A Stratford-based company with vision approached Zarr after spotting a gap in the market for high prescription lenses. Lens Saver managing director Mrs Clarke, who is fully qualified and registered with the General Optical Council (GOC), said it was a niche market that she felt her company could successfully serve.

She said: “We believe we are the only firm in the UK to be doing this and we want to be as successful as possible. We are unique in the fact we are the first website to be selling high prescription contact lenses. People don’t have to queue at an optician and we can post lenses out to customers. The website is absolutely fantastic – exactly what we wanted and more.” Click here to visit Lens Saver.

The web can play a number of roles in your sales process. In order to capitalise on the potential of the Internet you need to understand your existing sales process and identify which elements can translate to the Internet.

Zarr has one client who generates over 60% of leads for new business through their website and another client who has already this year sold over £250,000 of products through their website. These businesses are very different, however they share an understanding of their customers’ behaviour and their web strategy has been developed to facilitate this.

For ideas on how your web strategy could generate more business please click here to read the article entitled “How can the web help my sales process?” or call Hannah on 01788 820900 to discuss ideas on your specific business.

The 2004 E-Commerce Awards is searching for the best examples of the use of the Internet and ICT in small and medium sized businesses across the UK. If your business has used the web to generate significant results and you would like an opportunity to win the prestigious awards, and national press coverage visit www.ecommerce-awards.co.uk to enter.

A forward-thinking recruitment company ensures executives have their ideal job at their fingertips. Leicester-based Gemini runs a number of successful recruitment businesses and is perfectly placed to offer an executive recruitment service. Geographically, executives are typically prepared to travel further to find their ideal job and so Gemini decided to operate this executive service entirely through the web. Their website needed to be much more than an information site - it needed to help them run the business.

The Gemini Gold website keeps executives posted of relevant positions through their email alert service and allows companies to post vacancies on the site in order to attract high calibre staff. Less than a month after the site’s launch Gemini Gold already has over 200 executive positions advertised on the website. To experience Gemini’s Gold service click here.

As people are increasingly working longer and more varied hours, are we really becoming a 24x7 society?

Many large supermarket chains are now opening their doors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to cater for customers who want to purchase goods at any time. Many are finding it incredibly lucrative and we may ask why this is. Have we all become insomniacs with a secret urge to shop!! As people increasingly work anti-social hours, it seems only logical that businesses are open longer hours. This is one way to serve customers cost effectively 24 x 7.

To find out how your business can benefit from changes in society please click here to read the full article or call Hannah on 01788 820900 to discuss ideas as to how you can offer the ultimate in customer service.

Every local authority in the UK is engaged in trying to establish a way of electronically placing orders with suppliers and paying for the goods and services by 2005/2006.

In theory you could receive an order by email and receive payment two to three days after you have delivered the goods. So by conducting business online you will be improving your cash flow. To read more about the initiative visit www.nepp.org.uk.