If it wasn't already evident...it's now Offical, online shopping is HUGE!

According to a recent whitepaper by The Nielsen Company, online shopping across the globe rose more than 40 percent in the last two years. In other words, 85% of the online population is purchasing using the click of a mouse rather than walking the halls of a mall.

Can you guess the country with the most online shoppers? If you guessed the U.S., you’d be wrong; it’s Korea, followed by Germany, then Japan. The U.S. is tenth on the list. The biggest influencer for consumers when shopping online, just like offline, is Word Of Mouth (or Trust). However, a close second is search engines.

The bottom line…if you want your business to be successful, you have to have a professional, well designed website that incorporates the following…trustworthiness, ease of use, optimized for search engines, worthy information and fast loading. And, of course, you have to market the site through myriad efforts, i.e. Search engine marketing (SEO, PPC and referral links).

If you’d like more information on search engine optimization, I’ve created a document that simply outlines and explains the process, click here.

My Top TV Commercials/Campaign spots of late...

If you watch TV, once in a while you'll see a good commercial, but how often do you see a campaign where you can't wait to see what they come up with next? Two companies of late really stand out to me as creating not only cool and edgy TV spots, but outstanding and effective campaigns!

First you have Apple with it's PC/MAC campaign...not only are they funny, but they REALLY get PC users thinking about switching...probably for the first time ever. Here are several PC/MAC spots, some you may have missed the first time around.

Second, is the Mitsubishi campaign of late...the spots are very cool, edgy and often integrate great music. Clearly they are going after a younger audience, and it must be working. Check out these two spots...First....Second


Please let me know if some spots or campains that you think kick butt.

A Falling Dollar can be good for Business

Anxiety about the dollar continues to spread. The falling greenback is often seen as a sign of an impending recession or the fall of the United States from global leadership. However, the measure of a nation's wealth is the goods and services it produces, not the relative standing of its currency.
The lower value of the dollar makes American exports (including travel to the U.S.) more competitive. American businesses could see a real boom in its ability to sell tractors, food and other products abroad at favorable prices, especially with the rapid growth in most of Asia.

The American economy certainty has its share of problems of late, but it's possible that the low value of the dollar might prove more a benefit than an impediment.

This is a "glass half full, food-for-thought" topic brought to you by, Your Marketing Coach.