List of Online Shops in Lebanon

Here is a list of online shops in Lebanon. I look forward to do all my shopping from the comfort of my home. Until that day comes, here is a set of available online stores where hopefully you will find what you have been looking to buy.

http://www.wildwillytoys.com/ (toys)

http://www.stock-furniture.com/ (furniture)

http://beautylebanon.com/ (cosmetics)

https://www.hm.com/lb/ (clothes)

http://www.ekt2.com/ (electronics)

https://namshi.com/ (clothes)

http://www.zara.com/lb/ (clothes)

http://www.zarahome.com/ (home decoration)

http://www.tezkarshop.com/ (gadgets and accessories)

http://prettylittlebox.net/ (subscription monthly beauty box)

http://safawitoys.com/  (toys)

http://www.electroniyet.com/ (electronics)

http://www.gosawa.com/ (deals)

http://www.hobbymaxlb.com/ (remote controlled toys)

http://www.lebanonfinearts.com/ (gifts, accessories, etc)

http://www.kiwihomeco.com/ (home decoration)

http://katemart.com/ (clothes)

http://alandalous.com/ (roasteries)

http://shop.sarahsbag.com/ (bags)

http://healthylifestyle.cc/ (supplements)

http://www.albaba-sweets.com/e-store (sweets)

http://optionsmegastore.com/ (electronics)

http://pczonelb.com/ (electronics)

http://www.numed.me/ (nutri/medical equipment)

http://wurth.com.lb/ (electronics)

http://www.quantum-stores.com/ (electronics)

http://www.azzisport.com/ (sports accessories)

http://store.alrifai.com/ (roasteries)

https://www.ayatonline.com (religious)

http://shop.biblesociety.org.lb/ (religious)

http://www.heskat.com/ (electronics)

https://dealofthetown.com (deals)

http://www.geekexpress.com/ (DC comics, Marvel, etc)

https://exotica.com/lebanon/ (flowers)

http://www.buylebanese.com/ (Lebanese food, etc)

http://www.lebanonrides.com/ (cars)

http://lebanon.hatla2ee.com/en/car (cars)

http://www.jackgifts.com.lb/ (gifts)

http://yallacondoms.com/ (condoms)

http://vantostyle.com/ (gadgets and accessories) 

http://www.senteursdorient.com/ (soaps etc.)

http://www.laredouteliban.com/ (clothes) 

http://www.ashekman.com/ (Tshirts)

http://www.compulife-lb.com/ (electronics)

https://scoopcity.com/ (deals)

http://istikbalfurniture.com/ (furniture)

http://kinggeorges.com/ (accessories)
http://www.homecentrestores.com/ (home decoration)
http://www.gebrangeahchan.com/ (toys)
http://shapeupstore.net/ (supplements)
https://www.lushlebanon.com/ (soaps etc.)
http://www.deal.com.lb/ (deals)
http://www.getforless.com/ (electronics)
http://www.shoppinginleb.com/ (clothes)
http://bazarkan.com/ (clothes and accessories)
http://www.macdesign.com.lb/ (jewelry)
https://www.patioucha.com/ (clothes and accessories)
https://www.pellini-collection.com/ (men's clothes)
http://www.lelilasflowerlounge.com/ (flowers)
http://gadgitechstore.com/ (electronics)
http://www.soukorjuwan.com/ (crafts and souvenirs)
http://www.myeasyprints.com/ (photo books, calendars, etc)

Please note that while I am familiar with some of the stores, I do not endorse, support, or guarantee any of them.  

If you would like to add more online shops to the list, please leave a comment below.

The remarkable blogger Rita Kamel has done an excellent job compiling more at ritakml.info.

In-App Advertising | A Striking Ad

Far from being an expert in the in-app advertising field, I am writing to share one striking in-app ad occurrence. 

Do I believe that in-app advertising is effective? 

The same applies to any advertising medium, it is impossible to make a general statement. 
The variables that come into play as to the success of in-app advertising are endless. 

Yet... They Made Me Click!

 I rarely ever notice in-app ads. They're usually in a covert 'discarded' part of the screen; at least that's what my brain is trained to think. 

Those ads were different. 

Somehow, they mimicked familiar images, brands and colors (copyrighting, anyone?). 

As a new user of this application, I did not know what was part of the design... and so I clicked. 

When it comes to in-app ads, you know you have clicked the wrong button, as soon as you get redirected!

...and so I clicked, and did not wait to see the brand behind the ad.  

To date, I am not quite sure whether the advertiser was genius for making me click or foolish for not benefiting from any exposure.
...and I cannot help but wonder if other people act differently in similar situations. 

Marketing Through Web Design

Some marketing ideas are quite simple, others are plain out complex. Some concepts depict information in a very straight-forward fashion, you might even say, they are quite old fashioned... While others are almost deceitful.

Whatever the marketing strategy used, some methods strike you as impressively smart... and that's just one of those strategies.

Take a look at this website of a freelancer -  what do you see, at a first glance?
(image below)

That's a big impressive list of brand names. This freelancer seems to have a very impressive portfolio, don't you think? A bit too impressive, I am afraid.

Now, look closer.

"Here is some companies I have not worked with, yet." Genius? 

I would say he is, despite the language mistake. This person understood the heuristics we, as web viewers, use to scan a website.

Yes, we look at websites incredibly quickly. We focus on the big fonts, the bold, the supposedly relevant. 

He did not really lie regarding his portfolio. There is a link to his real work, right in front of our eyes. Yet, he manages to misguide a big fat chunk of his visitors... and no one can quite complain.

This is what I would call smart marketing!

7 Tips to Sell Online Marketing Services

"we are experts in online marketing strategies and solutions" 

He began his email. Yes, online marketing firms are popping up like mushrooms, some of which can be really obnoxious ...and this one just hit a home run!

After having a brief phone conversation where exhibit A of an annoying sales person tries to schedule a meeting in a very aggressive and offending manner - I redirect him to my email inbox. Where, instead of offering a sound business offer, he offends our marketing strategy anyway he could, in order to, well, offer his 'improved' version.. of course, in the meeting he so desires to schedule!

Apparently I have no idea about digital marketing since he offers, as he puts it:

'to expose you more on the online marketing'

...and yet, he claims having done his homework!

'I have some concern about your online lets start by Facebook page' 

He writes.

Here's his sorry excuse of an online strategy:

'the cover loto its not legal as for facebook rules and regulation its not allowed to put your phone number, website links and address' 

News flash: the cover 'loto' can contain any text as long as it is less than 20% of the cover photo.

'As for the Facebook Page state you have only <<inserts a copy-paste of your target's title and top of page insights>>' 

Oh thank you, that was very insightful data. Only to interpret it as he pleases:

'Thats mean not active, not updated and got no welcome page,no interaction and no visitors..... And much much more.... ' 

Seriously, dude? Aside from the totally off-the-wall inaccurate interpretation of the data, he suggests 'a welcome page'? Really? Those things have turned obsolete ages ago (in digital years).

Well, congratulations, you have just inspired a blog post!

Ok, so I am done bashing this email.
Here are a few tips on how to contact a prospect client:

1. Conduct a background check. You cannot talk to a beginner the same way you do to an expert and vice versa. Get to know your client.
2. Put yourself in your client's shoes. What works for commodity goods does not necessarily work for B2B. Try to see the world from their perspective, what is it they intend to achieve from their social media?
3. Review your own strategy BEFORE you advise others. When you have no social media presence, and a very weak unoptimized website, don't expect your client to take you seriously. 
4.  Do not be offensive. Even if your client has a bad digital marketing strategy, consider being constructive. Compliments will get you further than criticizing, I can guarantee that!
5. Do not be aggressive. Yes, it is important to be bold when you are a sales person, but when the client is clearly not interested, stop pushing. You will not have any luck at getting the deal, if you do not come off as likeable.
6. Listen. Unless you have one single rigid solution that you have to push to as many people as you can, stop doing the talking. Listen to your client's needs, ask questions, get answers and only then can you offer a solution.
7. Offer a solution. By that, I mean a real deal. Make him an offer he cannot refuse. Propose a package with your service and price. Something he can say yes or no to. 

Just my 2cents. Let me know if you have any additional tips to sell digital marketing services!

An Effective Facebook Ad

No, I am not behind this... and I do not know who is. In fact, I don't have access to the statistics behind it. Yet, I find it quite intriguing and I can bet on its effectiveness. 

What is so good about this ad? 

A Targeted Question

Well, asking a question when you know it suits your targeted audience, works wonders. The audience gets the impression that 'ooh this ad is for me!' Yes, even when aware about ad targeting. 

I assume in the backend ad management settings, this ad is targeting 'engaged' Facebook users only.

A Landing Page

Clearly, the ad makers were not intending to get more Facebook likes; neither did they hope to impress their boss by the number of clicks they receive. They have a landing page well-structured to bring in sale leads. 

Here's the link to their Facebook landing page. 

Yes, I love marketing when it is well done! 

Don't you?

Media & Money 'Unconference'

Are you a digital media enthusiast or an entrepreneur? 

Mark your calendars: Saturday, September 29, 2012, 10am-5pm.

Ok, so this is not just one of those events strictly targeted at marketing fans. If you understand and value the opportunity to network, you might want to spare some time for this too.

Let's cut to the chase; I am referring to a barcamp event organized by Altcity (and at Altcity), 'Media & Money Unconference'.

The names of the people on the panel alone should get you all excited. If you haven't heard of them yet and care about the Lebanese online scene, Google might be very useful right now:

• Wais Bashir, Chief Editor/Editorial News Manager, Demotix 
• Nina Curley, Editor-in-Chief, Wamda
• Omar Christidis, CEO & Founder, ArabNet  
• Marc Dfouni, CEO/Managing Partner, Eastline Marketing 
• Moderated by Munir Nabti, CEO/Co-Founder, AltCity 

To register, just head to this page http://barcamp.org/w/page/58755030/MediaAndMoneyLB and yes, it is free. See you there!

How to Invite a Blogger

This was not the first time I had received an invitation by a brand. 

 In fact, contrary to popular belief, many brands in Lebanon try to get bloggers to cooperate in their marketing efforts. Yet, the way they go about it is never the same. Here is why I often neglect invitations:

________________________________________

Chivas had the decency to drop this invitation in a private message to my blog's Facebook page.

'Dear bloggers, ...' No, we do not appreciate the idea that you think of us as a random blogger. There are thousands of those out there. A 'dear blogger' e-mail  directly qualifies as junk, as we do not feel personally concerned.

What Chivas did: a personal message with a personalized attached invitation, really, that's all it took.

Zoom-in to the invitation card

Here's why: it matters that the brand knows who you are and takes the time to get to read what you are all about. It makes us feel special. A little quote is all it took.

________________________________________

 Last minute call: It sends out the wrong message. Either I don't think you have anything else to do, or simply, I left you as a second option. In both cases, it's a no-no.

What Chivas did: A 10 days notice - just perfect. With a one week prior reservation request and a same day reminder. What this means to a blogger? 1 - I respect you. 2- I really want you to be there. i.e. you matter.

________________________________________

What's more? They were available to answer their phone, although I arrived late and was calling in the middle of the bloggers' meeting. They welcomed me at the door. They were friendly and courteous; simply chivalrous. 

On a personal note, I really appreciated that their CEO (Fawaz Holding) was present at the event. He was really down-to-earth, open-minded and showed interest in blogging and digital media; something really admirable for a Lebanese boss, if you ask me.

As for the event: we had a little tasting experience, some guess-work and left with an 18-year-old bottle of Chivas...

Cheers!

How to Get Popular Fast on Twitter

Very smartly crafted and well-planned, this Twitter strategy guarantees a great amount of followers instantly. Curious? Take a look:

Now, the first thing that came to my mind was 'what a great way to get followers'; but wait, why the hell would Selena Gomez do such a great favor for that account? ...and how can a brand get that kind of exposure? (*jealous* - as if I had a chance!)

I did the only logical thing to do. I visited the page of my new so called 'marketing prodigy' @funnyLaugh. What I found was even more interesting than the above mentioned tweet! He got endorsements from other popular celebrities too. Impressive? Not quite. 

Now, you really would have to be dumb to believe there was not some trick in all of that, right? Yet, the tweets were individual retweets from the celebrity accounts and not a self-written tweet by @FunnyLaugh. 

 It only made sense that the accounts were fake; and they indeed were. They didn't even claim to be the official twitter accounts of the said celebrities. They just needed to appear as though they were when they were retweeted, to reach more people faster and to gain the marketing prodigy his needed follower-base. 

Yet, since Twitter is such a fast-streaming network no one really bothered to authenticate the accounts. Even more intriguing is that those celebrities did not follow anyone at all! Thus, they did not keep their share of the tweeted deal.

In any case, this remains a very smart strategy; although not quite an ethical one. What do you think? Would you go that far to get a good amount of Twitter followers?

Le Mall Marketing Campaign - "Shopping Trip to Paris"

Apparently someone has paid more than $11, 000 for a chance to win a trip... worth about... LESS.

There's 555 coupons for a certain Juliane, each worth $20 according to the listings on stopjessica.com, stopjad.com, stopcarol.com, stopzeina.com, stopmaya.com (which by the way, all, just link to the Facebook application). 

 

Only about 3800 likes on Le Mall's Facebook page, a rather average interaction rate, and yet the top 50 "unstoppables" boast numbers that seem way up in the clouds... 

That part obviously reads "fishy" to me. Even more so that the full name of those "unstoppables" is not written. Oh, and their Facebook manager (with great writing skills - honestly -) needs to do something about those long status updates!

 

"Hasn't anyone told them yet that their advertising campaigns suck?" stated a very reputable friend in the advertising industry upon hearing LeMall's latest radio ad. 

I don't quite agree actually.

I was intending to praise this campaign... I should get back on track. I find it ingenious!

For once a campaign that aims to raise sales, engage with clients and above all reward them... and my favorite part? It's an integrated marketing campaign. 

I would calculate the success of this by measuring the amount of new sales generated, versus that of the previous month, minus the campaign costs. Uh, ok, I am making it impossible for it to be a "winner".

...But seriously, I do like it. At least they would have created themselves a Facebook fan base for future campaigns and got new people to interact with them! (Which could have been done with Facebook ads alone, with, at least, 20 times less the cost.)

ok, I give up! 

It's a good campaign, yet, likely to cost more than to generate. Although, the campaign seems so awesome and creative (ok, not creative, ...yet it's spot on the Lebanese female mall consumer). 

Let's call it ambitious.

...But hey! At least they did it all legally:

Did you know that it takes a permit from the ministry of Finance for any draw to take place? Even if they were just to win coupons! Moreover, such draws have to be governed by the Lebanese National Lottery... And Le Mall did it right. Yey for that! 

E-commerce in Lebanon: Ready or NOT

It was 2009, all excited, we opened a brand new shop. Full of hopes and ambitions, not knowing what the market was like, we quickly jumped into e-commerce. 

We laughed at the thought of the limited amount of e-commerce websites in Lebanon: such a wasted opportunity, right? Wrong. 

A major lesson in market selection (recalling post-graduate Marketing lessons) is that when you think you found an untapped market that seems like a great investment... well, think again.

There's a reason why all those investors have avoided it... and this was a fact. They weren't stupid, uneducated, or incapable, as many highly active Lebanese internet users seem to think. They knew better. They knew that the market was not ready yet.

We carefully went for "payment upon delivery"considering the Lebanese reluctance of paying online. Well, guess what? It was not just the online payment that seemed to be the barrier. Lebanese really like to be guided in their purchases. Very few online purchases were completed without a prior phone call! 

"Hello, I would like to buy this item on page 3, do you think it's a nice color?"

"Hello, what do you think of this product? Would it be nice for my father?"

Case in point - 1 - Lebanese like to have a second opinion. The salesperson seems to be a must. 

-Hello, I was on your webiste, there's this item I want to buy...

-There's something called "add to cart" and then you get a form to fill.

-Yes, but since I called, do you mind taking the information?

Case in point - 2 - Lebanese seem to dislike self-service? Or maybe they just cannot deal with procedures?

 

Whatever the reason, the lack of e-commerce websites in Lebanon is mainly due to a resistance from the market rather than from the organizations. The field is not as lucrative as it may appear to be; unless you offer some really good incentives for people to go for an online bargain... Something that Groupon-like models have successfully adopted.