Internet business models

As technology evolves, it is becoming essential to integrate more interactive web platforms into traditional business models. The ease of sharing information is leading to higher-than-ever expectations from customers, meaning the weak or slow will cannot survive! There are many options available when building your internet business model, and each option has several variations:

Pay-per-use model: in this model, the use of a product or service is metered and customers are charged when they use the service. The recent development of cloud software has revolutionized the way we meter pay-per-use services. Revenue and use are notoriously unpredictable for this model. iTunes is probably the most popular example of this business model, as it allows users to sample thousands of songs for free, but charges a fee to download the full-length tracks.

Advertising model: advertising models provide free content and services (like email, IM and blog) mixed with advertising messages. Google is an example of a content-targeted advertiser that has the ability to identify the meaning of a webpage, then automatically deliver relevant search results to the searcher.

Subscription model: this model allows users to access special information by providing useful data, such as their name, email address and phone number, similar to a magazine subscription. Subscription sites can include anything from login web portals to eNewsletters sent via email. Netflix uses a subscription model which allows users to create an account (name, email address, payment information), and access hundreds of movies and shows with their internet-enabled devices.

[almost] anyone can do it!

Brokerage model: typically, brokers facilitate transactions by bringing together a buyer and a seller. Virtual marketplaces, like eBay, are considered brokers. In these situations, the broker will profit from charging fees to the buyers and sellers.

Infomediary model: the premise of an infomediary involves collecting, analyzing and selling the information of consumers, including their buying behavior, to third parties who want to reach out to those consumers. Some infomediaries will go as far as to provide the consumer with the hardware to browse the internet in order to fully track their online activities. Nielsen is a large online audience market research agency, which collects user data and makes it available for download or purchase (generally to marketers).

Ecommerce models: these models allow a business or an individual to engage in the selling of products or services via the internet. These days, most retailers have an online “eTailer,” or ecommerce site, like barnesandnoble.com or LOFT.com.

Freemium model: in a freemium business model, there is a core product that is given away for free, but the user is given the option to upgrade their service to a paid premium version. Skype is one example of a freemium is Skype, which allows users to upgrade their service to include voicemail, conference calls and worldwide connection to landlines and mobile phones.

Web 3.0: while web 2.0 was characterized by the ability to quickly share information,
it is quickly being phased out to make way for Web 3.0. Web 3.0 is driven by data, and has the ability to tailor to the needs of the user. Mindful of your interests, searches on search engines would yield results that are catered to you unlike ever before. To make Web 3.0 a reality, it would require massive storehouses of Big Data.

It is important to note that the business model that is right for companies similar to yours may not be right for you. Do your research carefully, as several of the business models are very similar. Also, keep your overall business goals in mind when choosing a model, as your online efforts could be instrumental in reaching them.

Adding value with a value prop

Value Proposition [val-yoo prop-uh–zi-shen], n: a business or marketing statement that summarizes why a consumer should buy a product or use a service.

Your value prop should be clear, concise and let the customer prospect know why they can’t live without your product or service. In a few senteces, you must:

• Address their pain points (offer relevancy)
• Explain how you will deliver specific benefits (quantified value)
• And tells your ideal customer why they should choose you and not the other guy (unique differentiation)

Similar to a positioning statement, this forces you to do some big-picture thinking about

Example of a perceptual map from boundless.com

your company, and imagine where it may fall on the perceptual map of a prospective customer. One of the main differences is that your position relative to competition must first be addressed and understood
internally, and once established, the value prop will allow you leverage these unique benefits externally in a customer-friendly way. Some marketers insist on creating a value prop before a positioning statement, but I believe that being aligned internally is crucial before publicly broadcasting your value to the customer.

While being familiar with value props could greatly influence your business, it is equally important to know what a value prop is NOT. Here are some examples:

• It is a not a tagline, slogan or catch phrase
• It is not a positioning statement. While they go hand-in-hand, a value prop does not discuss your position in the market, rather the value you will be providing to the customer

Overall, a successful value proposition is clear, concise and is not clouded by jargon. For more information about crafting a thorough and unique value prop, great examples and some inspiration, check out this article from ConversionXL!

Featured image credit: unbounce.com

 

Internet marketing best practices: What you may be leaving out of your digital strategy

A good digital strategy is not something to be ignored. Investing in internet marketing can contribute to anything from building awareness to increasing sales. The following are a few tips for keeping up with the competitive pace of digital marketing:

1. Do research about your target audience to discover where they are congregating online… don’t just guess! Many businesses know they should be incorporating social media into their strategy, but do not know how to make these channels work for their business. Whether you are trying to make sales, build up an email list or “activate” your brand awareness, digital marketing is a vital tool for achieving these in most markets.
2. Establish SMART goals. Just to review, goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Making sure your goals are SMART means they are realistic for your resources and complete.
3. Develop personas. Persona development will help you become laser focused on your target audience or audiences. Assess their pain points, their demographics, their psychographics and where they can be found online. While this information may seem obvious at face-value, having it in one place and giving your persona a name will allow you to bring this person to life.
4. Invest in your digital strategy. Just like any other aspect of your marketing mix, your digital presence will not

   

   But, it’s April…

   thrive unless you give it your all. Nothing looks worse for a business than a rogue social media profile or an out-of-date Google ad.

5. Reward people for following your business. Maybe you announce a sale to your Facebook followers first, or your email subscribers can access special discounts when upon logging in to your site. Customers like feeling special, and “perks” are an easy way to do that.
6. Listen to feedback, and take it seriously. Being present online allows you to somewhat control the narrative of your business. If there are issues, you can learn about them as they come to light and hopefully limit the damage. Also, you can also contribute to the perpetuation of positive feedback by social media users.
7. Pay attention to the sentiment of online conversations. It’s exciting that your business may be the topic of conversation online, but are you paying attention to exactly what people are saying? While you definitely do not want the conversation to be negative, if your sentiment is neutral, this means consumers do not know much about you or do not have an opinion either way, which also says a lot about your company. Tools are available to help you automate this process and create visual representations, which can be helpful for sharing with colleagues.
8. Keep it cohesive. All roads should lead home. Social channels should link back to your website, and your website should list all affiliated social channels. A social media profile could be the gateway for a prospective customer to make a purchase, and if they cannot locate your website through that social channel, the journey might end there.
9. Be discoverable with SEO. Your website, blog and other outlets should be designed with SEO in mind. Is your site designed with quality, updated content? If so, you will rank higher organically in a search and, thus, be more discoverable online. This goes for certain social media platforms as well, notably YouTube and Pinterest. It’s getting harder to BS search engines with low-quality content.
10. Be mindful of mobile. An overwhelming amount of users are searching and
    engaging on their mobile devices and tablets, as opposed to desktop computers. Websites and content must be optimized for mobile viewing, or potential customers either will not see it — or worse — will not enjoy it! This is a huge chunk of the audience that you could be missing out on.