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There's no reason to feel intimidated by the Web. There is so much hype surrounding this new medium that it's easy to believe that you're falling behind. It's just not true… yet.
The truth is:
· You're not that far behind · You've already got what it takes· You can't do any worse than you're doing right now.
Here are three ways you can avoid getting paralyzed into inactivity by the hype:
1. The Web is not all Interactive and E-Commerce Web Sites
There are lots of sites — some people call it brochure-ware -
that give a
company a Web presence for very little money. These sites are easy and
inexpensive to put up and can attract lots of business for your company.
The truth is: only 20% of all Web sites currently offer real-time
transactions. And that number's only slated to reach 33% by the end of 2000.
You keep hearing about e-commerce only because the media keeps focusing on
and hyping e-commerce sites.
So don't let "e-commerce " throw you. If you find out you need e-commerce
technology — because you plan to sell in real-time on your site —there are a
number of Web hosts out there that, for a fee, will allow you to perform
real-time transactions (providing you qualify with a bank for a merchant
account). Bigstep (http://www.bigstep.com/), Yahoo store
(http://store.yahoo.com/), GoBizGo (formerly Sitematic)
(http://www.gobizgo.com/) are just three of them.
You've probably also heard a lot about the interactivity of the Web. There are two things you should know. First, it's all true. The Web holds the promise of being the first truly interactive mass medium. Secondly, nobody but the very well funded Amazon-sized Web sites are even beginning to scratch the surface of interactive technologies. Most of the technology
behind the interactive Web sites to-date has been around
for years databases, chat, forums, e-mail.
There are millions of Web sites out there. Very few offer the cutting edge e-commerce and interactive tools that the press loves to write about. Don't let these stories scare you — there's still plenty of room for you on the Web at whatever price point you want to pay.
2. What You Already Know About Business Applies to the Web
It seems like everything about the Web is new, but it's not. Sure there are some fine points of technology to be learned, but business is still business. What you know about promoting your products or services offline applies to promoting your products and services online. The same copy will find its way to the Web, the same target marketing, the same accounting skills, and the same product fulfillment practices.
Take the time to find an online community that speaks the same language you do. You're likely to find that getting on the Web is the same as entering any new media. Think of it as if you're buying your first newspaper ad or radio spot:
· First find somebody else who's already doing it · Call them up and ask them how they're doing it
· Do it the same way they're doing it Pad your budget for a few mistakes but, if you've been successful in other media, there's no reason to think the Web will change your success record.
3. The Web Is Very Forgiving
There are few mistakes you can make on the Web that will really hurt you. The only two that come to mind immediately will bite you anywhere: bad planning and bad manners.
Bad planning can cost you time and money, time to redo what should have been done right in the first place and money paid for useless work. Like any media, the Web can eat up your budget on pretty graphical treatments that, at the end of the day, cost you money but do little to gain more business.
Be careful with your Web budget and shop around. Nobody really knows what to charge, so you can find great talent for very little money. Remember, nobody knows your customers the way you do, so don't let a Web designer blind-side you with a "That's not how it works on the Web " line. Your customers are still your customers, and you know how they think about your product or service better than anyone else.
Bad manners can get you spurned pretty quickly on the Web. If found guilty of spamming sending out e-mail to people who haven't specifically requested it you can get blacklisted and bad-mouthed across the whole Web. |
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