Is this commercial greed stealing business from established online stores?

May 9th, 2008 by Lee | Posted in General |

I had to talk about this as I was rankled when I heard the news from one of our clients.

Here’s the story………

Zoo Jewellery have now been trading online for a good number of years. The site is trusted, orders are healthy and online the brand is continuing to flourish. As well as supplying their own range of jewellery, Zoo also supply products from the likes of Kit Heath, Hot Diamonds and St Justin.

Everything was fine in the garden, when…….

One of the manufacturers has shut-up shop and is preventing jewellery retailers from selling its jewellery online. This is course is the prerogative of the manufacturer, after all it is there product and they can do what the hell they like with it.

Bone of contention

Here’s my bone of contention - After years of building the brand, pushing forward and investing in their online business one of the suppliers has now decided to stop supplying all online jewellery retailers such as Zoo Jewellery.

If the supplier was that adamant they wanted to cease supplying the retail sector, then why not set-up a series of shops? Why does this jewellery supplier believe they have the right to steal business away from their resellers only in the online environment? Easy, because they feel they can achieve the same sales with their website as do all their resellers do with a hundred websites.

The likes of Zoo Jewellery have been used to build a brand only to be informed they can no longer sell online. So what is the motive behind this business decision? What is the strategy behind the decision? From my outside perspective I can only see it as greed.

Why now and why online only?

The jewellery supplier has seen vast numbers of sales being recoded via online channels and it looks as though it wants the additional margin for themselves. After all why take reduced margin, when you can forcefully prevent your online resellers from selling online by shutting down accounts.

through its online resellers and now because set-up costs are far less than setting up a chain of 150 high street stores they are happy to cut revenue streams from small business that have supported them over the years.

Softening the blow - The Affiliate Scheme

The company in question is offering an affiliate scheme to its resellers, this is at least some comfort for those who are going to be affected by the loss of online sales. Whilst we all know there is good money to had from a quality network of affiliates, you have to think that without a readymade affiliate network, sales would die. If it were me I would not have anything to do with the brand. As a site owner why should I send my traffic and loyal customers to a now competing business?

Do not take the stock offline

Whilst the manufacturer is threatening complete account withdrawal via non-compliance of not withdrawing online ordering facilities for this jewellery range, it should not stop Zoo and other jewellery e-tailers from displaying the stock online should they want too. After all, Zoo Jewellery has three jewellery shops, the site also offers a service to customers who may want to browse jewellery ranges prior to visiting the ‘bricks and mortar’ store.

Backward thinking

Here’s what is going to happen; the online jewellery stores that have the traffic coming to them at this time will continue to get traffic coming to them. The difference is this, they will no longer be selling a specific jewellery range. These are business people, all that is going to happen is they replace with a substitute.

Yes, there is going to a degree of brand loyalty, but I will be frank, the brand in question is no Rolex or Cartier, it is recognizable but not irreplaceable. Ultimately if you enter a site on terms such as silver jewellery or silver earrings you are going to look at what the store has to offer. Zoo take their highest conversion from their brand name. What they showcase to visitors, they sell. No showcase, no sale!

The manufacturer in question has to ultimately compensate for the loss of let’s say one hundred online retailers and replace with a single entity. Yes, they will be fine on their brand name, but there are more tangents required than just brand.

Zoo have worked very hard at brand loyalty, the customer service is second to none, and I am not just saying this as they are a client, my better half shops at Zoo both online and off and is only ever full of praise for the team.

Ill-formed business decision

This is where for me a critical ill-formed business decision has been made by the jewellery manufacturer. My partner shops at Zoo Jewellery because there is a choice. When she is looking for silver jewellery she will go back to Zoo, it is at this time purchase choice is guided by brand loyalty to Zoo Jewellery and not the manufacturer.

If you take away your channel sales you have to work incredibly hard to fill the void. And to stop online sales from 60-100 online resellers overnight is for me a disaster waiting to happen.

The hypocrisy

Here’s my two-pennies worth: If you are going to shut-up shop and not allow your national resellers to sell online then as a company you should be also be prepared to invest in high street outlets to also offer your product ranges.

I would love to see all the affected jewellery retailers to get together as a collective and turn round in one voice and inform the manufacturer they are no longer prepared to sell their product in-store. Then watch for a very big u-turn!

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5 Ways to beat the credit crunch online

May 6th, 2008 by Lee | Posted in Internet Marketing |

Firstly, don’t believe the hype of it all being doom and gloom for retailers at this time. The credit crunch may be hurting the banks, but like gamblers they could not hide their losses forever. It now feels as though it is everyone ar the banks that are being made to pay for their gambling habits.

People are keeping a tighter reign on spending in harder times, it makes fiscal sense, but there are plenty of people who are still spending online. If you are experiencing weak online sales at this time the question you have to ask is why are shoppers they not spending at your store?

In fairness there could be multiple reasons why your online business is failing at this time.

Working with our clients as closely as I do am I am privy to lots of data and intelligence. Simple matter is I take that data and make an online business better, I make it flourish and I make it profitable.

2008 is not quite shaped up to be the doom and gloom year many analysts were predicting. In fact for a number of Fresh Egg clients online sales are on the up! So why is that when so many are reporting tough times?

One term can sum-up why Fresh Egg clients are beating the current trading climate - Reaction.

Ultimately, you need to give your visitors what they need and them some, but you need to be flexible enough to react in these turbulent times.

So here are my five ways in which you can beat the credit crunch:

1. Special Offers - Internet means bargains, rotate special offers and give buyers a reason to want to spend money. We are all suckers for incentives! Don’t be greedy and offer discounts and keep them fresh to keep the interest going. Monthly offers go a long way to keep the tills ringing.
2. The Right Information - If a buyer feels you don’t want their business, they are unlikely to give you their business. In these harder times you have to work harder to get the sale. If five people have asked you a question about a product then have this information available to view. You were asked a question for a reason, the answer could not be found. If you are cheap with offering the right information to potential buyers, don’t expect them to maintain interest in your offering, no matter what special offers you have.
3. Quick Delivery - If it’s in stock, ship it as quickly as you can. If it’s in stock, tell them it’s in stock. If you go into a shop you may well ask if they have something in stock. But why assume an online shopper is going to ask? The chances are they won’t. If you fail to display stock information the following will apply to you - No stock, No Sale!
4. Communication - You need to put your company in front of your existing customers. Make sure you are sending regular updates to your registered mailing list and keep them up to date with the latest information. Why not give them a discount for being extra loyal in these harder times? Surely it’s better to have some margin than no margin?
5. Impeccable Customer Service - There are dozens of other businesses vying for your customers money, if you are communicating with potential buyers then make them feel wanted, make them feel special.

If you are struggling online, then talk to us. Give us a call on 01903 247788 or email info@freshegg.com and let’s see how we can get you through tougher times.

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925loans.co.uk website launched - first enquiry within 30 mins

May 2nd, 2008 by Adam Stafford | Posted in General |

925loans.co.uk was launched today and they received their first enquiry within 30 mins of the website going live! This is a new company backed with many years of experience within the loans industry from the MD. Fresh Egg designed the website and is now managing the PPC campaign and SEO strategy. The website appeals to those looking for loans for all reasons; from loans to buy a hoarse, loans for school fees to getting a loan to buy a laptop.

We wish you the best of luck for your new website and hope that the enquiries continue to flow through

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