Portfolio
E-Commerce
The art & science behind selling on the internet...successfully.
A Top 10 Player in the Global Furniture Market
Retail Selling
From Bricks & Mortar to E-Commerce
I have been selling on the Internet for over 20 years.
E-Commerce is now my main focus. This evolution took time. I began my career in Mail Order, offering Venture Horizon furniture to catalog houses such as Spiegel & Crate & Barrel. I then formed relationships with bricks and mortar retail stores like Costco and Walmart.
I created my first website, WorldWideFurniture.com, back in the late 1990's. I then launched several E-Commerce websites over the next two decades including: VentureHorizon.com, VentureHorizonStore.com, , AmericanAmbiance.com and HomeFurnishings4.com. All of them were dedicated to the marketing & sales of Venture Horizon products at both the wholesale and retail levels.
I became an Amazon Seller in 2014 as a Brand Partner. I then created store fronts on eBay, Walmart, Houzz, Etsy, OverStock, Rakuten and other marketplaces. Venture Horizon was recognized by DigitalJournal in 2019 as "A Top 10 Player in the Global Furniture Market".
Global E-Commerce sales are expected to top $6.5 trillion by 2023. More than 2.1 billion shoppers are expected to purchase goods and services online by 2021. Clearly, E-Commerce is the force going forward in the Retail Industry.
My Shop-Selling on Line
Providing a pleasant, intuitive and secure shopping experience
My websites were designed for E-Commerce and optimized to provide the same memorable experience on all devices, especially mobile.
- Product Focused Design- Venture Horizon products were always my focus on each and every page. Visitors immediately knew what I was selling and if I had what they wanted.
- High Quality Product Images- Nearly all of my products were photographed and edited by me. All product features including color and size variations were represented by an image.
- Quick and Easy Checkout Process- I made sure that once a visitor actually made a purchase, they were treated to an expedited, secure checkout.
- Up selling- Other related or recommended products were discretely offered at the bottom of the page. No obnoxious Pop-Ups were used to maximize a sale.
- Social Media- I created Stores, Shop Pages and Product Offerings on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media sites. Links to them were obvious but subtle. It was a good way to allow my customers to share their experience with friends and family.
Digital Marketing
The Engine Driving E-Commerce
Advertising & Marketing is increasingly delivered through digital channels such as search engines, websites, social media, email, and mobile apps. Consumers rely heavily on digital means to research products and make purchases. Think Google.
My Strategies- In order to profitably sell my products on-line, I focused on the following all important components:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)- This is the foundation for successful digital marketing. esigned to improve my search engine rankings and increase the quantity and quality (likely customers) of organic traffic to my websites. What I did:
- Create useful, relevant copy designed to answer the searchers’ questions.
- Increase page speed by optimizing the site in a number of ways mostly on the back-end code.
- Streamlined design and navigation to enhance the visitor’s user experience (UX). - Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising- Organic rankings take time to develop and are not always sufficient to drive customers to your site. Creating targeted, effective ads is essential. I worked with many of the major PPC networks including: Google Ads, Bing, Facebook, Twitter and others. Google Analytics and other tools are essential to determine the effectiveness and profitability of PPC advertising.
- Branding- The Venture Horizon name appeared in the title of every product offered by my customers/dealers, on their product pages as well as in all their extensive advertising. Consequently, my organic rankings were greatly enhanced.
- Web Design- I spent a significant amount of time, energy and money getting potential customers to my websites. It was therefore crucial that visitors were treated to a pleasant, useful and even memorable experience. First impressions mean everything. My well-designed site scaled elegantly on mobile devices as well as desktop computers.
- Content Marketing- I regularly created a variety of materials designed to promote the Venture Horizon brand and stimulate interest in my products. The focus was on providing useful consumer information without pushing for a sale. This was done with both existing as well as speculative customers. Attention-getting, lead-generating materials included: Email Promotions, Q & A articles, Company Milestone Announcements, Blog Exchanges.
- Social Media Marketing- Since over 2 billion people use social media, it makes sense to engage with them on their turf. Connecting with existing or potential customers with a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others has never been easier or more important. You will find Venture Horizon on most major platforms.
- Email Marketing- I used personalized, engaging, eye-catching email promotions all the time. It is a good way to stay in touch with existing customers. Potential customers were secured either through List Generating services or when they contacted me with questions about my products.
