B2B Marketing

By: Nowshade Kabir

If somebody tells you that your present corporate website can be converted to a B2B portal which will help you significantly improve your company’s productivity in both of the two primary factors: Revenue Growth and Cost Saving, and that the portal can be launched in a matter of months with a very reasonable investment, what will be your reaction? Read on to learn how corporations all over the world are missing an opportunity, which can revolutionize the way they manage their businesses.

What is a B2B portal?

A portal is defined as an access point to World Wide Web. A portal is a combination of web pages, features and services which become a primary destination for users. The word was first used to describe the sites of popular Internet access providers or search engines such as AOL, MSN and Yahoo! At a later stage, the word “portal” evolved into something bigger covering business websites, where a corporate portal or enterprise information portal acts as a base for employees, customers, suppliers and other associates of a company to access corporate information and web services. A B2B portal is a distinct kind of website with features to conduct electronic business and manage significant parts of corporate business processes.

Benefits of having a B2B portal

Today, B2B portals are not just a fancy idea! They are an absolute necessity for all enterprises of any type and size. The advantages of having a quality B2B portal are massive. Implementation of a true high quality B2B portal could have immediate impact on company productivity.

Revenue Growth

Revenue Increase from Existing Clients Existing clients get faster and easier access to product information, quicker response to their requests, get better customer support and are able to buy products online. Revenue Increase from Value Added Services Once a B2B portal is set as the primary sales channel, spared resources can be used to create more value added services for clients. Some of the services that the portal may offer also could be utilized to generate more value.

Cost Savings

Order Processing Cost If the B2B portal integrates supply chain management solution, it will reduce the cost of processing orders drastically. Studies show that similar solution can reduce cost of processing a purchase order from US$ 70 down in average to US$ 6 only. Sales and support costs Automated sales and customer support features integrated in the solution is capable of reducing overhead costs up to 30 percent.

Inventory keeping costs Clearer visibility and forecasting ability thanks to various features of the B2B portal may help companies considerably reduce inventory keeping costs.

Other key benefits include: Low customer acquisition cost Effective portal branding on the Internet will help to attract customers from new sources. The cost of acquiring customers through online channels is always cheaper than other traditional methods.

Improve customer service Ability to have constant interaction with customers through the B2B portal helps companies serve customers better. The B2B portal solution allows tracking the whole ordering process from payment to delivery and brings greater efficiency in customer service. or directly buy products using the shopping cart Reduce sourcing time cycle The customers can select products from the integrated marketplace of the B2B portal and either sends purchase orders or directly buy products using the shopping cart. Buyers handle all their procurement related correspondence from a consolidated working page, which helps them react instantly and reduce time in document processing.

Community participation Company buyers and sellers can create communities surrounding the B2B portal’s discussion board. This helps getting valuable feedbacks on time, building new partnerships using the networking ability of a community, and disseminating important information to members easily.

Real time access to current product information Current information of a product is vital for an accurate buying decision. Updating product content and other information using customized forms as it is necessary, the company can help buyers and other associates to take critical decision promptly.

Control rogue spending Consolidated and automated procurement and approval method stops maverick buying in a company.

Main components of a B2B portal

Supply Chain Management Supply chain management solutions can deliver great values to company’s existing systems. Implementation of these solutions will help achieving incredibly high return on investment and will have tremendous impact on company’s business, which include: better productivity, faster order processing, greater visibility, the elimination of maverick or unplanned purchasing, etc.

Marketplace This is the venue where the enterprises can post their products for sale. A sophisticated shopping cart will be integrated into the electronic marketplace in order to automate the buying process.

Auction Electronic auction system can use both English and Dutch auction methods. For convenience the auction component can be integrated into the electronic marketplace. Online auction helps liquidate surplus goods easily.

Reverse Auction This solution allows the company to automate electronic procurement, where suppliers compete for business real time online.

Storefront for Participants Each associate of the B2B portal will get a Storefront that may reflect profile of the company, its products, services or other information.

Forum A Forum or a Discussion Board is an organized, on-line interactive message board where participants conduct discussion on a set of topics by posting questions, comments and responses.

Internal Messaging System Elaborate Messaging System allows a participant of the B2B portal send and receive messages from other participants and the company. Since the messages do not leave a secured server, participants would not be worried about sending sensitive information over the Internet.

Classified Catalog based bulletin board allows company associates to post important notices in various predefined formats.

Directory of Companies This is a listing of all registered associates of the B2B portal either by business category or by alphabetical order. An advanced search engine tool is incorporated in order to find a company based on data provided.

E-catalog E-catalog — a hierarchy of product and service categories based on UNSPCS, a global products and services classification method that covers the broadest collection of industries and commodities available today, and designed to facilitate e-commerce transactions by providing geography-independent common nomenclature system.

Product Content Adding System Product adding mechanism based on either easy-to-use wizard or simple but detail forms allows users to integrate products or services with accurate and up-to-date information.

Product Notification The system can generate an alert and send by email to a user, who requested to inform once a particular product or service gets added to the E-catalog.

Numerous other features could be incorporated to an existing B2B portal depending on requirement, such as: News Aggregation using RSS feed, Contact Management, Electronic Journal, Press Room, Document Repository, etc.

Time needed to set up

Using ready made B2B Portal components from a provider like Rusbiz.com a medium size portal can be built or integrated to existing website within three to four months. By developing a B2B portal ahead of your major competitors you can give your business a significant boost and make your company stand out from the crowd.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – B2B portal: A Business Platform to Ultimate Productivity Improvement

In the first quarter of this year it is likely many B2B companies are about to get started with social media marketing, or at least talking about it. While social media marketing isn’t complex, the amount of tools and ideas can often be daunting. The hardest part is often sorting out all the noise and determining the few things that will actually help drive business objectives.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to help simplify the process and share a simple six step process that would help any B2B company, regardless of industry, get started with B2B social media marketing.

6 Steps To Getting Started In B2B Social Media

Step 1: Understand What You Want Social Media Marketing To Help Achieve For Your Business – Beginning with the end in mind is always key, especially when it come to social media marketing. Let’s face it, the Internet can be a time suck. If you don’t know what you are trying to accomplish, you are likely wasting time. Set one or two clear goals. A goal could be as simple as “increasing lead generation by 20%”. Look at your business plan for opportunities that can social media best support. Focus on those.

Step 2: Find Your Audience – Think of the social web as a a large ocean. Your customers are likely only a few small schools of fish among countless in the ocean. Finding out where your customers are online and how they spend their time will stop you from wasting yours. To do this you can used free tools like Google Blog Search, Twitter Search, Facebook Search, LinkedIn Search, etc. The important thing to remember is not which tools to search, instead it is making sure you are searching for the right terms. Company names are easy, but you are going to find more value from search of industry related terms that will help identify conversations on topics related to your business.

Source: 6 Steps To Getting Started In B2B Social Media

By: Andrew Lawrence

The business of wholesale has been around for ages. In the past you could simply shake a persons hand and solidify a deal, and that deal was set in stone. With the incredible growth of online business you no longer have live near a wholesale supplier – you can literally find someone to supply wholesale products for you anywhere in the world without much effort. However, with the explosive growth of companies that supply products at wholesale to retailers and etailers, it has opened the door for deceitful and poorly organized wholesale suppliers to abound. Unfortunately the days of taking a person at their word in regards to the wholesale business is over.

When using a wholesale supplier for your business, one thing you need to fully understand is that your business is in full control of your supplier. A poor supplier can completely immobilize your business, whether it be online or offline, and tarnish or even destroy your reputation very quickly. Successful wholesale and retail businesses are made by good administration and dependable suppliers.

It’s not always easy to pinpoint the undependable supplier or even the outright scam companies. You cannot base whether a wholesale supplier is dependable or trustworthy simply by viewing their website or browsing their hard copy catalog. This day in age it is simply too easy to setup a professional looking website or print out a few color catalogs that look legitimate.

Some key points to look for in a wholesale supplier:

1. Contact Telephone Number. Does this company offer a telephone number? While most do, you would be surprised at the amount of online suppliers that only offer contact via email. While this is not necessarily a reason to not use a supplier – it is something to watch out for.

2. Mailing Information. Does the company use a physical address or a P.O. box for their contact mailing address? Do they even list a mailing address? It is more assuring to know that you can easily locate your supplier if needed.

3. Products. Does the company offer brand new, name brand merchandise at prices that seem too good to be true? Many fraudulent companies lure new customers in by using high in demand products at well below wholesale prices – but either fail to supply at all or offer second rate, used or damaged merchandise.

It is up to you to do your own due diligence to research a company before you even entertain the thought of using your name or company to endorse a certain wholesale suppliers products. While you can possibly research some companies using a search engine, the best way to find out about a particular wholesale supplier is from people who have already used them. Learn from others’ experience with a particular company, this is the best way to get a good feel as to whether they will be a good supplier for you as well.

About the Author

Andrew Lawrence has a website designed to help businesses and individuals find dependable wholesale suppliers. Find out more about which wholesale companies you should use by visiting his website. http://www.wholesale-help.co.uk

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – The Importance of Finding a Dependable Wholesale Supplier

Business-to-business (B2B) online marketing will experience strong growth over the next three years, a new report has found.

The US research by the strategy consulting firm AMR International, which may reflect trends in the UK, predicted annual compound growth of 12 per cent for the channel up to 2013, Marketing Vox reported.

Social media spending is expected to rise the most during the next three years at a 21 per cent compound annual growth rate, while investment in lead generation websites is also expected to rise at a rate of 17 per cent.

Original Story on Thomson Local: B2B online marketing set for expansion

Striking the balance of business and pleasure is a debated issue among entrepreneurs.

The National Federation of Independent Business’ index of small business optimism has been historically low for nearly 15 months. With the outlook so glum for many SMB owners, it may be good news for entrepreneurs that one small business expert offers some tips on how to make a small businesses grow. Still, the advice he offers may be slightly less good news.

According to George Cloutier, founder of American Management Services, small business owners who really want to achieve financial success should prioritize their business above personal life and family. In Entrepreneur magazine, Cloutier made clear that whether in a period of economic boom or recession, an entrepreneur’s first love should be business.

Original Story on Gaebler: Balancing Business And Family To Achieve Small Business Success

By: B2B Marketing Consultant

With the current economic strategies many companies are trying to find cost effective alternatives to their cell phone and cell phone accessories requirements. With Asia providing the greatest cost benefits, many traders in the western countries are looking for quality cell phone manufacturers, suppliers and wholesalers to increase their margins.

It is one thing to find mobile / cell phone manufacturers or suppliers and quite another thing to find quality companies providing good quality products. Many b2b marketers face the problem of finding quality partners from other parts of the world. There is an online alternative to finding the best partners to fulfill your cell phone supplies needs – B2B Wholesale Cell Phone Marketplaces / Directories.

The B2B Cell phone / Mobile Phone Manufacturers/Suppliers/ buyers directories provide an effective and efficient alternative to finding the best products and suppliers across the world. Many of these directories provide listings of the products and manufacturers / suppliers. A buyer can go through the product details, specifications and special features along with photos of the products. The buyers can also check the manufacturer/supplier/wholesaler profile helping them to make an educated decision.

These B2B Directories also provide ratings to the manufacturers / suppliers depending on their past record. The buyers can also go through the reviews of the products and companies. In addition to this the B2B buyers can contact the suppliers through the “easy contact” option provided on these directories facilitating ease of contact and anonymity. “Best Deal” – The B2B Cellphone directories help the B2B buyers find the best deal on their wholesale cell phone purchase. The businesses listed on these directories present the best prices to rise above the competition from other buyers listed along with them.

In addition to all these benefits some of these B2B Wholesale Directories provide other benefits like Multilingual support, easy management of leads and optimized company profile pages. For the Manufacturers /Suppliers and Wholesalers these directories provide an easy source of generating more qualified ales leads. All these features make the B2B Cellphone Suppliers Directory a must for every b2b company dealing in the cellphones or cellphone accessories to list their products and services on.

Some directories like Eurotradenet.com provide all of these services as FREE as a part of their promotional campaign. To know more about the B2B Wholesale directories or B2B Cell Phone Wholesale Directories please check one of the Best B2B Cellphone Wholesale Directory check: http://eurotradenet.com

About the Author

The author is an Online Media Consultant who has been consulting various businesses including Small and Medium B2B Businesses on how to use the power of internet to increase the ROI. This will be a series of articles targeted specifically for B2B businesses through the world. To know more about marketing b2b products like cell phone wholesale, mobile phones and accessories please visit the Best Cell Phone Wholesale Products, Manufacturers and Suppliers section on the Best B2B Directory: http://www.eurotradenet.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Wholesale B2B Cellphone Supplier and Buyer Search Made Easy

“Nobody is perfect but I can guarantee we make every effort imaginable to achieve perfection” says Greg Gilmartin Operations Manager at Express Flooring. Express Flooring has managed to grow their business every year since conception, even through the recession.  “Businesses don’t just grow every year on luck. Specific calculated measures must be implemented in order to maintain stead fast momentum”, says Gilmartin.

Source: Express Flooring Complaints – A Sign of Success

B2B online marketing was worth $3 billion in 2009 and should grow at an annual compound rate of 12% to 2013, according to a new report from strategy consulting firm AMR International.

Social media spending is forecast to rise the most dramatically during the next three years, with a 21% compound annual growth rate. Other individual B2B marketing sectors with predicted growth rates higher than the overall rate of 12% include lead generation websites (17%) and online marketing services (15%). One sector, online directories, is expected to undergo negative compound annual growth of 2%.

Original Story on MarketingVOX: B2B Online Marketing Holds Strong Growth Potential

Author: jefferson john babasa

The success of a wholesale clothing business had even penetrated the largest market in the world, the internet. Online wholesale clothing businesses are now present on any part of the web, offering their services for business to business transactions or business to end-user deals, much like the physical, brick-and-mortar wholesale clothing businesses.

Because of the huge benefits of opening a business on the web, many wholesalers, particularly those successful wholesale clothing businesses, have integrated their business on the web. This is because of the advantage of doing business not only around the area, but to all that is connected on the internet.

Online wholesale clothing businesses today are as successful as an offline does, especially because of several internet marketing strategies used. There are hundreds upon hundreds of wholesale clothing businesses online, making it harder to locate the most reliable and trustworthy online wholesale clothing stores.

So here are the top 5 most reliable, trustworthy, and successful wholesale clothing stores on the web.

WholeSaleFashionSquare.com

WholeSaleFashionSquare.com is one of the most popular online wholesale clothing businesses that provides a complete collection of women’s clothes from tops, pants/jeans, skirts, dresses, plus sized clothes, activewear or sportswear, sweaters, jackets, accessories. Also, apart from women’s clothing, WholeSaleFashionSquare.com also sells wholesale clothing for men such as t-shirts, accessories, hoodies, jeans, and many more.

WholeSaleFashionSquare.com carries some of the top quality fashion apparel from hundreds of Los Angeles area manufacturers and importers. All of their bulk wholesale clothing and accessories are overstocks or leftovers from these sources. WholeSaleFashionSquare.com acquires large quantities of fashion apparel and accessories, so that they can offer this merchandise to their customers at below wholesale prices.

WholeSaleFashionSquare.com uses some of the most secured payment system on the web such as PayPal. WholeSaleFashionSquare.com has been validated to have a secure SSL certificate which provides industry standard data encryption of information transferred from their customer’s computer to the website.

WholeSaleFashionSquare.com is also McAfee Secured so customers can be protected from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses, and online scams.

WholesaleClothingMart.com

WholesaleClothingMart.com is another online wholesale clothing business that provides the same reliable services as those with WholeSaleFashionSquare.com.

WholesaleClothingMart.com is also an online wholesale clothing business that specializes in offering wholesale clothing for women. Their collection of women’s clothing includes sophisticated clothing lines such as evening dresses, wedding dresses, bridesmaid, prom dresses, cocktail dresses, and plus sized dresses. Other women’s clothing lines includes casual dresses, swimwear, women’s top, women’s jeans, plus sized clothing, and sportswear.

WholesaleClothingMart.com also specializes on other clothing lines besides women’s clothing. Its collection of kid’s clothing lines and accessories include kids bags, lunch boxes, blankets, comforters, umbrella, watches, caps, dinnerware, kid’s wallets, winter accessories, towels, bath accessories, and toys. They can also provide popular branded kid’s accessories from Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Scooby-Doo, Betty Boop as well as wholesale licensed sports and celebrity products.

Customers can assure its reliable because WholesaleClothingMart.com, much like WholeSaleFashionSquare.com, is McAfee Secured and tested. WholeSaleFashionSquare.com also provides the safest way for customers to transfer their payment through the use of PayPal, but also accepts money orders, wire transfers, and cashier’s checks.

ApparelShowroom.com

ApparelShowroom.com is another popular online wholesale clothing store that specializes in offering some of the most fashionable lines of women’s clothing.

ApparelShowroom.com’s collection of women’s clothing lines and accessories include tops, pants and jeans, skirts, dresses, hand bags, plus sized clothing, sweaters and jackets, accessories, sunglasses, and a huge collection of intimate clothing lines.

Though they mainly specializes in offering the juiciest collection of women’s clothing lines and accessories, ApparelShowroom.com can also provides clothing lines and accessories for men such as t-shirts, polo, poloshirts, and sunglasses.

ApparelShowroom.com has also been validated to have a secure SSL certificate which provides industry standard data encryption of information transferred from their customer’s computer to the website. Other than Volusion SSL certified, ApparelShowroom.com have also been awarded the reliability program by BBB or Better Business Bureau for its reliable and dependable means for customers to purchase from ApparelShowroom.com.

ApparelShowroom.com is also powered by PayPal, the safest way for customers to buy services and products online.

Apparelus.com

Apparelus.com is an online wholesale clothing store that also specializes in selling different kinds of wholesale clothing for men, kids, and particularly with women.

Apparelus.com offers quality wholesale clothing and accessories at extremely economical prices. What makes Apparelus.com unique from any other online wholesale clothing stores is that they do not require a membership to make purchases. Any individual or business can take advantage of thier bargain-priced apparel, with no minimum order constraint.

Collections of clothing lines found in Apparelus.com includes women’s tops, jeans, capris, shorts, dresses, sets, skirts, jackets, plus sized clothing lines, accessories, sunglasses, shoes, handbags, shawls, wraps, and lingerie.

Apparelus.com also provides other wholesale clothing lines such as men’s clothing like pants, shorts, sunglasses, t-shirts and shirts. Other clothing line includes kid’s clothing line for infant, toddlers, and ages 4-18.

Another great thing about Apparelus.com is that they give out free shipping on all of their collections. Awarded by the BBB or Better Business Bureau for its reliable program, customers can rest assure of the sincerity of the business to provide quality service for their valued customers. Also, customers can rest assure that their transactions are monitored for safety by McAfee Secure.

Seven Wholesale

Seven Wholesale is among of the leading online wholesale clothing store that can provide some of the most popular braded clothing lines across the US.

Seven Wholesale specializes in offering different kinds of wholesale clothing lines such as Wholesale Womens Clothing, Wholesale Kids Clothing, Wholesale Mens Clothing, Wholesale Street Wear, Wholesale Roca Wear, Wholesale Urban Wear, Wholesale Sean John.

What makes Seven Wholesale unique from other online wholesale clothing stores is its collection of highly valued collection of clothing lines for men, women, and kids.

Their collection of branded wholesale clothing for men includes Phat Farm, Makaveli, Rocawear, Original Cascade, SouthPole, Gino Green Global, Sean John, Snoop Dogg, Coogi, Hypnotic, Miskeen, and many more.

Their collection of branded wholesale clothing for women includes Steve Madden, Seven7, Mudd, Apple Bottoms, L.E.I, Rocawear, Makaveli Ladies, 9.8 Jeans, and many more.

Their collection of branded wholesale clothing for kids includes Rocawear, Ecko, Sean John Kids, G-Unit, Phat Farm, Enyce, and many more.

Even though these luxurious brands are expensive, Seven Wholesale can still provide discounts on all of these brands for as low as $20.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/clothing-articles/top-5-most-popular-online-wholesale-clothing-stores-698894.html

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) announced today the appointment by the Board of Directors of Craig Jelinek as President and Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Jelinek previously was Executive Vice President in charge of merchandising, a position he has held since 2004. He spent the previous twenty years in various management positions in warehouse operations. Mr. Jelinek will join the Board of Directors.

Original Story on CNN Money: Costco Wholesale Corporation Announces Executive Management Changes