In the last couple of weeks, there have been a couple of economic news items from China which may be of interest to readers. China Now 2nd Largest Economy The first was the big news that after three decades of continuous double-digit growth, China has recently passed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy behind the United States. Although this had been widely anticipated for some time and is largely symbolic, it confirms that... 

My kids were flipping through one of our favorite family magazines when all of sudden I heard giggles. You know the giggles that mean they are doing something they shouldn’t be. I come around the corner to see what they are doing and I see an advertisement that is clearly not appropriate for children. It wasn’t horrible, it certainly could have been worse, but let’s just say I didn’t enjoy my 8 year-olds running around the house saying... 

When you work with a full-service eCommerce development company to manage the production of your new website project, make sure you understand the overall timeline and phases before breaking ground. Your chosen eCommerce provider should present a timeline unique to your project. The phases/length may differ, but the concepts should be similar. Please note that this timeline and phase outline is geared more towards a full-service eCommerce development... 

It’s Fall here in Utah.. ok, not really Fall, but the kids start school in August, so from a mom’s standpoint.. it’s a little bit of Fall.. not to mention a little bit of heaven. There’s a clear sense of a fresh start in the Fall, right? I love it, it’s my favorite season, and yesterday.. it snowed in the mountains. Just a little bit, but ski season is coming : ) So I’m feeling refreshed and hopeful. I’m... 

As a business owner, there are many times when you have to do it all: hire, fire, answer phones, solve UPS problems, pick & pack orders…you name it! Some of the most challenging parts of my job is not the business aspect of running the company but instead the people aspect of it. At eHobbies we have distinct roles and responsibilities for all of our staff. However, in order to be successful, you  Read More →

While practical e-commerce is celebrating five years eBay is celebrating 15 years. This amazing world of the Internet is ever-changing and growing with businesses celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and grand openings while I write this post and while you read this post too! The freedom and opportunities online are endless and Practical eCommerce and eBay and both great examples showing the proof to everyone that the possibilities are endless... 

On Monday, August 23, Facebook is making changes to its tab pages on profiles and fan pages — changes which will effect just about anyone who has custom tabs. The changes are: boxes are going away, including the Boxes tab, and the width of custom pages are narrowing to 520 pixels. Removal of Boxes Personally, I welcome this change as I never liked the Boxes tab in the first place. It was little more than an ad hoc collection of apps, RSS... 

Formerly known as Bing Cashback, Microsoft has launched its long-awaited Bing Shopping. Bing Shopping is a new, free version of the comparison shopping channel, geared to compete directly with Google’s Product Search engine. For best results on Bing Shopping, as with any shopping engine, online retailers should submit only quality datafeeds that are optimized for maximum searchability, including: Clear, descriptive titles and descriptions... 

Over the past two decades I have worked in both China and the West for some of the biggest multinational companies. My company today, www.dhgate.com, has an international management team which services our thousands of clients from China and the rest of the world particularly the US. This has given me a unique insight as to the major  Read More →

I was talking to a “quasi” competitor of ours a few months back about the jewelry supply industry and various trends. One trend we observed that we both keep hoping will go away is the one of completely “free shipping” to all customers with no minimum orders. He suggested the slogan “Are you paying too much for free shipping” as a way to engage customers and prospects about the fact there is really no “free”... 

I was driving around town the other day taking care of some errands when the thought occurred to me that one way to analogize Facebook is as a town. In fact, let’s call it “Facebookville.” Think with me for a moment. In every town there are residential neighborhoods where conversations take place across the backyard fence or on the front porch, where those can still be found. Similarly, “backyard fence” style conversations... 

Automating your business online can help simplify a marketing plan. Many people that know me know how I speak a lot about simplifying this and simplifying that. I’m a strong believer in simplifying everything I do, including: Job Housework Family Online Time This thought process started back when I was in college. A good friend of mine sent me a letter with a tip that has stuck with me forever. My good friend “Lee” was giving advice... 

These days, there are so much focus on SEO and SEM in general, hey don’t get me wrong, both are important for driving traffic to your website and necessary to do. But I also think that it’s time to discuss and address the number one reason why businesses are not profitable and it has nothing to do with sales. This takes me back to something that Suzie Orman said a few years ago that’s been embedded in my brain: “It’s not how... 

We are in the middle of moving across the state and as I was packing up my office I found a journal. In it I found a list of why I wanted to start an online business and what I wanted that business to provide. The list was written 5 years ago. It’s funny to look back at this list now and see what I have accomplished and what I still need to work on. I’m not your typical Entrepreneur so my list may seem a little trivial, but for a stay at... 

So, you are building up your sales volume, and are acquiring new customers at a break-neck pace; congratulations! Now, make sure you have developed and instilled processes for your customer service team to respond, interact, and help close the sale on customer inquiries. Keep reading to learn a few top customer service tips to help increase sales, customer retention, and repeat purchases. Whether by email, phone, or live chat, your CS team should...