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What's really different?
Is there anything that really distinguishes your site from similar
online merchants? If you're merely going to sell widgets like the 14
other well-established widget sites do, your 'me-too' approach will
limit your success. Find some way to set yourself apart so people come
to you rather than your competition.
Case in point: GatorPack sells packing supplies — nothing unique there.
But two things keep customers coming back: the site's design is as
simple and efficient as possible — customers order right from the front
page (no digging). And, the site focuses like a laser beam on filling
orders the same day they get them. GatorPack sets itself apart by being
incredibly easy and fast to buy from.
Here's the reason originality is so
important in your e-business plan: You can set up a dry-cleaning
business in your neighborhood, and it doesn't have to be any different
from the dry-cleaning business across town. No imagination, but no
problem - because nobody's going to drive across town to get their
clothes dry-cleaned.
But online, all businesses are right next to each other. Click your
mouse and you're there. So simply setting up the exact same online
business that someone set up in 2002 is going to be an uphill climb.
They're established in the search engines and you're not.
So setting up an online business takes a little more originality, some
kind of twist, that setting up a real-world store doesn't.
What's the competition?
Scope out potential competitors' sites - now is the time to spot the
chinks in their armor. What are they missing? What customer need do they
fail to serve, that you can cater to and gain advantage? Pretend you're
a customer. What do you wish was different about their online store?
Case in point: Before she launched PaperMojo, which sells decorative
handmade paper, Shelley Gardner-Alley checked out similar sites. She
learned two things: most do not have a broad selection, and many do not
have attractive sites. So she incorporated both these features into her
business plan - she was ready to one-up her competitors before her first
day of business.
To find out how much traffic your competitor is getting, you can use the
Alexa service. This tool doesn't
give absolute numbers of visitors, but it provides a relative ranking
number. You may better estimate your competition by noticing its
Google PageRank (PR).
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Page 4
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Online Money-Making Opportunities
Several Systems to make real money via
Internet
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