| In any business operation, planning is an important | | | | 3. What ways are you going to reach to your |
| and essential procedure. It goes the same when | | | | targeted market? Unlike the traditional business, |
| running an online business. A proper business plan | | | | online business core marketing plan is traffic |
| establishes your business goals and eliminates | | | | generation. There are various methods of traffic |
| unnecessary activity which is not related to your | | | | generation. Some methods are free and some |
| business goals. It gives you a clear view of what | | | | requires some money. |
| your business wants to achieve within a given | | | | Free methodsa.Article Marketingb.Forum |
| timeframe. | | | | Marketingc.Blogging Paid Methods: a.Ezine |
| Nonetheless, when a business goes according to | | | | advertising b.Pay per click advertising |
| plan there are many advantages such as: | | | | Besides these various methods, you need to |
| 1. You are focus only on the activities that are | | | | develop a website that is search engine friendly. |
| most likely to achieve your goals. | | | | This is to optimize your website when users do a |
| 2. You know how to allocate your resources | | | | search on search engines and get rank well in |
| (staffing, funding etc) | | | | search engine. |
| 3. You are able make correction and adjustments, | | | | 4. Having a good customer services is an |
| and get back on track if necessary. | | | | important factor when running an online business. |
| When writing an online business plan, the approach | | | | Very often, most people think that online business |
| can be slightly different from a traditional business | | | | does not require any verbal communication |
| planning though the objective can be the same. | | | | except by communicating through emails. Yes, I |
| An online business runs 24 hrs a day 7 days a | | | | agree that the main form of communication is |
| week and a traditional business probably opens | | | | largely through emails however phone calls are |
| from 8 to 5 and closes on every Sunday, thus | | | | equally important. |
| planning will not be the same for the 2 types of | | | | Make sure that you have a team that is attending |
| business. | | | | to customer emails and phone calls. Being able to |
| Here is a step by step guide: | | | | relate to customer is very important, it keeps the |
| 1. You need to identify the products or services | | | | customer coming back. |
| that you are selling and understand how your | | | | Having a proper plan can ensure that your online |
| products or services can satisfy the needs of | | | | business runs smoothly. Everything is at your |
| your customer. | | | | fingertips, you know which step to make and |
| 2. You need to identify your target market and | | | | which not to be make. So if you want to achieve |
| understand why they are going to purchase your | | | | online or offline business success, plan well! When |
| products or services. | | | | you fail to plan, you plan to fail. |