tootooblog

Tag : business, customer, products

I have compiled a good list of business plan ideas and what ever your idea for a business might be, making a plan of how it will operate is essential for you to fully explore its potential, and to ensure that it will work in the way that you want it to. There are always stories about people who start a business and prosper without any planning at all. In reality this does not happen, for every business that does get by without much planning had a small plan, but many fail. As you continue to develop your ideas for your business, think about the consequences of each step and keep the word “plan” in your mind at all times.

1.Think about your objectives, for yourself and for your business. What is your ultimate goal? How you are going to reach your goal? Possible obstacles that might distract you from your goal? (Bad type of people), Read about how other people achieved their goals even if it’s not on the same category as your field, (good for building your confidence and success spirit). A plan will help you work out how you will achieve your ambitions.

2. Think about the service or product you intend to sell and plan the strategies you will use to ensure you get your business off to a good start. Knowing what makes your product special, knowing the type of customers you want to attract, knowing about the competition you are likely to face, will strengthen your chances of success. Your product should also be a wanted (on demand) product. You should sell looking at your customer’s point of view not yours. Reason why most people fail is business is that they turn to sell something they feel is right and no one buys it.

3.Think about what you will charge your customers. Do you have enough information about your expenses and other costs, and what your competitors are charging, to start preparing a pricing plan?

4.Think about how you will sell and promote your service or product. How will you attract the attention of your customers, and how will you keep them interested and coming back for more?

5.Think about how you will manage your business and your finances to ensure that you stay in control. Work out whether or not you will need to borrow money to start your business, and how cash will flow in and out when you actually get going.

6.Just as importantly, think about how running a business will dovetail with the rest of your life. How it will affect your lifestyle, your standard of living, and your family. Build your business around your lifestyle (most important).

The more homework you do before taking the steps to start your business, the better. However, keen you might be to get going; you run the risk of spoiling your chances of Success if you rush prematurely. Once you feel confident that you have done your homework, and would like a start. Then get going!!


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Tag : competitors, customer, salespeople, selling skills

An axe never sharpened will eventually become dull and useless. In the same way, selling skills that lose their edge lose their impact. Unless you are constantly improving your skills and techniques, you will be easily overtaken by competitors will are willing to do so. Here are some tips that what most successful salespeople will never want to let you know:

1. Start up a personal library

Start to keep a look out on best sellers, recommendations from friends, colleagues or your bosses. Note down their titles and authors that they are discussing and check them out.

2. Subscribe to some business magazines or journals in your industry

There are a few well-respected ones in the marketplace, Business Week, Fortune and Forbes. They all feature cutting edge stories that will help you updated of the changing business world. Read the trade journal in your specific industry to learn about developments that may be affecting your company.

3. Set aside at least 4 hours a week for reading

After you have started your personal library and subscribe to those journals, make sure you read them. If not, it is as good as doing nothing. Having them will not change a thing. It is the contents in them that matter. As you are reading this, you are already on track. So keep it up!

4. Listen to enrichment audios while driving

Nowadays, you will realize that there are more and more great learning materials in the form of audio. Play them in your car while you are driving, concentrate on the road and arrive at the destination a little smarter.

5. Carry learning materials wherever you go

Just think back, how much time is been wasted while you are waiting to see the person you are meeting, your flight, your doctor and etc. Use the wasted waiting time to develop yourself. Take your books, audio player or business magazines and journals and start reading.

6. If you are a salesperson of a technical product or services. Make sure you have the latest updates from your supplier.If your supplier does not provide training programs, find those who do.

7. Join a “Mastermind” Group. If you can’t find one, form one Serious salespeople join a “Mastermind” group with other serious salespeople. This group is a safe place to ask delicate questions and put the toughest sales problem on the table and get honest answers. If you cannot find one, you can also form one.

8. Keep an open mind

“If you are not growing, you are dying.” You start to stop growing the day you think you know everything. You competitors start to catch up with you by constant learning. Anything that you do not know is an opportunity for you to grow.

9. Hire a personal coach/mentor

Find a professional to help you improve the image you project, comment on your sales presentations and coach you to success. If possible, model after that coach or mentor that you respected.

10. Attend at least ONE personal development seminar each year.There are many seminar organizers out there. Contact them and check out if they do have any seminars that may suit your needs. After attending the seminar, ask yourself:” What did I learnt in this seminar that I can use it for my next call to customer?”

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Tag : business, customer, market, retail, sale, wholesale

Those in business ignore sales and marketing at their peril. These disciplines are the very lifeblood of any commercial enterprise, whether a single mother working from home or a massive multi-national corporate body. Every business has either a service or a product to bring to the market, but bringing it is not enough - it has to be sold as well. To put this another way - consumers, potential customers and clients have to be both made aware of the product or service and then coerced into purchasing it.

If customers are not aware of the product they will not buy it, and if they don't buy it, it is impossible to generate a profit. The very essence of marketing is to bring to the market a product it wants, and to package and price it correctly so that it makes a profit for the business. It is the responsibility of the sales and marketing team to ensure this happens.

Everyone has their own preferred emphasis. Some prefer direct mail marketing, others prefer network marketing while a large number lean more and more towards email marketing. However one chooses, identifying the correct marketing strategies as part of the overall campaign is imperative. It is the very root of the success you desire for yourself and your employer.

Sales and marketing training courses should be regular ports of call for every member of the team. Selling is a skill that comes naturally to some, but not to most. Don't be disheartened! Everyone can learn the necessary skills so that they are repeated like drills. With the right training and strategies in place, the appropriate successful selling responses should kick in automatically. Also with marketing, one should be able to respond instinctively and creatively.

There is such a choice of media now that for the marketers it can be overwhelming. The widespread use of the Internet and the increasing availability of high speed connections, along with TV,results in vast numbers of potential customers being introduced to a product or service in no time at all. It is always worth seeing how the market uses the search engines to better understand its psyche. Don't you wonder at how some peoples' minds work? What makes them enter words in that order. Did you know that one of the phrases most looked for in the search engines is 'engine marketing search'. I find that amusing, but over one million people type that in every month. Why do they reverse the words? I don't know - but it is important to know that they do so marketing strategy can reflect these things where necessary.

Marketing managers vary in their approaches, but some will undoubtedly choose to use a marketing agency. The difficulty here is that many would like to seize the opportunity to do their own thing at your expense. Many designers have a similar attitude. If you opt for a marketing agency to rn and manage your campaign, you cannot afford to do so without first presenting the agency with a full and detailed marketing brief. The aim of this is not to limit their creativity, but to keep it focussed on your needs and not theirs. All this of course should be underpinned by solid market research.

At its most basic level, both selling and marketing are about the art of communications and the best choice of media for the markets to be targeted. It has to be said however, that not all possible clients and customers should be treated to the same method or system. For example, wholesale and retail markets will attract different methods of communication by the sales team. Again, if a product is to be sold in a store or shop, it is not the same approach as advertising an article to be sold at auction. Each market niche needs its own type and style of advertisement. Ads will have to designed to appeal to that niche, and it is important to understand the socio-demographics of the niche to get this right.

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Tag : benefits, brand, company, marketing

Building a brand requires the same four questions necessary when planning a trip: When do I want to go? What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? How will I get there? It’s always a great time to plan a vacation, and it’s always a great time to build your brand.

Consumers begin forming opinions of your product and organization as soon as you break into the marketplace. If you’re not controlling your image and message, it’s being controlled by others through their perceptions of you and your product. A successful brand strategy makes sure that a compelling message is delivered correctly to your target market. The time is now to start building your brand.

A business owner who lacks a clear vision can never truly know how his business is performing. The best brand image and strategy can only be created when the owner clarifies and communicates the vision to the team who will create the brand identity.

A solid brand strategy is like the magnetic North on a compass: It guides you, your business decisions, and your potential customers so you’re able to find each other. It lays out the best route for the business to take in order to communicate its core message and unique promise of value to the target market.

The business must also take its current reality into consideration. How are you positioned in the marketplace? Do you know what differentiates you from your competitors? Are you positioned to take the most direct route possible to achieve the success you want?

So, when do you want to go on your branding trip? The sooner you establish your brand, the better.

What exactly are you looking to do? Your best bet is to create a brand that will differentiate you from the competition and help you reach the next level of growth.

Where do you want to go? What this means is how much of your potential do you want to tap in to? Strategic branding can help you achieve the goals that have been set for your company.

Finally, how will you get there? By partnering with professionals who understand the benefits of branding and marketing.

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Tag : cash, flow, managenet

Cash. Most people want more. When running a small business it's particularly important to monitor how cash is coming in and how much cash is going out. This month, I'd like to take a few minutes to share some ideas on cash flow management as in how you can keep more cash in your business for a longer time.

1. Periodically re-evaluate your expenses. If you are anything like me your business changes and shifts every 4-6 months and this prompts a necessary re-evaluation of the products and services you are using to run your business. Where can you save money? Where can you invest more money so you can save time? For some people, this may mean canceling out on certain business expenses that they never fully utilize, or, it may mean hiring out and getting help with some tasks on which you normally spend your own time. Both examples are aspects of improved cash flow management even though one (hiring out) involves spending more money. If you can hire out work at less than your hourly or salary rate you're improving your cash flow because you're creating more space to make more money.

2. Hold off on electronics and other purchases for as long as reasonably possible. I'm not suggesting you suffer or get by with significantly less than you need but the prices on electronics and other goods decline over the months. If you need to invest in a new computer or printer or copier you can save money without sacrificing quality if you can wait a few months to purchase.

3.Use credit responsibly. If you have access to lines of credit you can use these to finance business purchases rather than paying cash outright. This, in many cases, can give you 20-30 extra days on your money enabling you to save or invest it for maximum return.

4.Watch out for hidden fees. Yes, there are some "costs" of doing business. However, at least once every 6 months, review what you're paying for services like office cleaning, credit card transactions, long distance calls, liability insurance, etc. Make sure these costs are not rising faster than they should. It's a good idea to keep track of any long-term contracts or commitments to make sure that you're not being charged too much for standing services. Also, watch out for those policies which automatically renew.

5.Get paid more. Another way to manage your cash flow is to charge more for what you do. Institute planned increases in your payment rates over a year or two. Raising your fees as a cash flow strategy only works, though, if your spending remains less than your earnings.

6. Buy in bulk. This applies to physical products/supplies as well as non-physical ones (such as services). You can often realize a significant cost savings on items bought in bulk especially if you were going to buy them anyway.

7.Keep track of your discounts and other rewards. We are inundated with special offers, promotions and discounts. Use these wherever you can. Just recently, I was able to save a few hundred dollars on items I purchased due to in-store specials and mail in rebates. In a sense, my savings was found money!

8. Give special consideration to your customers who pay early and in full. Customers who routinely pay their bills ahead of time, and who are rewarded for doing so, are more likely to continue this behavior which results in more cash inflow for you. You might, also, offer your customers a discount if they buy in bulk from you. This is a marvelous way to save on the costs of accounts receivable as you generate some fast cash.

9. Invoice before, or soon after, performing a service. Don't wait to send out bills just once every 30 days. This can delay cash inflow for months. If you provide a regular, predictable service, plan to get paid ahead of time. If you must get paid after providing the service plan to send out invoices at least twice per month so you can better manage the inflows and outflows.

10. Invest in the growth of yourself and your business. Spend money to market your business, invest in your own learning and get help as soon as possible. The more you put into your business, in a thoughtful and measured way, the more you will get out of it.

Tag : cash, flow, managenet

Cash. Most people want more. When running a small business it's particularly important to monitor how cash is coming in and how much cash is going out. This month, I'd like to take a few minutes to share some ideas on cash flow management as in how you can keep more cash in your business for a longer time.

1. Periodically re-evaluate your expenses. If you are anything like me your business changes and shifts every 4-6 months and this prompts a necessary re-evaluation of the products and services you are using to run your business. Where can you save money? Where can you invest more money so you can save time? For some people, this may mean canceling out on certain business expenses that they never fully utilize, or, it may mean hiring out and getting help with some tasks on which you normally spend your own time. Both examples are aspects of improved cash flow management even though one (hiring out) involves spending more money. If you can hire out work at less than your hourly or salary rate you're improving your cash flow because you're creating more space to make more money.

2. Hold off on electronics and other purchases for as long as reasonably possible. I'm not suggesting you suffer or get by with significantly less than you need but the prices on electronics and other goods decline over the months. If you need to invest in a new computer or printer or copier you can save money without sacrificing quality if you can wait a few months to purchase.

3.Use credit responsibly. If you have access to lines of credit you can use these to finance business purchases rather than paying cash outright. This, in many cases, can give you 20-30 extra days on your money enabling you to save or invest it for maximum return.

4.Watch out for hidden fees. Yes, there are some "costs" of doing business. However, at least once every 6 months, review what you're paying for services like office cleaning, credit card transactions, long distance calls, liability insurance, etc. Make sure these costs are not rising faster than they should. It's a good idea to keep track of any long-term contracts or commitments to make sure that you're not being charged too much for standing services. Also, watch out for those policies which automatically renew.

5.Get paid more. Another way to manage your cash flow is to charge more for what you do. Institute planned increases in your payment rates over a year or two. Raising your fees as a cash flow strategy only works, though, if your spending remains less than your earnings.

6. Buy in bulk. This applies to physical products/supplies as well as non-physical ones (such as services). You can often realize a significant cost savings on items bought in bulk especially if you were going to buy them anyway.

7.Keep track of your discounts and other rewards. We are inundated with special offers, promotions and discounts. Use these wherever you can. Just recently, I was able to save a few hundred dollars on items I purchased due to in-store specials and mail in rebates. In a sense, my savings was found money!

8. Give special consideration to your customers who pay early and in full. Customers who routinely pay their bills ahead of time, and who are rewarded for doing so, are more likely to continue this behavior which results in more cash inflow for you. You might, also, offer your customers a discount if they buy in bulk from you. This is a marvelous way to save on the costs of accounts receivable as you generate some fast cash.

9. Invoice before, or soon after, performing a service. Don't wait to send out bills just once every 30 days. This can delay cash inflow for months. If you provide a regular, predictable service, plan to get paid ahead of time. If you must get paid after providing the service plan to send out invoices at least twice per month so you can better manage the inflows and outflows.

10. Invest in the growth of yourself and your business. Spend money to market your business, invest in your own learning and get help as soon as possible. The more you put into your business, in a thoughtful and measured way, the more you will get out of it.


http://blog.tootoo.com

Tag : business, market, sale

Here are 5 essential prerequisites -- basic business essentials -- To Maximize Your Sales Success:

Business Essentials -- 1.A Customer-Oriented Focus.

It demands that you take a look at the big picture and think long-term. Invariably, this means that you avoid the get-rich-quick mentality at all costs. Your purpose in business is to not just make the sale, but to forge a relationship. Be significant, helpful, caring, advantageous, and unique to your customer and you'll be handsomely rewarded in return. It's the law of cause and effect in action. Build a reputation for continually delighting customers and they'll come back and buy from you again and again. Not only that, but they'll tell others too. These are the most profitable sales you'll ever make. If you need to find new customers each time out, you're rowing upstream and forever spending money in search of sales. The get-rich-quick artists aren't interested in relationship building, they simply want to extract cash from anyone they can, as quickly as they can, and they flee the scene to avoid any fallout. It's hardly a strategy for long-term growth and profitability.

Business Essentials -- 2. A Quality Product.

Don't even think about creating advertising copy if you don't first have a quality product to take to market. It doesn't have to be the absolute finest quality widget ever engineered, but it must offer some advantage to the marketplace. It helps if your product is an exclusive - something not easily obtained elsewhere.

If you're not thrilled about what you're selling, this lack of enthusiasm will come through in your copy. If you're not absolutely convinced that what you have to sell offers quality, unique advantages and solid value to the buyer, don't even try to convince others. To do so means you're pushing a product upon your audience, rather than pulling them towards it.

Business Essentials -- 3. An Irresistible Offer.

Your product alone should never represent your entire offer. If you want to sell by words alone, you need an offer that is so attractive, no sensible person could pass it by. Prepare an overall package that is worth far more than your product alone.

This is easy to do. Simply think in terms of appealing premiums, bonuses, coupons, consulting packages, gifts, accessories, etc. and you can create an offer that is 100% exclusive - no matter what you're selling.

Business Essentials --4. A Hungry Market.

Identifying a target market is a definite requirement. Ideally, your product and your offer should be shaped and molded to suit the specific desires of your tightly defined niche market. Spot a hungry market with unfilled or poorly filled "wants" and offer the ultimate solution. That's how you stack the deck in your favor.

Business Essentials -- 5. The Resources To Market Effectively.

It doesn't matter how outstanding your product, offer and copy is... if you don't have the capability of reaching your audience in a big way. In direct mail, there are postage, production and list rental costs involved. With web marketing, it's ezine advertising, search engine optimization, and pay per click (PPC) ads.

If you don't factor these expenses in at the start and plan for them, you're creative copywriting and product development efforts could be hampered right off the bat. It takes adequate capitalization to run any business and there are costs involved if you want to maximize your marketing. Proper planning helps transform an unexpected expense into successful investment that propels your business forward. Launching any enterprise without these basic business essentials is futile.

When you have these 5 business essentials in place, your copy is not only easier to write, it's far more convincing. And copy that's far more convincing, converts a lot more prospects into customers.

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Amber McCrocklin, a small scale business owner began Paws abroad that created a line of gear for pet owners who took their dogs on boats and ships. By handcrafting life jackets and water leak proof leashes, she started in a small scale. But, when orders began pouring in she decided to relocate her operations to China. She knew China Sourcing would cut costs by half and give her ample spare time to design more products to increase Paws Aboard -pawsaboard.com. On the suggestion of another Indianapolis trade owner, she appointed an engineer in Shenzhen to do over and redesign the products for mass manufacturing and found a factory to do the work. The production increased five fold and her profit margins were doubled.

 

But problems started. The grips on her life jackets were breaking, to add up shipments were delayed, and her contact in China was not at all responsive. Doubts aroused whether China Sourcing was not all that productive for her. McCrocklin's endurance finally hit the sky when she came upon 3000 defective pieces of leashes. The tables turned completely and logos were all upside down. The orders were rejected. McCrocklin didn't want her patrons, retailers and online business people to see the shoddy work.

 

A bad batch of leashes may seem trivial compared with the potentially deadly output of Chinese suppliers that caught the media glare across the International trade arena worldwide for 1.5 million toy trains layered with lead paint and 60 million contaminated toxic pet food. In July the Food and Drug Department banned shrimp and four varieties of contaminated farm-made fish from China.

 

All of a sudden China Sourcing standard procedure for thousands of entrepreneurs looked bleak and difficult. Now business industries must feature in the true cost of obtaining their products at the International trade beating the China price. Andrew Bartolini, an expert on China Sourcing, at a top research firm in Boston said that low costs come always came with risks.

 

Big companies also had problems dealing with the negative consequences from defective products and unsaleable goods and bad publicity and lawsuits. Menu Foods, a $303-million-a-year giant firm had to spend $38 million recalling melamine-tainted pet food. Foreign Tire Sales nearly went bankrupt when faced with a $90 million price tag for its recall. The company, which sold only 700,000 tires last year, had to replace 450,000 manufactured by Hangzhou Rubber Co. having dangerous defects. Thus China Sourcing also means inviting risks and large losses in business.

 

The dark cloud over Chinese suppliers does have a hope of silver lining. Some Business entrepreneurs imitate the ways in which multinationals control supply chains. Some companies take care of everything from inspecting quality control to assuming liability for a factory’s output. With China sourcing partners, the quality of middlemen is very important. Checking with other importers and trade associates are a solution to find reliable middlemen. So, the final doubt is that is China Sourcing worth all these risks and upheavals? The debate goes on.

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Step 5: Establish an expert reputation for yourself to drive even more traffic to your site.
People use the internet to find information. If you provide valuable information for other sites to use--and include a link back to your site--you’ll get more traffic and better search engine rankings. Some ideas for establishing yourself as an expert include:

Give away free content, like articles, videos or other useful information, and distribute that content through online article directories and social media sites. Include “send to a friend” links on your site's valuable content. Become an active expert in industry forums and social networking sites where your target market hangs out.
If you use these tactics, you’ll reach new readers. But even better, every site that posts your content will link back to yours, and search engines love links from relevant sites and will reward you in the rankings accordingly.

Step 6: Use the power of e-mail marketing to keep in touch with your visitors and turn them into buyers.
When you build an opt-in list, you’re creating one of the most valuable assets your online business can have--permission to send visitors e-mail. Why is e-mail marketing so valuable?

You're giving potential customers something they've asked for.
You're developing lifetime relationships with people in your target market.
The response is 100 percent measurable.
It's cheaper and more effective than print, TV or radio advertising because it's highly targeted.
It can be almost entirely automated.
Anyone who visits your site and opts in to your list is a very hot lead. And there's no better tool than e-mail to let you effortlessly follow up with those leads.

Step 7: Increase your income through back-end sales and upselling. One of the most important internet marketing guidelines is to develop every customer’s lifetime value. At least 36 percent of people who have purchased from you once will buy from you again if you follow up with them. Closing the first sale with a customer is by far your most difficult task--not to mention your most expensive one. So here's how to get them to buy again:
Offer products that complement their original purchase.
Send out electronic loyalty coupons they can redeem on their next visit.
Offer related products on your "thank you" page.
If you reward customers for being loyal, they'll become even more loyal to you in return.

Step 8: Start an affiliate program to maximize your sales and revenue. Once your business is up and running, it's time to launch your affiliate program. Affiliates are people who promote your products on their sites for a cut of the selling price. Every time they send you a buyer, you pay them a commission.

An affiliate program is a simple, low-maintenance way to grow your business. Once you get your program set up, all you have to do is share your marketing materials with your affiliates and send out checks when they make sales.

By doing this, you don't have to go out and spend money on advertising--your affiliates do the advertising for you. Better yet, you only pay them when they make a sale.

The internet changes quickly, but the principles of how to start and grow a successful online business have changed very slowly in the more than 10 years I’ve been in the business.

If you’re just starting out, stick to the sequence of steps in this quick guide. If you’ve been online awhile, do a quick review and see if there’s a step you’ve been neglecting or never got around to doing in the first place. You can’t go wrong with the basics.


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Rapid developments in business-to-business summits for import-export trade have made utilized terms akin to price analysis and the quantity of goods ordered without giving much thought to management of resources and commercial traditions. A practical approach is needed for B2Bdealings along with a vital study of past negotiations. The present scenario of import-export can be easily assessed by a detailed study of its past history, thereby solving many of the current trade problems. The validity of a professional opinion on B2B negotiations can be assessed by a planned and systematic approach. This will lead to improved all-round decisions in business-to-business deals.

International traders respond to B2B negotiations when they are faced with difficult B2B proposals from private suppliers, wherein they have to act quickly. Therefore an automatic or computerized B2B negotiation outcome is a must to burst the B2B monopoly.

Flexible B2B is essential for systematic International global sourcing. It is a myth that global sourcing will tend to increase costs. Electronic trade hugely benefits many business partners across the world. It has led to elasticity in structures and possibility of more communications by its successful implementation. International companies have contributed largely in B2B import-export from Countries like China. In spite of restrictions in import-export of particular products under environment and wild life act, the international companies have flourished in China by almost 36% share in the trade market. B2B deals are becoming increasingly popular in the global arena and business societies. Business-to business negotiations needs to take a tougher stand on global issue pertaining to trade and commerce like foreign trade policies, trade bargains and traditional aspects. B2B negotiation is an Art as well as Science for dealing with major issues, which requires arriving at possible understandings. B2B negotiation is thus the most strategically answer for global sourcing of import and export dealings. But it nevertheless needs the knowledge of global culture for successful import-export ventures in international markets. It is highly frustrating and annoying when source partners cannot arrive at a mutual and logical conclusion. Then B2B negotiations take much longer time in such cases. This is indeed one of the disadvantages of business-to business negotiations.

Legal hassles are being eliminated for smooth flowing import-export trades into developed countries like UK and US. Even imports and exports from China are less held-up for security purposes; diversion of Chinese trade to other parts of the world is a major concern for United States. Imports of food products like seafood, diary and poultry foods are facing SPS complexities. China is the undisputed king of global sourcing for import and export of various products. Restrictions over Chinese goods are being relaxed subsequently. This has helped China business to a great extent. B2B has helped Chinese exports and imports in a positive way. But there is concern on the rising prices of import and export goods that could harm millions of traders who are riding high on China’s global boom.

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Natasha is an avid web surfer. Her favorite sites include yahoo, msn, e.bay, BBC and CNN. Many a time, you will notice her shifting from one tab to the other. Natasha terms the Internet as ‘an excellent source of information’.

Jack is also an avid web surfer. Coincidentally, even Jack states that the Internet is a treasure trove of information. When the topic shifts to ‘favorite sites’, Jack lists tootoo.com ,VNUnet.com, techworld.com and silicon.com as his favorite sites.

Well, if you closely observe the site names listed by both Natasha and Jack, then you will notice that the sites listed by Natasha are the ones that are frequently visited by general web surfers. On the other hand, most you of will conclude that Jack visits some obscure sites. Well, that is clearly not the case. The sites visited by Jack are popularly known as B2B [Business to Business] sites. These are niche sites that basically cater to the demands of hardcore professionals. In other words, B2B sites are not meant for any Tom, Dick or Harry.

The basic purpose of a B2B site is to provide a platform that will allow communication between two business houses. A B2B site also enables a company to carry out communications with its suppliers as well as clients. It also allows a business house to view its opinions on events happening on the macro-level. At times, a B2B site may also store valuable information about a particular industry. Such information can be used by all the professionals who are related to that particular industry.

Most Internet marketing experts feel that a B2B site should form an integral part of any large or medium scale enterprise. However, most business houses still ponder over the importance of a B2B site.

Well, according to The UK Association of Online Publishers, business decision makers heavily rely upon B2B sites. A survey carried out by them revealed that almost 82% of the decision makers did make use of a B2B site.

Most decision makers use a B2B site to keep themselves abreast of the latest changes and innovations taking place in their industry. Well, as a decision maker, one must constantly be aware of the minutest changes taking place in his/her industry. And most feel that a B2B website allows them to recognize the pulse of the industry. According to a data revealed by The UK Association of Online Publishers, 44% of those surveyed stated that they had used a B2B site on a regular basis to keep a tab on the latest development taking place in their industry. Moreover, the decision makers also made an extensive use of B2B media websites. The data also revealed that 33% of the respondents use a B2B site for gaining technical information about their respective industries. The survey carried out by The UK Association of Online Publishers reveals that a large number of decision makers also make use of B2B websites to keep an eye on the policies and decisions pursued by rival companies. B2B sites are also used to gain information about various products as well as suppliers, which are useful for that particular industry. And in most cases, the decision makers usually use a B2B website to gain information about the latest entrants in their field of work.

Interestingly, many decision makers also made use of a B2B website for carrying out job-related activities. Survey carried out by The UK Association of Online Publishers reveals that 14% of the decision makers did make a regular use of a B2B website for finding or locating a job whereas 17% have admitted that they sometimes visits a B2B website for locating a suitable employment opportunity. Similarly, 11% of the respondents stated that they regularly visited a B2B site for locating new talents; whereas 19% of the respondents did state that they visit a B2B website for the purpose of recruiting new employees.

Having a good content on a B2B website also allows the site owner [which usually happens to be a company] to make few bucks. The survey carried out by The UK Association of Online Publishers shows that 39% of the respondents, who also happen to be major decision makers, got themselves registered with the site whereas 17% of the respondents paid for the online content.

Thus, if we look from a decision maker’s point of view, B2B websites have an important role to play. However, if we look at B2B websites from the view point of an internet marketing professional we will realize that B2B sites can prove to be a good alternative medium for carrying out advertisements of one’s product and services.

Research has brought to light the fact that B2B websites are an effective medium for carrying out an online Internet marketing campaign. A survey carried out by The UK Association of Online Publishers reveals that 71% of visitors have clicked on an advertisement after seeing it on a B2B website. According to the same survey, 64% of B2B site users reported to have visited a particular site after a mention of the same was made on a B2B website. Similarly a large number of B2B site visitors also stated that they have registered with the website that was mentioned on a B2B site. Similarly, 53% respondents to the survey carried out by The UK Association of Online Publishers also stated that they had requested further information from a site that was advertised on a B2B website.

As an internet marketing professional, you must be aware that procuring online shopping orders is one of the main aims of any website belonging to a manufacturer of a product or a service provider. Placing an ad on a B2B website can help the manufacturer to realize this aim. The UK Association of Online Publisher’s survey of B2B site users revealed that 45% of the respondents bought a product online whereas 38% of the respondents used the offline methods to purchase a product. The aforementioned figures underline the importance of using B2B websites for the purpose of advertising.

Having a B2B website allows an easy access to information to all the players in a particular industry. And since various surveys and research have revealed the effectiveness of B2B sites as an advertising medium, B2B sites have a bright future. In the words of The UK Association of Online Publishers, “B2B online will grow and usage will become more sophisticated and integrated.”

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Today, tootoo is one of the most powerful Internet business platform available.

We started as a free member in 2006. and it has been a real benefit to our business. With tootoo membership, the quality of inquiries has improved and we are meeting a lot of serious buyers.

With an online product showcase, tootoo members can update products and selling leads on a daily basis and change their offerings to meet with changing market conditions. Updating products is critical.

It's a very powerful platform, one that enables real- time communication between the two or more parties. One can save a lot of time and efforts by using tootoo. With its voice and webcam functions, one can virtually communicate face-to-face. We generally keep our tootoo application running so customers can contact us any time. Just the same, it keeps me updated about new postings related to our product lines, making it easy for me to make contact with the exact buyers who are looking for suppliers like us.

In the end we would like to say that tootoo.com is the best platform among the various trade-related websites on the Internet. We would like to thank the entire tootoo team!

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Tootoo.com is the third generation of online business-to-business (B2B) platforms, combining an international trade portal with vertical search engine technology to provide the complete trade solution for suppliers and buyers. Our unrivalled search technology doesn't rely on a database of registered clients, but instead gets the results you want from all B2B networks and trade portals on the World Wide Web. Whether searching by product, industry, or company name, Tootoo.com's unbiased results let you compare potential trading partners easily and efficiently.

With over 8 million foreign trade suppliers and 3 million international buyers in our network, Tootoo.com has become a trusted platform for international companies to find what they want: either supplies or customers. This is because Tootoo.com has no bias towards buyers or suppliers, so that all the results returned are ordered by relevance and quality, not on how much sponsorship a company gives. Tootoo.com is already the leading B2B search engine in the world, so start searching today.

1. Tootoo.com's Outlook
Our Goal:
To empower local businesses through international trade.
Our Commitments:
◇To offer a complete, hassle-free, search-and-compare trade portal;
◇To give fair, objective results for all our searches.

2. Tootoo.com's Mission
◇For buyers – To make specialized B2B purchases
－－Develop a long-term love of Tootoo.com's search engine and comparison tools.
－－Allow purchases to run smoothly and with mutual trust.
◇For sellers – Increase overseas exposure and marketing capabilities
－－ Develop and promote suppliers' quality and service
－－Let the highest quality suppliers top our search results "first time, every time".

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