Digital Marketing – Launch Of Living Social’s Instant Escapes
In mid-November, the CEO of Living Social, Mr. Tim O’Shaughnessy, announced the launch of their Instant Escapes product during the PhoCusWright travel industry conference, held in Miami. This digital marketing product will provide users with last-minute weekend hotel packages. Immediately on making this announcement, O’Shaughnessy was grilled by Chris Loughlin (CEO of TravelZoo) on the profitability of daily deal websites, and the availability of funds for further expansions.While O’Shaughnessy did not give any information on the financials of the company, the tension caused by statements between the two showed just how competitive the travel industry had become in the digital marketing arena. It also indicated that most big-wigs in the travel agency sector didn’t really trust daily deal sites like LivingSocial or Groupon.The Instant Escape product of LivingSocial will offer hotels and other accommodation providers the chance to sell un-booked weekend inventory, just a few days before the weekend begins, at discounted rates. These lucrative deals will be made available to prospective customers through various Internet marketing channels, namely, LivingSocial’s main website, subscriber emails, and a tab on their mobile app.A fine example of the digital marketing deals that LivingSocial is offering is the Hudson hotel deal. According to it, people can avail of a room at The Hudson Hotel in New York City for $265 per night on the weekend, instead of the regular rate of $529. This hotel deal also includes the provision of continental breakfast for two, WiFi and late check-out. The Instant Escapes digital marketing product is an enhancement of LivingSocial’s Escapes vacation product, which they had launched in November 2010. According to the company, Escapes sold around 600,000 room nights, globally.Since then, the company has continuously expanded its scale of operations, introducing two other beta products, a couple of days before it launched Instant Escapes. The first is an online system for ordering food from restaurants, similar to Seamless. The second is called Room Service, and aims to partner LivingSocial with fine dining restaurants, for providing white-glove delivery services. Some of the other discounted digital marketing schemes offered by the website are Instant Deals, Daily Deals, Families and Adventures.Tim O’Shaughnessy also said that his four-year-old company has about 4,000 employees, around the world. The current expansion of the company has made it obvious that the company’s ongoing digital marketing competition with Groupon and Google is set to continue for a long time.
3 Big Mistakes to Avoid So That Your Online Business Will Make Money
Everyday millions of people are motivated to attend workshops to set up an Internet business to make money online. Only a handful will eventually succeed. And they will prove to the world that a good lifestyle awaits he who knows how to make money with an Internet business.For the majority who are still trying to succeed at Internet business, it is helpful to review whether any of these mistakes had happened. The following helps to identify the wrong actions, and guide the online business to turn around and make money. The online entrepreneur can then go on to fulfill the dream to make money on the Internet.1. Re-examine the productIs the product really something that millions of people out there in the world want to buy?Some additional keyword search analyses should be useful. Sometimes this step can be difficult, especially for online business owners who have already fixed in their mind their own products to sell in their Internet business.The less risky approach to successfully make money is to sell proven products. Affiliate marketing is selling somebody else’ products, that are already selling well, and get paid a commission for it. Some successful online entrepreneurs trim their risks by doing both.2. Re-examine the business website?An online business is still a business. Potential customers that are looking to buy say an LCD TV see so many beautiful professional websites out there in the Internet.So if an online business owner seriously wishes to make money from customers out there the business website, which is the equivalent of a store front, has got to be comparable if not better. It takes time to create a professional website.People who set up their online business in their spare times generally are worn out less than half way of their journey to make money online.One solution is to engage a professional to do up the website for the Internet business. Costs will be incurred, during the initial setup, and every subsequent time a modification is required.3. Re-examine the traffic to the business websiteAn Internet business can easily fail to make money because there not enough visitors. Utilizing search engine optimization would allow the online business website to be viewed by other people who are not in the Internet business’ regular mailing lists.Other methods are Google Pay Per Click and Ad Sense advertising. This involves drafting a simple text or image advertisement to promote your Internet business. Google places them on web pages and a small fee is paid every time a potential customer clicks on them.Another free method to direct traffic to the Internet business is Articles Marketing. These articles rank high on the search engines, where millions of people notice, and they are brought to the online business website. If they like what they see in the online business website they buy it, and the online business can make money.There is much to do. To improve the odds to successfully make money, online business owners have to consider which of the above very time-consuming tasks can be delegated to someone else. Mr. Ford did not make money building cars entirely on his own.Another more preferred method is to launch an affiliate online business, where the product and the selling system are all set up and ready to go. Successful online business owners are seen to do this. They seek out an instant affiliate business and earn money on the Internet as they take their time to gradually master the art of running an online business.There are advantages. First, the Internet business owner gets to see income fast. Second, the Internet business owner does not pursue the Internet dream on an empty stomach. Third, the running affiliate business serves as an example of an Internet business that works and the system could be adapted to suit the owner’s original online business plan.Not surprisingly, even after many online entrepreneurs have perfected their original internet business they are still seen selling the affiliate products! After all, why throw away a working bank teller machine?Internet business owners who have grasped this understanding have become successful way beyond their initial imaginations.
Telecom Financing Best Left to Funding Professionals
Telecom financing options are available for telecommunication businesses. It takes an experienced team of industry professionals to know where and how to look for the funds.In today’s uncertain economic times, it is important to have experts handling your business’ important financial issues. Just like you wouldn’t want a high school student to prepare your taxes or a stock boy to handle your customer billing, it is important to leave telecom financing to a team of experts.Following the credit crisis and the mortgage meltdown, the stock market is in unpredictable turmoil. Business loans are increasingly difficult to obtain for a number of reasons. First of all, stringent borrowing requirements have been put in place.Secondly, international investors are slow to be involved with lending while hearing news of all the loans that US borrowers have defaulted on in recent months. Thirdly, telecom financing is considered risky business by some lenders.So, if your business is experiencing a period of growth, count yourself as one of the lucky industries that is as of yet unfazed by the current economic downturn. Many tech industries are actually seeing an influx of new business that is likely to continue as society evolves into the new millennium.Now, in order to keep your technology, manpower and other resources competitive to ensure complete customer satisfaction and a continued positive public image, it is time to expand your business’ operations. In order to do so, you’re going to need financing. With economic conditions as turbulent as they currently are, it is best to contract with professionals that can secure the financing you need to continue your positive growth.Conversely, if your company is in a period of financial strife and telecom financing is needed in order to keep your enterprise afloat, it is even more important to seek outside help to obtain funding. Having an expert team on your side that will emphasize your eligibility for funding may make the difference between bankruptcy and your continued success.What does a telecom financing company do to help a business secure funds? For starters, they advise you about the types of funding best suited to your needs. Then, they gather information about your business model in order to determine the best telecommunications funding solution to help you achieve your objectives.Financing needs of independent wireless internet businesses can be uncharted territory for traditional lenders. The special considerations that come into play, like the depreciation of technology values and the assets used as collateral for your loans, are not the typical type of financing provided for by traditional financing companies.Without proper financing options, it is difficult for any corporation to expand their customer base effectively. Capital is required to grow the scope of your company. Just because traditional lenders do not understand your industry, don’t assume that funding is not available for telecom companies.Financing options are available for independent wireless internet businesses. It takes an experienced team of industry professionals to know where and how to look for the funds. If your company needs telecom financing, be sure to enlist the help of a company that successfully specializes in funding and venture capital for the telecom industry.