Each year I get even more tempted to tear up my credit card. 2010 was no exception. Once I start buying I just can’t stop. In a previous Blog post entitled ‘Add Shops to the Endangered Species List‘, I commented on how I do all my shopping online – I am going to explore that idea in this post.

Background - First of all you need to know a little about me

1. Internet Nerd – Totally
2. Size – Small / V. Small
3. Hobbies – Triathlon

These 3 facts will have a large bearing on why I shop online. I am an Internet nerd so I am fairly Internet savvy and know my way around the big bad world of the Internet. Being a size small / v. small means that when I go into clothes shops it can be very hard to find clothes that fit. Triathlon is an expensive sport and it is fairly new to Ireland. The best selection and lowest prices are to be found in the UK or US.

Rough Total Spend 2010 = €14,000

• Insurances – €750
• Motor Tax – €350
• Clothing – €500
• Sports Gear – €3000
• Enter races – €500
• Book hotels – €700
• Book flights – €650
• Holiday Rentals – €400
• Buy software – €800
• Buy tickets (concerts / matches etc.)- €300
• Presents for every occasion – €1500
• Buy Computer Equipment – €2000
• Office Equipment – €1000
• Accountant – €1500

With Internet banking I do all my banking from home. I can:

• Receive payments
• Pay contractors
• Pay ESB bill, Phone bill, Credit Card bill etc

With Revenue.ie I can log on and file and pay all my tax returns.

With RTE.ie / Irish Independent /The Guardian (local newspaper) I can catch up on the news every day for free.

It is allegedly a possibility that I download the latest movies / tv series / music for free online.

The above covers virtually all my shopping needs. Day to day groceries could be bought online from Tescos and brought to my door but I live on the local Tesco’s doorstep so that would be just downright laziness! If I want to order a pizza  or fast food online then that can be done too.

The Irish government have been providing more and more of their services online (which is to be welcomed). Online education is becoming very popular. 2 of my brothers are currently studying for online Maths Degrees from the Open University. Broadband speeds and connectivity are always improving and more and more businesses are now appearing online. More and more kids are growing up Internet savvy so all things point to a future dominated by virtual stores.

My online shopping also strongly points to the demise of offline shopping. Will offline shopping disappear completely? Of course not. Will it be radically changed in the future? Probably.

It is only a slight exaggeration to say that I purchase everything online. I don’t go shopping ‘down town’ any more. I don’t really see the appeal. If I go to the local shops:

A. they won’t have what I am looking for – of course they will offer to order it for me. “How long will that take” I enquire. “Two weeks” is the typical response. Do they not realise that most reputable online shops will deliver to your door in 2 – 3 days now. By purchasing in town I have wasted time going to the shop the first time and I then will have to wait 2 weeks for the product before having to make another journey into town to collect the product. This has taken up a lot of additonal time not to mention added expense in petrol and parking fees. Why would I do this to myself when I can make the order online in 5 mins?

B. I am stuck in a long queue - I hate queues. I even hate the way queue is spelt. Queues cause rage to build and time to get eaten up. Christmas time queues are worse than death and are to be avoided at all costs. Queues for parking, queues for elivators, queues for toilets, queues for the till – queues everywhere. There are no queues online.

C. I will get ripped off – Prices in Irish stores are far too high. A brick and mortar store cannot compete with an online store for value for money. The virtual store does not have the same business overheads as a real store and therefore it can offer considerably lower prices.

The online world offers me cheaper prices, a wider selection, quicker delivery, and delivery to my door. Why would I ever want the hassle of shopping down town again?

I guarantee you that I am not the only person who thinks like this. With more and more people growing up with the Internet and a Broadband connection in their house, the trend towards virtual shopping will continue. In a future post I will take you through a year in the life of yours truly shopping online.

A successful web design & development project is like a good marriage; it needs buy in and compromise from both sides.

Here is a checklist of items you need to prepare before contacting a web design company.

Budget
Know what your budget is upfront. Like everything in life you get what you pay for, you’re not going to get the site of your dreams for €500.
If this is your budget no problem, get the next door neighbour with the Bebo account to do it for you.

Nature of the Business
Document exactly what the nature of your business is. A professional development company needs specific requirements, and needs to understand your business before they can even consider a design or an SEO strategy

Target Audience
Who and where is your target audience? Are you trying to target children, young people, adults or pensioners? Are you targeting your town, county, province, Ireland, Europe or the whole universe?

This is vital information when it comes to creating a design concept, for example what font size to use, what colours would be attractive to a certain demographic. It is also essential from a marketing point of view and how to best pitch your business online. Remember the web is moving at such a fast pace that every detail is important.

Main Competitors
You should know this already, and if you don’t then are you taking your business seriously? Knowing who your main rivals are is essential. If there are many competitors then this is a good and bad thing, this means that there is a market for your business, but it also means that you will have to invest to beat your competition.

Having a look at successful rival sites is a great way to give you ideas for your own site. Try and list the top five features you like about your rival sites, so your developer will have a clear indication of your requirements. Remember the designer cannot read your mind, if you know any designers that can read minds, please get them to contact me ASAP!

Style of the site
What style are you looking for?

• Clean
• Simple
• Flashy
• Minimalistic

Again do your research and take note of sites you really like. This will make the designer’s job a lot easier if they know what your personal taste is. Sure the designer will come back with sample designs but they need some guidance (unless they are mind readers of course!)

Extra Functionality
In the old days of the web, a site consisted of text and images mashed together. Nowadays with the emergence of so many web technologies, a website can basically do anything within reason. Extra functionality, such as a built in shopping cart or Flash animation will cost extra, so its important you know up front what you require so this can be factored into your budget.

Conclusion
I hope this gives you some indication of the groundwork that needs to be done by you before you begin your website project with a web design studio. Remember the designer will build the site of your dreams but they need the raw material from you to create the vision.

If you already have your ground work done, feel free to contact me anytime (087 6006529) so we can kick things off.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that providing value for money would be a negative aspect to an Internet marketing company. We are in a recession; surely businesses around Ireland should be looking for value for money? Internet marketing is not rocket science or brain surgery. The thoughts of paying an Internet marketing company €100+ an hour horrifies me and if you own a business then it should horrify you. Chances are, that company will be employing a group of inexperienced students straight out of college to work on your account.

You may ask what has sparked off this little rant of mine. Well, here at JumpStart we are constantly examining our business model. Can it be improved? Can it be simpler? We often ask business consultant friends of ours to take a look at our company and give advice. The answer that they seem to always hit us with is – with the prices you charge you won’t be taken seriously by companies. Their advice was to double our prices and we will see a large increase in business. The scary thing is that they are probably right! Only in Ireland could you get a situation like this. No wonder Ireland has adopted the tag line ‘Rip-off Republic’.

Are companies so well off that they can’t do basic research? Surely an Internet marketing company should be judged by results and value for money. The company who generates the largest ROI should always win. Combine this with excellent customer service and you have found the right company for your business. To exclude Internet marketing agencies from your selection process due to their low fees is ridiculous. Fact. If this is how your company does business then your business deserves to go bust.