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Did you know that...
- Our Web site
www.redtienda.com started out with
just 5 pages, but has grown to over 400
pages...and it is growing each week.
- redtienda
was started with an initial investment of just
10,000 USD. A company of our kind normally begins
with 10 or 100 times more of capital (Venture
Capital), but our internal know-how, passion, and
dedication has made the "impossible"
possible. Most of our strategies and innovations
are based on in-house knowledge and low budget
methods to reach high-end results in all areas of
the company...from administration and product
development to marketing and sales.
- Traditional
dot-coms with free services are starting to
understand that they need revenues to stay in
business. Some are disappearing and others are
looking for new ways to make money. Finally, the
Internet is transforming from an alternative to
normal business environment, and the future will
bring us a lot more. There is no doubt that the
creative Internet entrepreneur has a lot to gain.
- We practice
and believe a lot in our corporate vision.
- B2B
(business-2-business) represents 80% of the
world's eCommerce. Only 20% of the transactions
are made to online consumers (B2C).
- The average
redtienda store is exporting their existing
products to online consumers. The merchants (our
users and customers) consist of small to medium
sized companies. Only a few of them know much
about the Internet, and the rest has learned a
lot since they started.
- redtienda
was released on September 5, 2000. It took over
20 months to develop.
- The idea for
creating redtienda was born on a business trip to
Lima, Peru. Initially, we were to represent a
US-based competitor in Latin America, but their
lack of interest and poor attention blew the
entire project, so we decided to do it on our
own. This was the best decision we ever took.
- When we
first started out, our concept was so new that
many were mistaken thinking that redtienda was a
portal for doing business online...not a software
for creating their own online store. Today, the
communication is clearer and the market knows
more.
- The first
company to purchase redtienda was the US-based
Swego, back in June 2000 (before we were open to
the public).
- To come up
with the redtienda name, a list of some 150
possible names was created and redtienda
was selected after weeks of meetings and feedback
with several employees, professionals, and
friends. Some of the most popular alternative
names were protienda, comlatino,
and ventienda.
- The
redtienda logo was designed by the award-winning
Ecuadorian designer Esteban Salgado. It was
specially designed to work well on the Web. It
stands for innovation, future, and trust. Esteban
normally charges between 3-8,000 USD for a logo
of this kind.
- Our legal
name is "Comercio Digital Panamá S.A."
but we are more known as redtienda corp.
or just redtienda. We use our legal name
for administrative purposes only, such as
invoicing.
- Our
eCommerce software redtienda is one of a kind. We
have not seen anything like it in Latin America;
in terms of software, quality, pricing, Web site,
administration, and how we do the marketing. If
you have seen something similar, please let us know.
- "redtienda"
in plural is "redtiendas", and www.redtiendas.com is an online
directory for virtual stores in Spain.
- Latin
America has the fastest Internet growth
(connectivity) in the world since 1994.
- Most site
owners never update the site content. This is a
big mistake. A Web site needs to be always
updated with the latest information, and used
like the ultimate business tool.
- Another
common mistake is to never promote the Web site.
No wonder many companies never do any profits on
the Internet. Marketing is one of the most
important aspects for the success. So make sure
you don't do the same mistake as others. This is
what you need to do: be ready with a site that
sells, update it frequently, and market market
market it.
- Our
associate program has become one of the largest
in Latin America, probably the largest. We have
over 1,600 associates in 33 countries, and new
ones apply every day.
- By the end
of 2001, we became the most popular eCommerce
software in Latin America.
- Our Home page, Demo, and Stores are the most
visited pages within redtienda.com.
- There is a
lot to do when it comes to eCommerce and the
Internet. We get new ideas every day for how to
improve our site, marketing, and sales. And...we
apply them!
- 60% of our
stores are created by a professional Web designer
of their choice.
- The average
time to insert a new product into an online
store, using redtienda, is 53 seconds –
based on that all information is prepared.
- The redtienda demo store was created in
one night by our CEO, Erik Olsson. Then it took a
couple of days to fine-tune the design and
content. The demo store does not include any
advanced customizations.
- The initial
price for redtienda was supposed to be 1,495 USD,
including a merchant account. Since not all of
our customers want to accept credit cards, and
due to the high price, we decided to go for
another strategy. Offering just the software for
a low price and then recommending marketing and
payment solutions through other providers. Each
one of them a specialist in their area...we just
work with the best!
- We are
always testing everything (product offering, Web
site content, marketing strategies, etc.) to see
what works best and pulls most sales. For
instance the pricing; the opening price for
redtienda was 497 USD, then we raised it to 677
USD, and then lowered it to only 397 USD. We
learned that price was an incredible important
factor for prospects to make a purchase decision.
A more light version of redtienda is now free.
- A big
problem with many Web sites is that they are not
optimized to look and work good in different
browsers, computers, monitors, etc. (redtienda
handles all this.) Another serious problem is
when the site owners (and/or their designers)
create design, structure, navigation, and content
that please themselves and not their users. BIG
mistake!
- The
redtienda staff receives and sends normally over
100 emails a day. Mostly answering questions and
concerns from curious visitors, hungry
associates, and clients who need help.
- Most people
appreciate our friendly and fast customer
service. Especially for helping them with their
questions and giving them useful tips. Most
online companies are managing this important task
very bad; they either take a long time to answer
emails...or worse, and more commonly, they do not
reply at all. Learn from this.
- Our Web site
(www.redtienda.com) receives between
300 and 2,000 visitors per day during weekdays.
It drops to some 50 daily visitors during
weekends. 90% of the visitors are from Latin
America, and the other 10% comes from all the
different corners of the planet.
- 99.5% of the
content we create is in both English and Spanish.
- 5 out of 10
visitors were recommended to us through one of
our associates.
- The best way
to find out what products you can sell on the
Internet is to "FIRST find a niche market,
understand what they want (or need) and then
simply give it to them". It can be products
that improve their lifes in one way or another.
Products that solves a problem or simply give
them pleasure. Find out where these people hang
out online, contact them, and make them an offer
they can't refuse.
- The secret
to success on the Internet, eCommerce, and
marketing is that there is no single big secret.
There are many small secrets.
- We offer our
help (free consulting) to people who write to us.
We are glad to help them with any questions,
ideas, or feedback. Not only about redtienda, but
regarding all issues when it comes to eCommerce
and doing business online. We have a lot of
experience and many contacts, so please contact us if you want free
advice as well.
- redtienda's
founding CEO, Erik Olsson, started his first
Internet company in Sweden back in 1995. The
company still offers Web design and its name is egOn networks. Erik has
personally designed over 100 Web sites for
companies of all sizes around the world.
- Taxing can
be a complicated issue on the Internet. Here is
an example. Our software (the product being sold)
is physically located on a server in the United
States. Our mother company is located in Ecuador
and we have subsidiary in Panama. A new client
from Peru uses his company in Delaware to
purchase redtienda through an associate in Chile
that is an sub-associate to a company in Spain.
The transaction is made by our merchant account
provider in the Caribbean and deposited into our
bank account in Miami. Wow! Where should the
taxes be paid? Well, in this case, there are no
taxes to be paid by us, since the buyer and
seller are not in the same country. A note:
The associates in Chile and Spain will receive
commissions for their referrals, so they have to
declare this in their respective countries.
- Our monthly newsletter has grown from 30
to more than 35,000 readers in less than three
years.
- We
constantly receive emails from subscribers who
tell us how the redtienda eCommerce newsletter
has changed their lifes. We are very happy about
this and we wish all of you the very best in the
future. There is much to do and many great ideas.
We will always support you the very best we can!
- Our
key-markets are United States, Spain, Mexico, and
Argentina. However, many of the smaller countries
in Latin America are starting to grow with an
incredible speed.
- We have a
lot of people interested in redtienda, but not
everyone starts immediately. The most common
reasons are lack of information, time, or money.
Also, a great deal of people simply do not know
what products they should to sell (see above for
tips).
- Comercio
Digital made history in 2000. We were the first
eCommerce company in Ecuador, (where we started)
and redtienda was *the* first eCommerce software
of its kind in Spanish-speaking Latin America. It
is 100% in Spanish.
- Our CEO,
Erik Olsson, is a well known figure in the
regional media. He has helped several newspapers,
magazines, radios, and TV stations with comments
on eCommerce trends, the Internet, and other
issues in Latin America. He has also held
eCommerce seminars in different countries.
- The release
of redtienda was three months delayed due to a
long approval time for our merchant account. We
wanted to be ready accepting credit cards before
we launched. This was a big mistake. Our first
credit card order came 3 months after release :-)
- Most people
who has started with redtienda found us through
one of our associates.
- The
"normal" time to create an online store
is about 3 weeks. It can take a couple of days or
up to a year. It all depends on the merchant's
(your) time, preparation, AND dedication.
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