Industry Review for 2006

Looking ahead in 2006 Mystic Mark, Zarr's Managing Director believes ecommerce will become increasingly important with websites playing a more important role as consumers stay away from traditional shops. Mark notes that many existing businesses have already identified the need to refine their offline business model to work online, allowing them to expand their target markets and more businesses are starting to move towards the same model.

In 2005 Zarr saw a steady take-up of e-commerce with business start-ups particularly keen to have an online showcase to help grow their businesses. Existing businesses have also identified similar benefits and are increasingly moving in that direction and it’s a trend that is likely to continue in 2006, particularly with the continuing growth of online shopping. A number of our clients are using our Zarr Retailer software to provide complete business solutions via their websites. So they are using their web solution not only to sell but also to manage these orders.

Professional services are increasingly embracing e-commerce in a bid to develop and grow, by differentiating themselves from the competition by engaging their clients, allowing them to pay bills online, subscribe for updates and access their documentation through a client area. Again this is something that has been on the rise and is likely to continue throughout 2006 and beyond.

An important point to remember is that companies with small template websites can often miss out on getting onto search engines as it takes time and is becoming more difficult. That’s when it becomes imperative for them to use a professional website designer to ensure they are found on the web.

There are still a huge number of gaps which haven't been filled and ideas by innovators which are not serviced on the Internet. So there is still a lot of potential there and as people use the web increasingly it is a good time for budding entrepreneurs to service these gaps.

To discuss ideas as to how the web can work harder for your business in 2006; call Hannah on 01788 820900 or email Hannah@zarr.com.

Web Insider: Self Optimisation

If your website has content management, which allows you to update it yourself, to improve your search engine rankings you should plan to regularly make changes to your site so that search engines recognise your’s an an up to date site. Changing 100 characters at the top of your web pages on a regular basis can be an enormous help.

Special Zarr Offer Differentiate Your business Online Does your business provide documents to client – either via email or in hard copy? Would you like your clients to be able to access such information as and when they want it, and in the process streamline your own administration processes? Benefits of the System Client can access the latest documents from any computer with an Internet connection – so they can access the documents they need when they need them. You control access to the client area and only give client access to the documents which are relevant to them. Automatic email notifications are sent out when new documents are added to the site. The documentation area is developed to be highly secure and the documentation repository is stored securely on Zarr’s secure web hosting which is supported 24 x 7, and backed up every 8 hours. You can see which documents clients are accessing, which is valuable customer knowledge. Costs Until the end of January Zarr is offering an online Client Repository for just £1250 +VAT which includes hosting and support for the first year for up to 250 documents instead of £1750+VAT. To order To order yours call Hannah on 01788 820900 or email Hannah@zarr.com.

Sweet Smell of Romance

Depor Gifts recently launched their website developed by Zarr selling natural gift hampers.

To benefit from a 15% Valentines discount please visit Depor Gifts, place your order and enter Zarr15Percent into the Discount Code field when you reach the checkout page.

Case Study - Shoppers turn to online stores to beat the big freeze Zarr works with a range of businesses throughout the region to utilise the latest technology such as its Zarr Retailer package – a complete online business solution - to help boost online sales of products. One of its clients, Leamington-based contemporary jewellery store Fabulous, has already reaped the rewards of launching an online store to complement its premises in the Royal Priors Centre. Jo Stroud, managing director of Fabulous, said: “On our website, www.fabulouscollections.co.uk, we are able to bring nearly 500 pieces of jewellery to the on-line shopper, to browse in the comfort of their own home or office. “Zarr's superb web design means that our customers can zoom in on each piece to really see the detail before they make a purchase decision, and can search for ideas in many different ways. The website also enables customers who pop into the shop when they are just visiting Leamington to continue their shopping experience with Fabulous once they get home.” Tess Flory, project manager at Zarr, said: “We have created a number of online shops for a variety of retail businesses, via their websites. They have all experienced growth month on month in terms of the number of online sales and for many of our clients their online shop now generates more orders than their bricks and mortar business. Many retailers can miss out on generating more sales by not offering people the option to shop online and that’s where forward-thinking businesses like Fabulous can beat the competition.”

Coming Soon
Zarr’s February newsletter has a Valentines theme, featuring ideas on how to make your website one which people love visiting.

Contact Zarr
If you are interested in finding out how your business can benefit from the latest web technology or if you need help with your online business strategy contact Zarr Internet Services on 01788 820900.

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