Why is adding a new market or a new business model so hard?
In our business we run two or three business models which require many differences of approach and definitely bump into each other from time to time. When working on our plans for 2013 I was considering the different business models and it occurred to me that many companies have a very hard time introducing new models and perusing new opportunities. So in this short article I would like to set the foundation of how to establish a new business model and explore the inherent difficulties of operating multiple models. First, I believe that when introducing a new model or going after a new market, which in many cases requires change in our model, there are two major pitfalls that cause failure. The first is expectations. This is ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ syndrome. Initially looking at the new opportunity we are blind, to a…
Five Tips to Prepare E-Retailers for the 2012 Holiday Season
The holidays are almost here and now is the time when e-retailers are busy making preparations and devising an overall strategy for the year’s most lucrative shopping season.
With e-retail becoming an increasingly competitive field this is not the time to do business as usual. As you put together your strategic holiday business plan be sure to take complete advantage of the latest consumer behaviors and trends. Having an online presence that’s ready to handle both changing consumer habits and expectations is necessary not just to keep ahead of the competition, but to stay in business. At overstockArt.com we have successfully used consumer behavior and trend research to adapt our business to better meet our customer’s needs. This proactive approach has provided us with competitive advantages in the field and allowed us to continue to grow aggressively and profitably.
The Money Machine
Thinking about Your Business as a Well-Oiled Money-Making Machine - What Can You Do To Improve Your Machine?
Earlier this week I visited a friend of mine who is a commercial printer. With all of the new advancements in technology you might imagine that the life of a commercial printer are not simple these days. However, standing there and watching the giant printer spitting out, what seemed like, thousands of catalogs per minute I kept thinking that a business is like a big commercial printer. We have our inputs (paper) then the inputs pass through the machine and the output comes out the other side. Usually in business, we refer to our output as what we ship out, our finished goods or services. But in this exercise, I like to think of output as cash or money. The purpose of a business, any business is not to generate work but to generate cash.
Eleven Tips to Prepare for the 2011 Holiday Season
A list of eleven tips to help online retailers prepare for the busy holiday season. Take the time and prepare for the holiday rush!
Some of the tips here were first revealed in Retail Online Integration Magazine. Originally we came up with 11 tips and although we consolidated the tips to 10 in the Magazine we decided it would be nice to leave it as 11 tips on the Sasson Collection Blog As 11 Tips for the 2011 Holiday Shopping Season. The holiday season is the best time of year for almost all retailers and e-commerce retailers specifically need to gear up in order to make sure they capitalize on the Season of Joy! In many cases retailers make the majority of their profits during these months and if a retailer is unprepared this may mean a sub-par season leading to a bad year that might bring on the demise of the company.
The Fallacy of Commoditization
My thoughts on a recent presentation on marketing and pricing in an age of transparent information and why I completely disagree with it.
I recently heard a presentation regarding marketing and pricing which I completely disagreed with and I decided to write an explanation why I disagree profusely. To start with I would like to summarize the presentation and provide the main points and their basis to the reader. Businesses must accept commoditization since customers are now much better educated and informed Value add services should not be used to protect the price but should become a profit centers — If the customer is not willing to pay for the value add a business must be willing to walk away from it. Maintain or improve profits by reducing your operating and direct costs faster then you drop your price — Focus on profit not price. In the past the following was true: – Quality drove higher prices – Companies provided more then expected – People wanted face to face – Personal…
About the Authors
This blog is written by two brothers: David and Amitai Sasson. Two people who have been a part of online commerce for over 10 years. As our conversations grew more and more enticing we decided to put our ideas and visions in writing...
David Sasson is the co-founder and president of overstockArt.com. He is responsible for all aspects of growingoverstockArt.com...
Amitai Sasson is the vice president of marketing and technology of overstockArt.com. He is responsible for all aspects of growing...
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