Sorry I haven’t posted more here this week. Those on our Newsletter subscription have seen more than usual from us in updating subscribers on YTB’s new division of e-commerce and additional compensation package that comes with ZamZuu. As a member of YTB over the years, I’m quite use to new initiatives and launches like this when they come twice a year. Once in January for Coach’s Birthday Bash to kick off the new year, and once again at Convention in August.

One things for sure, YTB is never dull, stale, or boring.

There are a couple of things that make this launch a little different. But, it’s not completely new. When I broke news on the internet just after the webcast Monday night you should have seen the monsoon of traffic with “zamzuu” as a search term that flooded this blog. Nobody (including me) had ever even heard the word before. Another reason I haven’t updated here. This week broke into the top 5 just from that one article. (Of course it helps when you have first page ranking on Google.) All I had to do was ride that wave of traffic.

Which brings me to this question that I know your asking – Why “Zamzuu”? I have to admit even I was a little puzzled at this name at first. When I searched the term myself, I couldn’t find a blessed thing to clue me into what it was or what it meant.

Believe it or not – that’s one of the reasons we have the name. Just look at your own reaction to it, and what you did when you heard it. YTB did a considerable amount of research in picking this name to get that exact reaction from you. See, the name is unique and really doesn’t have any place in our vocabulary or have any meaning attached to it.

Yes, most initially start out puzzled – for now. But what about 6 months from now when this ZamZuu is attached to an e-commerce site with companies like Home Depot, Barnes and Noble, Macy’s, Wal-Mart, Bass Pro Shop, Target, Best Buy and hundreds of other names they know and trust?  ZamZuu then becomes a free portal to those retailers that customers can and will shop with on the internet to save time, save money, and get cash back when they use ZamZuu.

Brilliant – absolutely brilliant.

Think about it…what did the word “Expedia” mean in 1996? How ’bout “Orbitz”? “Kayak” had a totally different meaning at the turn of the century didn’t it? Today they’re all household brands that are not only used in our vocabulary, but all have very distinct meanings and companies attached to them.

While the name may be new – the concept has been tried, tested, and proven many times over. Like I told you on Monday night, this whole e-commerce idea started out as nothing more than a partnership with a company called Aisle 19. What transpired over the next 12 months was the realization that e-commerce is the next wave on the internet. All the signs and research pointed to it. When brick and mortar retailers are hopping on board spending millions in an online presence and promotion you’ve got to believe that it’s a concept and area you at least need to attempt to claim a stake in.

Again – we all know what “Black Friday” is – but would you even have a clue about something called “Cyber Monday” even two years ago?

Heck no! But, it’s not only a term we recognize, it’s a event some of us actually looked forward to during this past Christmas shopping season. Our kids wouldn’t have unwrapped a number of presents Christmas morning if it weren’t for being able to order it over the internet. Likewise, a dual DVD player for the family van now has a brand new carrying case that was ONLY available online.

How many times do you see these terms on retailer web sites?

“Not Found In Stores” or “Online Only”.

E-commerce expands business for retailers, it expands product offerings for consumers, and with ZamZuu it expands the budget for consumers while saving time, money, and getting cash back.

Of course – we can’t forget how it’s going to expand the revenue for site owners of ZamZuu or the parent company, YTB International. Plenty of companies diversify into other areas and expand. Look at Carlson. Not only do they have one of top travel companies in the world, they also own the Country Inn hotel chain, and T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants. The other largest travel retailer in the world is another one of those household names that many equate more to banking than they do travel – American Express.

Yet, Carlson Wagonlit and American Express have battled for the number one position in Travel Weekly’s Power List for years.

And today, YTB International expands into the same type of diversification these two companies have that will add stability and additional revenue to move into the future.

And the best part of it for me personally – that scares the living daylights out of the critics who see YTB as nothing more than a scam. I haven’t read any of the spin and hype about this new launch – and really don’t care to. I simply don’t have large enough hip waders to survive the pile of manure they create. But I’ve seen plenty of evidence and a new resurgence this week because YTB just sneezed again – and the critics caught another cold.

There must be an incredible amount of frustration going on inside the heads of critics right now. They were absolutely certain that 2009 would be the year YTB went away. As the new year and new decade dawns, they’ve been awaken from this dream only to realize that they’ve got to start all over again with more spin, more lies, more hype, and more yelling at people who truly don’t even care to listen to their rhetoric any longer.

Sucks to be them.

Not sure what I’ll be doing for my signature line below – but I’ll most certainly be adding the ZamZuu business to it. I see no reason not to – it’s an opportunity that has grown on me over the last year. No doubt, you’ll still have the same great travel and vacation deals from BandBVacations.com and a Travel Agent with years of experience and training to service you. It IS my first love and why I got involved with YTB when nobody else in the industry gave me the time of day.

But I wouldn’t be very realistic if I thought that ZamZuu and this new E-commerce arm of the company wouldn’t be an easy add on to build and promote.

Last decade YTB powered it’s way into the travel industry and is a household name for many in the travel industry. I like the odds of doing it again with E-commerce with a proven concept, company, and Founders with the name YTB.

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Doug & Ronda Bauknight AKA: TravelPro Travel Agent / Networker Phone: 678.458.5812

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Tags: E-Commerce, Home Based Business, YTB International, YTB News, ZamZuu

This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 7:00 am and is filed under Home Based Business, Upgrades, YTB, YTB Marketing, YTB News, YTB Travel Network, ZamZuu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.