIA C3 1.0G; 256M DDR; 2G DOM; 10-100M Network Card; 19’LCD; With the function of TV (including remote control); External interface: 1 VGA port, 2 USB ports, 1 Network port, 1 PS/2

4 Things ALL Articles Must Have - Don't Forget!

The importance of articles in today websites and internet based companies are immeasurable. They dictate a lot in the success and the drive of traffic into one site. It has become a key element in making a site work and earns a profit. A website operator and owner must have the good sense to include articles in his or her site that will work for them and earn them the many benefits articles can give to their site.
Articles have been known to be the driving force in driving traffic to a website or promote your products and service and your website into high rankings in search result pages. The higher a site ranks the bigger slice of the traffic flow pie he gets. With a huge number in traffic flow, there are more profits and more potential for other income generating schemes as well.
But, it is not just about stuffing your site with articles; they have certain requirements as well. These requirements must be met to obtain the maximum benefits an article will provide for your site. A well written article will catch the eyes and interest of your customers and keep them coming back for more. They would also be able to recommend your site to others.
Here are some tips to help you and assist you in making your articles. Below you will read about four things all articles must have to make it successful and helpful in making your site a profit earning and traffic overflowing site.
Keywords and Keyword Phrases.
An article must always be centered on the keywords and keyword phrases. As each website visitor goes to a site, there are those who are just merely browsing but actually looking for a specific something. When this happens, a searcher usually goes to a search engine and types in the keywords they are looking for (e.g. Toyota Camry, Meningitis, Tax Lawyer and Etcetera). It could be anything they want.
The Important thing is that you have an article that has the keywords that are related to your site. For example, if you maintain an auto parts site, you must be able t have articles about cars and their parts. There are many tools in the internet that provides service in helping a webmaster out in determining what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought out. You can use this tool to determine what keywords to use and write about.
Keyword Density
Know that you have your keywords and keyword phrases, you must use them fully. An article must have good keyword density for a search engine to eel its presence. Articles should at least have ten to fifteen percent of keyword density in their content for search engines to rank a site high in their search results. Getting a high rank is what articles do best for a site.
Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used on an article. The number varies depending on the number of words used in an article. An effective article must have a keyword density that is not too high or too low. With a very high density, the essence of the article is lost and may turn off a reader as well as the search engines. It comes off as overeager. A low number may be ignored by the search engines.
Good Article Content
Like what is stated above, you cannot just riddle an article with keywords. They must also be regarded as good reading materials. Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make your work good and well thought out.
People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic. As more people believe in you. They will be able to trust you and your products.
Linking Articles
And another important thing to remember. If you are going to submit articles to ezines and/or contribute your articles to newsletters and other sites, DON'T ever forget to include a link to your site. A little resource box with a brief description of your site and you should always be placed right after your articles that you have submitted. If people like your articles, they will most likely click on the link directing them to your site.
From Trade.Meritline - Wholesale Trade Service Market Dept.

How to Source Wholesale Products

If you’re starting a retail business and looking for products to sell, you’ll need to find reliable wholesale suppliers. Sourcing wholesale products can be challenging, and there are certainly lots of pitfalls that business owners need to look out for. This serves as a guide with some helpful tips for finding the right wholesale product sources for your business.


Decide what you’re going to sell. There are many ways to go about this. You want to choose products that are going to sell well, but that the market isn’t completely flooded with. In that case, you would need to be ultra-competitive in order to get sales. Perhaps you make your own items to sell (like handmade jewelry or crafts), or you want to sell fashion accessories or clothing. To determine what kind of items are selling well, you’ll need to look at trends. If you’re opening up a physical store in your area, you’ll need to do some research into local trends. If online selling is your game, then your potential for sales will increase exponentially. You can use one or more of the many online tools available to check out selling trends. eBay Seller Tools, for instance, are very robust and easy to use and allow you see product trends over a period time.
Choose your supplier type. Depending on what kind of business you’re starting (online vs. brick and mortar), you’ll need to decide on the type of wholesale supplier you want to use. Here are the types to consider:
Manufacturers: Most times buying direct means a high minimum order. Usually manufacturers will have smaller retailers buy their product through one of their local distributors. You can find this information either on the manufacturer's website or by contacting them directly.
Distributors: Usually distributors tend to carry a large variety of products in a certain category (say pet products) from several manufacturers. Their prices are slightly higher than buying direct, but minimum quantities are usually low and you have the convenience of purchasing products from different manufacturers on one purchase order.
Liquidators: If you are flexible about your product needs, this is a fantastic way to get a real break on price. Many times you can purchase a bulk load of product for up to 75% off the original wholesale price. Consider your purchases carefully because once a product is sold out it's usually gone for good.
Importers: If you plan to sell specialty products from another country, you’ll likely have to go through an importer to get them.
Drop Shippers: If you have an online business, drop shipping is one of the best ways to supply products for your business without worrying about manufacturing processes or warehousing costs. Drop shippers are basically distributors in that they buy from manufacturers or other distributors, but they will ship orders directly to your customers for you, as orders are placed.
Where to look. The most common place to look is online. You can use general search engines like Google and Yahoo, or you can use wholesale-specific search engines, like goWholesale, Top Ten Wholesale, or Wholesale Central. There are also trade lead sites like Alibaba, trade.meritline and Global Sources, which allow you find suppliers all over the world. However you can also check print publications (such as The Closeout News and Retailers Forum), print directories and attend trade shows (where vendors get together to showcase and demonstrate their products).
Do your research. This cannot be stressed enough. There are many scams, fakes and just plain bad businesses to watch out for. There are a ton of resources available for free, so use them! The first place you can check is the supplier’s website. Check out all of their policies (returns, damages, backorders), and make sure they have their contact information and physical address posted on their site (not just a contact form – this is a big red flag). Your best source of information is the supplier themselves – call or email them and ask questions about their products, policies, and terms. You may even be able to ask them for customer references. Don’t forget to use online forums—they are a great place to get references and ask questions, but beware of members who are simply trying to self promote. You can also check your suppliers out through the Better Business Bureau, Hoover’s Online, and even the FBI.
Contact the vendor and place your order. Many vendors have online payment systems set up, but beware of suppliers who aren’t giving you true wholesale pricing. Real wholesale suppliers normally deal with businesses only (not the general public) and require tax IDs to do business. While requirements vary from state to state, here is a list of things that may be necessary for you to have before beginning to buy and sell products:
Local Business License: Typically, the city or county where you are operating your business will require that you have a local business license. Just call or visit your city hall to find out what the requirement is in your jurisdiction.
State Business License: Unless you are selling products such as alcohol or cigarettes, you probably won't be required to have this license. You can find out your state's requirements by simply calling your local government offices.
Sales Tax License:If you live in a state that collects sales tax, you will most likely need this license. Having it will allow you to legally charge sales tax to customers purchasing your items. By calling your State Franchise Tax Board you can find out how to get this license.
Federal License:This license really only applies to a very small portion of businesses that are selling products or services that are highly regulated by government agencies (i.e., if you are selling firearms or offering investment advice). If you think your business falls into that category, you can call your state government offices for more information. However, if your business is required to have this type of license, it may be best to hire an attorney to make sure you are complying with every law and have all the necessary licenses, permits and documentation.
Seller's Permit (also referred to as a reseller's permit or sales tax permit):This permit is typically required for businesses that are purchasing wholesale products for resale. Usually your State Franchise Tax Board is the agency that grants this permit.You can also set up payment terms and arrange credit with your suppliers, so make sure to ask them what kind of options they can offer you.
Develop and maintain a positive relationship with the wholesale supplier if all goes well so far. You can have more than one supplier, especially if you sell a wide range of products. This can be beneficial, because you’ll have more product options, possibly better prices, and lower risk in case something happens with one or more of your other suppliers.

How to Find a Supplier in China

Suppose you come up with a product idea or think you have market channels for certain products, and you want to find a supplier in China because of the low product development cost and low production cost there. If you Google the product name or concept, you will find tons of China suppliers/manufacturers. However, you still think you have not got one, because you want to find a capable and reliable one that would satisfy your specific needs and have a strong desire to do business with you. Many people get frustrated because they have been communicating with suppliers in China for months, but fail to move forward. The reason, most likely, is that they did not find the suitable one at the beginning. To successfully find a suitable China supplier, you need a strategy. This strategy will consist of awareness, knowledge and a good amount of homework. Below are some practical steps to find a suitable Chinese supplier for you.

STEPS
Understand what you need. You need to first know what is available and have a way to categorize the information. Here are some categories to help you think about Chinese suppliers: manufacturer vs. 3rd-party supplier; Big corporation vs. small family-owned; 3rd-party supplier with in-house product development capability vs. 3rd-party supplier that just buys-in and sells-out; vertically integrated manufacturer vs. assembly-based manufacturer; etc. Properly categorizing the suppliers will help you understand what you need. For example, if you need to import products in a narrow range, you may choose a manufacturer other than a 3rd-party supplier. If you are a small business and need dedicated attention, you may want to develop a good relationship with a small family-owned business.
Do some preliminary Internet research to further develop your category system towards your specific needs. Create a data table to help you record the search result, so the job can be done more efficiently and effectively. The table should include columns like company name, contact information, business scale and scope, category check boxes (important), and notes.
Use search engines to search information related to your product name. The first 100 results would be the most relevant websites related to the product of your concern. You can also find your competitors' information and develop a better sense of market segment and marketing channels.
Use popular business directory websites to obtain very structured information for Chinese suppliers. The directory websites are also excellent resource to obtain industrial knowledge.
Narrow down the the list of suppliers you want to work with to a manageable amount. At this stage, you may already know what your real needs are and what is available. Initiate contact with the suppliers you want to work with, and further develop relationships with them. Eventually, you will find the one. The process can be fun and a friendly experience.

TIPS
Analyzing the types of suppliers has strategic importance. It will help you to understand where you are, what kind of results to expect, and what are the things you need to take care of in the mutual cooperation. You may want to have an experienced person help you to analyze the information. In your strategy, you will also need to include the consideration of the future contracting and operation. You may seek advice from Chinese professionals who understand the Chinese mentality, culture and business practices. You may get the incorrect interpretation if you visit the supplier's English website, or you could omit data that contains key information.
Just because a site is ranked higher in Google search listing, this does not necessarily mean it is a more serious business. Some very good Chinese suppliers are not well-versed in having their website listed highly, while some other Internet guys can have their website listed very highly. Use your industrial judgment.
Information comes from seemly insignificant data, for example, the email addresses may reveal useful information about Chinese suppliers. However, do not judge an address too quickly. You never know where good information can come from.
Be aware that while the decision-maker may not speak any English, establishing good relationship (guanxi) with the top management is crucial for long-term success.
Email is good for exchanging product specifications, catalogue and price list. To establish a deeper relationship, a phone call is 10 times better than email. A personal meeting is 100 times better than a phone call. Many people want to start a business, so you have to show you are more serious. As long as your contact person uses English, you can just go ahead and give that person a phone call. It does not matter how much you and that person can understand each other; you can always follow up with an email.
Work with suppliers that have already exported their products to Europe or the US. Pay attention to the agent relationship. Many manufacturers may have their products exported to the US in good quantity through a third party supplier without an exclusive supply agreement. They may want to have direct channels to the US, and that might mean more business for you.
Consider accessing the U.S. customs records for your supplier to get an independently verified list of their shipments to the U.S. This will tell you who their customers are, how loyal those customers are, as well as the volume capabilities of your factory. Import Genius offers these hard-to-find customs records at affordable rates.
A visit to your supplier production site in China is the only reliable way to truly know its capabilities, to check that the data you have collected on the company is 100% correct, and that ISO & Quality principles are applied: Check the factory organization, its process flows, the quality of goods produced, the packaging, the workers' training level, the overall working conditions, equipment maintenance, etc. This will give you an indication of how the company is managed. A face-to-face meeting with the supplier's management team will also give you an idea of their experience and willingness to embark on your project. You will also be able to create a friendly relationship, which is crucial for your project!

What Makes a Good Supplier?

A lot of growing companies focus on one trait of their suppliers: price. And price certainly is important when you are selecting suppliers to accompany you as you grow your business. But there's more to a supplier than an invoice-and more to the cost of doing business with a supplier than the amount on a purchase order. Remember, too, that suppliers are in business to make money. If you go to the mat with them on every bill, ask them to shave prices on everything they sell to you, or fail to pay your bills promptly, don't be surprised if they stop calling.
After price, reliability is probably the key factor to look for in suppliers. Good suppliers will ship the right number of items, as promised, on time so that they arrive in good shape. Sometimes you can get the best reliability from a large supplier. These companies have the resources to devote to backup systems and sources so that, if something goes wrong, they can still live up to their responsibilities to you. However, don't neglect small suppliers. If you're a large customer of a small company, you'll get more attention and possibly better service and reliability than if you are a small customer of a large supplier. You should also consider splitting your orders among two smaller firms. This can provide you with a backup as well as a high profile.
Stability is another key indicator. You'll want to sign up with vendors who have been in business a long time and have done so without changing businesses every few years. A company that has long-tenured senior executives is another good sign, and a solid reputation with other customers is a promising indicator that a company is stable. When it comes to your own experience, look for telltale signs of vendor trouble, such as shipments that arrive earlier than you requested them-this can be a sign of a vendor that is short on orders and needs to accelerate cash receipts.
Don't forget location. Merchandise ordered from a distant supplier can take a long time to get to you and generate added freight charges quickly. Find out how long a shipment will take to arrive at your loading dock. If you are likely to need something fast, a distant supplier could present a real problem. Also, determine supplier freight policies before you order. If you order a certain quantity, for instance, you may get free shipping. You may be able to combine two or more orders into one and save on freight. Even better, find a comparable supplier closer to home to preserve cost savings and ordering flexibility.
Finally, there's a grab bag of traits that could generally be termed competency. You'll want suppliers who can offer the latest, most advanced products and services. They'll need to have well-trained employees to sell and service their goods. They should be able to offer you a variety of attractive financial terms on purchases. And they should have a realistic attitude toward you, their customer, so that they're willing and eager to work with you to grow both your businesses.

Course Programs Offered by Fleet Business School

Fleet Business School is a school in Annapolis, Maryland that offers one- to less than two-year undergraduate degrees in several programs. This is a private, for-profit institution founded in 1934. Students who prefer a low teacher to student ratio will appreciate this school. The current ratio stands at 1:11. Its student body is dominated by White and Black Americans who consist of 94% of the total population with Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders consisting of the rest.

Courses offered by Fleet Business School
Fleet Business School offers a limited number of degrees in business, computers, legal and administrative fields. Some information about these programs are provided below:

Business Administration and Management
This degree prepares students for a role in business and entrepreneurship. The program includes courses in business management, marketing, finance and accounting.

Employability outlook for this course: The field of business is highly competitive but for students who are proactive and determined to make a mark in this industry, there are sectors they can penetrate, including corporate, government and private sectors. They can also apply their new skills into building and sustaining their own business.

Business Computer Facilities Operator
This degree teaches students the fundamentals of computer monitoring and control. It also includes lessons in the processing of electronic data that will be used in science, engineering and business. The program essentially equips students with the necessary skills to operate computers and related equipment in order to manipulate and control a computer system, including the computer terminal. It will also prepare them to perform diagnostics in case of equipment malfunction and to make necessary corrections of errors.

Employability outlook for this course: Generally, students who graduate from this program will be required by employers to undergo on-the-job training. Entry level salary is approximately US$21,000 a year, with an average annual salary of US$ 33,500 a year.

Health and Medical Administrative Services
This course prepares students to become clinical managers, with more specific tasks and responsibilities than medical generalists. Their job encompasses the maintenance and monitoring of patient health records and as such, must be trained to secure these records through software and computer technology.

Health and medical administrative services graduates will also work with medical doctors and physicians. In some cases, they might even be tasked to help formulate strategies to improve clinical and hospital services and to coordinate the daily business of the facility. The course will also prepare the student to handle and manage related administrative work, such as those involving personnel, planning, patient flow, budgeting and billing and collection.

Employability outlook for this course: Health care is still an industry that will require skilled workers, so expect job opportunities to be good, especially if applicants have a solid background in training and related work or on-the-job experience. The work environment for this type of course is usually in private offices, hospitals and nursing care facilities. The course offered by Fleet Business School is sufficient for entry level positions.

Tourism and Travel Services
Students who take up this course will be trained to provide services to motel and hotel guests. With tourism becoming an increasingly competitive field, employees in this sector are expected to become proactive marketers and strategic partners. Their studies will cover office management, hotel operations and sales and marketing.

Employability outlook for this course: The tourism field is still a growth area and as such, competition in travel opportunities, hospitality services and consumer demand will continue to rise. This demand will require graduates who are knowledgeable and equipped with the right skills in order to help manage tourism and hotel operations.

Legal Administrative Secretary Program
This course will prepare students for employment in the field of law. As such, they will be trained in practical knowledge of administrative tasks and skills related to the industry. The curriculum includes courses that will familiarize students with legal, administrative and business tools and methodologies often used in a legal office.

Employability outlook for this course: The program offered by Fleet Business School prepares the student for work as an assistant in a government or law office or a corporate legal department. He or she can then pursue a different specialization, including corporate law, labor law, criminal law, litigation, employee benefits or personal injury.

A School to Teach You Business Planning for a Non-Profit Organization?

When you go to a business school, you learn to plan a business well: you need to know how much capital you have, so you carefully fashion a business plan so that you cover all aspects of the business, including marketing, selling, and other techniques that will allow you to make a profit. You might also include an exit plan, which will allow you to recoup your savings or still keep your money even if the business fails. However, is there actually a way to plan out a non-profit organization, and are there schools that teach this type of business planning?

There are many different schools that actually teach how you can plan out a non-profit organization, and a business plan is actually the right format to go about it. A business plan will describe your venture in great detail: is it an organization, will it give away products, will it be donating to specific organizations? What are the benefits and advantages of having such an organization? A non-profit organization needs donors who are business people, and these donors will be looking for a plan that provides enough evidence to show that the non-profit organization is sustainable. Moreover, donors want to know that their money is being put to good use, so a business plan is always in order when non-profit organizations are built.

Most business plans will also have research to back them up. For instance, for companies that are up and coming, and that are offering products that are new to the market, a business plan might include descriptions of research results showing how good the product is or how effective it can be, as well as research showing how much the product is needed in the market. In a non-profit organization, the research might show how the non-profit organization is needed, say to donate products, offer services, or even broker knowledge. Research is not just something that is confined to laboratories or academics: it is something that is needed to show how effective or required a business can be.

When searching for a school that will help you put up your non-profit organization, look for schools that have faculty members that are experienced in either running non-profit organizations, or being a part of such organizations. Better yet, look for schools that are involved with non-profit organizations, so that you may be able to get an internship or work more closely with such organizations and thereby get a clearer and better idea of how a non-profit organization operates and how it should be run.

There are other things that you may want to consider when you are planning out your non-profit organization. Simply keep in mind that your efforts are akin to applying for a grant: you need to convince your donors that you need the money and that the money is going to a good cause. Your grant proposal may include aspects such as details on how you will get the word out on the non-profit organization; how you will staff it and how much your staff will receive in compensation; how your staff will be managed; how your finances will be managed, such as your costs of operation and your overall budget; and a description of your credentials and those of your partners? if any.

When looking for such a business school, be on the lookout for people who might help you in the future. As you build that non-profit organization, you will find that the people in your past can help you make a better organization that will last for a longer time.

What Constitutes Branding?

You may have heard something about 'branding' in regards to marketing, but perhaps you've wondered what that means exactly.Some people think branding is like positioning, but it is different. The main difference is that positioning is a fluid concept. In other words, you can position yourself at different times in different markets as different things. Branding is more set in stone- it's a hard-core recognition factor.Branding is more about the following of rules because if you don't follow those rules, things don't look the same and people won't remember you. When you put out your marketing pieces, you want to create a similar look and feel so that people remember you. And you want that similar look and feel on every thing you put out.The good thing is that you get to make the rules...colors the same, style of lettering the same, logo etc. And there is some flexibility as long as you follow the rules. You can't go too far out of bounds, but you can change some things within the frame of what others can still recognize.Branding in your marketing has to make you feel something. A technology company can't have an old style font - you might not think they were very far advanced.Branding is just like the old coat of arms that families used to have connected with their name. It would instill respect, fear, and wealth - whatever. Likewise, a country's flag gets people to feel a certain way about their country. Think about what message you want to portray. What do you want recipients of your promotion to think about you? What image of your company do you want to put out there? That is your brand. When people see you continually as one thing, they begin to expect the same from you and they get used to you.

Living Your Brand

Everyone is not your buyer. There may be a mass amount of people that purchase your product, but that's not everyone. Dig deep and research your audience. Find the answers to these questions: What are their spending habits? Values? Concerns? Needs? How does your product/service fit into their life?
By answering these direct questions you will begin to win over your key customer. The closer the focus the more connected the buyer will feel with your brand. You want them to think that you designed the brand specifically for them.
It is imperative when communicating that you exchange information about the product in the same way your buyer talks. For example: if they are high class, intelligent and money filled speak to them with sophistication and parallel their first-class style. Or for the free-spirited young adults don't confuse them with big words, or Robert Frost like metaphors; simply connect with your audience on their level.
Employees, community members, friends, and clients must know the personality of your business. Everyone needs to be familiar with and carry out the persona inside the brand. Some great ways to do this are to hire those you believe already possess the desired traits, company parties, being a part of community events, and relaxed company meetings on implementing the brand through its employers.
Next, use your brand, logo and tagline on company material. These are: web sites, marketing, advertising, public relations, e-mail, letterheads, business cards, and product packaging. Place your brand on any objects related to your products or services.
Society is always changing. With that said, it's important to evaluate and re-evaluate your brand. Simple changes without changing the overall message are needed to survival. Grow with and ahead of your buyer. Don't let your brand get left behind

Five Benefits of Personal Branding

Personal Branding is about honing your skills, narrowing your focus, and getting clear on what you're passionate about. Branding is not just about you being better than your competition. It's about getting your prospects to choose you as the ONLY solution to their problem.Here are five great benefits of creating a strong personal brand: *One of the greatest benefits to you of having a strong brand is that it creates a sense of individuality and "separateness" in the marketplace so that your clients are able to easily differentiate your company from your competitors. *The goal of personal branding is to be known for who you are as a person and what you stand for. Your brand is a reflection of who you are, your opinions, values, and beliefs that are visibly expressed by what you say and do, and how you do it. *The branding process allows you to take control of your identity and influence the perception others will have about you and the services you offer. *A strong personal brand will enable you to effortlessly attract clients and opportunities. You will position yourself in the mind of your marketplace as THE service provider of choice to dominate your market and command higher fees - work less and make more!*Establish yourself as an expert and become a celebrity in your area of specialty. Gain name recognition in your area of expertise where it counts the most - in your customer's mind. Make a lasting impression and be super-rewarded for your individuality.Trust, respect, and admiration will follow when your name and message are embedded repeatedly into the consciousness of your target market. You will be perceived as an expert the more you are visible to your target audience. Your brand will propel you to the top in your marketplace.

Advantages of Outsourcing Revealed

Does outsourcing works for your advantage or disadvantage?
For a layman (or an individual who understand the concept of outsourcing in a sea-level understanding), outsourcing is a complete waste of time and financial resources, which can end up with unwanted complications. Why assign work to other individuals if you know what will be good for your business? Why delegate the work to outsourcing professionals abroad if you can do much better right at your own territory? You know what is best for your business, and you don need other individuals to deal with things that you can handle by yourself, or with the help of in-house personnel.
For a politician, outsourcing will just be a political subject that can be argued on debates within the walls of Congress and newspapers. The issue will serve as a ortified objection?to take away jobs from your own countrymen, making your business npatriotic? Politician sympathy with regards to the outsourcing issue may win him a few votes in the upcoming election, nothing more than that.
However, it is the businessman who will be using the outsourcing process; not the layman, and definitely, not the politician. Thus, outsourcing for businessman is a odern day boon? Many businessmen are aware that outsourcing provides them the freedom of dumping all of their non-core yet important aspects of their business and delegating the work to an individual or group of individuals who can give justice to the process. Thus, it will leave businessmen free from additional responsibilities and focus instead on the core of their business. On the other hand, the outsourcing firm can also focus on the specific work delegated to them, thus a cost-efficient business operation. That is one of the primary advantages of outsourcing.
Another enticing advantage of outsourcing is being one of the cost-effective measures that you can take for your business. Businessmen are aware that information technology (IT) services and human resource in United States or in Europe are expensive, which can affect the way they hire additional manpower in case of business expansion. Outsourcing provides an option in getting highly-productive manpower in a cheaper rate. For instance, offshore outsourcing (delegating the work to off-shore destinations such as India and Philippines) is popular to U.S.-based businesses because of the cheap working rate. An ordinary American who will earn an average of $300 to $500 per month is just a small sum, but for Indians and Filipinos, they would be quite happy with this salary range considering the currency conversion rate. Thus, this is a in-win?solution for the company you are outsourcing to as well as for your business.
Another convincing advantage of outsourcing is saving substantial amount of money in terms of the development of some aspects of your business (such as IT development). Since outsourcing involves reduced expenditures on your part, you will be able to maximize the value of your money to have your IT services developed into the latest and most powerful modern information tool. In addition, you will avoid recruiting new personnel who will handle the development as well as training them, thus reducing the recruitment and training cost for your business. The purchase of necessary technology will now be handled by the outsourcing company, thus saving money in the long run which you can use on other important business aspect.
There are other advantages of outsourcing, yet the aforementioned advantages are the most noted ones. Do not be misled by rumors and gossips about outsourcing. You are the business owner and you know what is good for your business.

Offshore Outsourcing Services: What is it and What Can You Get from It?

First of all, you have to understand what offshore outsourcing services really imply. Offshore outsourcing means that a company will be hiring another company to work on their business processes. The company that offers offshore outsourcing services will be doing the business process or part of the business process.
Companies in developed countries, such as the United States, Canada, and European nations are now outsourcing their business process or part of their business process in order to save money. This is the primary reason why companies today are now outsourcing their business processes.
Companies that offer outsourcing services are usually offshore or are located in other countries. Usually, countries from developing nations do this because of the high demand for outsourcing services from western countries.
If you have a company, then outsourcing can be one of the best things that can happen to your business, in case you choose to outsource your business process in offshore companies. Besides, because you can save your company from spending a lot of money and at the same time fully function as a whole company, who wouldn't want to get outsourcing services from offshore companies?
By outsourcing, your company will be able to save significant amounts of money. This is because offshore companies, particularly in developing nations, charges only a fraction of the amount to get the job done compared to your own country. Developing nations that usually offers outsourcing services are China, the Philippines, Mexico, and India. These countries are considered to have such a low labor cost that companies from developed countries are considering hiring their services to get their business process work done.
Another benefit of outsourcing for your company is that it can take heavy workloads off and divide it to offshore companies to do part of your company workload. Because of this, your company will be able to focus on more important matters to make your company more competitive in the world of business.
If you are in the software developing business, it is better that you should outsource part of your software development department in order to cut operational costs and at the same time, let your in-house software development department breathe.
This is because IT professionals in developed countries, such as in the United States charge a high amount of fee for every software developed. If you outsource it to offshore companies, particularly in developing countries, such as India, and the Philippines, that has a large pool of qualified and equally talented IT professionals, they will charge you for only a fraction of the amount that IT professionals will charge you in your own country.
For example, if a programming job costs about 100 dollars in your country and the same programming job in offshore countries cost only 20 dollars to develop, you would want to hire the cheaper alternative. Obviously, if you need 100 or 200 of these programming jobs, you can see the difference in cost. Your company will be able to save thousands of dollars if you offshore your business process or part of your business process.
Always remember that you only have to offshore certain jobs. You should never offshore any projects regarding strategies of your business. You should also consider the quality of the product the offshore company can provide. If the offshore company product is not at par with your company standards, you should not hire the company at all. You better look for an offshore company that provides better quality.

Word Of Mouth Marketing Stemming From Email Marketing

Sometimes the benefits of email marketing are quite different than anticipated. Most Internet marketers understand the basic concept of email marketing which is to email promotional materials to a large group of Internet users to promote an interest in your products or services. This concept is easy for many to understand but sometimes there are added benefits to email marketing. This article will discuss the basics of email marketing and will also explain how sometimes email marketing can be much further reaching than planned. This additional reach can be either a positive or a negative depending on the quality of the original emails and the reactions of the original recipients.
Email marketing is a very simple concept which is also extremely cost effective. The general idea behind email marketing is that an email is sent to an email distribution list and these emails are intended to create an interest in the products or services offered by the originator of the email. In theory this concept could not be simpler but email marketing can get significantly more complicated. One of the biggest complicating factors is the potential for the emails used in the marketing campaign to be viewed as spam by either the recipient of the email or the spam filter provided by the Internet service provider. This potential alone creates a major complication because Internet marketers have to make a significant effort to assure their messages are not trapped by a spam filter or immediately deleted by the recipients for appearing to be spam.
Once the email messages get through to the recipient, they have a small window of opportunity to make a positive impression on the recipients and influence him to make a purchase or at least visit the business owner website. Providing quality content, keeping advertising subtle and at a minimum and providing a clear call to action are all factors which can help to get the message across and entice the potential customer to make a purchase or at least visit the website to research the products and services a little bit more.
As previously stated the goal of an email marketing campaign is to convince the email recipient to either make a purchase or visit the website to obtain more information. When an email recipient performs either one of these actions, it is considered a huge success. However, thanks to the power of the forward button email marketing can actually be much more successful than even the business owner intended.
The great aspect of email marketing is that when the email recipients receive an email which they think is worthwhile they are likely to make a purchase and may also forward the information onto a friend or family member they think might be interested in this information as well. The ability to forward email messages has become comparable satisfied customers using word of mouth to tout the quality of the products or services they received. However, the ability to forward a worthwhile email message is exponentially more effective than using word of mouth to spread the word. With just a few clicks of the mouse, the original email recipient can forward the message to several of his friends at once. This can result in significantly better results than the business owner had originally intended with no additional effort on behalf of the business owners.

Reaching Your Target Audience When Email Marketing

In theory email marketing is not any different than other types of marketing. This means the basic principles of marketing apply to your email marketing efforts as well. One of these most important principles is the importance of reaching your target audience. The ability to reach your target audience and convince them to make a purchase cannot be underestimated. This article will provide some insight into how Internet marketers can effectively reach their target audience.
The simplest way to reach your target audience is to allow existing customers as well as potential customers to register on your website and decide whether or not they want to receive emails with additional information and advertisements. When the users register they should be required to enter an email address. This registration process will allow you to compile a list of email addresses from each potential customer who expressed an interest in receiving additional information. Sending your email marketing materials to the members of this distribution list is much more effective than sending out a mass email to recipients whose email addresses you purchased. This is because the group of email addresses you compiled all have an interest in the products or services you offer while there is no information on the other set of email addresses to indicate whether or not the members will even have an interest in the products or services you offer.
Another tip for reaching your target audience is to do adequate research to determine how to communicate with the members of your target audience. This may include changing the language of your emails to suit the preferences of your target audience members, designing the layout and colors of the email to be appealing to the target audience and tailoring the emails to include content which is of interest to the members of the target audience. This type of research can really pay off because it will make your emails significantly more effective.
Still another tip for reaching your target audience when email marketing is to keep your message simple. Being subtle is important so your email does not seem like a blatant sales pitch but it is also important to present your message in a clear and concise manner which will be easily understood by the members of your target audience. If you have any doubts your target audience will be able to understand your message, you can certainly leave information for the email recipients to contact you with your questions. This interaction can prove to be extremely useful. Through these communications you can learn about the needs of your target audience and how you can tailor your email marketing strategy to meet these needs.
Finally, it is important to solicit feedback from the members of your target audience to ensure you are meeting their needs with your email marketing campaign. This should be done on a continual basis as the needs of your target audience may change over time. When you solicit feedback from your target audience you should be sure to ask specific questions which require answers which can be interpreted easily. This is important because ability to interpret these answers will greatly impact your ability to further refine your email marketing efforts to conform to the expectations of your target audience members.
From Trade.Meritline - Wholealesale Trade Service Market Dept.

Is Email Marketing Right For Your Business?

Deciding whether or not email marketing is a good idea for your business can be a difficult process. The concept of email marketing is very simple to understand the process of determining whether or not it is right for your business can be significantly more complicated. This is because you have to consider a number of different factors before making your decision. You should consider your target audience and their propensity to use the Internet, whether or not your message can be effectively states in an email and whether or not your message is likely to be misinterpreted as spam. All of these factors are important and can help you determine whether or not email marketing is right for your business.
One of the most important factors to consider when deciding whether or not to invest your money, energy and time into email marketing is your target audience and how likely they are to use the Internet regularly. This is important because an email marketing campaign is not worthwhile if members of your target audience are not likely to use the Internet to purchase or research the products or services you offer. Even if the use the Internet for other purposes it is not worthwhile because they will not be likely to become online customers for your products or services. However, if you have a target audience who is very likely to use the Internet to purchase the products or services you offer and to research these items, an email marketing campaign is a good idea. In this case it is absolutely worthwhile because you will be providing information which the members of your target audience will find useful and which they may already be looking for elsewhere.
Next you should consider the products and services you offer in an attempt to determine whether or not your message can be effectively stated in an email. This is important because if you offer a product or service which is difficult to explain the emails you use for marketing are not likely to be understood or well received by the recipients of your email distribution list. This is important because you want to be able to convince potential customers of the need for the products and services your offer, not make them feel more confused.
Finally, an important concept to consider is the possibility that your email messages will be viewed as spam. This is a very important concept because emails which are viewed as spam are not likely to be well received by the recipients and may not ever even make it to the recipients if their spam filters tag these emails as spam. Even if the emails do reach the intended recipients many Internet users have grown accustomed to weeding out spam rather quickly and will be quick to delete, without reading first, emails which are suspected to be spam. In determining whether or not your emails are likely to be viewed as spam, it is important to consider the subject of your business and therefore the emails you send out. This is important because certain subjects such as weight loss pills are likely to be viewed as spam more quickly than other items. If you are in the business of marketing products or services which would likely cause your emails to be deemed spam, orchestrating an email marketing campaign may not be worthwhile.

B2B Electronic Commerce

Business-to-business marketplaces and exchanges are now big news in the retail industry. Here's information on how B2B works, connects, benefits and collaborates within the retail industry.

About B2B for Retailers
Handy guide to B2B e-commerce, its impact on retail, research, vendors and what's happening in this exploding arena, from About.

Clicks and Mortar
An exclusive interview with Tomax President and CEO, Eric Olafson, discussing his company, their Oracle deal, CRM, the future of retailing and their newest offering RETAIL.net.

Is Retailing Ready for B2B?
About discusses whether or not retail, the ultimate business-to-consumer industry, is ready for the business-to-business boom?

B2B Comes to Retail
Electronic commerce marketplaces for retailers are developing at Internet speed. Find out about B2B from the NRF's STORES Magazine.

B2B Customers Take It Offline
Some business-to-business customers are using B2B exchanges to get prices, but then go offline to buy, find out more from TheStreet.com.

B2B Exchange Directory
Business-to-business vertical and horizontal portals, exchanges, auctions and community marketplaces related to a variety of retail industry business segments.

Benefits
Information and ideas on how the retail industry can benefit from business-to-business electronic commerce looks at the supply chain, economies of scale and other perks from B2B.

Collaboration
Retailing business-to-business e-commerce deals, collaborations, mergers and consolidations.

Processes, technologies, systems background for retailers interested in business-to-business electronic commerce, XML, EDI and legacy system connectivity.

Interconnecting Business-to-Business

The need for supply chains to minimize inventory and reduce cycle times became important a decade ago as retailers like Wal-Mart began automating their supply chains. Using their speedy logistics to support their tremendous growth gave these retailers a distinct advantage.
In using EDI (electronic data interchange) to interconnect their systems with their vendor's systems, retailers have been able to improve response time and increase productivity. However there are areas where EDI falls short and this is where business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce can bridge the gap.
EDI works by interconnecting systems using document-based coupling, which interchanges messages (files) that can be read by the retailers' and suppliers' legacy systems without actually interfacing their applications. Using EDI, a purchase order, an advance shipping notice, or an invoice can be turned into an unique message and transmitted between companies.
Where EDI falls down is in the very document-based messages that allowed for quick response prior to the rise of the Internet. These messages do not allow for interactive searches or collaboration, they are also less immediate than connecting online. Using the Internet allows retailers and their suppliers to connect efficiently in real time with a simple browser. In contrast with the immediate gratification of a browser and Internet connection, the speed of EDI transactions now seems somewhat slow. Considering that business messages have to be created, transmitted, received, and finally processed in order to go full cycle, EDI no longer corners the market on speed.
Unlike EDI, the technology of B2B ecommerce can combine product catalogs and support information, and then link directly into retailers' and suppliers' procurement and ERP systems. XML (extensible markup language), which is heavily used in B2B, can be integrated with existing EDI systems by providing forms that can be completed to generate EDI messages. XML can also reverse the process and take data received via EDI and translate it into a document that can be viewed on a standard Web browser.
Using XML, a vendor's catalog could be married into a retailer's merchandise database. Flipping the XML around, the buyers can order by SKU, style/color/size, or whatever other method they prefer, and have their purchase orders translated into the part number information needed by the vendor. The benefit in allowing users to work in the method that makes the most sense for them is a tremendous advantage to the new technology.
Web-based systems of all flavors will be able to be integrated with various B2B exchanges to allow retailers and their suppliers to vastly increase their productivity and reaction times. In addition to the other benefits of B2B discussed earlier in this series, the Internet will make real time collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) a reality, creating more satisfied consumers and more profitable vendors and retailers.

Is Retailing Ready for Business-to-Business?

Many analysts are predicting that 2000 will explode with Business-to-Business (B2B) developments on the Internet. Is retailing, the ultimate Business-to-Consumer (B2C) industry ready for the coming B2B boom?
Will retailers begin to take full advantage of the ability to connect with both suppliers and customers through the Internet? From their purchases from vendors through their sales to consumers, the Internet appears to be an ideal medium for retailers, one that can expand and adapt to also include their brick-and-mortar stores.
Yet the retail industry has been historically slow to change to new technology. Of course some retailers, led by the giant discounter Wal-Mart, embraced the early form of ecommerce, EDI with gusto. However the majority of retailers still buy many goods with purchase orders transmitted to suppliers via fax. Still even fewer retailers are using the Internet for purchasing than currently use EDI. Is the issue a reluctance among retailers to obtain and use the technology or is it based more on the vendors' lack of Internet B2B capability?
According to a recent study by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) 68 percent of responding manufacturing companies said they're not currently using electronic commerce for business transactions. NAM's president, Jerry Jasinowski said, "no one questions the importance of B2B e-commerce, yet relatively few manufacturers are participating in it."
Jasinowski claims the NAM study shows, "a wide disparity between the recognition by business that the Internet is a vital new form of commerce and the actual application of that knowledge by American industry." Would retailers changing to a more Internet B2B method of conducting business spur more vendors into completing transactions online? Or will the revolution need to be led by the vendors?
Wal-Mart became the retail success story of the 1990's based largely on their strong EDI-fueled logistics. Is the next retail success story going to be the company able to harness the power of the Internet for full circle B2B and B2C transactions?

B2B Exchanges for the Retail Industry

Business-to-business (B2B) vertical and horizontal portals, exchanges, auctions and community marketplaces related to a variety of retail industry business segments including general merchandise, apparel and more.
Cross Category / General MerchandiseVertical B2B sites designed for all retailers across a variety of categories. Includes the major retailer exchanges, such as WorldWide Retail Exchange and GlobalNetXchange, and others that support a variety of retail segements.
Horizontals / Portals A variety of horizontal B2B sites with a variety of services, information, and products needed by retailers.

B2B Becomes Serious Business to Retailers

Retailers are embracing the business-to-business (B2B) boom. A desire to own a stake of an exchange is even prompting collaboration among unlikely partners. Having a stake in the exchange seems to be a turning point for many retailers.
Retailers are joining forces for B2B exchanges now, even if it may take some time to get their marketplaces up and running. Group investments by retail's heavy bats are creating large marketplaces capable of generating a lot of activity very quickly once they are live.
Uninterested in lining their competitor's pockets unless they will be getting a piece of the pie too, the big retailers don't just want to join, they are looking to own a stake in their B2B marketplaces. Lured by the prospect of transaction fees from the activity of B2B marketplaces, most of the major retailers in the U.S. and Europe have already hooked up as equity partners in one of the two largest exchanges announced to date.
Sears' and Carrefour's GlobalNetXchange and the big eleven's WorldWide Retail Exchange, are prompting many retailers from a variety of retail categories come on board. The savings expected from the first few years of the WorldWide Retail Exchange are expected to be approximately $100 million (USD) and to quickly exceed the cost of creating the exchange.
Retailers have jumped on B2B exchanges and created their own because it is in their best interests. Better than participating in a marketplace run by a consortium of vendors or even a neutral third party, being part owner gives the retailers more of a say in the workings and ultimately more cost savings. Collaborating with other retailers can drive vendor prices down. The savings involved has been a crucial point for getting rivals to work together.
The retail industry looking to become more efficient has just finished a cycle of narrowing suppliers. Business-to-business marketplaces can reopen the retail market to vendors who have been shut out over the last decade because they didn't use EDI. Consolidating through an exchange also allows a retailer to work with more vendors without losing the efficiency gained from having less suppliers.
B2B marketplaces have tremendous potential to change the way most buyers do their jobs in both large and smaller companies. It is easy to see a half dozen large retailer led exchanges with smaller retailers belonging to multiple B2B sites while the large retailers stick to the one where they have an equity stake.
In time, we may also see a division in retail B2B sites along category lines, with specialized segments having unique smaller exchanges. While retailers who sell hardware and those that sell childrenswear can both use a site like GlobalNetXchange, that covers a gamut, the smaller retailers may eventually find more personalized service and enjoy collaboration features in B2B marketplaces dedicated to their specialty.
Some head-butting is inevitable as the B2B market grows. Buyer operated exchanges like GlobalNetXchange and WorldWide Retail Exchange are growing placing seller operated exchanges in direct competition. The retail and grocery industry marketplace launched via the Grocery Manufacturers of America brought together fifty of the world's largest food, beverage, and consumer goods manufacturers, suppliers for many of the members of the two large retailer-led exchanges. Of course the manufacturers may be willing to hook up with the retailers' exchanges and vice versa, but this does not have the efficiencies of a single point for all transactions.
The future of business-to-business on the Internet is likely to result in a series of interconnected exchanges. Transactions will take place inside the "home" exchange if possible, then if not, the exchange of the future will likely route through other connected exchanges until the transaction can be completed. Collaboration between exchanges is also likely to become commonplace. Retailer and vendor led marketplaces working together are also less likely to run into the antitrust issues than a collection one or the other would when trying to influence pricing.
Whatever the future, gaining a stake in the marketplace insures the retailer a good seat at the table whatever may happen later on.

Email Marketing Mistakes

Many business owners who opt to try email marketing make the mistake of believing any type of email marketing is beneficial. This is simply not true; there are a number of mistakes business owners can make when they organize an email marketing campaign. Examples of these types of mistakes may include allowing promotional materials to be tagged as spam, not following up with promotional emails, not being prepared for an influx of customers after an email marketing effort and not marketing specifically to the target audience.
We will begin our discussion on email marketing mistakes with spam. Spam is a problem which is reaching endemic proportions. Each day Internet users are bombarded with spam from around the world. This may include a host of unsolicited emails which are promoting products or services the recipients may or may not be interested in purchasing. A critical mistake business owners can make in email marketing is to issue emails which are likely to be construed to be spam. This may result in the emails never reaching the recipient or the emails being deleted, without being read, by the recipient. Avoiding the potential of falling into the spam category is not very difficult. It basically involves ensuring your promotional emails contain more useful copy than blatant advertising. This will make it more likely for your emails to be taken seriously.
Another email marketing mistake often made is failure to follow up on promotional emails. Sending out emails to interested parties can be very beneficial but it is even more beneficial to contact these email recipients by other methods such as mail or telephone to answer any questions they may have and offer any additional information they may require. This type of follow up can be much more effective than simply sending an email and allowing it to fall into the abyss of an overcrowded email inbox.
Business owners may also run into the mistake of not preparing themselves for an influx of customers after an email marketing effort. The express purpose of email marketing is to generate increased interest in your products or services. Therefore it is critical for business owners to anticipate an increase in business and be prepared to accommodate this increased demand for products and services. This is important because potential customers who have to wait for products or services may seek out your competitors who are better prepared to provide them with products or services immediately.
Finally a critical mistake made by business owners is to not tailor an email marketing campaign to their specific target audience. This can be a problem because it may result in the email marketing being less effective. Business owners typically make this mistake because they fall into the trap of believing that it is more important to reach a large audience than it is to reach a target audience. You may blindly send your email marketing materials to millions of recipients and only generate a few leads. However, you could send the same email marketing materials to a smaller group of only a thousand recipients who all have an interest in your products and services and will likely generate more leads from this smaller email distribution list. It is not only important to send your message to members of your target audience but to also tailor your message to suit this audience. Creating an email message which will appeal to a variety of individuals is not as important as creating a message which will appeal to members of your target audience.
You will need an autoresponder system to market with email We reccomend www.Automatic-Responder.com for sending your email.

From Trade.Meritline - Wholelsale Trade Market Dept.

Business Process Outsourcing: A Cheap Alternative to Get the Job Done

Try to imagine that you need a business process to be finished. You hire a professional in your country that charges about a hundred dollars to get the job done. This can prove to be too expensive for your company. What if you can get the job done, with the same quality made by a person with the same qualifications as the person you hired before, to do the particular business process at half the price?
This can prove to be very attractive. However, how can you be able to find this person with the same qualification but charges half the price your professional charges? The answer to this question is to outsource your business process in developing countries full of talented professionals.
Since developing countries have lower minimum salary rates, outsourcing can prove to be a cheaper alternative to do a particular business process that you need. Not only that, if your company is burdened with heavy workloads, outsourcing can help your company ease the burden. This will mean more efficiency and productivity for your company while saving a lot of money in the process.
By outsourcing your business process, you can be sure that you will be able to get the job done at half the price. Developing countries, such as India, China, Philippines, and others can provide cheap labor compared to hiring professionals in the United States.
Outsourcing companies is considered as a major industry in developing countries. Governments of developing countries are welcoming outsourcing companies to provide top quality jobs for their professionals with high paying salary. Although the salary you will give to outsourcing companies in other countries may be considered high, in the United States it will be considered to be very low, the minimum wage in developing countries is far lower than you can imagine.
Outsourcing business processes in other countries will also mean saving a lot of money on company insurance, social security payments and other benefits that you will be required to pay for if you hire a regular employee in your company to do the job.
As you can see, outsourcing your business process' main advantage is providing your company with cheap labor and at the same time quality and professionally done jobs. The bottom line for outsourcing is saving a lot of money for your company.
So, if you are looking for a way to get cheap labor for your company, you can consider looking outside your country for outsourcing companies that can tailor your needs for your company.
However, before hiring a particular outsourcing company, you have to make sure that the quality of their work meets your company standards. Outsourcing companies are now providing ways for you to evaluate their work first before you hire them. Because of this, you can be sure that you will be getting the best outsourcing company to get your business process done.
Outsourcing doesn only provide cheap labor for your company, but it can also ease the burden of heavy workload because of the growing demand for your company services. Through outsourcing, you will be able to increase productivity and efficiency of your company.
However, you should always remember that outsourcing is not for everybody. You have to determine if your company should outsource your business process or not. If you think your company can handle it, you should keep the work in your company. But if it proves to be very burdensome, you should consider outsourcing. So, instead of hiring additional regular employees in your company, you can outsource your business process and save a lot of money.

Business Blogging For Profit

Remember the old ways of keeping in touch with your clients? You usually patch them through telephone; fax machines, direct mail marketing, and even personal meetings.
But now, entrepreneurs are just smart enough to use the existing Internet technology to be regularly updated of the latest trends in business and at the same time keeping in touch with their clients. There is now text and voice chat, exchanges of e-mail, website forums, and others.
One of the most online business innovation ever made is the transformation of the regular blog posting into an online business tool. Before, blogging is just used for showing different thoughts and ideas. Some are just for fun, while others are for promotion of something that others think is beneficial to other Internet users. In other words, it is just a bunch of personal diaries and bulletin board for those people who want to share their knowledge and thoughts to others.
But think again, it is not just for diary writing or whatever. It is now a promotion tool you can use to boost your business. You can set up blogs in your website and have it with an associated RSS feed. In other words, you can constantly keep in touch with your clients and potential customers as well. In addition, you do not have to e-mail them our blogs will be responsible in getting the latest news without actually having to visit your website.
From Regular Blogs to Business Blogs
From regular blogs that you post for nothing, now it is called the business blog that can help you save thousands of dollar and providing you great business opportunity with just one click. Not only it is free to use but also it is user-friendly, can be customized, and can be a flexible medium for circulating useful information for effective positioning of your products in the market.
There are some noted advantages of entrepreneurs who engage in business blogging. Here are some of these advantages:
There are more than hundred thousands of blogs posted in the Internet. Statistics shows that there are currently 14 million blogs posted in the Internet with an estimated 80,000 more being added everyday. In addition, 30 percent of 50 million Internet users are blog readers. Just think of the number of possible audiences you can attract if you will advertise your product through blogs. Through blogs, you allow your clients to post their comments with regards to the product that you are offering. It can be of great help in improving your product through the suggestions that they will be posting. In addition, you can take immediate actions to your client concerns.?Since blogs are quite popular to most Internet users, it can be of easy access to your customers. All they have to do is to access to a blogging community, and they can read your latest product offering. Remember that these customers are just willing to create logosphere of comments regarding your product.
How to make your business blogs as effective as other means of Internet advertising? You can submit your blogs to any blog search sites and directories. It will be a wise move especially if your site is just newly-constructed.
Never forget to paste in your blogs the URL back to your site. Your blogs must contain not only the information with regards to your product but only but also exclusive background information. Remember that your customers do not want to see pure figures hey also want context information.
Business blogs provides you marketing possibilities of your product. Maybe your potential clients are just around the corner waiting for you to post your business blog.

3 Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

To all writers and non-writers out there, now is the time to start digging up those creative writing skills back.With modern communication technology comes the popularity of information-based marketing, which is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to sites and converting them into buyers. This is why article writing, submissions and publications are also getting popular. There are already many tools that people can use to make the process of distributing their articles more easily. Though this is invaluable in getting the contents more exposure, which is only half of the story.Let us take a look first at the common mistakes that some people make before submitting their contents to article directories:1. Confusing the reason to promote the articles with the reason to write them.In article writing, there are three key benefits why you are promoting them; branding, lead generation and promotion, which are all part of your optimization efforts.But there is only one reason why you write an article, and that is to inform your audience. If the article is not focused on this primary and most important purpose, it will fail to achieve the three promotion benefits because no one will be interested in reading them.You need to figure out first how to get people to read what is in your article, then make them click on your resource box. You can achieve this by producing better contents. 2. Failing to maximize the promotional opportunities of article marketing. You may know already that your articles can help you generate additional links back to your site. But do you know that you can get more visitors and better search engine results from that same articles?Mention keywords at strategic places. Just be sure not to overdo them. Some are even using anchor texts which is also an effective method. But it is important to know that majority of the directories are not able to support this. Remember that is not only about the links back to your site. Part of doing well in your article marketing is getting picked up by publishers with a large number of audiences and gaining the ability of leveraging other brands because of the quality of your work. Better search engine results also are great benefits. But these things do not put much money in your pocket. There are other factors that can turn your article marketing efforts into an opportunity that can boost your earnings. Not just increase the number of buyers to your site. Start out with a plan and see to it that your article will serve the function that you intended it to have. 3. Publishing content that does not help your readers.Maybe in the process of writing articles, you are thinking that all that is you wanted is links back to your site. And any visitors it can generate are fine.Guess what? Not all article banks and directories are going to accept your content automatically. Oftentimes, they have some guidelines and specifications on the articles that they are accepting. You can double the number of sites you can submit to by writing articles that the directories want to share with other people. All it takes is one publisher with a hundred thousand readers to increase your potential audience overnight. Write the articles that publishers want in their publications if you want your article marketing to work the most effective way for you. This also means you have to obey the standard guidelines, spell checks, researching on a good topic and even hiring a writer to produce a good content on your behalf.In the end, it is all really a matter of choice on your part. You can start getting a little exposure from increased links back but on a very basic level. Or enjoy massive exposure from a little extra time making quality contents. It will be your choice. You may not be aware of the fact that an article submitted on directories is not meant to have the same level of exposure as highly-targeted content ones geared on a narrow group of people. Learn the difference between these two and it will surely help you know what kinds of articles to write and to submit.
From Trade.Meritline - Market Dept - Wholesale Trade Service Center

How Business-to-Business Works

Unlike retailing, which is mostly a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) industry, B2B deals with working with vendors, distributors, and other businesses. How does Business-to-Business (B2B) work, and especially how does it work for retailers?
There are different types of B2B ecommerce sites that work in various ways and are broken into two major groups: the verticals and horizontals. Verticals are B2B sites designed specifically to meet the needs of a particular industry, such as retail. Vertical sites are the most likely to contain community features like industry news, articles, and discussion groups.
Horizontals provide products, goods, materials, or services that are not specific to a particular industry or company. Horizontals that retailers could use might provide travel, transportation services, office equipment, or maintenance and operating supplies.
Horizontals and verticals can connect buyers and sellers together directly or act as intermediaries who facilitate transactions. There isn't one ubiquitous model for B2B electronic commerce. B2B sites vary from those providing simple lead generation, to complex marketplaces serving a variety of buyers and sellers, to private extranets.
Auctions allow multiple buyers to bid competitively for products from individual suppliers. Auctions can be used to get rid of surplus inventory by item or lot, or excess fixed assets like display fixtures. Since the seller can set a minimum price with prices moving up from the minimum, the sellers can usually get more than a liquidator would pay for the same items. Buyers also have the ability to pick up product and equipment well below list prices.
Reverse auctions, in contrast, allow retailers to post their need for a product or service and then allow vendors to bid on fulfilling the need. Some reverse auction sites aggregate demand from many small buyers providing economy of scale. Small retailers ordering as a group will get a much better deal from a vendor than they could individually.
B2B sites also include catalog aggregators who act as intermediaries between many vendors and retailers. They standardize content by combining catalogs from multiple vendors. Catalog sites generally have fixed pricing, although pricing may be tiered based on the buyer's profile or quantity ordered.
Exchanges are two-sided marketplaces where buyers and suppliers negotiate prices. Frequently utilizing a bid/ask process where prices move up and down depending on the market. Exchanges can be used for new items and supplies, or used to trade excess inventory and fixed assets.
B2B sites can also provide project tracking or collaboration services to their members. Collaboration allows retailers and vendors to work on new products, provide better forecasts, and improve response.
Buyers and sellers can come together on B2B sites openly or by using infomediaries. Infomediaries are third parties that act as agents. They are frequently used to allow the participants to remain anonymous while transacting business. In addition to transaction services, an infomediary could provide advice or research helping retailers make informed buying decisions.
Facilitating B2B ecommerce in yet another way, are the channel enablers who create online marketplaces for existing distribution channels. Channel enablers support both buyers and sellers with B2B ecommerce services that vary from consolidating product information, to managing distribution and payment, to integrating with the members' back-end systems. This last service is a common use of channel enablers in the retail B2B area: translation services to EDI.
The translation service is needed because the underlying technology of B2B ecommerce replaces the current retail ecommerce standard, EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). EDI is less standardized and more costly than Internet based ecommerce, which typically uses XML (eXtensible Markup Language) to allow buyers and sellers to communicate online. Many B2B sites integrate EDI-to-XML transactions enabling trading between large and small companies.
XML provides a flexible way to describe product specifications or attributes. In simple terms, XML is similar in concept to HTML, which allows you to "mark up" language to control how it looks. Unlike HTML however, XML allows you to "mark up" language to describe what it is. Using XML you can label part number, UPC, price, color, size, etc. and the system will know exactly what the tag references without the complicated file structures and proprietary networks required for EDI. The only issue is that XML only works when everyone uses the same tag references, which is why groups are busily working to generate standards.
What do retailers need to know about these standards and how do B2B systems work with their existing legacy systems?

Email Marketing Strategies

Email marketing is becoming extremely popular but this does not mean all business owners know how to run an effective email marketing campaign. However, those who are well versed in the subject of email marketing and have experiencing using popular strategies effectively are likely to gain a huge advantage over their competitors who do not have these skills. This article will provide useful information for business owners who are hoping to improve their sales or website traffic through effective email marketing.
If you do not have a great deal of information about email marketing and do not fully understand the principles involved one of the best ways to orchestrate a truly effective email marketing campaign is to hire a consulting firm with a proven track record in promoting business through email marketing to assist you in your endeavor. Similarly to traditional marketing such as radio, television and print media, the popular strategies governing email marketing are changing constantly. As a business owner you likely already have enough to deal with trying to stay up to date on business practices that you do not have the time, energy or finances to also stay up to date on the latest changes in email marketing.
For this reason it is certainly worthwhile to hire a professional in the email marketing industry who can devote himself full time to keeping up to date with the most effective email marketing strategies and designing an email marketing campaign for our business to help you achieve your business related goals. However, selecting a consultant from the many options available can be downright overwhelming. In general you should look for a consultant who has a great deal of experience, a proven track record, listens to your questions carefully, explains concepts simply and makes your project a priority.
Another popular strategy for email marketing is to offer an email correspondence course on a subject closely related to your website or the products or services you offer. These correspondence courses should include a number of short segments, provide useful information, be of interest to your intended audience and should also help to promote your business in some way. The simplest way to promote your business without having your correspondence course deemed to be spam is to use a soft sell approach to subtly urge readers to make a purchase or visit your website for more information.
Publishing and distributing period e-newsletters is another example of an email marketing strategy which can be highly effective. An e-newsletter is very similar to a newsletter which is printed and distributed by conventional methods such as mail delivery. The bulk of an e-newsletter should be quality content in the form of featured articles, short articles containing useful tips or product reviews. The e-newsletter may also contain graphical elements. These elements may simply be graphic designs or they may be graphics which also serve as links. The links may direct traffic to your website or to other websites. Finally, your e-newsletters should contain some type of soft sell sales approach. It is important to not make the sales pitch blatant as this may result in the e-newsletter being considered spam. Finally, the e-newsletter should contain a call to action urging the readers to either make a purchase or visit your website for more information.
Regardless of the method of email marketing you opt to utilize, one of the most important strategies is to evaluate the effectiveness of your email marketing on a regular basis. This is critical because elements of your email marketing campaign which are not working should be weeded out. Likewise elements of your marketing campaign which are enjoying a high degree of success should be utilized more often. For example if you notice there is a spike in sales or website traffic each time you issue an e-newsletter, it might be worthwhile to begin issuing e-newsletters more often. This type of evaluation and feedback can turn a moderate success into a huge success.
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