As you know, Google implemented its Freshness algorithm in early November to provide more relevance for time-sensitive queries. You can learn more about the freshness update in the “Catalyst POV on Google Freshness Algorithm,” which estimates the Google freshness update will affect 35 percent of searches in the SERPs. As a result, this update requires a major shift in B2B content strategy with a focus on recency, quality and relevance.

B2B marketers can change their content strategy to make sure the freshness update doesn’t negatively affect their positioning in the SERPs. One line of defense is to use RSS feeds to generate fresh links. This will help you display relevant links to users searching for time-sensitive topics and can also improve your organic positioning by moving competitive results down in search results.

Develop a Focus on Recency, Quality and Relevance
Because of the freshness update, recency becomes an important element in B2B content strategy. While content has always been important, it has now become even more so. The B2B sales process is becoming more diffuse as customers lengthen the sales cycle by conducting more research before making a purchase decision.

Customers are doing their homework, which means B2B marketers must continuously modify their content in order to serve their audience’s needs. B2B organizations can help their customers understand their offerings by focusing on customer needs, providing them with useful information about the benefits their products offer, while educating them on what’s happening in the marketplace.

Keeping Your Content Fresh and Relevant
To create fresh, relevant content, B2B marketers must better understand customer needs and know how they arrive at their buying decisions. They can gain some insights on this process by creating a simple Q&A used to solicit some information about customer needs during the buying process. These insights can help marketers create content that addresses their customers’ concerns.

Once you gain these insights, you can provide content that helps your customers during the decision-making process. Find out what topics are on your customers’ mind, and then figure out how your value proposition applies to these topics.

You can create a content strategy by providing content in the channels that offer your customers the information they seek, based on your research. For many B2B marketers, this will include a blog, RSS feed, and press release optimization. But it can also include video, user-generated content and product reviews.

After creating a content strategy, you can track how well your content is performing and how to improve your website performance. Create a content tracking analytics program to measure the effectiveness of each channel’s content. Factor in such Key Performance Indicator’s such as reach, relevance, and conversion metrics to determine how each content channel is performing.

In conclusion, B2B marketers must develop a search content strategy that takes advantage of the freshness update. It is now more important than ever to implement a content strategy that focuses on recency, quality and relevance.

I probably spend more time in hotels than most people. Hotels are an excellent environment in which to find out what not to do and what works in customer service that can be translated into any retail sector.

Alas, many hotels are like retailers that do not realize the “Moments of Truth” that make a difference on the customer’s journey through the hotel.

The Receptionist/Checkout Operator
As a guest, the most important person in my life is the receptionist. Every guest that checks in meets this person and s/he is the ambassador for the whole hotel. In all the times I go to hotels. I rarely see the hotel manager or owner. In retailing, the checkout operator is the equivalent person.

As far as I am concerned, the receptionist has done a great job if I walk to my bedroom with a smile on my face because of the interaction I just had at the reception desk. Alas, in the majority of cases, I feel like I have been processed, handed a key and sent on my way. There is nothing wrong with this, but after a few days, I will have forgotten what the hotel looked like along with the person who served me. They have not left a lasting impression in my mind, and they have to start all over again with their marketing to find the next customer, when I could have done their marketing for them.

These processors have done their job, but that is all they have done; they have processed the customer, and as a result, the customer does not feel s/he should build a relationship with the organization. How often do similar situations occur at the checkout desk in retailing?

Delight Equals Expectation Plus One
Whether it is retailing or running a hotel, we all know that the secret weapon to growing sales is our Delight strategy. Delighted customers are our advocates, and they are the best ambassadors for growing all the business we can get.

Some businesses have a structured Delight strategy, while others rely on the initiative of the person representing the business. A Delight strategy is based on the principle of low cost to the supplier and highly perceived value to the receiver.

Keeping the hotel industry for my examples, let me use the W Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. I stopped at this hotel a few months ago when I was presenting at a conference in the hotel. The receptionist who checked me in was Sarah and we had a brief conversation where she found out I was a conference presenter and this was the first time I would be staying at this hotel. I left the reception with a smile on my face as I walked to my room and was thinking about what a great experience I just had.

I had been in my room for a few minutes and there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and was presented with a small bowl that contained a banana, orange, apple and a card. I opened the card and read the message.

“Welcome Mr Stanley. Just wanted to wish you well before your speaking debut. Good luck, and if there is anything else we can do to help calm your nerves please let us know. Warmest regards, Sarah”

What a wonderful way of Delighting the customer. An excellent, low-cost item for them and a great value to the customer.

The Water Tanks Broke
Compare this to an experience in a nameless hotel on my last visit to Canada. I arrived in below freezing temperatures and got processed and checked into my room. I put the tap on to have a shower and left the water running for at least five minutes and still had freezing water coming out of the tap. I went down to reception and stood around for about five minutes before someone came to reception. I informed the receptionist that I had no hot water and needed a shower. The response was” The water tank has broken,” and she left the reception area. I did not even get a “Sorry.”

Like shops, there are plenty of hotels to choose from. The ones that understand the Delight factor will grow their business, while those that do not will lose business.

I realize that in this computer age, we book hotels online and aim to find the cheapest rooms available. However, once we have made the decision and arrive at the “bricks” location, we still believe we should be treated as if we are special.

The real key to success is to ensure as business owners that we empower our front line team members to be proactive Delight makers. It is these team members that will make the difference to the long term health of the bottom line.

John Stanley of John Stanley Associates provides conference presentations, workshops and consultancy to the retail industry in 30 countries. He can be contacted at john@johnstanley.com.au.

B2B marketers can take advantage of the power of email to enhance their image and sell more product. Email is a top digital marketing tactic, second only to search marketing. It is a cost-effective way to nurture your customers and prospects by creating and maintaining a relationship over time and throughout the long B2B sales cycle.

A B2B email newsletter can serve different purposes, such as attracting leads, encouraging prospects to close a sale, connecting with customers to reinforce your business relationship, and establishing your company’s authority as a industry expert. You can make your newsletter more effective by creating a reader-centric newsletter with the following tips.

1. Create personal copy
Speak directly to your recipients by expressing a personality that matches your brand, product, or market niche. That means giving your newsletter a voice that might sound like a colleague offering business advice over a cup of java. All companies have a personality, and your newsletter copy should reflect that voice.

Remember, you are marketing to individual decision makers; always envision your recipients reading your copy, and write it as if you were talking directly to that person.

2. Ask recipients to take action
The heart of your email message is the call-to-action, be it a request for product information, whitepaper download or webinar signup. B2B newsletters typically focus on product or company information, industry news, or how-to’s and tips on industry opportunities or problem solving of interest to customers.

You can focus on turning a prospect into a solid lead, converting a lead into a customer, or to keeping existing customers active. Have a specific goal in mind for each message in your email campaign with a clear call-to-action in each message, whether it’s downloading a white paper, requesting a product demo or taking advantage of a special offer.

A good way to encourage engagement is to add a relevant one-question survey to your next newsletter. You might ask recipients to check or click the newsletter section they find most valuable. Then report back to your readers on the results and action taken if applicable.

3. Segment Your Audience
Divide your customer database into well-defined segments and sub-segments; then develop content that addresses the needs of these segments. You may not be able to achieve a high level of segmentation; however, you can simply segment by geography. Send one version of the email to your North American audience and a different one to the European and Middle Eastern audience, with yet another version to your Asian audience. The foreign versions can be similar to the U.S. version but provide different articles or offers reflecting subtle differences that are culturally appropriate.

Another possible segmentation is prospects vs. customers, or targeting those who signed up for more information (white paper, phone call, webinar, etc.) separately from those who are inactive.

4. Avoid information overload
This can happen if you include multiple topics to cover all of your audiences. However, this can turn people off when they don’t have the time to scroll through to read what applies to them. You can focus on different audiences sequentially by offering at least one article in each issue that targets a specific audience.

5. Create unique landing pages for each article link
Don’t send readers to your homepage. Many are likely to get frustrated and click away rather than try to find the right article. Set up informative landing pages that also link to related information like case studies, press releases, etc., sending readers deep into your site.

In conclusion, your company newsletter is apt to be the first place you make contact with potential customers. Therefore, let it convey your authority, expertise, and company personality in a nutshell. Bringing your newsletters closer to your readers, with a personal voice, offering an action they can take immediately without committing to a sale, can help you create newsletters your readers will read and value.

A new study from Accenture, “Making Social Media Pay: Rethinking Social Media’s Potential to Bolster B2B Interactions, Customer Loyalty, Revenues and Brand Reputation,” found that a majority of B2B companies are not using the power of social media. However, social media networking is a great new place for wholesalers and manufacturers to engage their prospects and customers.

While many B2B marketers have doubts about social media effectiveness, they need to realize that Business-to-Business marketing is even more about relationships than Business-to-Consumer marketing. Whether you sell wholesale merchandise or manufacture products, you need to showcase your products and services so they demonstrate the value provided to your customers. This happens naturally when you understand your customers’ business, and they understand the value of your offering. In other words, you must convince your customers you are the expert in your industry and you know their business. This is hard to do with an ad or brochure, or even in a 15-minute sales call; however, it can be effectively done online with social media networking.

Social Media Networks Are a Great Way to Gain Trust

In social networking, it is not so much about the value of your offer, but rather, it’s about the benefits your products and services provide to your customers. Rather than trying to overwhelm your prospects with ads, newsletters or webinars, this is a way to listen to your customers and offer value about their concerns. Your best salespeople do this on a one-to-one basis in the field. And you can do this on a larger scale by communicating the information you learn from reading industry emails about new product applications, industry regulations and other important insights to customers on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or other discussion groups. Once you start sharing your industry knowledge through social networking, your customers will recognize you and your company as an expert in the industry and therefore trustworthy.

Social Networking Spreads Information Quickly

Your customers need information to help them make decisions on an everyday basis. Social networking doesn’t take the time that polishing a newsletter requires. Just share your insights off the cuff about important information of interest to your customers on a blog and then tweet a link to it. Voila; it’s done.

Social Networking Is a Great Way to Demonstrate Knowledge

Social networking is a great way to “blow your horn” by showing everyone how well you know your business sector. Search engines now display social networking links in search results in real time, which means your tweets on topics users are searching for can be seen in the top search results, even by users that do not have a Twitter account. So go ahead and show your smarts on relevant social networks.

Successful B2B wholesalers and manufacturers have always thrived on using industry knowledge and specific business expertise to gain trust and increase business. Social networking is a great new way to expose that knowledge and expertise to your prospects and customers.

A Shop.com Survey reports that half of online retailers plan special offers on Turkey Day. And over 90 percent of e-retailers will offer deals over the Black Friday holiday weekend, including discounts, coupons and free shipping.

A little over half of U.S. online retailers (51%) indicated they would tempt consumers on Thursday by offering special promotions good only on Thanksgiving Day, according to survey results released by Shop.org, the ecommerce branch of the National Retail Federal trade group. The report found nearly eight out of ten retailers will offer promotions on the first Monday after Thanksgiving, now known as Cyber Monday. Overall, 92.2 percent of online merchants will offer deals over Thanksgiving weekend, hoping to drive holiday sales as consumers enjoy turkey leftovers from the fridge.

The survey, conducted by BIGresearch for Shop.org, polled 1,685 consumers and 51 online retailers in September and October 2011. BIGresearch consumer insights director Pam Goodfellow said, “Consumers have come to expect the absolute best online holiday deals on Cyber Monday. Holiday shoppers love the idea of preparing for special online sales events as many begin scanning catalogs and retailers’ websites days in advance, marking gift items for their family, friends and even themselves.”

According to Shop.org, the specials on Cyber Monday will vary. For example, 45 percent of retailers will try to attract shoppers with coupons or percent-off deals, while nearly 38 percent will use limited-time discounts. On the other hand, 30 percent will offer free standard shipping, with unspecified conditions, while 15 percent plan to offer free gifts with purchases.

The Shop.org survey reports that employers will see a drop-off in productivity as the holiday shopping season heats up as 58 percent of consumers will shop from office computers this year.

Results from another survey by comparison shopping engine PriceGrabber.com polled 2,322 U.S. online consumers in September and October and found that only 12 percent of consumers plan to shop from work on Cyber Monday with 4 percent shopping from their mobile devices and 84 percent purchasing from home. While those consumers plan to shop early in the day, 33 percent plan to shop for gifts between 5 a.m. and 8:59 a.m., and another 29 percent hope to make purchases between 9 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. More men than women (36 percent vs. 31 percent) plan to shop in the morning.

“Our survey findings reveal that consumers are largely aware of the great deals and offers available on retailer sites on Cyber Monday, and we aren’t surprised to see them shop during the earlier part of the day or before arriving at work to take advantage of the great bargains before the best items are sold out,” said Graham Jones, general manager of PriceGrabber. “While most consumers plan to shop from a home computer on Cyber Monday, we expect mobile shopping to have an undeniable presence this year, allowing even busy commuters to make the most of what retailers are sure to offer.”

Thanksgiving Day is more than just tradition − it’s a time for reflection on what to be thankful for. And for U.S. Consumers, a time to shop. Happy Thanksgiving from all the staff at TopTenWholesale and Manufacturer.com!

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) is an essential tactic used by many B2B marketers. A successful campaign requires skills in both ad creation and campaign management. Not only do you need to create compelling ad copy to get the click, you also need to create effective landing pages that convert. This article will discuss the elements of landing pages that translate into sales.

Your PPC landing page must be specific to your offer and dedicated to providing the information your buyers seek, making it easy for them to get what they want. A PPC landing page should be simple in design with few options and a distinct call-to-action that tells prospects how they can easily contact you, subscribe to your catalog, download information or purchase product directly from your landing page. Below are some landing page tips that can help B2B marketers generate more leads and improve the quality of those leads.

The fastest and easiest way to increase your sales without spending more to increase traffic is to optimize your landing pages. With landing page optimization, you can get four times more customers for the same advertising budget. The most successful B2B companies test the most important elements in their landing pages.

Start by reviewing your website statistics (or log files) to check your landing page performance. You’ll likely find the largest percentage of visitors leave within 0-8 seconds after briefly viewing your landing page. The next largest percentage of visitors leave when they decide your landing page is not compelling or it’s not what they are looking for. A small percentage of visitors attempt to convert and fail; some may call if you provide a phone number. A small percentage of visitors actually convert. You want to minimize the number of visitors that leave without converting by testing your landing page conversion elements.

Listed below are the top six conversion elements that can be tested, improved and re-tested to increase your conversion rate.

1. Headline: The headline is the first thing your visitors see, and it gives you the best opportunity for improving your conversion rate. Create headlines that clearly state the best benefit(s) your product/service offers. Tell them exactly what they get.
2. Offer: Your offer is the call-to-action that compels visitors to act (buy, download, opt-in, etc.). This is your second best opportunity to improve your conversion rate.
3. Lead: Your first paragraph lead is the third best opportunity to improve your conversion rate. Leads must include strong benefits that grab your visitors’ attention and makes them want to continue reading.
4. Benefits: The benefit bullet points are the fourth best opportunity to improve your conversion rate. List benefits in order of value to your target market, starting with the strongest benefit first.
5. Images: Images have a huge impact on conversion rates. Use images that clearly demonstrate the most important benefit your product/service offers. Research shows product images work best when placed to the left of your product description (lead paragraph) because people read copy from left to right. People like to read captions under images, so create powerful captions and make your images clickable to the order or sign-up page.
6. Look & Feel: Studies show 46 percent of Internet sales are lost on websites lacking elements that build value and trust. The number-one reason given for not buying from a website was that it had an unprofessional look and feel that lacked credibility and trust. Create landing pages with a professional look, and add trust-building logos like VeriSign to help convert more qualified visitors.

Additional conversion elements you can test include:

• Buttons: Button text, color, look, etc.
• Pricing
• Page Elements formatting and placement: images and copy
• Navigation links vs. no navigation links
• Press Quotes
• Testimonials

In conclusion, a focus on simplicity, buyer benefits, compelling call-to-action, urgency and accuracy will increase both the number of leads and your lead quality. The key to success is to test and re-test to determine the best elements for converting customers on your landing pages.

As you know, Google is making search more secure with encrypted search using SSL (secure sockets layer). This will happen when users search on Google.com, but only if they are signed into Google with a secure connection. How many searches does this involve? Danny Sullivan reported that Google estimates single-digit percentages of all Google searchers on Google.com will be involved, although many SEOs believe that estimate is low.

Google encrypted search will protect searches from being watched or captured while users navigate the Internet. Encrypted Google search is not completely private, but it helps individuals and businesses ensure sensitive information is not available to people snooping around. This is a significant change, and it’s a good idea to be aware of the implications of encrypted search and the secured browsing experience. Below is more information on Google Encrypted search.

Google Keyword Data: Organic Vs. Paid Search Results

Normally, web browsers report “referrer” data when users navigate from one website to another. This data tells the destination site how it was found — from a link on another website or a search term entered into a search engine.

With encrypted search, referrer data in organic results will be blocked, so site owners will lose valuable data that helps them understand how their sites are found through Google. They will still know if users come from a Google search, but they won’t know what the search query was. While SEO traffic in general remains trackable, conversion analysis down to the keyword level will not be possible.

However, referrer data will not be blocked for Google ads. If a user clicks on an ad, the advertiser site still receives the same information currently provided with non-encrypted search. Why? Because Google feels advertisers need this additional data to evaluate their campaigns

Search Terms from Google Webmaster Central

As an alternative to the loss of referrer data, Google Webmaster Central allows websites to find the terms people use to reach their sites. Google recommends that site owners go to Google Webmaster Tools where they can get an aggregated list of the top 1,000 search queries that sent traffic to their sites over the past 30 days.

Benchmarking Keyword Search Data

Another alternative to the loss of referrer data is to start benchmarking the performance of your historical and current keyword search data. Metrics to consider include:

• General organic keyword referral reports.
• Specific breakout for primary keyword targets and competitive keyword phrases. For example, if you targeted “wholesale jewelry,” track specific referrals for the term along with the number of times this phrase is used in overall search referrals to your website.
• Percentage of “not provided” data via Google Analytics since Google encryption change.
• Conversion metrics, traffic from link building initiatives and new vs. return visits via organic search.

You can track these metrics once a month and then measure year-over-year improvements and changes.

Third-Party Analytics Tools

Google Analytics reports this change to web marketers with the “not provided” benchmark in keyword reports; however, other third-party tools used by B2B marketers may be slow to address this change. Contact your vendor to find out how it is handling this change. Below are some third-party vendor announcements regarding encrypted search.

• Omniture: The Impact of Google Encrypted Search
• Web Trends: Our Response to Google’s Query String Security Announcement
• Coremetrics & Unica: Google Making Search More Secure

In conclusion, secured browsing and protecting user privacy along with security are improvements that help secure the privacy of B2B marketers’ sensitive information. However, since referrer data in organic results will be blocked, site owners will lose the data that helps them understand how their sites are found through Google. They must either benchmark their keyword search data or get the data from Google Webmaster Tools.

The Official Google Search Blog posted ten algorithm changes last week. One of these is the freshness update. That means the new Google algorithm now displays the freshest news in search results. Your news, blog posts, events and Google+ posts can now display prominently in search results when optimized for SEO. For instance, a search for occupy wallstreet conducted while writing this piece is shown below. The news was posted 15 minutes before this query was made.

This freshness update will impact from 6 to 35 percent of web searches, delivering more up-to-date and relevant search results. The freshness update includes searches for recent events, hot topics, current reviews and news items. Since product and service reviews will get give merchants more visibility in the SERPs, now is the time to encourage reviews.

Because social media now influence what links display in search results, merchants need a good public relations strategy focused on SEO that is all about getting their news and content to appear in organic search results.

Today’s merchants have more control than ever to deliver news and messages directly to their customers via blogs, newsrooms and social media networks. And Google’s new update gives them one more opportunity to provide fresh and relative content that will show up in search results.

Now, more than ever before, it is important to provide an online newsroom for your customers and stakeholders. How many of you have an online newsroom? Or a blog? Your customers and prospects can learn about your products, services, reviews, events, etc., and Google will rank it at the top of search results when presented with the right query.

A company’s online newsroom can be an excellent source that delivers fresh news content that goes directly to Google, so this is a good time to spiffy up your newsroom or blog. An organized and optimized online newsroom will feed Google the content freshness and frequency that Google now prizes.

All you have to do is post company news, send out optimized press releases for media coverage, create blog posts to publicize events, and use images, videos and white papers in industry news and company newsletters.

If you don’t have the time nor the personnel to add a newsroom to your website or blog, online newsroom providers like MYPRGenie, MyNewsdesk, and TekGroup can get an online newsroom up for you in 24 hours. Now is the time to beef up your editorial calendar and publish content more frequently to leverage the Google freshness algorithm change.

You can post news about events such as trade shows, which come up regularly in our industry throughout the year. Press releases and event-related blog posts can capitalize on the new Google algorithm as well.

But remember, you must create good content, not mediocre prose that can get you a Panda penalty. Great content creates tweets, links, likes and Google+ votes. It takes excellent content to generate traffic.

In conclusion, merchants that publish quality company news that is relevant, consistent and frequent will be rewarded by Google’s freshness update with SERP visibility.

Glow Industries wants to make it easy for wholesale buyers by providing all the products they need in one location. This is where buyers can order merchandise that range from incense and candles to clothing and electronic cigarettes.

Glow Industries sells only at the wholesale level and is not open to the general public. Wholesale buyers know they can get rock bottom prices on specialty merchandise. Another reason to shop at Glow is their focus on customer service and 1-3 day shipping policy. The staff has years of experience and handle every situation with professionalism.

We asked Brian Nupp, vice president sales & purchasing, about the company’s major strength. “Our staff is trained to provide quality customer service, and that’s one of the reasons we get so many repeat orders,” said Nupp. “We have over 15 people on our sales staff, and are growing. We offer an up-to-date website listing all our products, and also offer a free 350+ page catalog,” he added. The company offers thousands of different products with 1-3 day shipping anywhere in the USA.

Glow Industries has a new Riverside, CA location with a 50,000 square-foot warehouse, along with its Perrysburg, OH location, which totals over 115,000 square feet of merchandise inventory. The company attends a minimum of 12 different trade shows a year.

“Our company is known for professionalism and attention to detail when it comes to quality product design and construction, customer service, and delivery,” Glow Industries President Jason Glowacki said. “This is the perfect time to expand our reach to the West Coast and broaden our brand recognition within the adult retail and smoke shop markets. Besides, we’ve always wanted to learn to surf!”

When it comes to product line, Glow offers everything their customers might need. For instance, it offers over 29 different brands of adult and herbal smoking accessories and all the new and latest products in the market, including the products listed below.

• Incense
• Candles
• Jewelry
• Beaded Curtains
• Tapestries
• Clothing
• Posters
• Detox
• Aroma-Therapy
• Adult and Herbal Smoking Accessories
• Drinking Accessories
• Electronic Cigarettes

Glow Industries wants to be their customers’ one stop shop. In addition to the in-house sales staff, it also has three traveling sales people who visit their current and potential customers’ stores. The traveling sales group gives out free product samples, explains product use, provides marketing, material and signage advice, and answers any questions customers might have. Glow claims to be the only wholesale company doing this. In addition, Glow’s marketing department helps customers by promoting all their products through advertisements, websites, eblasts, social media, signage and product videos.

When asked about policies regarding purchase/return/shipping/location, etc., Nupp said, “Most orders are shipped within 24 hours. We have two locations in Ohio and California with 1-3 day shipping anywhere in the USA. We have always maintained a 95% or better fill rate. Returns, only manufactured defects or items with concealed damages as a shipping result.”

Glow Industries
http://www.glowindustries.com
sales@glowindustries.com
Phone: 1-800-626-5395

Research shows that Chinese manufacturers plan to increase exports worldwide despite the pricing pressures. According to a survey conducted by Global Sources, growth projections are currently moderate, but respondents plan aggressive marketing efforts and hope to obtain substantial revenue growth by increasing global exports.

The Global Sources survey included the mainland’s primary export centers of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, along with suppliers from Jiangsu and Shandong provinces and Shanghai, as well as suppliers in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

A total of 900 suppliers from various industries were interviewed in the six months beginning in April and concluding in September 2011 in the following industries: Gifts and premiums, electronic components, fashion accessories, auto parts and accessories, telecom products, electronics, baby and children’s products, security products, garments and textiles, and sports and leisure.

Below are some highlights of the data gathered in the Global Sources survey.

• Nearly 40 percent of manufacturing respondents said their overseas shipment earnings would jump by more than 20 percent through 2011 and early 2012.
• Another 40 percent indicated overseas shipment revenue would increase between 10 and 20 percent.
• Only 2 percent of manufacturers said exports would slow down in the coming months.
• Almost 75 percent of manufacturers will continue to focus on their traditional export markets of North America and the EU, also exploring the Asia-Pacific region.
• Manufacturers expect to pay more for raw materials like plastic, metal and cotton in the coming months.
• Manufacturers are offering better compensation due to skilled personnel shortage.
• Manufacturers are boosting capital expenditures for new technologies and machinery to raise efficiency.

Because of the strong demand for sophisticated electronic devices, Chinese manufacturing companies are increasing product development efforts in this sector. That means the following segments of consumer electronics will see increased exports.

• In home entertainment, suppliers are introducing models featuring high-definition, 3D, network connectivity and energy-saving capabilities.
• In mobile phones, mainland China is producing all-in-one smartphone functionality in addition to secondary lines such as projector and QWERTY phones.
• In security products, companies are beefing up production of access control systems and data verification products. With the adoption of biometrics technology such as fingerprint recognition increasing, manufacturing companies are producing TCP/IP networking and home automation.

In order to keep their customer base and foster growth, Chinese manufacturers are keeping price increases down despite increases in material and labor costs. Companies are cutting prices to fend off industry competition due to the increasing demand for alternative energy technologies, hoping to offset price reductions and sustain revenue growth.

Survey respondents indicated price increases in both old and new sectors will be mostly within the 5 to 10 percent range. This is true even for product lines that experienced significant procurement setbacks. For instance, most computer terminal makers plan price increases of only 5 percent despite an increase in memory chip costs due to the earthquake in Japan. While in one sector, solar panel prices are down due to lower polysilicon costs, most manufacturing sectors face rising prices in materials and components.

Earlier this year, China was poised to overtake Japan as the second largest economy in the world. If this keeps up, China will become the world’s largest economy besting the United States. One estimate predicts China will surpass the U.S. economy as early as 2016, while others believe it may take longer. At any rate, the Chinese economy is doing very well, in both exporting and internal ecommerce.

China’s Ecommerce Market to Surpass U.S. by 2015

Online spending in China is expected to rise impressively over the next five years while Chinese citizens’ personal income and comfort with online shopping will increase. The Boston Consulting Group estimates ecommerce spending in China will increase 320 percent by 2015, as spending reaches $315 billion. The Boston consultancy surveyed 4,000 Chinese online shoppers to arrive at its findings.

No longer content to be bargain hunters, China’s upwardly mobile shoppers are looking for unique products, better services and an engaging online experience. The Boston consultancy study reports that Chinese shoppers are more likely to check product recommendations on social networks than other online consumers around the world. Taobao, China’s huge retail giant, offers over 800 million online products, making it the dominant ecommerce site in China.

The Boston Group study indicated one of the biggest challenge to China’s ecommerce growth is its delivery infrastructure – 45 percent of respondents fear their purchases might be switched for counterfeit goods during delivery.

The surge in ecommerce spending in China is due in part to the increase in personal income, the limits of brick-and-mortar retailing in China, and the public’s mass adoption of online retail sites like Taobao. China has 145 million online shoppers, second only to the 170 million online shoppers in the United States. It is estimated the value of ecommerce sales in China will surpass that of the United States in 2015.

It takes time to become a recognized leader in retailing, but the slip
down the ladder can happen rapidly. This really came home to me when Tiger
Woods came to play golf in my home town of Perth this week. After 623
weeks as the best golfer in the world, he slipped rapidly to 56th in
the world.

The same can happen to retailers, often for different reasons, but the
lessons can be just as hard to learn.

A recent article by Patrick Stafford in the November 3rd edition of
Smartcompany.com looked at a similar situation between the two Australian
supermarkets and why Woolworths had let Coles back into the grocery game
and start gaining market share.

There are lessons all around us of why companies and brands slip from
number one and the lessons are worth relooking at…

Lesson One: Keep to your Values and Your Brand Strategy

The last few years have been difficult for all businesses. Retailers have
been especially hurt during the Global Financial Crisis and many are finding it a slow journey
of recovery. The easy way for your competitor to gain market share is to
announce to the consumer they have a cheaper offer than yours. Price is
and has always been an issue in the consumers mind, but you cannot let it
dominate your marketing strategy. The fashion industry around the world
has seen numerous brands damaged by the 70 percent off sale strategy that has
occurred over the last three to four years. It works for some time and it
will work for some retailers, but over-focusing on a price strategy at
the expense of the values within the brand can dilute the brand in the
customer’s mind.

Retailers need to look at what the perception of the brand
is in the customer’s eyes and then start building on that perception. Only
one retailer can “own” the cheapest price perception, other retailers have
to find their Unique Selling Proposition.

Lesson Two: Keep to the Knitting

When retailing gets more difficult, there is a tendency to look at what can
you add to the range to encourage people to buy your products. I always
remember visiting a supermarket that was in financial trouble. The owner,
being aware of the problem, went to the Middle East and introduced cheap
clothing and table lamps into the store, to boost sales. The customer was
expecting to come in to the store to purchase groceries, not clothes and
table lamps. The owner had missed one of the important lessons. When
retailing gets tough, you keep to “knitting” and become the destination for
what you do in the customer’s eyes. It can be difficult, but the consumer
will look to the perceived retail expert, that includes having a wide and
deep range in your core retail activity zone and not diversifying so you
look like a “me to” retailer.

Lesson Three: Do Not React by Copying

Yes, you should always keep an eye on the competition, but you should not
copy the competition. The competition will be flattered if you do copy
them, but it will not win you many new customers in the long run. Copying
just flatters the competition and, in the customers eyes says, you are a “me
to” retailer rather than a retailer who is out there creating your own
experiences for the consumer.

Lesson Four: Be a Proactive Leader

You need a strategy you can own that differentiates you from the
competition. This means developing your own ideas that are unique to you.
This may mean you need to look at retailers in other retail sectors that
are doing something different and translating their ideas to your own
retail sector. It is rare to find new and novel ideas by just looking within
your own retail sector.

Lesson Five: Identify Winners in Store and Promote Them

What are the winners in your store and what are the losers”
Shed as many of the losers that you can while still maintaining your
integrity in the eyes of the consumer while promoting the winners. I work with many retailers that do not even know the winning and
losing products in store. Get to know them and develop them. Retail leaders know
the winners and know how to keep developing them.

Ensure you maintain your leadership and keep the competition guessing a what
you are going to do next.

John Stanley provides conference presentations, workshops and consultancy to the retail industry in 30 countries. He can be contacted at john@johnstanley.com.au

Buyers will want to stock up for the holiday season and beyond. These colorful Twistlets bands can be designed into lovely necklaces, bracelets, belts, headbands and hair accessories.

They will sell in retail stores like wildfire! What’s exciting about this hot new product is that girls can make videos of their designs and post to the Twistlets website to share with others. They can also see what other girls have done and get creative ideas. All you need to make a video these days is to flip out your phone. Girls can also post their design videos on social media sites and anywhere else online.

Buyers can get more information on Twistlets through the contact form online. Place an order now and you can have Twistlets in stores in early December. Call to place a custom order for specific colors.

Twistlets™
5250 W. Century Blvd. Ste. 704
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Phone: 310.844.7968 − 310.844.7968
Fax: 310.494.0565

The starter kit comes with 6 of each color. Buyers can see which colors sell best and order individually going forward. Volume pricing starts at 250 pieces. Call for details (310.844.7968 or 310.844.7968) or send email to: info@twistlets.com.

Twistlets is the perfect stocking stuffer for creative girls looking to make a fashion statement. For convenience, buyers can print out the Order Form. Just fill out the form and FAX to 310.494-0565 or 310.844-7968. Wholesale price is $3.50 each. A 48-piece starter kit with free Counter Display (6 of each color) is $168.

Twistlets have a great profit margin and a huge sales potential to the Tween demographic (girls 8-16 years). This is a product destined to become a school trend, and it is certified nickel- and lead-free. Girls will love it because they can bend it, twist it, shape it, wear it and then change it!

What should merchants do in case of cyber attack? According to security experts, they should disable their site as soon as they realize they are undergoing a hacking attack. It’s better to shut down an ecommerce site right away and put protections in place than to deny the problem and keep the site going since you can risk further damage.

Disabling your site quickly can enable you to gather evidence that could help law enforcement catch the criminals. Merchants need to prepare for attacks, especially during the holiday shopping season.
Merchant databases are vulnerable to attacks as the countdown to Black Friday ticks away. Criminals want whatever consumer information they can get their hands on − things like credit card numbers, birth dates and addresses.

It is estimated 212 million shoppers will shop in stores and online on Black Friday. Of these shoppers, 154.7 million could be at risk, according to data security firms. It is estimated that 70 percent of the data maintained by retail merchants could be vulnerable to information leakage because of a weakness in software that allows criminals to access the sensitive data mentioned above, in addition to billing and shipping addresses.

Hackers are finding many new ways to steal data – from spear phishing to SQL injection. As holiday shopping gets into full swing, merchants will face more criminal attempts to hack web sites and network security systems.

As merchants prepare for the holidays, in addition to stocking shelves and planning for a rush of customers, they should also ensure they have a strong security system and procedures in place. Below are some tips for responding to and preventing criminal infiltrations of websites and computer networks.

• Spear phishing is similar to the email phishing attacks that try to trick email recipients into clicking to a website that looks legitimate but is phony and entering personal information such as credit card numbers or banking data. However, in spear phishing the criminals get the email addresses of people like retail executives, and then send them an email that appears to be a legitimate message from a co-worker. When the recipient clicks the attachment icon, instead of seeing a document they may get a blank page and think it’s a glitch. While the recipient may think nothing of it, what happened when they clicked the attachment is that malware was downloaded to their computer. The malware then searches for security openings that expose data, such as customer email addresses and account information. Merchants can guard against such attacks by installing firewalls to block suspicious emails, training employees to check incoming email headers for unusual characters indicating they are not from a trusted party, and by instructing employees not to click on unexpected attachments without first checking with the sender.

• SQL (Structure Query Language) is a programming language for managing data across multiple databases such as customer accountdata and email lists. SQL injection attacks are designed to find website and network security vulnerabilities and then steal or compromise confidential data. On retail sites, criminals insert data-stealing scripts into fields where consumers enter such information as name and address. Security experts advise website managers to install software that screens the data entered in those fields to prevent command scripts from executing. In addition to installing firewalls, companies can mitigate the effect of SQL injection attacks by having a good database management and recovery plan in place. This includes knowing exactly where sensitive data are stored, who has access to the data, and having a designated response team assigned to immediately checking sensitive data when a security breach is discovered.

• Cloud-based computing and data storage − which is now a popular way for retailers to use other company’s web servers to managetheir websites, applications and databases − requires retailers to take extra steps to ensure that these systems are built with the proper firewalls and that effective policies are in place should a security breach occur. Cloud environments are not more secure or less secure than any other company’s network environment, but it’s important for cloud agreements to address liability in a detailed manner. If there is a security breach, a service-level agreement with the cloud provider should clarify who has access to data, who responds to and investigates a security breach, and how the merchant is ensured that the breach has been fixed.

To review, merchants should disable their site as soon as they realize they are having a cyber attack rather than to deny the problem and keep the site running. It’s also important to have a good database management and recovery plan in place, allowing your designated response team to immediately check sensitive data if a security breach is discovered.

It’s time to prepare for consumers hitting the malls during the holiday season. A great way for sellers to get theirs is to display goods at the mall. While mall space can be expensive, here’s an idea: why not set up a temporary kiosk for the holiday season? Buy4Store provides its Cart Concept, which helps sellers set up kiosks in local malls.

One of the best things about this company is that they help set the carts up and know which products are hot in every market through their testing and experience. Two popular Cart Concept programs are the Animal Hats and the Balloon Buddies.

We interviewed Metin Kilic of Buy4Store, asking him what’s so great about the Cart Kiosk Concept. Kilic said, “We put a lot of effort into identifying hot selling items for businesses and provide a variety of merchandise that works well. We also know the competitive pricing on hot selling items and can advise our customers accordingly.”

The company’s major strengths are competitive prices and fast order processing time. So there is still time for buyers to get set up in shopping malls, getting ready for Black Friday. Actually, retailers are acting like Black Friday is here already. Amazon introduced its Black Friday Deals and Overstock is also making an early play to entice shoppers with a Pre-Black Friday Sale. And you can get started early, too. One of the hottest items this season is the Animal Hat. There are already set kiosks for winter items on the market such as beanies, scarves and hat kiosks, and animal hats can be a good item to offer for triggering sales on these winter theme kiosks.

Buy4Store offers many different types of general merchandise in addition to the Cart Concept, and the items are listed below.

Anklets
Feathers
Bangles
Body Jewels
Bracelets
Cellphone Charms
Chokers
Earrings
Hair Accessories
Key Chains
Necklaces
Rings
Toe Rings
Lucky Eye
Pendants
Heart Box Pendants
Bracelets
Rings
Earrings
Cords
European Murano Figures
Handbags
Backpacks
Wallets
Luggage
Coin Purses
Beanies
Girly Winter Hats
Kid Winter Hats
Hats
Caps
Bandanas
Licensed Balloons
Regular Balloons
Animal Hats
Scarves
Gloves
Ties
Bow Ties
Suspenders
Socks
Sunglasses
Solar Toys
Towel Gifts
Watches

To place an order, navigate the site and add products to your cart by clicking on the Add to Cart button, noting quantities. Click the Checkout button when done. That’s where you submit your Username and Password if you have previously registered. If not, you can register before continuing to place your order.

Buy4 Store ships by USPS or UPS. Shipping cost depends on package weight, requested delivery time and shipping distance. Orders must be received before 1:30 p.m. PST to guarantee overnight delivery. Buy4Store ships internationally, and rates depend on the country, requested delivery time and package weight. Most orders whip out in 24 hours but some items may be on backorder, and in that case, it would take longer to process. The company does not charge credit cards until the merchandise is shipped. Customers can also pick up their orders from the warehouse in Los Angeles.

Payment is accepted by credit card, PayPal, wire transfer or COD money order. Orders that haven’t been shipped can be changed by contacting the company by email at sales@buy4store.com or by phone call.

Buy4Store Warehouse
270 South Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012 USA
Phone: 1-213-626-1572 or 1-213-626-1572
FAX: 1-213-626-1567  or 1-213-626-1567
sales@buy4store.com

Wholesale liquidator Via Trading Corporation, a five-time Inc. 5000 honoree, has identified a trend over the last year showing that consumer goods liquidation operators saw a significant increase in the number of consumers starting their own small businesses reselling products on the secondary retail market. Via Trading believes this offers hope of financial freedom in the continuing economic downturn.

It looks like some consumers are going into small business startups as employment opportunities dwindle. Via Trading noted an 88 percent increase over 2010 in the number of customers who say they are starting out in the secondary market resale business.
The Via Trading data suggests that consumers realize the potential of investing in their own business with a hands-on enterprise like online flea markets and discount store businesses reselling merchandise for a profit.

This type of business can give these new startup owners more control over their finances. It reduces the odds of future employment loss and reduces dependence on someone else for a weekly paycheck. Working from their homes, garages or out of a local swap meet, these entrepreneurs can build capital that increases over time with very little overhead.

As shoppers try to save money by finding better deals on common household items and personal necessities, the demand for outlet-priced products and places to buy them is currently at an all-time high. Wholesalers like Via Trading are stepping up to fill the need for low-priced wholesale lots of consumer goods, making them available to small resale businesses at a fraction of their original cost.
The company attributes this significant increase in new startups over the last year to the stagnant global job market and the economic climate, in addition to their own targeted business development strategies.

Via Trading takes over returned, overstocked and liquidated inventory from the nation’s largest department store brands, offering affordable wholesale lots to individuals as well as established businesses. Operating out of a 240,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Los Angeles, California, the company welcomes visitors and encourages local entrepreneurs to select their merchandise and pick it up in person to avoid shipping charges that would come out of their profits.

Via Trading uses its newly redesigned ecommerce liquidation website to supply businesses with wholesale lots from virtually anywhere in the world. Buyers can view photos, descriptions, prices and videos of products before they buy. Once they order, they receive their merchandise at their door within a few days when they can begin to regain their investment by turning a profit.

The ViaTrading.com website features extensive small business resources to help startup entrepreneurs successfully set up new ventures, including the following information.

• Small Business Associations in their area
• Financing for small businesses
• Finding local business development centers
• Information on how to resell liquidated merchandise in 10 different secondary resale channels (including eBay, yard sales and discount stores)

“We feel that it’s not just about getting products into peoples’ hands,” says Nathania Stambouli, Marketing Manager. “It’s about making sure they know what to do with it and that they use the right techniques to get the most out of their investment.”

Via Trading also holds monthly auctions and discount events to further enable new startups to find deals on various products, and it maintains an open-door policy welcoming visitors six days a week, offering a myriad of resources and advice. Below are some testimonials received about the outreach program.

Lydia F. experienced the company’s developmental approach first-hand. “As a new single mother to support myself and my daughter, I created an at-home business via the internet. Via Trading was a key contributor to making my business a success. I have built a customer base for the products and services received, which I could not have offered without their help.”

Leonardo C. agrees, and states, “My sister and I started as swap meet vendors but recently changed our business model to an eBay business based on Via’s suggestions. This change allowed us not only to increase our traffic by reaching a wider audience, but we have been able to increase our profits by two or three.”

The above testimonials from new entrepreneurs like Lydia and Leonardo show that Via Trading’s new startup outreach in the consumer goods liquidation industry is paying off. The company plans to continue develop