The following is a presentation summary from a live presentation given at the Internet Merchants Association. The author is posting it as per request from conference participants.

Creating and Maintaining a Web Site that will Blow Away the Competition

As Presented at the Internet Merchant Association Conference 2010

By Kevin S. Taylor, MBA

Abstract

Whether you are planning your first e-commerce web site or redesigning an existing one, there are many important conventions and standards to consider. Keeping your site up-to-date and current is no small feat.

This article will discuss the ‘must-haves’ for every e-commerce site.  This presentation will help you to generate an Internet and Social Media Marketing plan for your site that will blow away the competition!

Introduction
Building and Maintaining Relationships with Customers
Numerous experts have made it clear that the entire purpose for being in business is to procure new customers and keep existing customers. This information relates to any Internet business; whether the company’s web presence is a full blown e-commerce style website or a more basic brochure-style website.

The profits and growth of a company are all contingent on this one variable. So, whether the business is a brick and mortar retail establishment that wishes to extend its reach into the international market; or, a one-man shop with nothing more than a shingle on the Internet, the primary focus should be procuring new customers and maintaining relationships with existing customers.

A company’s website will be the gateway to its Customer Relationship Management. So, it is imperative to understand how to communicate with your customers the way that the customers want to communicate, rather than the old style of e-commerce where a company would develop an Internet presence and expect miraculous profitability. A clear understanding of this dynamic can position a company’s online presence leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

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Blogging Offers Profitable Results for Small Business Owners

This is part one of the Expert Website Services Social Media Series

By Kevin S. Taylor, MBA

Many small business owners struggle with finding new, innovative ways to increase online exposure and improve their online positioning. The Internet is a dynamic, changing vehicle in which savvy business owners can do very well implementing and managing their own marketing strategies. However, in order to do so, one must continually learn and use the latest technological tools for personal and professional promotion.

The Internet has changed. The way people are doing business has changed dramatically in the last several months. Successful Internet marketers understand and embrace this new paradigm consisting of interactive collaboration. The old-style static websites relying on search engine traffic is essentially passé. Today, online consumers are looking for more content-rich collaboration rather than the older model website that was primarily static. This is what is referred to by some as Web 2.0 and the Social Media Revolution.

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