Beat most online retailers in South Africa. Discover massive online shopping opportunities

In the middle of 2004 I wrote a series of articles for the Real Business supplement of "The Business Day" newspaper. The first article was headed "The Internet: The Great Business Leveler".

In the article I pointed out many shortcomings in terms of online retailing as done by the major retailers in South Africa. By major retailer I specifically meant at the time of writing the articles the giants ... Pick 'n Pay, Woolworths, and Makro.

The articles actually pointed out how easily and low cost it would be for these retailers, Pick 'n Pay, Woolworths, and Makro, to make a significant improvements in their web sites and attract many many thousands more visitors to their websites. After all surely the point of any ecommerce website is to attract customers or potential customers. Sms marketing made easy

I would hazard a bet that even Pick 'n Pay, Woolworths, and Makro would like to attract more customers.

What has happened to the Pick n Pay, Woolworths, and Makro websites since July 2004?

Very little is the answer based upon my comparison of the sites in July 2004 and today. I'm writing this on December 21st 2005 and here's a brief commentary on important aspects of the online campaigns of the 3 giants, Pick 'n Pay, Woolworths, and Makro websites that I've noticed

Read more about my views on helping people succeed on line here

Searching Ananzi For The Word  "Makro"

Just in case you can't read the results image Makro is placed number 2 on page 1 when I searched for "Makro" and the words state the following

Makro
contains 0 items Appliances | Catering | Cellular | DIY | Hi-Tech | Housewares | Leisure Liquor | Multimedia | Office | Office Groceries | Outdoor | Sports | Textiles | Toys Whirlpool 300L Chest Freezer R 2,099 ...
makro.co.za/

Look what happens If I type "Appliances" into Ananzi (and this is what Makro are selling) then Makro cannot be found at all. This was exactly the situation that existed in July 2004. In other Words in almost 18 months Makro a major retailing force in South Africa does not seem to have made any significant progress in getting found for a major retail category on an important South African search engine.

If you want to know more about how to get found on search engines read my book about  DIY Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing

Searching Ananzi for Woolworths

This is what you read on Ananzi against the Woolworths result ...

Woolworths
home What's new online Have a look at our Swiss range of decadent Lindt chocolates now available to shop online. Why not try the exquisite Pistachio or delicious Caff Latte . Health & Well-being | ...
woolworths.co.za/

Now Woolworths is number 1 on page 1 ... BUT note that a major category for their online store is Health and Well-being (as seen in the description above and also on their website). Take a look ...

Now search Ananzi for Health and Wellbeing and you will NOT find Woolworths in the results. Something is plainly not benefiting Woolworths and once again this was the same as in July 2004. Woolworths like Makro do not seem to have made significant improvements to their online positioning on search engines.

If you want to know more about how to get found on search engines read my book about  DIY Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing

Searching Ananzi for Pick 'N Pay

This is even more interesting since the Pick 'n Pay website is not even on page 1 (nor on page 2,3 or 4 and, after page 4, I stopped looking just like anybody else using search engines would ... in fact most searchers don't go beyond page 1).

 

 

If you want to know more about how to get found on search engines read my book about  DIY Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing

So how can such a situation be explained?

Well, to the great advantage of you and me, quite simply the explanation is that for all their great offline capability, innovation and customer service all large retailers are on a similar footing as everybody else when it come to the Internet. The years of experience counts for far less than it does in the offline world where large budgets, massive ad spend, and great and large store positioning are important. These count for much less online.

Now go back to the Ananzi result for Makro and you'll see a website Sahara is number 1. The Ananzi search for Pick 'n Pay also shows that Sahara is number 1. Clearly this company knows much more about getting found on Ananzi than both Makro and Pick 'n Pay (for the brand names of these companies too) and they thus have an opportunity to gain market share from searchers looking for well branded company names.

If you want to know what they do know and Woolworths and Makro and Pick 'n Pay don't seem to know then read my book about  DIY Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing

So You can easily Beat The Giants Of South African Retailing Online

I have proven this with so many of my own websites this is not a meaningless statement. If anybody ... small business or individual wants to do well in any retail environment into the future then an ability to have a website that works (ie gets found and converts visitors to sales) in not a luxury it is an absolute necessity and you need it NOW. Writing a business plan

And the good news is for less than R50 per month you can have a site which works well ... and one that gets found on the search engines. You just need to know how and what to do.

Now If You want To Explore This Site For Traditional Ideas On Offline Retailing Go Ahead ...  explore and good luck in your endeavours.

Read more about my views on helping people succeed on line here

---

Still Want A Traditional Retail Business? Read On ...

It is not easy to start a retail business, but it doesn't have to be too difficult either. All you really need is the right advice to help you figure out where to start. That is why this website has been developed.

This will be your comprehensive guide to starting your very own retail business. In this website you should learn to:

• Prepare your business plan

• Knowing your competition

• Marketing

• Insurance

• Registrations, permits, and licensees

• merchandising

Is a retail business Right for Me?

For all of the many that have actually had the thought of starting their own business, most of them don't. There are a great many reasons why people don't take their ideals of running a business past thoughts alone. Perhaps they fear quitting the comforts of a regular paycheck. Some fear that they lack the intelligence or commitment to follow through with it.

It takes a lot of gumption for anyone to have the courage to start their own business. A retail business is one of the hardest businesses to run; even more so than a restaurant. The reason of course is the competition. There are literally millions of retail businesses currently in business across the world. Hundreds of thousands of these go under every year.

It can be a frustrating thing to do at times, but it can also be a very rewarding one as well.

There are a great many reasons why a person might want to start their own retail business, but before you do, you should ask yourself these questions first.

1. Can I afford to open my own retail business?

2. Am I eligible for a loan from a bank?

3. Do I have the right attitude to start my own business?

4. What type of retail business do I want to own?

5. What type of retail business can I succeed in?

6. Can I handle the decision making process as a business owner?

7. How good am I at multi tasking?

8. Can I handle the stress of being a business owner?

9. Do I feel comfortable being someone else's boss?

10. How are my abilities in dealing with people?

11. Am I a self starter?

12. How well can I get organized?

13. Am I a driven enough person?

14. How will starting my own business affect my family?

If you can honestly answer yes to these questions, then you are a perfect candidate to own your own retail business.

These are some of the most important questions that you can ask yourself when considering opening up your own business.

Anyone that can answer yes to these questions need not concern themselves with fears of not being a good business owner. You should just be sure to be really honest with yourself when giving your answers.