Published on: 22 March 2019
Last Updated on: 30 May 2019
Marketing is vital to every company’s success. Without the correct marketing strategies employed, no one will know about your business. Even if you have high-quality products, no one will care about them since they do not know that your business exists in the first place. It is true especially for small companies that are yet to create a name in the industry.
Allotting money for marketing plans could boost your success. Make sure though that you spend it wisely; otherwise, you will be wasting the opportunity to advertise.
You started marketing without a strategy:
Not all marketing strategies work. Some of them are expensive, but you do not see the results. Others are free, but the tactic could attract a lot of people. The marketing plan is a long process that begins by researching the people that you are targeting. You need to know what they want and what advertising strategy appeals to them. For instance, if you decide to release a video ad online, it needs to be short and concise. Within that short time, you can capture attention if you have a strategy; otherwise, no one will watch it.
You are not spending enough money:
If you think of using a portion of your budget for marketing, you need to go all-in; otherwise, you are wasting the opportunity. Some marketing strategies are expensive and require you to invest a lot. However, you also build your company’s name in the process. For instance, if you want media coverage in a massive event that is going to happen in your area, you need to spend money to be a major sponsor. If you are going to release a TV commercial, you need to spend money on quality production. You still need to be smart in determining how much to spend, but you cannot keep reducing the budget.
You expect quick results:
The problem when some people spend money on advertising is that they expect results right away. It does not work that way. When you advertise, you need to wait for a while before you see things go in the right direction. The reason why it is essential is that some people decide to give up and stop spending when the advertising efforts are still going on. Once you choose to use an advertising strategy, you cannot abandon it in the middle of the process just because you think it is not working.
You are spending everything on one strategy:
It would be a disaster if you invested all your money in one marketing effort, and it failed. Diversifying your tactics will help a lot. If you think that online marketing works, you can invest in it. However, you cannot assume that it will be successful. As such, it also helps if you spend money in other areas like the use of conventional marketing methods. You can try garment t-shirt printing since it is a proven technique that many businesses still use. You may also start giving out flyers and posters.
Be careful in using your money for marketing and make sure you are investing it in the right way.
Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.
The first quarter of 2019 has almost passed, and it has been predicted that 18% of the purchases will be made online by 2040. Further, 95% of the orders will be facilitated by e-commerce store.
Considering the above statistics, it comes as no surprise that the fate of your online business is dependent on how your website works. But did you know that all your website operations rely on the choice of your e-commerce platform?
Now, as the online store owners narrow down the choices, they are only left with two main platforms as the contenders- Magento and Shopify. While both platforms can create a one-of-kind e-commerce store, they differ in many areas.
To start with, Shopify works best for smaller businesses. On the flip side, Magento is aimed at enterprise businesses. This post is going will give you an in-depth insight on Magento and Shopify and help you decide which is an ideal platform for your e-commerce store.
Magento and Shopify in a Nutshell: e-commerce store
Magento:
Launched in 2007, Magento is a self-hosted e-commerce platform that powers a number of web stores. The platform is open source and comes with two versions including community (suitable for developers and small businesses) and enterprise edition (best suited for mid-sized and large e-commerce stores). The usage of the platform is free, but you’ll have to pay an amount for premium apps, themes, and hosting.
Irrespective of the price you have to pay, this platform is best known for its flexibility, ability to customize, and scalability.
Shopify:
Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform that allows single-step order fulfillment and lets you set up a store with a custom domain and a theme.
This platform comes with an easy-to-use interface and is more for beginner developers. Moreover, it comes with a 14-day free trial, allows integration with over 70 payment gateways, and is available in almost every language.
Although there are numerous Shopify alternatives available across the web, what sets this platform apart from others is its ability to set up a dynamic store in no time. You will have to pay for the platform after the free trial, but the Shopify team takes care of all the technical tasks.
Magento and Shopify: What Numbers Say!
Description
Shopify
Magento
Number of Websites
600,000
250,000
Number of Extensions
2,400+
3,000+
Number of Themes
60 (external purchase is allowed)
12 (external purchase is allowed)
Now when you are aware of what these platforms are, here is a feature comparison of Magneto and Shopify.
1. Basic Functionality and Ease of Usage:
Both the e-commerce platforms have all the basic store functionalities that are easy to use and maintain.
But if we compare both the platforms, Shopify is a drag and drop website builder. Magento has a steep learning curve, and you will have to learn some technical terms to get through the e-commerce store development process.
With Shopify, the developer can add the products; customize the look and feel of your store and set up the payment process in no time. The best part is you can make the entire e-commerce store without any technical knowledge.
In Magento, you have to learn some code to develop an entire e-commerce store. Not to forget, they have comprehensive user guides that walk you step-by-step through various processes. They also have a forum from where you can learn some tricks of the trade.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
When it comes to SEO, both have great search engine optimization capabilities. However, you’ll have to leverage extra plug-ins in the cases for both platforms. But in the case of Shopify, SEO features are automatically built into the website, even in the product pages.
3. Themes and Templates Availability:
In terms of themes and templates, both platforms offer highly-functional customization capabilities. They let you edit the raw code directly and give you full control over the design and appeal of your e-commerce store.
Coming to the differences, Shopify offers a wide variation of mobile-optimized themes. Although many of them are free, if you go for the paid ones, your store gets a professional look and gets equipped with great sales potential. You also get the option to add new pages, change the color palette, move or resize the elements, and integrate the social media feeds.
When it comes to Magento, it has 12 themes. Out of 12, 10 of them are fully responsive. This platform does have free themes, and the paid ones also start at just $1.
With this platform, you can also create your theme or template from scratch. You have the option to add a slide, newsletter, and animation to the website.
4. Inventory Management:
All Shopify plans allow unlimited products in the store. Magento also allows you to add or create an unlimited number of products on the website.
But Shopify is one step ahead in this point due to its integration with drop shipping inventory apps such as Oberlo. Further, in Magento, you have the risk of slowing down your website.
5. Hosting Features:
Your website's performance, storage, security, and speed are dependent on the hosting you choose. Did you know that 40% of people will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load? This will result in a loss of customers as well as revenue.
As Shopify is a hosted platform, it takes care of your entire domain and hosting needs; offers you 24*7 support, and let you concentrate on your business.
Magento comes with two hosting options, including Open Source and Cloud. In Open Source hosting, you have to buy your domain and hosting. But in the case of Cloud, your e-commerce store is hosted and maintained by Magento.
6. Payment Processing:
Shopify platform is already equipped with a payment processor, which is known by the name of Shopify Payments. If you use Shopify Payments for your e-commerce store, you won’t be charged any transaction fee. Moreover, it comes with the support of 60 external payment processors.
For Magento, you will have to download the extension of the payment processor that you want in your e-commerce store. You can look for these extensions in Magento’s marketplace. However, some factors that make Magento worth the consideration are international market coverage and support for multiple languages.
Summing Up:
When it comes to choosing an ideal e-commerce platform, there are lots of factors to consider including interface, scalability, number of themes, templates, speed, load time, cost, search engine optimization, and more.
Is Shopify worth it? If your considerations are ease of usage, availability of themes, not wanting to pay the transaction fee, and having the hosting and bandwidth taken care of, look no further than Shopify. It is user-friendly, has a payment processor, and comes with an array of themes to help you get started.
But if you are technically savvy and want to build an e-commerce store for a large enterprise, go for Magento. With this platform, you will also have to find your hosting provider, which can become expensive, as your business scale. Moreover, there is a chance that you might have to invest some time as well.
If you are still stuck on the decision, skim again through the comparison of features, weigh their pros and cons, and make the best choice for your business.
Read Also:
What Are the Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries?
Top 5 Sites Like Solarmovie To Watch Movies Online
Do I Have To Pay Out Of Pocket For Wisdom Teeth Removal?
For most e-commerce websites today, be it a small one or a big one like Verizon Wireless, Coupon Codes are essential to have the business advertised on the right portals. Most coupon sites promote your brand and keep it top in the competition with similar brands.
If you thought that coupon codes essentially sacrifice your revenues to get more sales, you could be quite wrong. Sometimes, even a huge discount coupon code could help drive a major sales hike. The best way to get more traction with your audience and stand out is by using effective social media strategies. Wondering how to get it done? Check out here
Set Your Goals :
Before you start working on your promotional campaign on social media channels, it is crucial to set your goals. Apart from getting you new customers, coupon codes can also retain existing customers when you place them right on social media.
There are many interesting ways to set up your social media promotional coupons. If you are intending to clear out stock, you could start a buy one get one offer. If you would want to do it on a regular basis, the best way to do it is by setting a weekly or monthly clear out sale for your social audience. Your weekly or monthly promo cycle could help your audience look forward to your posts on social channels. This also aids customer retention.
By offering a promotion on the most popular product in your shop, you can attract new customers. Set specific goals and plan your coupon code offer that suits best.
Here are some of the most popular offer types:
Offer Types using coupon codes:
Percentage off on a specific product - 20% off all shirts
Percentage off on a sale cart - 5% off on your cart at checkout
Dollar off on a specific product - $10 off on your first product purchase
Dollar-off on a sale cart - Buy for $100 or more and get $10 off
Free shipping coupon code
Buy Two Get One offers or Buy One Get One offers
Coupon codes promotion on social media at regular intervals would make your brand more popular and sought after. With short-life coupon codes, you can get a good brand following. Promotion helps you fix any market gaps that your brand might face. A perfect promo plan can help you work positively towards your goal.
Create Your Coupon Codes :
If you are using Shopify or Bigcommerce, creating your coupon codes is pretty simple. Amazon also offers a promo code feature that is designed for social media platforms. You might also consider using tools like Snipcart to create your coupon codes and promoting them. Platforms like Rignite offers one-stop for coupon codes on social media, you can create, share as well as track the effectiveness of your coupon code that you use.
It does not matter how you create your coupon codes, what matters is tracking and monitoring the campaign to derive results.
Designing Your Social Media Posts :
It is important to create engaging and interesting social media posts to promote your coupon codes. When you schedule your posts, make sure that they go live at the same promotional period that you have set in the system
All About Creating Your Promotional Posts :
When you create promotional posts for coupon codes, place your coupon codes both on the image as well as text. When your audience sees your promotion, make it clearly standing out to help them see the value. Adding a sense of urgency like short-life coupon codes or setting up a set number of codes can help to make better conversions. Adding relevant hashtags also help to promote your posts and taking them up in the right direction.
Spend On Social Media Advertising :
Paid promotion on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter help reach your campaign to a specific target audience outside your main followers base.
Micro-Influencers Promote Your Business :
Micro-influencers are a great way to promote specific niche related coupon codes. Although their audience may be smaller in number they are usually more involved and attentive to posts. Promoted posts hold more value as the base audience are usually peers who trust the micro-influencer. To partner with micro-influencers, you can use Dealspotr to find your perfect match.
Branded Videos Impact On Promotion :
Another effective way to promote your coupon code is by creating relevant branded videos. One of the overlooked platforms to advertise your product is YouTube. If you find creating a video difficult, you could also contact a micro-influencer from YouTube to promote your brand. Famebit is one of the popular channels to connect you with the right influencer.
Tracking and Measuring ROI :
Always monitor your social media promotions to find out what works best for you. Tracking down the platform that brings you more conversions is one of the most effective ways to focus your time and money on what's most effective for your brand
Social media is one of the places to find the right target audience for your brand. Instead of using bargain shopping websites like Groupon and Coupon.com, promoting your coupon codes on social media is the right way to target potential buyers.
Read Also :
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Coupon Codes In Your Business
Ways To Spice Up Your Online Shopping Of Apparels
5 Actionable Mobile Marketing Tips That Drive Sales
Enterprise content management is a great way to organize unstructured data and information of an organization. Many factors impact the functioning of ECM systems and determine their effectiveness. When managing your enterprise content solutions, you should define their processes accurately. Several service providers offer enterprise content management consulting services. These service providers understand the needs and requirements of companies in terms of managing data. Thus, can advise business owners with the right solutions.
Proper ECM helps organizations to create, enrich, manage as well as deliver data and information. Business owners should identify their requirements and determine the solutions of the right enterprise management systems that will cater to those requirements. There are several solutions that such systems may include, such as management of documents, managing website content, document imaging, management of records, and management of digital assets as well as managing your business data and providing support for collaboration and management of business processes.
Managing content is one of the most important tasks that organizations need to take care of. It is important to preserve data so that it can be reused for other purposes later. Preservation of data in a systematic order also ensures that it can be searched and found easily whenever required. There are a number of factors that affect the choice of a proper enterprise content management system. Some of the factors which affect the choice include, the number of people and the processes involved in the organization, technology involved, budget and so on. Keeping in mind all the required elements and choosing the right content management system will help an organization to share and edit content efficiently and in an orderly manner.
Top features of enterprise content management (ECM) systems:
Central Repository
Document Scanning
Secure Email Files
Client Portal
Document Retrieval
Mobile Accessibility
Easy Integration
Automated Workflow Manager
Advanced Analytics
Cloud-based Accessibility
Top benefits of enterprise content management (ECM) systems:
Keep Track of All Your Information
Reduce Operating Costs
Save time
Improve Customer Service
Minimize Risk
Document Version Control
Picture an executive rushing from one client office to the next, updating the minutes of the feedback he received at the previous office on the official sheet using his iPhone or Android phone. The entries made by the executive are further accessed by employees sitting in the head office who use the details to generate reports for further information processing. This is possible with the advanced enterprise content management solutions provided by consultants who help businesses optimize their internal documents, datasheet, and content sharing capabilities. Are you aware of the latest techniques and tools being used to perfect enterprise content management?
To begin with, the most important advantage of using professionally generated enterprise content management solutions is that you can be assured that the system will work at its optimum for long. What are the common types of solutions that these enterprise content management consultants use to give you highly advanced data access? Here is the list of the commonly used content sharing systems that are being used in enterprise content management these days.
Content Sharing Systems that are used in ECM:
1. Drupal:
The ideal content sharing system that is known for its robust page building capacities can be used to develop both internal and external websites. Professionals using this CMS for enterprise content sharing and management excel with the in-built options provided by Drupal. The best part of using this CMS is that it is an open-source system that allows the ideas of thousands of users and developers to flow into the building of your enterprise content management systems.
2. Ektron:
This leading provider of content management products allows businesses to use the solutions to manage multi-websites. The framework can also be extended to allow customs control during component development by the professionals. Ektron has been used to design websites of many leading companies like Pfizer, Intel, Dove, Kellog's, Adidas, and many more. You could use the customizable features of this CMS provider to enrich the user experience of your enterprise content sharing portals.
3. MS Share Point:
The software that helps streamline business processing amidst dynamic environments; MS Share Point is definitely the answer for low-cost enterprise content development services using the latest tools and features. The main advantage of using MS Share Point is that you get to leverage content to improve web traffic flow to your website and increase collaboration amongst users.
Thus, in order to stay ahead of market competition, one needs to use the most recent tools and techniques through professionally generated enterprise content management solutions that will help you optimize enterprise performance.
Read Also:
A Guide to Choosing an Enterprise Document Management Solution
Start-up Business Management: How to Reduce Risk and Guarantee Success
