Stone Soup of an Online Business

I used to think of how those amazing company still indulged themselves in their own sweet dream of having many years of existence, in decades. It doesn’t take Friendster or WordPress long to become successful. If you need a more solid example, check out Google.

I was talking to one of the biggest property developer in Malaysia recently, over the revamp of their website. This is the second revamp after 4 years time, and I expect them to have clearer understanding on the importance of what to achieve now. Change is pain, and when every web developers walk in and tell you the same thing about mockup, fancy flash animation, they have finally chosen to measure something unmeasurable - branding.

They have chosen Leo Burnett, one of the famous creative company. I’m not sure how much opportunity cost will be lost to this property developer after visiting Leo Burnett’s website. My mouse turned into a big pencil, to match with their tag line ‘All big ideas come out from big pencil’. What has this to do with me? The website is in ALL-Flash version. The navigation does not impress me at all (perhaps, to the group’s decision maker, yes).

Creative agencies are in the market for many years, long before any web design company. In those days, TV, Radio and other non-online media are the main advertising channel. Over the years, creative agencies are moving into the online channel and this directly put themselves as the role of web developers, without knowing what and how website can really help - another example of Meatball Sundae.

It is not that you are big and the golden words ’starting since 18xx’..’ that makes you outstanding. It is about change!

Nokia wants to transform itself into a next-generation entertainment company. Last August, Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone maker, created Ovi, an Internet service and online music store. Its intent, analysts say, is to compete directly against Apple.

This is unfamiliar territory for Nokia, which got its start in the mid-1800s as a paper maker. But as Mr. Ojanpera explained, companies like his have no choice. “Change is painful, but you have to figure this out in order to be successful,” said Mr. Ojanpera, who is based in White Plains. “The question is, are you willing to play by the new rules?”

Further Reading: Criteria for selecting good web developer

• Classified Companies
• Incubator for Startup
• Measuring the effectiveness of email campaign
• It’s never too late to change a bad name
• Decide Your Business Model Today!

I must admit that I’m the fan of National Geographic magazine. My earlier NI collection mainly on those featuring animals. Well, everything changed when I am getting older (older, serious…), I’d love to read more on places and people with different cultures. It was no more Savana lion’s picture with teeth dig into a wild buffalo’s back that attracted me now :)

I usually bought those outdated NI magazines, most of them dated 1980 - 2000, cost about RM8 each. I would consider them my little weekend retreat, besides cycling! Then it comes, last weekend. I was in Cineleisure looking for a gift for Shirley, our Langkawi writer. You won’t believe the number of NI magazines spread in 4 10-metre long table, full of them. They are really old magaizines, anything between 192x to 193x. You name it!

I picked one - an oldest I can find there! It wasn’t RM8 each, but RM80!

One of the reason I have decided to buy one, is to find out how advertisement looks like in those days. Here, some of the interesting advertisement I wish to share,

In the dead of night? Who would has think of that this is an advertisment from Bell Company. Yes, the one who invented Telephone. I couldn’t find any telephone numbers in all advertisements, perhaps this explains telephone still remains as for emergency use only.

New joys for Radio - What happen if they have an IPOP?

Colgate, still a dental cream

Sedan for $1,075??

Camera?

Modern bathroon has a shower?

• For the first time in their life…
• Classified Companies
• Two Roses in a Vase
• Why you work so late?
• Do they really like to hear from us?

To answer your question, yes, there are people who speak Latin, but we are few, possibly numbering in the low thousands. Many more know it as a written language, a few hundred thousand fluent readers worldwide. Millions of current and former students, again worldwide. All of us speak another language as our mother tongue. It’s a fabulous equalizer that way: no one is speaking their mother tongue at a spoken Latin conference.

Spanish on the other hand is one of the most spoken languages on Earth. Hundreds of millions of native speakers in dozens of countries. Even more as a second language. The confusion between Latin and Spanish arises because the part of the Americas where Spanish is spoken is usually called Latin America.

Thanks to Peter Sipes. In his recent talk to our team member Eunice, we have finally got a clearer view of how to make our website even more localize for all.

• Language localisation
• How much can you cover?
• Cost of Acquisition
• I’m calling from Google?
• 1.my, after 6 years of waiting

In sweden, online buyers are so used to getting the product first before paying. Well, most of their e-commerce websites support two payment options, Faktura and credit card. Faktura remains as the preferred one where the owners value the return rights of their customer more than anything. Invoices are sent together with the products. Buyers will have to just pay the invoice through their local bank account.

Another thing I might it interesting is the introduction of additional fee for a greener-packaging method. Yes, paying extra to have the website owner wrap your product in a more eco-friendly way. It costs 10 kr extra, but makes huge difference. So, opt in for MILJO next time :)

Thanks to Jian for sharing this. Jian just returned from Sweden, he was sent there to do research on how Nordic countries run their online business sustainable environmental…

• Think the online way - even the smallest things matters
• Big Ship
• Google’s Web Design Company
• Acmamall.com, more stones needed
• Old marketing manager

With Internet flatten the world, you can now take an order from your website without meeting your customer. They are required to fill in a boring and long order form (all the way from first name to where they stay).

You have them all kept in a customer database. A literate society comes to believe that everything can be explained in words. What you’ve just seen is an example of how great a fallacy that is.

I bet the name of customer means nothing to you, especially if you have thousand of orders a day. They are just another must-have record in your customer database, because all online forms are designed the same!

I’m surprised! Most of us only add a friend from Meetic when a picture was attached with a profile, same goes to facebook and frienster! Same goes to the fact that you will never fall in love with someone by just their name!

I wish I don’t have to fill in anything while making an order. Instead, just to upload my picture, why not? At least, I don’t become ‘another record’ in the database, but becoming a friend to the online store owner.

A customer database made up of faces, indexed by nick name! I would love to have this!

• Amazing Karen
• Think the online way - even the smallest things matters
• I want a faster horse!
• It’s never too late to change a bad name
• Two Roses in a Vase

Yahoo suspend your Yahoo Mail account if you don’t login for long. While, Gmail - reward you to stay longer and login more frequent by counting and increase your email storage while you are logging in!

• Endeavour - earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
• Decide or Wet
• Paypal Experience - Part I
• Email is monotonous
• Fine-tuning TuneHotels.com

In order to pay via Paypal, buyers are required to sign-up for a Paypal account before they can submit the payment. In fact, the Paypal registration process is not as straight forward as it claims.  Most of the time, seller will receive questions/complaints from buyer as following.  

What is a Paypal Expended Number Program?

Why am I required to enter my bank details?

Why was I been charged for USD1? Is this a hidden charges from you?

First of all,  it is absolutely Free for buyer to signup for Paypal account.

To prevent fraud cases, Paypal will require buyers to verify their account via the Expanded Use Program. To prove the ownership of the credit card/bank account, Paypal will charge/deposit a small amount of money to buyers’ credit card/bank that they’ve registered with Paypal. Buyers will have to check their credit card statement/bank statement to retrieve a secret code from that transaction and enter back to Paypal system for verification purpose.

As an Unverified member of PayPal, buyers’ payments are subject to a Sending Limit. By becoming Verified, buyers will be able to send unlimited funds with their PayPal account. 

Paypal will refund money back to buyers’ account after they verifiy with Paypal.

• Swedish’s Faktura
• 1.my, after 6 years of waiting
• Who’s Jo-jo Challenge
• Warranty card
• Decide or Wet

Driving Visitors

If a website is new, without much traffic and returning visitors - a ‘good’ website should be simple and take less time to develop. More time should be spent on the marketing, to drive more visitors to your website.

Increase Conversion

Once a website is getting enough traffic (in our terms, above 500 visitors a day), you should have enough feedback to build a website closer to what your visitors want. In this case, ‘good’ websites are those with initutive layout, content what your visitors like, etc! In one word, higher conversion rate!

• Decide or Wet
• Conversion you don’t want
• Save our Rhinos the better way
• Fine-tuning TuneHotels.com
• What is the word?

My friend asked me, “how to make a website appears on the top of search engines?”

The very first thing I can answer to her is, there is no quick for of doing this! Well, More than 50% of site visitors are directed from search engines.

Passive
Passive in a way, this is nothing new but a lot of passion needed, and often can and must be done on your end. There are unlimited kind of keywords which people used to find your website. In the simplest way, keywords are used by search engines to match content on your website. Now, do you think using keyword ‘石头汤’ can find my Blog, no way! Simply because I don’t have the Chinese translation. What about ‘石头羹’, ‘石頭湯’?

Active
Google sorts website using their patent-pending-never-disclose methodology. One of them, the PageRank, remain mistery but you can always interprete it to ‘the more links pointing to your website, the more popular your website is, eventually you deserve a higher seat’. Question, how to many many website pointing to you? This again, nothing new, not rocket science but a long term effort of making this to happen.

This first-class seat is not available for quick booking, you can only make your way to it!

• Classified Companies
• Source of visitors
• Cost of Acquisition
• How much can you cover?
• A name for your online business…

In many Chinese homes, the annual housecleaning is still done at New Year’s time. It is the Chinese way of sending out the old year and welcoming in the New Year. It gives you, at very least, no excuse for a change every year!

One of our project management practise was to keep all document related to a web development project in those hardcover folder. This is a decision made (by me), two years ago! Just in case, we need them someday - or never!

It happens to be never. So, we decided to throw it away. They are noice, they take up resources from our project managers to sort them out. Business change, and we are now focusing in only few projects! Ideally, we want to go greener and faster!

New table alignment, hair cut, shortcut to the office, are painful changes. Let’s see how much we gain from this change…

First, we empty all the shelves. We kept papers with only single-sided printed for reuse purpose. The rest of papers are donated to a charity organization who can come and pick up from your office regularly.

The result, one empty shelves, 5 rims of reused A4s, getting-to-know the contact of the charitable pick up service (call 03-79811320 if you have a change too. Sorry, I can’t recall their name).

Yes, another 10 extra PCs, 3 extra hubs, cables, 8 power adapters, bigger office space, power saving…

Plus a new playground (combined four tables by removing 8 legs) to have fun and meeting for our upcoming new projects!

• It’s not about delivering
• How much can you cover?
• For the first time in their life…
• 2007 Year in Review
• Squidoo’s inevitable destiny

The less choice for your site visitors, the higher the conversion!

Upon landing on your website, your visitors are expecting that you, the site owner is making the best arrangement for them. Just like how we trust Google. You believe Google returned the MOST relevant result to you, don’t you? Or at least, the is the best Google can provide to you.

But still, many websites are designed to give you the choices of you don’t want. Do you buy Cambodia and Bahrain travel guide at the same time? If not, why shopping cart are provided? Yes, it gives you the convenience of shopping around, but it also creates more steps to complete a deal.

The tricky part (it is nothing but test & measure), it is how you divert them to their choice before they make a choice! The best is, this is done indirectly, without their awareness. You won’t be pleased to be asked for your shoe size immediately when entering a boutique…

Cambodie e-Visa allows travelers to apply their Travel Visa to Cambodia. If the applications come from travelers themeselves, chances that the’re applying for no more than 5 applications at a time. The first part of the application form was designed to filter the applicants and provide them with the best experience while submitting their details.

The use of icons immediately telling the applicants the total price before the last step. Icons use no translation and no shopping cart is required!

• Interview with Mike on e-Visa system
• Other e-Visa travelers’ experience

• Decide or Wet
• Interview with Barbara
• I want a faster horse!
• Running e-Government the way online store runs!
• Your Website Got Audio?