How to start a business on the Internet, if you know nothing about it

Sergei Belyaev, co-owner of the network squash clubs in Moscow "factory squash", trying to understand the intricacies of advertising on the Internet

After retiring from the banking sector, Sergei engaged in their favorite sport - squash. First, coaching services, organization of tournaments, development rankings for the championship, and after it was joint decision with his wife to open a club "Factory of squash," which three years later became a network in Moscow. Novice businessman eagerly tells how to attract customers, how much it cost his experiments and what has been achieved.

How do you explain that you're selling, if it Cheburashka?

As business development, we are faced with the problem of expanding the customer base. As it expand? Leaflets? But people do not know what a squash! The easiest way to explain more clearly and a lot of people are new games on the Internet where you can use social networks, links, videos and photos, interactivity, but this takes time. Due to the employment we had a Facebook page for all three clubs. At first clubs were filled due to word of mouth, but at some point it was not enough, and it was actively promoted on the Internet. I had to choose between the options to hire staff in the SMM-specialist, find outsource or completely immersed in the topic of internet marketing yourself. But these scenarios require even more attention, time and money. It is important to note that any experience we have in this field did not exist. So search brought us into

SOLOMOTO.

Advertising, experiments and a small amount of money

For website promotion and groups in social networks, we use contextual advertising and advertising in social networks, running through SOLOMOTO. At the same time we decided to advertise separately only that our club, which is not filled with organically through word of mouth as the others.

Spend a maximum of 15 000 rubles per month, no longer allows the budget. This amount includes the cost of contextual advertising and advertising in social networks, as well as writing content copywriter for our groups in social networks. We realized that it is necessary to advertise. It does not cost millions of dollars, and quite sane money that should be considered as an investment. SOLOMOTO it helped us to set up advertising campaigns, as time for self-study of the issue, I had not. It is important that the Internet can still be measured, so if we understand the impact of this channel, and will spend more.

For the test in the social networks of this amount allocated 5000 rubles. We started with Facebook, where we are actively signing our friends and acquaintances of the founders. Now we want to actively move in Instagram, "VKontakte" and may try to "Classmates".

Contextual advertising, we have never used as competitors in the market was not and we have received referrals only from the organic issue. Now we have several competitors (which is also in the search results, and Content), and advertising had to be connected, so as not to lose the audience. While we are working only on squash, but may add two more areas - related to the new entertainment and new sports. For example, if a person enters a query "work out where tennis", then delivering ads "Try squash!".

Dear experience

If something did not work, draw conclusions and move on. We have, for example, did not work the first time to launch a site. We spent 200,000 rubles on his creation, making a bet on the content and use and could not. People who are prepared text, did not understand the specifics, and had to rewrite everything, wasting their time, which was not. The new website of one of our clubs www.squash-sportex.ruCreated by SOLOMOTO, It turned out not worse (though it did no more than two days), but we have to use it differently. In fact, it has become a business card site and performing its main task. On it customers see, which gives the player himself squash and how you can deal with them in our club.

Their mistakes, of course, you learn, but it turns out too expensive. Launching your own business, even a very small, you should always have a clear plan, without it will not go far. This plan may be constantly changing over time, but it was impossible without it!

—

Aronovich Alexander, founder of "Geymplast" sets online store

Business entrepreneur born in anticipation of the baby boom in 2006. In 2016 he sells toys already in the three countries, as well as engaged in their production. Despite the fact that the company has been the first year in the market, business has remained the Achilles' heel - the lack of specialists in internet marketing and advertising. "Real business, warehouses - these are our element, but we were never a digital business, so the test SOLOMOTO We started on one of our "junior" sites picnmix.ru. He needed online store ", - says Alexander.

How not to go crazy with your own online store?

Thought, we decided that the beautifully-rendered directory with brands and products can be considered a store to Moreover, this solution saves 30 rubles per day for a subscription (the cost of a daily base subscription SOLOMOTO 55 rubles, without the shop - 25 rubles. - Approx. Ed.). The idea implemented, but work did not happen: in the catalog could not find anything and the information he really did not give any.

So we got a choice. Platform SOLOMOTO It allows you to create three types of stores:

1. Shop Business Card (Items are visible, but they can not buy online).
2. The store, which is associated with an existing website.
3. Shop with full functionality (with the order takes place directly on the site or within the social network).

As a result, he was chosen the second option, since we already had a working site and maintain two accounting systems are not wanted. Now it looks like this: if the buyer wants to purchase a product, then after pressing the "Buy" button, the system throws it to our third-party site and the ordering process is completed, and the purchase is already on it. Disadvantages of this solution is that, as we are not available order management module is not every user understands why redirected through SOLOMOTO. In theory, it would be convenient, but now we use such a scheme, which solves all our problems. At the same time we do not spend big budgets on online store service (usually need to keep staff developers, content managers and professionals to promote, but in this embodiment, the system covers all these questions).

You can not - do not start

If you hired an employee, then all you need. If you are an entrepreneur, you should be all on you is always a big responsibility. It's a lifestyle, this should be able to live. You can not make this - do not start.

—

Efrikova Tatiana, the owner of a fitness studio "Alexandria", experimenting with the site

In September 2015 the fitness studio "Alexandria"I celebrated the anniversary, 10 years of its services to more than 5000 people. business owner of Tatiana has not made one approach to the projectile before the company had a working site.

Errors when creating a site

His first site we booked in 2010 web design studio. For his service we paid once at the beginning of the year. But the domain has been issued not to me but to the person who drew this site. It so happened that we had quarreled and address he did not give me. So we had to change the address of the site and start over. At this time, one Rostov company sent us an offer on the search engine optimization of the site. For 6000 rubles a month, her staff provided us with the weekly reporting: Traffic to the site, the transition graphs of social networks, the length of sessions and their number, bounce rate statistics. But it was very expensive, and I have not seen the result, so we refused them.

As a result, we have thrown all this, because even for the money, we could not move the site properly or to make it comfortable, and I did not have time to deal itself. Therefore, the question of the promotion was: or did, or with those who are for a minimum of time and money and still will do for us.

First thing SOLOMOTO He invited us to create a site that would be beneficial to current and potential customers. Maintenance and promotion now costs 750 rubles a month. Sounds can be funny, but for me it is important to use the money to the max when you lift the business itself and the penny - the ruble. Three hundred visits per week, with which we started - it is also not a big result, but before attendance did not exist. No. we also began to post information about the fitness club and place it in the events in the social networks. For us it is also a new way to promote, but now without social networks anywhere: some people all the looks in the groups "VKontakte". We feel that the popularity is growing: Recently, we came to the studio fitness instructor from Thailand.

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