The Irish Internet Association - Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary Awards are among the most-respected Internet-related awards in Ireland, being backed by two of the leading organisations in the industry.
Their site describes the Internet Entrepreneur Award, for which Steve Cassidy has been shortlisted, as follows:
"The Net Visionary Internet Entrepreneur Award recognises individuals that have achieved substantial breakthroughs in building a successful internet business. He or she will have shown strategic vision and demonstrated impressive tactical abilities in achieving success online.
Nominations should be for an individual/company who has built a successful, business enabled by the internet, in the past two years. There should be evidence of long-term sustainability in the business."
The shortlist was decided by a panel of judges (details on the site) but the final recipients will be decided by a public online vote at http://www.iia.ie/
Steve Cassidy, Managing Director of Enterprise Sales Ltd., which operates the site, has spent the past two years transforming his 15-year-old family business from a supplier dependent exclusively on the Construction industry to the provider of "everything you need" to the domestic, office, educational, government, and industrial sectors. This transformation has been spearheaded through the development of the website and associated activities.
Spending much of his time identifying new sources of needed products at the best possible prices, Steve has also led the development of some unique features on the site itself. The foremost among these is Ireland's only "Live Haggle" - where a customer can make an offer for an item and, within hours, see their own agreed "Haggle Price" appear live when they visit the site to shop.
Steve sees the Haggle as a win-win-win for supplier, himself and his customer. The Haggle is the beginning of a personal connection, where customers can negotiate for an even better price, the supplier can sell more product during a difficult time, and Steve can argue for an improvement in the price for everyone else.
While other online retailers are taking down their phone numbers in an effort to cut costs, Enterprise Online is adding new features to enhance the sense that there are real people ready to assist the site's customers. A sophisticated instant chat system, allows Steve's staff to answer questions about products, delivery and use of the site; every product has an "Ask for Further Information"
The product range has expanded from about 4,000 (mainly construction-
Unlike many eCommerce sites, which provide optional products like books and music, Enterprise Online specialises in "everything you need" whether for a business or domestic customer. In these challenging times, the last thing people want is to be exploited by being charged over the odds for necessities.
You can vote now for Steve Cassidy by going to the site at http://www.iia.ie/
