If you read the birthday party portal business plan, this article will help you figure out how to design the website.

Item 1: Interactive tools

This section may include:

Party budget

Polls

Quizzes

Send this page to a friend

Bookmark

Item 2: Listings

Listing of party venues and service providers

Database could be searchable by area code or zip code and by category

Item 3: Create you web page

Registered users can create their own mini-site. This will include the possibility to have a scrapbook

Item 4: Access to forums and boards

Item 5: Party manager

It may have:

Guest list

Save budget

Book services

Cards, e-cards

Store favorite providers (shortlist)

Store favorite articles

Item 6: Gift registry

Wish list of gifts

The guest may register as guest to access to access this list or have a cookie session from an email link. Once a gift has been selected, it will be deleted from the gift list.

Providers’ pages

A provider can select if registered or not.

If not registered, the provider can either select to browse the listings, information on registration fees and benefits and request more information. He or she can also register and pay.

If the potential party provider decides to register, he or she will select a plan.

Silver: listing and booking only

Gold: the above plus one page website to promote services. The providers can make their own website or order our services, plus this provider will appear in a more relevant place on listing than the silver status providers.

Platinum. Gold plus more visibility, perhaps some banners or something similar

Partners: These are big companies such as ToysRUs. We will pursue their partnerships and have special arrangements to offer their services.

If registered the provider can access his own panel control:

Access the booking system

Post messages

Order more advertising

Offer specials, make changes to his/her services or prices etc.

Look at their sales, invoice, payments, etc..

Back end

Databases:

Users

Providers

Guests

Interactive tools

Budget system

Quizzes

Polls

Boards/forums

Website creation

Rating providers system

Rating site features system

Directories

Providers

Services

Scheduling system for providers

Accounting

Send monthly invoices to providers

Charge credit cards for services

Pay providers

Data mining

Collect information on: how the site is used, most used features, how much money spent, what kinds of services/products ordered, zip code, age of kids, and others.

Labels: birthday party, business model, business plan, teens market, web design

Recently I have been talking to a lot of packaging companies that either have no independent web presence at all or are in the process of improving it to better connect with their customers. To my surprise, I have also been speaking to several e-business solutions providers, who are now starting to think about the packaging industry in less generic terms. Some of the questions that they all ask me are:

• How much information should be communicated through the Internet?
• How can we duplicate the personal relationships over the Internet now that we have customers that are no longer within our standard geographic territory?
• What is the most effective strategy to manage the conflict in communicating with customers through personal interaction and the Internet?

Amount of information to be shared
As part of an unscientific survey that I conducted with a few executives, I presented the following two scenarios to them:

Scenario 1: Company A has a website that provides comprehensive information related to the company, its products, customer testimonials and all the other standard information that you typically see.

Scenario 2: Company B has the standard information but has also gone several steps ahead by including details on problems with products encountered in certain cases, limitations on product use and, most interestingly, a detailed comparative evaluation of their products with their competitors.

Among the individuals that I talked to, the overwhelming majority wanted to conduct business with Company B. Some of the reasons cited were:

• A website that appears to be direct and straightforward develops a sense of trust.
• Warning about potential problems and highlighting limitations right away is helpful in making better decisions and preventing problems from happening.
• Comparative assessment with competitive products is time-saving and makes them trust Company B for future purchases.
• Company B is not only selling products but is also imparting knowledge. As one executive put it, “I will do business with Company B indefinitely because I can trust them to always act in my best interest.”

Managing long-distance relationships
As we all know, whichever type, long-distance relationships are difficult. The only comforting factor is that current technology can make these less painful. If we analyze the basis of business relationships, it is not because someone is better than others at memorizing your children’s names; it is because of the sense of trust that develops by someone always doing what is good for your business.

While it would be hard to duplicate the relationships that are developed in person, it is still possible to duplicate a lot of other things. For instance, it doesn’t take long for you to acknowledge and help a customer who walks into your office in person. Why then does it take companies days or weeks to respond to e-mails?

As long as companies can duplicate the fundamental principle of a business relationship — “acting in the best interest of the other party” — it really does not matter if you cannot shake each other’s hands.

Managing channel conflict
It is not surprising that some of your privileged customers will be upset that information that they received, either on an exclusive basis or at least ahead of others in the past, is now available to everyone at the same time. Several companies are quite upset that it is now so easy for even their small competitors to find out about new technologies so easily.

There are two simple ways to handle this. Since some of these developments are still new and people are trying to adjust to the new realities of business, it will take some time before we all get used to the ease of accessing information. If you want to be a risk-taker, just go ahead and do it and some time very soon everyone will have gotten used to it. However, if you do not want to upset your traditional customers, it is not hard to control what information is available to whom by using the various security tools that are now available.

Labels: customer segmentation, internet, packaging industry, web design

While talking to industry executives during recent weeks, I have been shocked by the radical change in attitude insofar as the digitization of their business is concerned. Only a couple of months ago, I would hear complaints about how they were experiencing threats to their core business from online competitors and executives wanted to formulate strategies to protect their business. Now what I hear is “I told you so” attitude. While some of the remarks that industry executives make these days are arrogant, there are others who have just settled down in their comfort zone by rationalizing their fears – The Internet is only a fad, it is already starting to show signs of failure, and the threats to my business are over.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. As Michael Dell puts it, if bad business models are implemented online, they do not become good businesses; they just become bad online businesses. Like all other bad businesses, these too will go out of business, eventually.

For the packaging industry, the fundamental issues are not if some dot-com companies are going out of business these days or if some online companies are struggling to conduct sufficient number of transactions to remain profitable. The foremost considerations are still related to the basics of doing business – whether a new business process is going to enable a company get more business, serve customers better, and reduce the cost of doing business. While there are several classic examples of how companies are successfully exploiting the web, my favorite company is General Electric. It has taken an ambitious, but simple, approach – do everything over the Internet if it can be done more cost effectively. Now is that too complex for anyone to understand?

Advantages of the Web
In a survey by Cyber Dialogue regarding the advantages of being present on the World Wide Web, more than 40% of the companies responded that they were able to improve customer service, expand business territory, and keep up with the competition. More than 30% of the companies increased sales leads and lowered marketing costs at the same time. More than 20% of the companies reported that they increased both online and offline sales. In another survey conducted by Verizon/Super-Pages.com and Gallup has found that 55% of the websites have either broken even or paid for itself in increased business.

That is why I keep emphasizing to my friends in the industry that we have consistently seen pricing pressures only increase over the years and life is not going to get any better than this. In fact my discussions with industry participants lead me to believe that we will only see these pressures become more intense as the global economy slows down and international trade becomes easier.

What can you do now?
So while you can watch some of the excitement in the dot-com world as it unfolds, here are few things to do to in the meantime. By the way, this is also a good time to execute some of these projects as the providers are experiencing slower growth and you can hire some of the best firms at much lower prices:

• Reevaluate your business strategy to figure out what part of the business can be moved to the web.
  
• Taking your business on the web is not necessarily about e-commerce. In fact, a vast majority of packaging companies will possibly never need to engage in
  e-commerce. However, they will definitely need to provide support services and disseminate information. So take small steps now and be prepared to take big steps as the situation warrants.
  
• Hire an outside firm to give you a jumpstart. It may be possible to do the site maintenance work in-house but you should use professional help in the beginning.
  
• Stay on top of things. We are living in a world that business environment can change within weeks. So tell your management that they need to be flexible about pursuing a net strategy

Labels: business model, ebusiness, ecommerce, internet, strategy, web design

I enjoyed talking to you, learning more about the products you would like to sell online and your specific consulting needs. As we discussed, the following proposal provides relevant background, a summary of our proposed approach, project deliverables and timing, working relationship, staffing, and professional fees.

Project details

You are developing an online business. The main product is an alternative to Tampax or sanitary pads for women. This unique product will need a website appealing to pre-menopausical women. In light of our discussion, we have designed a program that will provide the following:

· Development of up to 5 web pages that will include a contact form

· e-commerce capabilities

· Assistance regarding registering the domain name. Fee paid to Network Solution (not included in the contract).

· Assistance selecting a hosting company

· Registration of the website with major search engines

Standard Schedule, Fees, and Liabilities

For completing this assignment, we estimate our professional fees to be $499.00. A sum of $250.00 is payable at the time of signing this contract and prior to commencing work. An invoice is enclosed. The balance $249.00 will be payable at the conclusion of the assignment. Payment by check may be made to us.

Completion Date. We and the Client must work together to complete the Web Design Project in a timely manner. We agree to work expeditiously to complete the Web Design Project no later than 21 days after Client has submitted all necessary materials. If the Client does not supply us with complete text and graphics content for this Web Design Project new dates will be agreed.

Project Delivery. The final web site design project will be published to the Client's hosting service upon receipt of final payment or delivered via diskette upon the receipt of full payment. The Client understands that we do not provide any hosting services in connection with this Web Design Project. Hosting services require a separate contract with the hosting service of the Client's choice. The Client agrees to select a hosting service, which allows us full access to the Client's account. The Client will be solely responsible for any and all hosting service charges.

Electronic Commerce Laws. The Client agrees that the Client is solely responsible for complying with any laws, taxes, and tariffs applicable in any way to the Web Design Project or any other services contemplated herein.

Electronic Commerce. This agreement contemplates the development an e-commerce enabled site. The Client will cover the expenses associated with this including: merchant account, security certificate to accept credit cards on the Internet and similar charges. The Client understands that if they do not obtain their own secure certificate, design capabilities on the shopping cart itself may be limited. The Client also agrees to pay any associated setup fees/charges billed by the Developer for the maintenance of certificates.

Legal Notice. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this contract, neither us nor any of its employees or agents, warrant that the functions contained in the Web Design Project will be uninterrupted or error-free. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Web Design Project is with the Client. In no event we will be liable to the Client or any third party for any damages, including, but not limited to, service interruptions caused by Acts of God, the Hosting Service or any other circumstances beyond our reasonable control, any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential, punitive, or special damages arising out of the operation of or inability to operate this Web Design Project, failure of any service provider, of any telecommunications carrier, of the internet backbone, of any internet servers, your or your site visitor's computer or internet software, even if eCreativa has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Litigation. Any disputes arising from this contract will be litigated or arbitrated in the town of our office. This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Connecticut, USA.

This Agreement. This agreement constitutes the sole agreement between us and the Client regarding this Web Design Project. Any additional work not specified in this contract or any other amendment or modification to this contract must be authorized by a written request signed by both Client and us. All prices specified in this contract will be honored for 6 months after both parties sign this contract. Continued services after that time will require a new agreement. The undersigned hereby agree to the terms, conditions and stipulations of this agreement on behalf of his or her organization or business.

This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties. Any changes or modifications thereto must be in writing and signed by both parties.

Labels: ecommerce, project, proposal, template, web design, website hosing