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The Rise of Alternative Online Businesses

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Online Businesses|The Rise of Alternative Online Businesses The internet has become part of our society in just about every possible way, and it has certainly revolutionized the way we do business. No matter the sector, buying, trading, and selling goes on every day with new companies and products emerging all the time.

The result is an incredibly competitive marketplace which often feels saturated with small, medium, and large organizations vying for visibility.

Surely, then, there is no more room for another online business? Not so. The truth is that there will always be room for more online businesses if there are entrepreneurs coming up with alternative business concepts and innovative services/products.

To inspire you on your journey to starting your own online business, this article explores the alternative ones which have risen to success in recent years.

Cyber Security

The internet is a wonderful entity, but it can also be dangerous if we are not careful. There are cybercriminals and hackers working all the time to try and exploit individuals and organizations by accessing sensitive information. This has brought about a need for cybersecurity professionals who are essentially ethical hackers. A business will ask them to try and hack into their system so that they can identify their weaknesses before a hacker with criminal intent finds them.

Subscription services

In a world where we do a lot of our shopping online, we have replaced the experience of physically visiting a store to buy something and walking out with our new purchases. Instead, we experience a different excitement of clicking a few buttons and waiting for the delivery.

With subscription services, people sign up to receive a box of products through the mail on a monthly or quarterly basis. The products might be items they use all the time like vaping juices from ZampleBox — in which case, the service offers convenience and value for money — or luxury items, product samples, or mystery products.

Dropshipping and affiliate marketing

If you do not have the space to store stock but are interested in retail, a dropshipping business could be perfect. In this scenario, you create a website to sell products, but you do not stock the product. When an order is placed with you, you send this information to another company, either a stockist or manufacturer, who is responsible for storing, packing, and distributing the stock.

With affiliate marketing you create websites, posts on social media, and other digital marketing campaigns which promote another brand’s products or service. When you bring in a sale for the brand, you earn commission.

Influencer marketing

An increasingly popular career path is influencer marketing. People with a substantial social media following are paid to try, wear, review, and recommend products to their audience. Brands will approach influencers whose audience includes their target customers and pay them for their endorsement.

Creating Apps

If you are technologically minded, creating apps and games can be a very lucrative business. When your app is designed you can promote it via blogs, social media, and other digital marketing techniques to encourage people to download the app. Some app creators charge for the initial download, others offer the app for free but then make money via in-game purchases and/or selling advertising space to other brands.

6 Myths about Outsourcing Busted

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Myths about Outsourcing|6 Myths about Outsourcing BustedOutsourcing can often receive a bad rap. In the business world, both big and small, many shun outsourcing due to preconceived notions about what it is and what its outcomes are. The truth of the matter, though, is that many companies are finding great benefits to partnering with external agencies or companies as it helps foster growth and efficiency.

If you’re curious about outsourcing but have been wary about it in the past, the following debunked myths may help you see it in a new light.

Myth #1: It Makes You Lose Control of Your Business

Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about outsourcing is that it makes you lose control of your business. However, this is not the case. Depending on what you need to outsource — whether it’s payroll outsourcing or accounting — most companies uphold high standards to ensure that you are fully in control of your own business. Usually, outsourced individuals will only work on their assigned tasks or area and are not a threat to the running of your business. If you are still worried, though, draw up a set of guidelines when exchanging contracts with the outsourcing provider.

Myth #2: The Company Loses Privacy

Privacy is a big issue, but it needn’t be a worry if you develop the right relationship with your outsourcing provider. While many businesses will not want to share their financial information, it is in the interest of the provider to uphold the security of this data as they will be responsible for it. Their reputation rests on how they handle and manage data, and they are also bound to government data protection regulations.

Myth #3: Its Main Achievement is Cutting on Costs

Outsourcing is not just about cutting costs. While this is, of course, one of the primary benefits, outsourcing also provides additional talent, strategy, skills, and value to a business. Importantly, outsourcing also allows a business to focus on priority areas, rather than drain its energies on tasks such as HR and payroll.

Myth #4: It’s Only Available to Big Businesses

Outsourcing is not limited to the world of big business. Small businesses can benefit greatly from outsourcing through increased efficiency and productivity. Many outsourcing companies provide customized services for smaller businesses, especially, as it can cost much less to hire out services to freelancers.

Myth #5: Outsourcing is Inconvenient if Done Off-Shore

Many businesses believe that outsourcing to other countries will be inconvenient due to the time difference. However, these hours can be worked to your advantage if you learn to collaborate online and assign certain tasks and meetings for specific hours. Also, if a business employs a team in India and a team in the US, for example, the benefit is that productivity will be round the clock and result in faster delivery times.

Myth #6: It Results in Low Quality

Another big concern around outsourcing is that the quality will suffer. As long as you partner with a reputable company and establish good relationships, this shouldn’t be a factor. With proper planning, quality can actually increase with outsourcing. If you’re uncertain, get to know the company first and determine whether their standards are different to your own. Again, outsourcing providers have reputations to uphold, so it’s also not in their best interest to deliver poor quality on behalf of a client.

Outsourcing is becoming increasingly popular as businesses seek to expand and improve efficiency and productivity. If you’re considering this move, but are concerned about the outcome, bear the above information in mind and conduct thorough research into reputable outsourcing providers. Good luck!

Why Are Analytics Important for eCommerce?

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StrategyDriven Organisational Performance Measures Article |why are analytics important |Why Are Analytics Important for eCommerce?It’s easier than ever to start an eCommerce store. Just sign up for a hosting account, and your store will be ready in a few minutes. Unfortunately, it isn’t as easy to get customers.

You’re competing with at least 12 million other online stores on the internet. The good news is you can make use of website analytics to make better choices for your business.

The question is, why are analytics important for eCommerce websites? Keep reading to learn the answer to your question.

Uncover Your Traffic Sources

It isn’t too difficult to figure out where you’re getting traffic from if you only run advertising on one platform. It’s much more difficult if you’re getting search engine and social media traffic.

Analytics software will show you exactly where your traffic comes from. You’ll be able to gauge which websites are showing the best results from your efforts, so you know where to focus your energy.

Group Audience Segments

Not all customer demographics will respond to your products in the same way. People of different ages, sexes, and geographical locations will react differently to your content. Your tracking software can help you figure out which demographics take what action.

This data will help you optimize your website and advertising campaigns. When you create messaging specifically for different demographics, you can speak more to what they want in a product.

StrategyDriven Organizational Performance Measures eBook


Split-Test Pages

You should never be satisfied with your website design. There’s always a test you can do to improve your conversion rate. Unfortunately, this is hard to do without any kind of tracking software.

A heatmap is a tracking script that informs you of what actions your visitors take on individual pages. You can see where they look and where they hover their mouse. Use this information to test small changes to your website to figure out which versions produce the best results.

Track Ad Campaigns

It isn’t enough to get click-throughs on your ads. If you have no method to track what visitors do on your website, you won’t be able to figure out what marketing campaigns are successful.

ECommerce analytics software provides you the ability to set up goal pages. Set a dollar amount for these pages, and you’ll be able to figure out how much money your ad campaigns generate while your campaigns are live.

Learn What Visitors Search For

Your search bar isn’t only there to give your visitors an easy way to find items. It’s also there to help you understand the type of products your visitors are searching for.

Using a tool like Knowi will help you gain insight into the search trends on your website. You’ll be able to see reports detailing search terms and use them to figure out what popular items are and what trends are happening in your industry.

Why Are Analytics Important? Now You Know

Now that you can answer the question, “why are analytics important to online stores?” you’re ready to get started. Sign up for an analytics software package today so you can start tracking the people on your website. The more information you have, the better business decisions you’re going to make.

Do you want more tips for running an eCommerce store? Read our latest articles to discover our newest tips.

How to Choose the Right ERP Software for Your Business

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |erp software|How to Choose the Right ERP Software for Your BusinessERP software made its debut in the ’90s, and in its 30 years in the business world, it has proven its worth. Now it’s no longer a question of if ERP software can help your business, it’s how to find the best ERP software in 2020.

ERP software can be what your business needs to finally make changes that can help you improve and grow. It can be a powerful tool, but it’ll only work if you know how to choose the right software for your business.

Do you want to know to find the best 2020 ERP software? Follow our 4 tips and you’ll be sure to find a powerful software system that can help your business.

1. Consider Current Tech Needs

Do a little digging to see what kind of operating systems and machines people use at work. Be sure to be thorough and check each department, it’s possible that some equipment may be newer or older depending on who is using it.

If you’ve been holding off on making any major changes to your hardware or computing systems, consider making changes before you decided to go with a certain kind of ERP.

Buying software that won’t work with current systems is one of the worst financial mistakes businesses can make. Be safe and make sure you buy something that can work with your current set up.

2. Think About Desired Outcomes

ERP software has been used to improve a variety of business operations. If you want to make sure that you find the right software for your business needs, think about the goals you want the software to help you reach.

ERP software leads can help your business improve sales. Certain ERP programs can help you better manage HR, or even your finance department.

Take some time to talk to different managers and employees to see what they think needs to improve at work. Getting their feedback can make it easier to think about what capabilities your new software needs to have.

3. Don’t Always Go for Customized Options

Nearly every ERP sales representative you’ll talk to will mention all of the ways you can customize their software. Having a completely custom ERP system may seem impressive, but it may not be something your business needs.

Custom ERP software can be more expensive and can also take more time to set up. Troubleshooting completely custom systems can be difficult and more time-consuming.

Unless your business has a very niche need to meet that can only be done with a customized system, it’s okay to go with a turn-key solution you can use right out of the box.

4. Ask for References

You wouldn’t bring on a new employee without solid references. So you shouldn’t use ERP software that lacks great reviews.
When you’re talking to your ERP sales representative be sure to ask for reviews from other clients or case studies. Any ERP software that’s worth using should have plenty of evidence to back up claims.

Also, this is a great opportunity to tap your personal professional network. People in the same industry may have some recommendations for ERP software that helped their business.

ERP Software and More

Finding the right ERP software is simple when you know what to look for. If you follow the tips in this post you’ll be well on your way to finding a software solution that works for your business.

Do you want to learn other ways to improve ROI? We have a lot of helpful content on our site for business owners. Browse the rest of our content to learn more about topics you care about.

Tips to Reduce Insurance Costs for Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | Healthcare | InsuranceAs a business owner, you know that it’s important to protect the business that you have put so much into by having appropriate insurance coverage. However, even though you might appreciate the importance of having various types of insurance to protect your business, you might still be burdened by just how much it costs. Controlling insurance costs is possible in some ways, though, including by following these tips.

Choose the Right Insurance Company

One of the biggest things that will impact the insurance rates at your place of business is the insurance company that you choose. Taking your time to shop around and choose an insurance company that offers the right coverage but that also has affordable rates is very important, so if you haven’t done that lately, you might want to explore different options like Captive Insurance to see if there is a better insurance company out there.

Focus on Health and Wellness

If the health insurance rates that your company is paying are way too high, consider focusing on implementing a health and wellness program for your employees. This can help your employees live healthier and happier lives and may impact insurance costs for your business at the same time.

Focus on Protecting Your Property

You may be counting on your insurance company to protect your building, vehicles and other company property. It’s definitely good to have insurance coverage to protect these things, but taking steps to protect your own property as well can help with preventing theft or other problems and reducing insurance rates. For example, installing GPS systems in company vehicles and installing a security and surveillance system in your commercial building can both help.

Insurance rates can be a big burden for many companies. Don’t get rid of or reduce your insurance coverage because of these costs, though. Instead, look for ways that you can reduce your rates. You can start by trying the tips above, and your insurance agent might even have suggestions that can help, too.