Some of the largest companies are budgeting for social media marketing by taking a more entrepreneurial approach towards spending and funding research. By being conscious of the fact that social media marketing is not without its own price – in spite of the fact that most social media comes freely to users – it helps to understand that the best media experience will be developed by the ones who take the initiative, and spend where necessary to expand brand awareness through social channels.

It’s noteworthy to point out that many of these companies are also not going to tap into paid-media ad budgets, for the sake of bolstering their social media spending. Experts are showing that this kind of reallocation without increasing spending where needed, will lead to stunted growth and reduced performance in both areas.

The desire to continue driving deeper integration between paid and social media has brought about some exciting results for these companies.

Early adopters in social media who funded the projects well were rewarded with an early advantage in areas such as expanding tools, infrastructure, and analytics, that concurrently drive insight in the fields of social network site development and campaign activation.

Another direct benefit comes in the form of much more interesting and dynamic social content that fits into better goals, and brings desired results with far greater accuracy. Some of the responsibilities of these newly-developed departments that handle online marketing through social media can be described as the following:

• Members work towards a goal of driving existing strategy
• Enablement of social media programs become integrated
• Establishment and activation for social media strategies
• Management of the guidelines that have been determined
• Procedures are given processes to enhance governance
• Continued training, education, and reinforcement

In addition, these members are also making sure that social media practitioners all around the company are up to speed and capable of following up on the latest guidelines. One example of this can be demonstrated through the need to represent the fact that they identify with their company or brand at all times, even in the use of their Twitter or Facebook profile names and blogs.

The past two years may have been more about creating the operations and implementation of these social media channels, but the time for focusing upon mere infrastructure may be over. In a connected world, the opportunities in creating scalable models that operate across all platforms – whether they are based on computer language, or human languages – that make room for strategic adjustments, which are able to account for any changes to the way information is expressed on the Internet.

One obstacle that most social media marketers agree upon is the usage of time to apply marketing methods effectively in a social environment. As the biggest predicted challenge of 2011, finding ways to make the process more efficient while maintaining an organic feel, and a two-way dialogue with community members will be what the winners do to stay ahead.

While some U.S. buyers may be intimidated at the thought of importing goods from overseas, ecommerce is booming in countries like China and India as global buyers take advantage of low prices and quality goods.

This article can help you get started if you are thinking of importing products from overseas suppliers. Let’s say you’re going to buy goods from a supplier in China. The first thing to do is to find a reliable supplier you can trust. If you source products on Manufacturer.com, you will run into suppliers who exhibit a Supplier Pass™ icon before their listing. This means the supplier has been verified as genuine and trustworthy by a third-party agency. You can also do your own research on supplier trustworthiness by going to the supplier website, contacting them and asking questions. The next thing you need to know is who is responsible for what in the supplier-buyer responsibilities during the transaction.

Supplier-Buyer Responsibilities

Once you complete a transaction online, the supplier is responsible for packing your order in compliance with standard shipping practices. That means your vendor completes the paperwork necessary to clear the port on that side of the transaction. Most suppliers have shipping agents to ensure that goods are ready for export. The supplier pays the cost to the nearest port, usually trucking it to the harbor.

From there, it is up to the buyer to get it on a ship and arrange for the port of entry on arrival. Once the shipment arrives at the departing port, the buyer is responsible for making further arrangements.

The buyer is responsible for ensuring products can be legally imported into the United States and comply with all U.S. regulations and safety standards. Should products fail to meet U.S. requirements, the shipment will be destroyed at the port, resulting in a loss. Buyers must also clear the goods through U.S. customs and pay duties, taxes and tariffs in the U.S. Moving the shipment from port of arrival to its final destination at your warehouse is also the responsibility of the buyer. There is much to know about importing, especially the importing terms used by international organizations.

Importing Terms

It’s important to know the terms used by the International Chamber of Commerce (Incoterms) and those used by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Incoterms were established by the International Chamber of Commerce to create a standardized way to identify the point when ownership of goods passes from the exporting party to the importing party. These were established in the 1930s and are updated periodically. You can find more information on incoterms at www.iccwbo.org, the International Chamber of Commerce website. As of January 1, 2011, the eighth edition of Incoterms 2010 takes effect. Wikipedia has a good explanation of terms, which range from (EXW), where the seller makes the goods available at his location and the buyer is responsible for all transportation charges from there, to (DDP) where the seller pays for everything including all import fees. There are many variations in terms on this list, so it’s important to be aware of all shipping terms.

Harmonized Tariff Schedule is maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission which applies specific codes to every type of product imported to the U.S., providing tariff rates on imported products. The Harmonized Code system is a global classification used to standardize most of the world’s commodities and is administered by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the U.S.

Importing Goods into the U.S.

The rules for importing products into the U.S. are immutable. Therefore, it’s important to research the products you want to import for eligibility and compliance requirements before completing your transaction.

The U.S. has several different agencies that control importation of goods including the Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Products Safety Commission, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency to name a few. You can get the latest information from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The commerce department has offices in almost every city in the U.S. and its personnel can be very helpful.

You might want to get help from experienced professionals to ensure your documentation is in order and that you are in compliance with all international treaties and trade agreements. You can choose from import agents, inspection companies, freight forwarders or customs brokers.

Import Agents can help in screening suppliers, negotiating pricing, arranging transportation and completing inspections. You might want to hire an import agent in the same geographical area as your supplier to be represented by someone who understands the cultural and economic realities of the country you’re importing from.

Licensed Inspection Companies can advise you from the very beginning of a transaction and represent you in a foreign country by going to your supplier’s facility to oversee the production cycle and inspect packaging for shipment.

Freight Forwarding Companies can handle every aspect of moving your goods from point of origin to final destination. Many have offices throughout the world and can operate on your behalf as local representatives.

Custom Brokers are licensed through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to operate on your behalf in every aspect of clearing your goods through customs, paying the necessary fees and getting the goods released for delivery to your warehouse or showroom. You can locate customs brokers on the CBP website by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking the link for Ports.

Insurance

If you are handling foreign transactions yourself, don’t forget to get insurance to cover your shipment in case of loss or damage. Insurance coverage is usually sold on a warehouse-to-warehouse basis. You can buy insurance on a per-shipment basis or you can buy blanket insurance. Whether you ship by sea or air, there is an insurance policy you can get to protect your goods while in transit. If you work with a freight forwarder, you will be covered by that company’s insurance policy and the cost is rolled into your overall fee.

Conclusion

There is a lot to know about importing goods from overseas suppliers into the U.S. This article reviewed the basics and also provided resources for hiring professionals to help with documentation and compliance issues.

In a $12 billion industry, there certainly is a lot of opportunity to go around for those who are willing to do the legwork. While many in the business regard this as merely another chance to see and be seen, it’s actually much more important that that, with dealers and buyers coming from around the globe to make comparisons and exchange ideas that will lead to the decisions that affect tomorrow’s marketplace.

SPREE, the Specialty Retail Entrepreneur Expo & Conference is the world’s largest event for the $12 billion specialty retail industry, and there are few reasons to miss the event dates, especially with advance notice giving roughly five months notice.

Whether attendees are wholesalers, a retailers, or prospective entrepreneurs looking for the newest concepts, locations or services to start or grow their specialty retail business, SPREE is designed with all of these individuals in mind. Visitors should be sure to come for the new products showcased in the exhibit hall, the educational seminar program, and the opportunity to conduct business and develop ongoing relationships, in a fun and entertaining atmosphere that highlights the full range of social events, as well as all of the excitement of Las Vegas.

Calendars should be marked well in advance for the SPREE 2011 show, which will be held on April 12-14, 2011 at The Sands Expo Center at the Venetian in Las Vegas, NV. In order to make this accessible and useful for everyone, admission to the exhibit hall, seminar sessions, and SPREE social events is FREE with pre-registration.

SPREE exhibitors represent the specialty retail industry’s leading manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers, artisans,

as well as companies offering turnkey concepts, property managers, developers, and

various other service providers.

• Selling to first-time buyers and other eager entrepreneurs
• Turning both prospects and clients into repeat customers
• Meeting leasing managers who act as an extended sales force
• Signing and closing deals that will bring in much more profit
• The convenience of receiving a FREE Virtual SPREE booth
• Networking with the key players that make up specialty retail
• Having fun in Las Vegas with peers at SPREE social events

As a $12 billion industry, the specialty retail continues to thrive and grow into international markets all over the world. In addition, by attending and exhibiting at SPREE is an outstanding opportunity to learn about the industry and meet all the key players that can help anyone begin their journey as a specialty retail entrepreneur. Retailers can find all the new and exciting products that are needed to get started and gain FREE business information at SPREE educational seminars. As an exhibitor, SPREE is the only place to expose a company, product, or service to the world’s largest gathering of specialty retail professionals. At these networking events, it’s possible to meet and mingle with specialty retail executives, including leasing managers and generate leads and deals for future business relationships.

The National Retail Federation released its Thanksgiving weekend survey  results, and according to the retail trade group, 212 million shoppers went to stores over the four-day Black Friday weekend. The number of shoppers was up from 195 million during the same period in 2009.

The amount of money people spent also went up with the average shopper spending $365.34 this past weekend, compared to last year’s $343.31. Total spending came to an estimated $45.0 billion.

Black Friday seems to get earlier every year as retailers opened their doors earlier than ever this year, and shoppers turned out in numbers. According to the NRF survey, the number of shoppers that began their Black Friday shopping at midnight tripled this year from 3.3 percent in 2009 to 9.5 percent in 2010. By 4 a.m. almost one-fourth (24.0%) of Black Friday shoppers were already shopping in stores.

The Thanksgiving Day openings also provided an advantage for retailers. The number of people shopping on the holiday ─ both online and in stores ─ more than doubled over the past five years (from 10.3 million in 2005 to 22.3 million in 2010).

Shoppers were in the mood to purchase more discretionary gifts this year. The number of people purchasing jewelry over the Black Friday weekend increased from 11.7 percent last year to 14.3 percent this year. More people purchased gift cards, toys, books and electronic entertainment this year as well.

Onward to Cyber Monday.

Televisions were amongst the biggest items for sale during Thanksgiving, giving retailers in the electronics business a leg up on hitting solid numbers for the year. Big box giants Wal-Mart and Best Buy both put items like Panasonic’ 50-inch HD on sale, with Sears also getting serious about savings with a $1,000 dollar door-buster.

On the lower end of he price spectrum, Target offered some of the most talked-about deals in retail, with items like bath robes and other house wares priced at holiday levels.

In the virtual shopping landscape, and on desktops and laptops across the country, Thanksgiving global retail Internet traffic for 270 top global retail websites was hitting rates of well over 1 million page views per minute, compared to just under the million mark at the same time last year, according to Internet services provider Akamai Technologies Inc.’s Retail Net Usage Index.

It’s all part of a phenomenon that is quickly becoming known as “Grey Friday,” a progression from the usual Black Friday kickoff to the sales season.

With consumer spending weaker than usual in the last two years, retailers and other sellers have had to adapt and change their game plan to better suit a new breed of shopper who looks for deals with greater care in the selection process. There have also been many innovations and updates in the way marketing is handled as well.

While it may signal the end of a long-time holiday tradition, the mood amongst retailers is upbeat, as most comments made to reporters and journalists were largely in favor of extending hours and spreading the sales out over a longer period of time, rather than making a chaotic scene during shorter, more intense moments with customers literally fighting for the best deals in town.

Big chains like Sears and Toys R Us have joined Wal-Mart and Kmart in offering Thanksgiving Day hours. To keep the momentum going past Friday, many retailers will offer fresh discounts Saturday and Sunday.

Numbers reveal that consumer spending at the nation’s retailers has been generally healthy all year. Economists are predicting the best holiday season since 2006 and are estimating a year-over-year retail sales increase of 2.3% to 3.5% this time around.

Still, retailers aren’t taking any chances this year. Most Wal-Mart stores will host midnight events, handing out a variety of treats such as breakfast bars, chocolates, and other goodies, to help keep overnight shoppers from feeling the burn as fatigue kicks in. Target will also open at 4am, which is an hour earlier than last year, and the company will be offering more door-buster deals than ever before. Wholesale and retail supercenter Kohl’s is also hedging its bets with a strategy that includes its earliest-ever opening, that will bring shoppers in at 3am to be first in the checkout line.

With an impressive list of sponsors, this event will set the tone for what retailers and wholesalers who source from China and other parts of the world expect to see, as global trade and supply chain management continue to provide the most pressing questions in business today.

On Thursday Dec. 9th, 2010, ChinaMart Los Angeles, 1st PMF Bancorp, and Manufacturer.com will be hosting this incredibly important preview into the next wave of trade finance and industry practices, as the final seminar of the year at the ChinaMart Los Angeles Conference Center.

Two special speakers will be giving their thoughts and observations on the key issues that most members of the global trade community are asking:

Dr. Young, Professor of Global Economics at Pepperdine University, will be acting as the keynote speaker. He will also be presenting a Summary of the Chinese and US Economies in 2010 and focus on areas that shaped the year.

Stephen Perl, CEO of ChinaMart Los Angeles, will be delivering a hard-hitting presentation on how Chinese and US companies, and their various trade and sales channels, have evolved as a result of the two rapidly-changing and extensively interconnected economies.

For those attending, the Seminar Agenda is as follows:

• 7:30-815am     Breakfast and Networking
• 8:15-8:30am    Introductions
• 8:30-9:15am    Dr. Terry Young
• 9:15-9:45am    Stephen M. Perl, CEO ChinaMart
• 9:45-10:00am  Closing questions / meetings

The event will be held on Thursday Dec. 9th, 2010 t the ChinaMart Los Angeles location, which is at 5250 W. Los Angeles, CA 90045. For attendees, breakfast will be included, and parking is $6.00 per vehicle. RSVP is required.

For details and additional information, attendees can contact Cynthia Liu[cynthia@chinamartusa.com] at the ChinaMart Los Angeles offices.

Some background on the featured speakers at the event:

Dr. Terry Young, PhD is a seasoned professor and economist and has over 18 years of business experience in Asia and the United States.  She has published numerous articles and has regularly presented papers at professional meetings and seminars.  She has extensive knowledge of the global marketplace, with a primary emphasis on Asia.  Her consulting expertise encompasses global sourcing, business start-ups, and management in many industries, including food distribution, textile/garment, agriculture, and electronics.  She is experienced in the areas of US, European, Latin American, and Asian economies.  Dr. Young is thoroughly versed in the area of international economics.   In 2004, she served as the Interim Associate Dean for Academic Programs.   She also serves as the Director of Global Programs at the Graziadio School of Business and Management.

Mr. Stephen M. Perl, MBA, MS is the CEO of 1st PMF Bancorp (“PMF” www.PMFbancorp.com ), a privately held US commercial bank lender specializing in trade financing and the CEO of ChinaMart™ Los Angeles in the US (“CMLA” www.ChinaMartUSA.com ), a platform assisting Chinese Companies to invest / open the US Market. For 16 years, Mr. Perl has successfully grown 1st PMF Bancorp’s lending portfolio to one of the largest private short-term business lenders in the US Mr. Perl is also the founder of ChinaMart(TM) . ChinaMart is the first non-government platform supporting Chinese and US trade in the US Mr. Perl has designed PMF to provide global financing and credit services support for its Chinese and US Clients in its global platform. Mr. Perl established PMF’s presence in China in 2004 as the first private US lender in China and has successfully opened PMF’s branch network of offices for PMF and ChinaMart throughout China. Mr. Perl actively serves on the board on the County of Los Angeles Board of Governors and the City of Los Angeles Economic Advisory Board. Mr. Perl is a Director on the Board of the Commercial Finance Association in the United States and former Board Member of the International Factoring Association. Mr. Perl was also award an Honorary title of Professor of Finance for the GuangDong Financial University, in Guangzhou, China.

Dropshipping is a viable ecommerce strategy for small online retailers and mail order merchants because it eliminates the need to buy and store inventory as well as the hassles of shipping out merchandise.

If you can find a manufacturer, importer or wholesaler you can trust that will dropship your orders, there are numerous benefits for the small merchant.

• Low overhead
• Higher profit margins than affiliate programs
• No need for inventory storage space
• No shipping duties

The small merchant who uses dropshipping can spend more time, resources and energy on his or her core business and expanding the customer base. Dropshipping works in the following manner:

• Advertise specific products
• Take orders for those products
• Receive payment for the products
• Send the order along with the cost of goods and shipping to the dropshipper (manufacturer, importer or wholesaler)
• The dropshipper ships the product directly to your customer

While this is a very successful business model, there are pitfalls you need to avoid. If you unknowingly contract with an unreliable company or a scam artist, your reputation, profit margin, and entire business could be destroyed. Below are some tips for getting started.

• Research the dropshipper’s reputation with the Better Business Bureau in their area. Ask how long they’ve been in business and whether there are any consumer complaints. If so, ask if the complaint was resolved and how.
• Contact potential dropshippers and ask how fast they fulfill and ship orders. Ask if tracking numbers are available. This is important because if an item does not arrive, you will need to be able to track the purchase to ensure it was shipped. If your customers do not receive their order, they will expect restitution from you.
• Ask potential dropshippers about their drop shipping policies, including charges, length of time for delivery, return polices, and backordering procedure.
• When you sell products through dropshipping, the merchandise you sell is not in your possession. Your customers should know this. Tell your customers their products will be shipped directly from your supplier.
• Delivery time is important. Let your buyers know their order is being shipped directly from the supplier and may require more time for delivery. Get estimated delivery dates from your dropshipper and provide that information to your buyers at the point of sale.
• If a problem should arise during the course of shipment, or if a shipment is delayed, promptly notify the buyer. Keeping your customers well-informed and answering questions about their orders will promote repeat business.
• Be wary of a dropshipper that requires payment to access their product line. A legitimate dropshipper should not charge to set up an account.
• You do not need a minimum order when ordering from a dropshippng firm. While it’s normal to get a discount for ordering large quantities, the dropshipper should accommodate any order size from 1 to 100.
• It’s a good idea shop around for the best deal and to do business with more than one dropshipper.
• When trying a new dropshipper, order a few test items for yourself to ensure the company offers quality products, is reliable and accurately fills orders.
• Beware of dropshipping scams, start slow and build up to larger orders as you become comfortable with a new dropshipper.
• Don’t buy lists of dropshippers, they usually contain our-of-date or false information.
• When you contract with a dropshipper, be sure to get it in writing that the manufacturer, importer or wholesaler will not market to your customers.

Dropshipping can be a good business model for small merchants who want to spend more time and energy on their core business and expand their customer base. There are many benefits as well as pitfalls. Just do your research and start slow. If you test the waters and follow the advice above, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t succeed.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is all about managing the relationships that businesses have with their customers. This includes potential customers as well, and perhaps plays an important role in bringing retention numbers up into goals that make a huge difference in the long run.

CRM often combines various business processes, people on the back end and front end, and technology to achieve the single most important goal of getting and keeping satisfied customers, and narrowing the gap between those who don’t repeat business and add to predictable outcomes for these companies.

The overall strategy hinges upon learning more about valued customers and their behavior so that more meaningful, and lasting relationships will continue to provide a number of benefits to both parties. In truth, it’s not likely that a successful enterprise can continue to develop momentum, without a strong CRM infrastructure to keep things on the right track.

CRMBoost is one of the top companies in the industry that delivers services which are well suited for those in the wholesale or retail industry. It’s never been easier to keep in touch with a client, especially when records keep sales and customer service personnel informed of critical information like when a conversation last took place, what was said, what was offered, and what was agreed upon.

Some of the most valuable features of CRMBoost are broken down below:

• Sales Lead Management
• Contact Manager
• Account Manager
• Opportunity Tracking
• Customer Quotes and Proposals
• Support Case Management
• Email Marketing Campaigns
• Dashboard Views
• Document Storage
• Calendar, Tasks, and Reminders
• Group Management
• Multi-Language Interface
• Products Management
• SMS Text Notifications

In addition to providing a platform for efficient and effective record keeping for tracking customer activity, CRMBoost also brings the latest technology into play with seamless and intelligent features that make sharing portions of important content a breeze.

“ Getting on the cloud,” for true cloud computing without compromises, is made possible by a service that is web-based, which means users will never need anything other than a standard Internet browser to access crucial information. A powerful array of online on-demand tools will also allow users to track leads, contacts, products, deals, even vendors and purchase orders. This reduces costs that can be overbearing, by eliminating the need for software, hardware, and IT personnel.

In addition, CRMBoost also offers a Quick Connect add-on feature for popular ERP’s and accounting software including Quickbooks. Customization is available to fit any industry and any need.

There is no easy way to begin establishing trade with foreign partners, but it isn’t really that difficult either. Here are ten items that will aid the beginner in becoming more knowledgeable about the key points to consider, when thinking about extending their reach with international trade:

It helps to start on a small scale.

Some businesses make the mistake of going for too much at first, and sinking everything they’re worth into a venture that goes sideways. The smart thing to do is to find trade partners that will allow trade on a smaller scale, so that everyone can become familiar with the rules of the game before playing for keeps.

Get educated about trade topics and procedures.

Some might recommend attending local college classes and professional seminars to gain valuable insights about how trade works. While they are sometimes time-consuming and slightly complicated in the beginning, many functions in the industry repeat themselves time after time as trade is done, so the learning curve is not altogether a long one.

Find others with the same motives.

International trade is gaining more appeal with every month that falls off the calendar, and it is becoming easier to find others who are thinking of doing the same thing. While many factors contribute to both the availability and quality of groups and trade organizations in any particular area, there are resources in virtually all major cities with organized support systems for wholesale in place. Joining these groups can be a real time-saver, when it comes to questions and common pitfalls to avoid for the newest players.

Personally visit offshore suppliers.

While this is not always the most convenient thing to do, it’s certainly one of the best. Nothing replaces old-fashioned “face time” with prospective trade partners, especially in countries that remain loyal to traditional culture and customs. It’s also a great way to see what their competition is doing, too… and may lead to unexpected discoveries along the way!

Visit trade shows.

This is of paramount importance, especially for the smaller businesses that can’t afford to make a lengthy and expensive journey into unknown parts of the world, but don’t want to miss out on opportunities as they come. Trade shows have endless resources that are not found in many other platforms, and once again, the time spent in front of another person will yield far more than simply reaching out to someone via email or even by telephone.

Hire an international trade consultant.

If necessary, a trade consultant will bring experience and contacts to the table. It’s very important to choose the right one, however. While the dangers of running into a con man are very real , the greater danger is unknowingly hiring a trade consultant that isn’t really the right fit for what’s being done, and wasting time and money on legitimate services that would have benefited someone else much more.

Online resources.

With so much information available on the Internet, it’s almost pure folly to ignore them. Vertical sites that specialize in delivering high-quality content are absolutely essential in bringing the buyer and seller community together, and unbeatable for providing a buyer and seller networking platform that spans thousands of miles to bring people together.

Be aware of all money changing hands.

This is a basic, and perhaps even surprising item to consider. However, the number of business owners who simply lose track of where their money is going can be alarming. Every company and business operator has a duty to keep due diligence on the top of the list because it not only provides greater security to the individual, but greater security for all in the long run.

Inspection of merchandise before shipping.

Again, this will not be possible or convenient for smaller operators who can’t make the trip to another country to oversee every item. However, finding a trusted agent to be the eyes and ears of the company could be one of the most valuable assets to anyone in the international trade game.

Use a trade lawyer for agent and distributor agreements and licensing requirements.

Finally, a great measure of security can be found by hiring a reputable trade lawyer to make sure all transactions and processes are within legal protection. It may not be cheap, but a lawyer can make the difference for businesses who trade in high-ticket items, or volume wholesalers who are buying containers of goods that represent large investments in whole.

Following and becoming familiar with these ten action items will certainly put any business owner in a position of better understanding, and enjoying greater security, when making the leap to international trade.

Mobile marketing is a must for retail advertisers this holiday season. The Mobile Marketing Association reports that 59 percent of mobile phone users plan to use their devices for holiday shopping, and one-third of those say they plan to use mobile to locate stores or get directions.

• 32% will use mobile devices to compare prices
• 30% will use mobile to find gift ideas
• 13% plan to purchase gifts using their mobile phones

As you prepare for your holiday mobile marketing campaigns, there is much to know when creating mobile landing pages. Holiday shoppers don’t have time for slow pages or to scroll down to ensure they have the right page. Below are some tips for optimizing your landing pages to please mobile shoppers.

Fast Loading Pages. Slow loading landing pages are the bane of the mobile web. Pages should be clean and load quickly. Even with your 3G network, mobile download speed leaves a lot to be desired. So don’t use tons of images or bloated HTML on your mobile pages because this can add seconds to page download time, and mobile shoppers won’t wait because they pay for usage and don’t want to run up their bill just to visit your website.

Simple Navigation. Keep it simple with your logo and your most important links (3 to 5). Keep navigation consistent across all pages.

Intuitive Links. Clearly label links and make them intuitive. Don’t say “click here” on anchor text.

Search Box. Give your search box prominent placement and provide relevant results that load fast.

Call to Action. Provide brief, clear calls to action like Add to cart, Click to call, Share with friends, etc.

Short URLs. Shorten your URLs to fewer than 40 characters and use keywords that are not too long.

Page Titles. Search engines will display only the first 45 characters of your titles, truncating the rest. Start titles with your brand, followed by the category or product name.

Outbound Links. Ensure that links from your landing page take users to a page that is relevant to their query, and this page should be mobile friendly.

Images. Don’t use graphics for spacing. Keep product thumbnails down to 110 pixels wide. Use alt attributes to help users navigate when thumbnails are slow loading.

Online Forms. Smartphone users type with their thumbs. Avoid the need for texting on forms by providing options to select from a menu.

Tables. Don’t use tables in your layout; some devices do not support them.

Error Message. URL typos happen. Be kind to your users by using custom 404 pages.

Tracking. Use custom toll free lines for mobile users to place orders.

Summary

With 59 percent of mobile phone users planning to use their devices for holiday shopping, it’s imperative to create consumer-friendly landing pages that provide links to relevant information. Keep in mind that consumers will be using their phones to compare prices, find gift ideas and make online purchases. Make your mobile site fast loading, convenient and easy to use.

With peers being identified as the most influential source for new trends in the world of teenage girls, it should be noted that the social element in the entire shopping experience plays a strong part in pulling transactional dollars into desired channels.

As an important and strong source of guidance in a girl’s overall teenage experience, friends and peers play an important role. Studies show that they consistently rank highest as respondents for advice about things like buying apparel and selecting cosmetics. Friends and peers also play a very influential role in delivering new information about trends and styles that emerge within the demographic. Purchase decisions are largely steered by this input, and this makes following the stream of information a key to succeeding in the teen market today.

Teenage girls also had a surprising effect on the buying decisions of other family members as well, for items as varied as books and food choices.

The need for marketers to gain the trust and acceptance of the teen market is of utmost importance, if growth trends are to be expected. The need for a strong presence on social sites like Facebook and YouTube are echoed by the research that turns up figures relating to consumer behavior that is a result of teenage girls acting as brand advocates.

Texting and entertainment like movies and listening to music take a large portion of the typical teenage girl’s daily life, but research shows that the same girls are spending an average of two hours on the Internet every day as well. Groups aged 13 to 18 are the most likely to exceed the two-hour time, getting closer to three or even four.

The drive for better marketing shouldn’t lead to a push, however; as teen markets are notoriously turned off by pushy campaigns and any brand strategy that makes them feel like they are being treated as children.

Michael Chessner, a graduate exchange student at ZheDa University in China states that  “One very active area for teenage girls who spend a lot of time on sites like YouTube is the small percentage who are leaving video blogs or posting updates to their own style guides. Marketers who can access and gain the trust of these micro-marketing channels have the potential to tap into a very rich resource, given the proper management and encouragement.” Michael added “I mean, I’ve seen some posts that girls are putting up, and they are pretty polished and professional looking already. A little advertising budget in the right direction will make a world of difference.”

In short, knowing what the customer knows (or perhaps should know) will keep everyone on the same page. It will also create a sense of trust in the buyer community.

Shopping online has indeed become a very popular and preferred method of avoiding holiday sales crowds for many consumers, but it’s also become a very enticing place for fraud criminals to zero in their sites, as the numbers of shoppers on the web grow rapidly year after year.

In the past, it might have been okay to just blindly click on sites, and even to refer to the first search engine that was available for browsing. These days, looking for a particular item is often best accomplished by going to a well-known price-comparison site such as PriceGrabber.com or Dealio.com for reputable price reporting. If searching and verifying wholesalers and suppliers are the desired search results, then a vertical search engine and trade platform would be an even wiser choice.

In addition, looking for security labels such as VeriSign and Cybertrust, or being sure to check for the “https://” prefix to appear in the URL is recommended, especially on pages that prompt a visitor to enter personal information.

Reminding shoppers to maintain records and check account histories frequently will help to prevent unwanted incidents. Prompting customers to use one particular account for online purchases will make it easier to track down fraud, too.

The old adage of “too good to be true” deals is still very much alive and well these days, and making sure that customers are aware of the boundaries will help to keep the Internet retail and sales community from suffering undue negative reputations. Shoppers should be cautioned from buying into scams that over-promise and under-deliver.

Recently, there has been a lot of attention put towards shopping from public Wi-Fi connections. This is a practice that can’t be stopped, since it also represents the ultimate in convenience for shoppers using their handheld devices and smartphones for making purchases, but it should become a regular practice to offer secure channels and encrypted access points for them to securely make their purchase decisions, while giving the overall image of online sales a boost.

Paying with money transfers and wire payments may not be the way to go, say experts in the fraud management services departments of major online enterprises. A sale made with a credit card will offer a great deal more security than a wire transfer, since disputes can be backed up with records of all transactions through a bank or credit agency. Wire transfers are a sure way to invite fraud, and eventually burn enough customers to make selling without credit card options a problem.

Finally, the rise of email-based marketing has been a real boon to many enterprises that sincerely want to reach out to their customers and prospects with messages that offer value and legitimate services, but many of these have been turned to scams in recent years. Encouraging consumers to avoid following email links that are unsolicited or unrecognized is a good practice, as it will help limit the activity on fraudulent sites as customers become more aware, through the efforts of responsible retailers and other sellers who want to keep things safe for everyone.

Ecommerce is growing exponentially in China. Internet services offered by portals like Baidu, Sina, Sohu, Alibaba and NetEase have encouraged Chinese consumers to buy more products and services online by offering value and convenience. As a result, ecommerce has increased tremendously over the last few years. The China Market Research Group estimated a 90 percent growth in ecommerce in China from 2009 to 2010.

China is the world’s most populous country. While the number of Internet users in China increased 28.9 percent in 2009 to 384 million users, it is up to 420 million users today. That’s more than the number of people in the United States.

With an online population approaching 500 million users, China’s Internet players are becoming more and more innovative with new ways to monetize their products and services. This is a departure from the early days when they merely followed U.S. Internet firms.

The top Chinese firms are maturing rapidly and moving toward two major trends: innovation and e-business. Chinese companies started by adapting Western models to Chinese tastes. That’s how Baidu beat Google in China and Taobao beat eBay – they took what works in the U.S. and adapted it for local regulatory and consumer preferences. However, in the last few years, more and more Chinese companies have been launching entirely new formats.

One such company is Kaixin001, launched in 2009 as a Facebook-clone social networking and gaming site. The first game it launched allowed users to literally “buy” new friends. Now it launches a new game every two to three months and remains very popular. It has photo uploading, blogging, music sharing and is especially popular with young Chinese Internet users.

Much of China’s ecommerce growth is being driven by younger buyers. The China Market Research Group found that users in China between the ages of 13 and 28 spend 20 hours a week online on average. This compares to 12 hours a week for young buyers in the U.S.

Ecommerce is fast becoming the preferred way to shop in China. One reason for the growth of online shopping is the fact that China has more Internet and mobile phone users than any place else in the world. While Chinese merchants have traditionally relied on sales from brick-and-mortar retail stores, the tide is turning with the increased use of online payment options such as credit cards and Alipay. As a result, ecommerce is on the rise and flourishing in China.

Another reason for the popularity of ecommerce in China is the ready availability of new and exciting products in the far-flung provinces and provincial areas of China where there are few big-city stores. Consumers in China’s third and fourth tier cities – places like Hohot, Fuzhou, Nanchang, Cixi and Chaozhou – have access to the same products and brands available in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou by shopping online.  Known as the ecommerce center of China, Hangzhou is located on Southeastern coast of China and is the capital of Zhejiang Province. It is sometimes called Paradise on Earth, Home of Silk or Town of Fish and Rice.

To meet consumer demand, wholesalers and merchants must rely on new Internet strategies. Therefore, China’s wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers are developing tactics for generating online sales, branding their companies, and knowing how to fulfill the needs of buyers and consumers online. These tactics include managing customer service expectations, promoting trust factors, managing supply chain dynamics, displaying product selections and making customer satisfaction a priority in order to gain new customers and encourage repeat business from existing customers.

A few years ago, analysts said Chinese consumers were not interested in ecommerce because of payment problems and lack of trust. Consumers had trust issues about fake goods and products that broke easily. Since then, marketers have helped consumers feel more comfortable shopping online with better customer service and by offering payment systems that do not release payment until after the buyer receives the goods.

Wholesale portals have made global buyers feel more confident in purchasing goods online from overseas vendors by listing suppliers that are pre-certified by a third-party agency as genuine and trustworthy.

For instance, a buyer sourcing furniture on Manufacturer.com would would find at least three suppliers certified as Supplier Pass™ vendors by 1st PMF Bancorp as shown below. These suppliers passed a company background test to earn a Gold Shield listing. This can help foreign buyers feel more confident in trading with an unknown supplier.

As a result of fostering trust in online sales, ecommerce sales in China rose to $36.6 billion (3.6 trillion yuan) in 2009 and reached $331 billion (2.25 trillion yuan) in the first half of 2010.

Make no mistake, ecommerce is booming in China. And Chinese Internet players are coming up with new ways to monetize their products and services hoping to dominate world markets in years to come.

If you have a large wholesale, manufacturing or retail website, you can attract more traffic and search visibility by building a Business Answers community within your site. Answers communities are gaining in popularity, having evolved from message boards, discussion lists forums and social networking communities.

Social Networking Communities on the Web

Message Boards and Discussion Lists were early precursors to Social Networking. Business executives used these tools for discussing and solving business issues in the 1990s. Eventually, they evolved into Industry Forums for discussions and announcements. In 2001, Internet communities like Friendster and Orkut were started and quickly became popular. These social networks gave users with common interests of any kind a way to interact and share information. Social networking became a phenomenon with MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, which are used for communicating on everything from business and politics to friends and family.

Business Networking

The latest way to discuss and solve business issues and get information quickly is by asking questions on a reputable community Business Answers site where “experts” provide answers.

Industry forums run by a moderator were popular for discussing business issues over the years, and some forums even charged for access. Forums are structured as topics and posts rather than questions and answers. They aren’t as popular today, perhaps because users must wade through a lot of irrelevant posts to find needed information.

A more expedient solution to getting an answer to a business question quickly is to post a query on a Business Answers community where experts provide the answer. These communities offer free access to users who either post or answer questions. One example of an answers community is Business.com Answers, where users can find a broad range of questions and answers on all aspects of business.

Another answers community is TopTenWholesale Answers, which is dedicated to the wholesale B2B industry and covers a narrower range of questions specific to wholesale/retail trade issues.

More Visibility, an Internet marketing services company, provides answers to users via its newsletter where an “Ask the Expert” question is provided each month with a link to its site for the answer.

Branding and Creating New Business

An Answers Community is an excellent vehicle for branding and creating new business. Wholesalers and manufacturers, for instance, can answer the many questions retailers have about their products, shipping, exporting and the like. This would bring traffic to their sites and possibly more business as their customers realize this company is an expert in the field because they excel at answering complex questions or easy questions on the fly.

Experts Respond to Questions for Recognition and Traffic

An answers community won’t have difficulty producing experts ready to respond to business questions because the experts know their participation brings the opportunity of getting a steady stream of traffic to their own site as a result of answering complex questions and being considered an industry expert. The answers site usually lists the Top Experts along with the number of points they have earned. The expert’s name links to a page showing the question and answer, in addition to the expert’s photo, business information and a link to their site, generating traffic and conversions.

Answers websites are more effective than forums because the communities are live, dynamic and responsive. They also connect to social media sites. More and more companies and executives are taking the time to share knowledge from remote corners of the universe, making answers communities visible to search engine spiders and thus helpful for gaining SERP visibility.

Starting Your Own Business Answers Community

There are many issues to consider when developing an answers community. For instance, you can start planning as follows:

• Define a clear area of business need on which to start an answers community
• Get management buy-in and solicit management involvement
• Define clear goals and set metrics for monitoring site performance
• Allocate a budget and support resources for setting up your community
• Build a team of committed experts ready to answer questions within your staff
• Acknowledge contributions by using a point system or some type of reward
• Be prepared to adjust the way your answers community works based on what you learn

Finding a Place Your Community

You can develop your answers community under its own URL, develop it as part of your existing website, or develop a community on existing social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Having it on your own site might be more advantageous as you can still reach out to your target audience on Twitter and Facebook, extending your exposure.

Building Your Audience

You can’t expect users to automatically come to your community from the get-go; you’ll need to publicize it in advance to entice members to join your community. Conduct all the advertising and promotion tactics necessary when launching a new site. This can be done with email marketing, public relations, search advertising, blogger support, and by posting house ads throughout your site. Encourage your staff to participate and offer them incentives. If you’ve defined your goals and set metrics for performance, it shouldn’t take long before you start seeing results.

An even more surprising number of businesses express doubt that they will be engaging a global market in the next few years. Businesses who responded to industry surveys have also demonstrated a general loss of profits, due to inconclusive searches for customers in their part of the world. The bottom line: With so many opportunities to extend their reach beyond saturated local markets, the reasons for not going global are becoming harder to accept every year.

Research from small business e-commerce companies have revealed that owners and managers of small, medium, and start-up companies are missing a vital opportunity. The worst news is that it’s in a perceived effort to reduce operating costs, and perhaps even drive revenue which they hope will safeguard them against unpredictable financial instances in their region of the world.

To make the situation even more ironic, many managers and owners of small businesses truly believe that they lack the expertise or basic ability to engage in global business.

The worst part is that millions of dollars are wasted by doing quarterly reviews and analysis of supplier relationships, especially when the local supplier is not giving them the best advantage possible to maximize profits.

Although over 60% of businesses inaccurately believe these reviews will help them to remain competitive in their home markets, a large number of the ones surveyed were also guilty of doing little else, in the hope that customers and suppliers would eventually find them. Meanwhile, this inactivity period nearly guarantees that missed opportunities will be the only outcome.

Recent redundancies mean that small businesses face more time pressures than ever before, and without a dedicated supply chain to keep things on an even keel, owners and managers can find themselves spinning their wheels.

International business is no longer just for the big corporations, and with all of the available new technology and access to recently opened emerging markets, there is no reason for small businesses to continue allowing themselves to feel forced or pressured to remain in a position of hoping for the best, when there is always something better to be found after searching global databases.

It’s also a well-known reward for small companies who have taken a serious approach to doing international business, that the right relationship with a great supplier in another country could be the one thing that launches them into another level, as they grow their customer base from local and domestic, to worldwide.

Keeping an eye open for the best in global trade platforms will be the key to turning stagnant local markets into lucrative and dynamic global customer bases for years to come. Experts have postulated that in the next decade there may be a change in the global market that also makes the ones who begin establishing relationships with world suppliers now will be the ones who are generating higher revenue in the years that follow.