"All you need is to come up with a concept that will attract customers to your website and make them come back for more," says Alip, who has come up with a unique business model that will surely appeal to the Asian market – simply giving the best deal to online shoppers.
BestDeals.com (www.bestdeals.com.ph) is a free membership click-and-mortar site for shoppers who would like to get the best products at the best price. Launched last April 16, BestDeals has instituted a Click Rewards System that has made online window shopping enjoyable and rewarding.
Alip foresees a dramatic change in how people will do commerce on the Web in the next few years. "There will be a change in lifestyles such that more and more people will be shopping online and will be looking for sites that have reward points to get the most out of their money."
With this in mind, he has come up with "bobbins," an electronic currency guaranteed by BestDeals.com that will allow members to buy a product in the website’s virtual mall at discounted prices. The bobbins can also be used as reward points that shoppers can use to redeem items from the website.
They may get a bobbin and/or a point for every unique click on a product icon or an advertiser. Once a surfer registers and becomes a BestDeals’ member, he or she automatically gets 10 bobbins for free.
Members can exchange their points for discount coupons as well. "There are also discount coupons online. With 10 points, a shopper can electronically claim and print his/her own discount coupon from our participating merchants and advertisers," explains Alip.
Shoppers can even use their bobbins in exchange for bigger discounts when they purchase online or buy selected items with their bobbins entirely. "One of our future plans is to have members use their bobbins to get discounts from other virtual malls," Alip muses.
With their bobbins, members can also post classified ads on the site, publish their winning moments and use the assigned message box to communicate with other members.
BestDeals conducts online games all year-round where members can win valuable prizes provided by its advertisers and mall locators. By playing games such as the "Online Easter-Egg Hunt," "Online Jigsaw Puzzle," "Today in History" quizzes, "Who Said What?" or "Complete the Phrase" and "Traffic," they can also earn bobbins and/or points.
"We plan to add more attractions to the site so members will keep coming back for more," says Alip. "In fact, we already have some winners of special prizes through these online games."
Members and guests of the website can send in their comments, congratulations or commendations to those featured in this section. They can even vote for the best personal triumph feature. All feedback will be made available for public viewing.
BestDeals also has a messaging system where members can communicate with other members. A facility to inform members of messages via auto e-mail and mobile SMS or test messaging will be incorporated into this system. "We will also put up group chat, free web-mail and community services in the months to come," says Alip.
The company operates free Internet access kiosks around the metropolis and has already signed up 50 franchisees. "We also seek to provide similar services to other commercial websites in the country," adds Alip.
Alip says that BestDeals.com is just the start of his plans to get the concept of bobbins as a loyalty-rewards program going. "We aim to make bobbins the de facto electronic currency used by different websites not only here but abroad as well."