The internet is an agile platform for doing business. Indeed it is arguably the only platform that nearly anyone with little knowledge and effort can even make money without investing a shilling in their online venture. This may sound like a load of hubris but it is really true. But inspite of its dexterity, there is still one thing that the internet does not and will never do. And that is sustaining businesses long-term that do not add value to their market.



Value whether increasing it or entirely creating it is a complex issue. Indeed the essence of business revolves around the creation of value and delivery of this value. Here we look at some simple means to base you internet business model on, so as to deliver value.

First is the use of promotional techniques. For a website that chooses to sell other peoples products like resellers and affiliates, you can use promotional techniques to differentiate yourself from others selling the same product. A common promotional technique used online is designing a website around candid personal reviews of products or services. For example, if you resell web-hosting services, you could review different services and give varying recommendations. Value addition here is achieved by giving useful insight into different services. For example you can rate the efficiency of the response of the web-hosting support team to queries. And depending on the review you can sway a visitor's decision for or against a service. Reviews are welcomed by searchers as sincere reviews from three websites can give you a pretty good picture of what to expect from a product or service.

Price is another value creating technique. Where an industry is price sensitive, basing you website on how much the visitor would be willing to pay can be a winning formula. One of the popular methods used here is price comparison. In this technique, your website concentrates on comparing prices side by side. The value here is achieved by saving the visitor the bother to visit several sites looking for the best deal.

You could also use place as a value creating strategy. Don't you think a visitor will appreciate if they wanted to lose weight and found a website that exhaustively covered the subject? From the site you could access weight loss equipments, diet pills, dieting books and even weight loss surgery. Even though all these are independent niches clumping them together in an orderly fashion makes a valuable source of information for an entry level weight loss visitor.

The fourth strategy is probably the hardest. It involves developing a product. It may involve creating a whole new product to serve an unmeet need. Creation of value here is obvious. It also may involve improving on an already existing one to introduce value for example by reducing cost or a more efficient product.