I pimp now and again, and it ups my sales to about.....ooh, say 2 or 3 sales a month from zilch a month they are usually.
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I pimp now and again, and it ups my sales to about.....ooh, say 2 or 3 sales a month from zilch a month they are usually.
i dont think we were sticking to a single pimping thread, not over the last few weeks anyway.
maybe they are going to set up a pimping forum?
dont think so the rules say NO PIMPING so that means none at all dont think thats fair realy at all. I bought some nice stuff on the pimping threads.Originally Posted by minkyrra
Personally I can't see the problem with pimping. I have bought some nice items when they've been highlighted on the forum
If you don't want to buy, ignore it.
I agreeI personally always benefitted by the pimping thread too so will email the boys but not til the new year as this is officially holiday time and I think the boys worked so hard they're entitled to a breather just like the rest of us yeah?
merrry xmas! LOL!
I quite liked the pimping , not the pimping thread....don't see the problem with pimping it generates sales and therefor more revenue for ebid......too many rules now
I think that what spoiled it and made the boys get "stroppy" about the pimping was that one week when no joke the front page of the forums was almost entirely pimp threadsI quite liked the pimping , not the pimping thread....don't see the problem with pimping it generates sales and therefor more revenue for ebid......too many rules now
It did go a bit too far
yes I remember thatdid get a wee bit out of hand
ROFLMAOyes I remember that
Just a bit
And if I remember it was after then they started getting a bit "tougher" about it
As far as I see it - they were victims of their own failures .........
When you submit a business plan to a bank for funding, the first things the bank rep looks at (in order) are -
1. Worst case scenario "exit" date - i.e. date and rate at which the bank is repaid
2. Marketing budget
3. Weekly / Monthly cashflow value and direction as a percentage of annual marketing budget
4. debt to asset gearing
If they consider number 2 is unrealistic in relation to the other three, they will reject your funding application regardless of how much you are putting in yourself. At interview, they will ask -
5. How are you going to attract customers?
6. Who are your customer base and how will you find them?
7. Who are your competitors and how will you differentiate from them?
8. What will offer that is unique and different from your competitors?
9. How will you communicate your unique products/services to customers?
If you look carefully at those primary considerations - it is all about marketing and attracting customers - something that eBid has left its customers to do for them. When I started my computer company back in 1995, I approached 6 different banks for funding (to get comparisons .... and lots of free advice - snigger) - all of them went through the above questions before even reading the business plan. After reading it, their questions were -
10. What percentage of customers will be repeat/loyal customers
11. What percentage of "word of mouth" are you relying on to get new customers.
I initially answered 10% and 20% to 10 and 11 - ALL of the banks said that was too high a percentage to ensure business success and that 95% of the marketing must be to attract new customers in the first 5 years, and MUST be done by the business, not the customers - in that way the referrals and repeats were a non-budget bonus, but could not be relied on.
From the above, eBid has failed to plan, which = they have planned to fail according to the time-old business maxim. Adding the restrictions they now introduce (which will reduce sales for existing members) and concentrating too early on foreign markets before securing a self-sustaining domestic market make them highly vulnerable to a hostile marketing campaign from the competition (vis-a-vis eBay's October TV promotion). The severe drop in sales experienced by most members in the 2nd half of this year (all year in my case) and the numbers stating they are leaving (including me) show they have not paid enough attention to customer satisfaction and customer base maintenance and self-sustainability.
If they had listened to us in 2003 and concentrated on marketing and organic expansion instead of lateral expansion into foreign markets, eBid and their customer base would be in a lot healthier position today within their core (UK) market.
I suspect G&M have suffered from the classic failure syndrome of too much self-introduced capital and insufficient external (bank) monitoring and advice. I've seen this in a lot of businesses, and have done it myself once before - it is a route that causes a 99% failure rate amongst small and new businesses, within which about 5% manage to restructure and struggle back to success, but only after consultation with and implementation of external recommendations.
Qualifications of Gaz to preach the above?
I wrote the book for an undergraduate university course to teach the subject - it was scrutinised by many people from full professors to contracted magnates, and they were able to edit or contribute only minor ammendments.
(I must have got something right).
G&M need a consultative committee from the membership - similar to eBay's senior PowerSeller panel - one that tells them what is working for the customers, and what is not working, one that identifies problems in the company implementations - from a customer perspective - and recommends alternatives...... "respond to customers before customers can respond to you" is another guiding maxim in business. One that's worth remembering.
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