The Web has been appropriately referred to as "the great leveler," because on this new playing field, anyone can join in. It makes no difference whether you're a multi-national mega-corporation, or a startup cottage industry running out of your garage; on the Web, all are equal.

Why go on line? The Web is the greatest one-to-one marketing system ever developed. It can create new and deeper relationships between retailers and consumers at a cost far lower than any other medium. Going online is no guarantee of success. And, like any business venture, it comes with its own unique set of challenges. We're not going to try to pretend otherwise: it wouldn't do any good.

Demographics - Forrester Research projects in US inter-company trade of hard goods over the Internet will hit $43 billion in 1998 - will surge to $1.3 trillion by 2003 with an annual growth rate of 99%.

You look like a pro by looking like a pro. Your site must have a professional layout, tell a clear story, be easy to use, and run quickly. You build trust by showing a serious commitment to your business, and your site is the most visible manifestation of this commitment. Build a site you are proud to put your name on.

Plan your site. What do you want it to do for you? Be realistic.

• Budget wisely. How much are you willing to invest up front for setup costs and on a regular basis for maintenance? Remember, too, to include the setup and hosting fees your ISP will charge to house your site.

• Allocate time. Responding to customer orders and inquiries, as well as keeping your site up-to-date, requires a consistent investment of time. Either you or someone on your staff will have to devote some part of each day to your web site and the customers at the other end of the modem if you expect it to flourish.

• Don't forget the marketing. Whoever said, "if you build it they will come" forgot to mention that somebody needs to tell "them" that it's there.

• Have a procedure for processing and fulfillment. You can have the greatest product in the world, and at the best price around, but if you don't process those orders and ship the merchandise by an efficient, reliable method, you'll be out of business in a hurry.

• Plan for customer service. When there's a problem with their order, customers don't want to talk to a machine, and even in this technological age you will have customers who prefer to place their order over the phone. Both of these customers want to talk to a live person. Consider in your plan both a toll-free number and a person to answer it.

 

E-COMMERCE

Why Should I Take My Store Online?
You should take your store online for two reasons:

1. The more people who know you're out there with something they want, the more sales for you.
2. See reason #l.

What is E-commerce? E-commerce is a catchy name for online shopping. But wait, there's more! E-commerce is a way for a business to use the power and tools of Internet technology to enhance sales and the buying experience. Since it takes too long to write all of that on a business card, we call it e-commerce.

More Affordable - options pros/cons
E-commerce is certainly not a new concept, though the ability of smaller sites to do it effectively and cheaply may be fairly recent. Everyone sees dollar signs when hearing the amazing revenues of Amazon.com, eBay and Buy.com. New products allow smaller businesses to create an on-line store much more easily and inexpensively than the custom programming needed for more complex storefronts. These are wonderful programs but may allow for little customization.

Catalog site - incorporating a searchable database. Existing product databases may be imported with graphics. Setting up the data is a VERY important aspect of a catalog site. This process must be well thought-out and plan, plan, plan. Incorporate price, and other product attributes including all for shopping cart and automatic calculations.

Checkout and ordering - how do you want your customers to order? What information do you need?

Payment Options - Credit Cards, E-cash, check / on-line, fax, US mail Encryption, secure server certificates, and SST (Secure Socket Transmission) have made paying for your online purchases as safe as using your credit card at your local department store. In fact, net-savvy shoppers are finding that the steps toward Internet transaction security have made cybershopping safer than most people believe.

Retrieving & Fulfilling Orders - e-mail, server downloads import into existing programs. Fulfillment houses or in-house order fulfillment.

PROMOTIONS - MARKETING ON THE INTERNET

Search Engines

Incorporate into marketing plan

Links

PR

Advertising

Tracking web trafficIncorporate into marketing plan