Book Image

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Professional Edition

By : David Mercer
Book Image

Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Professional Edition

By: David Mercer

Overview of this book

<p>The book can be read from front to back, but each chapter is self contained so the reader can skip chapters to read those that they are interested in. Each chapter will move from basic to advanced where applicable and also relate what the administrator (reader) is doing to how this affects what the client sees on the site.</p> <p>So, for example, the customization chapter will start off with a discussion on the concept of design and how to relate this to your business. Once the reader has a clear idea of what they need to do, we look at some really simple changes such as modifying the site's language, before moving to some advanced modifications which may involve some PHP programming. At the same time the discussion will demonstrate how the changes made affect the site.</p> <p>Throughout the book, much consideration is given to the "right" way to doing things. Readers will have the great advantage that they begin, from the very start, doing things properly. This will save them a lot of time and effort in the years to come as they build on and modify their site. Utilizing best practices and sound methodologies is a great asset for beginners and experienced users alike.</p> <p>At all times, the coverage given in this book pays homage to the fact that, ultimately, the reader has a business goal in mind. To this end, the material never gets bogged down in technical issues or long discourses, but rather focuses on what is practically important for the online business and then moves on. To complement this, there are plenty of suggestions and hints as to how and where to look for further information.</p>
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
Building Online Stores with osCommerce: Professional Edition
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
Foreword
Introduction
Index

Marketing


The concept of marketing is a very broad one, which is often not fully appreciated by the average person, or even people in the advertising industry itself. Most people assume that because advertising is the most visible result of an attempt to attract customers, it must be the most important part of attracting said customers. This is unfortunately a fairly blinkered view of things because if you take the time to think about it and ask a few questions, you will quickly learn that without marketing intelligence, it is all but impossible to create and deliver effective advertising.

The concept of marketing therefore covers a lot more ground than advertising, in that advertising can be viewed as part of a marketing campaign, not vice versa. Both can be summed up in the following definitions:

  • Advertising: The paid promotion of goods, services, companies, and ideas by an identified sponsor

  • Marketing: The management function responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying consumer...