Cornerstones of the Online
Consumer Services Industry

The MiracleMind business model aligns with several major long-term industry trends to create a compelling suite of online consumer services. This article discusses how those trends fit within MiracleMind's overall business strategy.

MARKETPLACE TRENDS

The delivery of information is now advancing at an unprecedented rate. With the advent of the Internet and advanced digital technology, direct access to all forms of knowledge on a worldwide basis is now a reality. Furthermore, information that was previously limited to text and photo images has come alive through on-demand streaming audio, video and flash animation. This reality is now transforming every segment in the field of education, so much so that long-held education standards are being shaken to their core. For example, every year, another one million families opt for home-schooling, directly assisted by Internet technology.

While online learning is an industry still in its infancy, there now exists a huge quantity of high quality underused content in hundreds of categories. Technology is advancing at such a rapid pace so that higher standards for content delivery will be developed every two or three years. Consequently, while the industry itself is exploding, many e-learning business models are flawed in their delivery format, and in their individual growth projections.

Internet technology has catapulted the ongoing revolution in the small office/home office arena. Ebay is clearly one of the biggest online success stories, and much of their auction activity is driven by home-based entrepreneurs. Millions of banner ads for Amazon.com are hosted on small business web sites worldwide. Amazon pays a 6% to 25% sales commission to these affiliates. This helps Amazon generate over six hundred million dollars in sales every single week!

A few Internet giants have grown to dominate their respective categories. This includes companies like Yahoo! (portal), Ebay (auctions), Microsoft (operating system & browser), Amazon (books & CDs) and Google (search). During the same period, thousands of smaller companies have focused on specific niche markets, carving out successful business ventures in specialized categories.

Social networks such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have forever changed the landscape of the Internet and the way in which people communicate ideas and preferences. Social networks also provide companies cost-effective opportunities for brand exposure.

Another area of increasing interest is the category of social evolution. While the trend in the U.S. is still in its very early stages, the European Union is taking the lead in developing an online education agenda, directed at the mass market, that addresses a comprehensive solutions-oriented approach to individual growth, health and healing, community development, ethical business and more conscious government.

These emerging trends are clear and obvious – learning-on-demand, shared opportunity, outstanding consumer value, niche marketing, social networking, relevance and social evolution. MiracleMind strives to address all of these trends in a simple, practical and uplifting manner.

ONLINE EDUCATION

The entire planet is now undergoing an information revolution. Fueled by digital technology, the body of knowledge of the next generation will totally eclipse all previous generations. This is already apparent in areas of business and practical knowledge, and is beginning to radically influence other disciplines such as religion, art, politics, psychology, philosophy and healthcare. The fact that e-learning is prolific across every sector is obvious to any informed consumer. Anyone who experiences a simple online lesson, such as "computing the area of a circle", presented as an audio and moving flash illustration, will clearly see the power of this new medium to assist in the learning process.

Corporations use e-learning for employee orientation, safety training, human resources management, technical training and sales training. Manufacturers use e-learning for effective product demonstrations. The online college is now a preferred option for millions of students. Grade school and high school courses are accelerating a massive shift to home schooling, as well as greatly enhancing the role of traditional education systems.

Many learning materials can be ported from physical media to the web for online delivery. Plus, online delivery allows content to be transformed into an interactive experience that requires active learner participation rather than the traditional passive model of learning by osmosis. Students can now more quickly and easily assess their level of comprehension through instant digital testing. Unlike pre-printed material that quickly becomes outdated, e-learning is easier to maintain and more efficient than traditional modalities for both providers and learners.

Another result of the exponential growth of interactive learning is the plethora of high quality content that is simply underused. This situation presents the opportunity for a practical low-cost subscription-based business model that aggregates this content into a low-cost "clearing house" for consumers. The MiracleMind® membership may be considered a clearing house for online education. The consumer market for such a service is worldwide, while the many sources for this quality content are also international. According to Pew Internet, the sales volume of fee-based e-learning in the U.S. alone is near $1 billion per month.

HOME-BASED DIRECT SALES

Working from home is really nothing new. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, there are now more than 18.3 million home-based businesses in the United States. Companies like Amway®, Shaklee®, Tupperware®, Mary Kay® and dozens of others have been around for over 40 years. Today's advanced Internet technology has now transformed the direct sales industry by facilitating business automation on a worldwide basis in the areas of sales affiliate partnerships, billing, shipping, mass customization of communications and overall data management. Many home-based businesses operate within the online branded environment of billion dollar companies, taking the ideas of "virtual business" and "turn-key" to new heights. Today, there is a literal "underground economy" consisting of hundreds of companies, selling billions of dollars in goods and services through effective word-of-mouth networks.

There are other key issues to consider. Consumers can now use the Internet to shop the lowest price for nearly any consumer item. The days are numbered for the network sale of overpriced vitamins, cosmetics and other consumable items. Today's new breed of home-based sales rep desires, more than anything, to represent products and services that deliver value, relevance and quality that will result in long-term sales consistency. For this reason, the past ten years have given rise to affordable membership-based subscription programs that provide access to deeply discounted products and services – that are also sold through word-of-mouth networks. AmeriPlan® (discounted healthcare services), and Pre-Paid Legal® are just two of many examples.

NICHE-ORIENTED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

After over seven years of consistent presence, low-cost online subscriptions are now a major segment of the U.S. economy, representing tens of billions of dollars in sales every year. Low cost subscriptions (monthly and annual) are a practical impulse purchase in dozens of consumer categories including financial advice, music, gaming, Internet access, newspapers, trade publications, e-learning, software applications, dating services, sports news, alumni communities, weight loss, genealogy research, media archives, etc.

Subscription sales are fast becoming one of the favored revenue models for Internet commerce. Some proponents promote subscription-based e-commerce without reservation. "This [subscriptions] is a model that is no longer questioned," Peter Kann, Dow Jones Chief Executive, told Reuters News Service recently. The success of The Wall Street Journal Interactive Web site, one of the largest paid subscription sites on the Internet, attests to Mr. Kann's statement.

Unlike magazine subscriptions, online services are usually priced higher, and are most often billed monthly. For obvious reasons, online subscriptions can be maintained with very low overhead, the accounts are easily managed, and for these reasons, the business models can do well financially at very low subscription rates. Niche-oriented subscriptions can command a higher-than-average price, and can sell their services worldwide through email. For this reason, many subscription services with as few as 1,000 customers can easily maintain profitability. The future looks bright for many companies offering a wide range of subscription services covering dozens of categories of specialized interest. You can find additional information at sandlot.com, which is an authoritative resource serving the subscription industry.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

Social networking allows people to connect with others with similar interests. Websites with features that allow users to connect with other users to talk and share ideas, interests and preferences have gained enormous popularity in recent years. This phenomenon has even carried through to online gaming and virtual worlds.

Many social networks feature groups, such as golfing, music or gaming, to which a person may associate themselves. Increasingly, social networks are becoming themed or niched, so participants can find a network specifically devoted to a topic such as internet marketing, social activism or career building.

The enormous popularity of social networks can be attributed to the fact that the Internet provides an ideal medium for communication, allowing communication that is easy, ubiquitous, free, and even anonymous.

RELEVANT CONTENT & SOCIAL EVOLUTION

Socially relevant information, in the form of news feeds, streaming video and online courses, is increasing in frequency on the web, and is already sparking a literal revolution in thinking in the areas of religion, metaphysics, community development, political reform, health & healing, childcare, education, business ethics and international relations. Moreover, the strength and organization offered by many cohesive online social communities provides additional resources for millions of individuals in every age bracket and demographic profile.

While at the present time the Internet may be clogged with a massive volume of "noise" in the form of spam, gaming, pornography, drugs, illegal software and thousands of self-serving e-commerce sites, there is a rising "wisdom culture" that grows steadily every single day. This new progressive culture is beginning to reach the mass market out of the need and demand for relevance in these many areas of personal and social evolution.

One central theme of socially relevant content is consumer empowerment regarding mainstream advertising. While it's no secret that so much corporate advertising is devoted to subtly inducing the public to consume products, there seems to be a "veil of delusion" that has grown more apparent in recent years. Of particular concern is the aggressive agenda of pharmaceutical companies that target uninformed consumers with promises to sweep away their aches and pains with pleasant sounding brand name "pills". In many cases, the side effects from these drugs are downright frightening and sometimes life-threatening. Commercials depicting happy people calmly iterating the list of side effects have become a staple for comedians, although there is nothing comical about it.

In so many cases, health problems can and should be alleviated through simple dietary changes, detoxification, lots of clean water and mild exercise. But, because there is no profit to be had in educating and motivating these consumers, the right messages never reach their eyes and ears. Media hosts are not interested in public service announcements, especially ones that would be in conflict with the interests of their paying advertisers. Media sponsors maintain billion dollar corporations that thrive on people's bad habits, their self-images and/or their fears. This is true for alcoholic beverages, healthcare, tobacco, fast foods, gas guzzling cars, business opportunities, financial services, high fashion and a host of other categories.

Online education provides a unique vehicle for delivering socially relevant information that can empower millions of consumer in quite meaningful ways.

CONCLUSIONS

MiracleMind will strive to incorporate an attractive blend of services that are both practical and socially relevant.

By utilizing a pricing structure that offers outstanding value and is affordable to almost any online consumer, and that incorporates an effective word-of-mouth delivery system, MiracleMind positions itself within the heart of the active online consumer audience, thereby establishing a widespread and sustainable retail distribution network.

By aggregating high quality underused content into a "clearing house" subscription model, we serve both suppliers and consumers with a large-scale "middle-man" framework that provides a cost-effective "win-win" exchange of organized multimedia information.

By focusing on underserved niche markets, MiracleMind is assured of ample market share, net profits and long-term stability even at low subscriber volumes.

MiracleMind will use social networks to promote free public service courses. The viral effect from tweets and peer-to-peer recommendations will provide massive brand exposure at a minimal cost. MiracleMind will compound the effect with an affiliate commission to provide a monetary incentive for promotion. Free courses on the front end may lead to significant downstream revenue on the back end. MiracleMind may also pay for promotion on lesser known social networks through performance-based advertising agreements.

Finally, MiracleMind's plan to include socially relevant subject matter including "edumedia" advertising and courses in media awareness takes "consumer relations" to another level and represents a truly comprehensive value-added package for its subscriber base.