Online Business – It Pays To Know Your Numbers

When you’re just starting out in online business it’s easy to get stuck in to all the new things you have to learn and to lose sight of the big picture. But the bottom line is that you need to generate profits from your endeavours.

So in this article in my Online Business series I’m going to talk about the importance of knowing your numbers. In fact, this applies whether you’re a beginner or looking to move your business to the next level.

So what numbers are important? One of the key metrics that you should understand is how much it costs to attract a new paying customer. The difference between your costs of acquisition and the money you make from each customer will be your profit (or loss!).

It’s important to realise that your costs are more than your advertising budget. There are overheads associated with running an online business e.g. hosting, autoresponders, creating content, shopping carts etc. And don’t forget to factor in the time you put in to the business yourself.

It’s a well known fact that the greatest profits are generated from repeat business and you should aim to maximise your average customer value. Once you have this figure you can then make an informed decision about how much you’re prepared to spend on attracting new customers.

Keep track as well of where your new leads and your new customers are coming from. In the offline world you ask customers to quote code numbers so that you can track the source of your leads.

The great advantage of online business and advertising is that it’s so easy to track these metrics. But it’s also easy to ignore all this valuable data – don’t fall into that trap!

If you calculate your return on investment (ROI) from different sources you’re then in a position to tailor your marketing strategy to maximise your profits. But if you don’t know your ROI figures you can’t take action!

Many businesses offer continuity programmes e.g. customers pay a monthly fee to access a membership site or receive a regular newsletter. If this is part of your business model you need to be aware of your attrition rate – the rate at which customers drop out of your programme.

For example, if you have 500 people in your programme and you have a 5% monthly attrition rate you will be losing 25 customers every month. In order to maintain your membership at 500 you’ll need to add 25 new people each month. If you want to grow your membership you’ll need to add more.

When you start analysing your information in this way you can then make strategic decisions about how to grow your business and generate more profits.

Why Online Business Degree Programs Remain a Popular Choice For Graduate Students

Online colleges offering full online degrees have grown steadily in the last decade. But, what has propagated these phenomena? Why are online degrees becoming so popular? Recent data shows that while trends to change from time to time, some areas colleges remain popular with online students. These degree programs are in criminal justice, health care, information technology, and, business.

Let as examine why degrees in business have remained on the popularity list for so long. What sets them aside from other degree programs? As you can imagine the field of business is a competitive one, and to be successful one must be able to stand out from the crowd: You can do this by: advancing your education, getting a promotion, getting more professional experience; and becoming an expert in your particular niche.

A major advantage of online business degrees is that you can complete your training at various levels. These are associate degree (AS or AA) bachelor degree (BBA or BSc), doctorate degree (DBA), masters degree (MBA), Also, you can complete additional business certifications for example health care management, risk management, Six Sigma, and project management. Thus, the online degree option is a chance to advance your career and set yourself aside from your competitors.

The MBA has certainly made its mark as the industry standard for measuring success and accomplishment in business. This is more so for those who are in mid-level business management positions, and those who what to move beyond entry-level positions to more challenging tasks and responsibilities. The demographics show that many students enrolled in online MBA degree programs work and take class simultaneously.

An additional advantage of considering pursuing an online business administration degree is that there are multiple areas of focus to choose from including: accounting and finance, business leadership, human resource management, e-business, risk management, organizational management, project management, international business, marketing and sales, small business management, operations management, retail management, sport and entertainment management, and information technology management to mention a few areas of focus. This wide selection does make business administration stand out from other degree programs.

Online business degree programs apply student-centered instructional strategies to improve learning outcomes. These approaches include: enhanced instructor-to-student communication and student-to-student; customized approach to instruction that matches students’ learning styles and work schedules; easy access to learning tools and materials any time and place; and using authentic approaches to evaluation and assessment.

A selling point for online business management is their dedicated approach to flexibility in scheduling and teaching. Unlike in many brick-and-mortar colleges, completing a degree online assumes you do not have to be physically present to complete your course requirements, and attending a virtual classroom is ideal for those with busy family and professional schedules. However, do keep in mind that some courses may require asynchronous, synchronous, or a combination of both communication modes.

The United States Department of Education reports that 20% of college students elect business studies. As discussed, the many areas of focus in business studies are perfect for many professional areas such as finance and accounting, marketing and sales, and small business management. In fact, in the U.S. the most popular area of concentration is accounting, which in itself has various areas of concentration e.g. financial accounting and tax accounting.

Other areas in business with an increasing or steady demand are finance, and economics. In addition, employers are always seeking to hire graduates with marketing degrees. This makes sense given that the Internet created new way conducting business. The web acts as a platform for sales, advertising, business interaction, and business promotion. Related to this phenomena is e-commerce or e-business, another growing area in the business world.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment in advertising, marketing, sales, and promotions should see a 12% growth from 2006-2016. During that same period, accounting jobs are expected to grow by about 18% due to the expanding economic market and increasing regulatory reforms. While earnings vary by industry, education, and professional experience, some reported potential earnings are: $106,790 for sales managers, $97,170 for public relations managers, $96,000 for project management positions, $113,400 for marketing managers, and, and $137,000 for financial analysts.

Business professionals are work in virtually about any industry that you can think of including education, financial institutions, not-for-profit bodies, manufacturing, entertainment, and sports and entertainment among others. Each business and industry needs a range of skills from its employees making it important to make an informed decision on what you would like to focus on to succeed. Also, it is advisable to conduct detailed research on which program best suits your needs. Finally, it is important to really only consider online universities that are accredited and recognized.