Put Your Business on the Internet, presented by EDC ComputerS, Inc.

Community Education Class
Put Your Business on the Internet
1 - Introduction
We’ll look at the Internet phenomenon & the impact it has on your business
Then we’ll introduce you to the idea of developing your own Internet web site

The Internet was first conceived in 1969 as a way to link computers together.
The WWW (Word Wide Web) as we know it today, with easy to use browser software, began in 1993 and has grown at a very fast pace since then…
The New Economy is a phrase often used to describe the WWW phenomenon. The development and use of new technology depends upon:

What can be done—the technology itself
What it costs to produce and market the product or service
The value & priority people place on a product or service (ex: fax, space…)

Value & priority are based on needs: air, water, food, clothing, shelter, health, security, protection, fulfillment, belonging, communication, etc.
In the old economy value based on scarcity. In the new economy value is based on abundance! The supply-demand concepts of classic economics seem to be reversed when dealing with information technology… Examples:

Networks—value based on square of # of nodes
Very powerful companies have been created in the New Economy by giving away services that people want to access on a regular basis, then charging for other (upgrade & additional) services.
Intuit & Yahoo
Medical—managing illness vs. wellness & quality + quantity
Drug Store, WebMD, Wellness,
The great equalizer! Online, even a sole proprietor can be open 24 hours per day! Customer service and relationships are KEY…
Gear, Shoes, Allen,
Developing and maintaining an Internet business can be time consuming, but a person does not have to spend a lot of money.
Riley, Ashburn, OPD Valve
The Internet is being used to increase productivity!!!
New technology is forcing change
The Internet can break down monopolies

How do people find me on the Internet? Yes, even local people are looking for you “on line!” There are at least 4 major ways that you are found online:

First, place the address of your web site on all of your business correspondence including: stationary (letterheads); business cards; invoices; etc.
Second, include your web address in all advertisements you run: newspapers, magazines, direct mail, billboards, organizational sponsorships, radio, TV.
Third, make sure there is a link to your web site from your local chamber of commerce, and from the membership listing of any other trade organizations to which you belong.
Fourth, register your web site with some of the major Internet directories and search engines.

These methods take only a small amount of time. If you are presently in business, you probably are already advertising and you are a member of various trade organizations. So there is likely to be relatively little, if any, additional cost above what you are already spending.

There are a number of other methods, but, most of them either take a lot of time or they cost a lot of money. One method that does not cost much but takes a lot of time is to mention what you can provide at appropriate times during online “CHAT” sessions or as a member of an email list serve. A method that costs a lot is to specifically advertise your web site—during the last super bowl these types of ads cost about $2 million per 30 seconds! Other methods include exchanging links with other web sites and purchasing banner ads, which are located on other web sites with a lot of traffic.

What are people looking for online? It’s a lot like people shopping down town. Some are looking for specific things, others are just looking (to see what’s available) and some want to chat (exchange news, information, gossip, etc.). The Internet provides an interesting combination of traits. The Internet can relatively quickly give a person precisely what he/she wants, if the person knows what they are looking for and the website where they are looking is organized correctly. For the browser (the person who is just looking), the Internet is like a large shopping center, public library and amusement park all rolled up into one. There is a seemingly endless array of things to look at and participate in… With email, list serves, chat rooms, etc., there are any number of ways to communicate with others over the Internet.

How does a Web Site fit into my business plan? “How can I make money on the Internet?” is the wrong question. Better questions are, “What am I good at?” “How can we leverage what we are doing now into a viable online business?”

Online, you can market your goods and services nearly anywhere in the world. Of course, you also are in competition with others worldwide. Therefore, you must offer value, and that value is closely related to what your good at. It’s your competitive advantage! Perhaps it’s in an area where you’ve won awards, where you’re the very best in your industry, where you possess a great deal of knowledge or have a passionate interest. Excellence combined with enthusiasm is a winning combination.

You need to leverage your competitive strengths in such a way that you can offer something better than your competition. Better service, better selection, better prices, more interesting photos and articles… Then you need to innovate to stay ahead of the crowd. This is true in any business of course, but, it is critical online. If you chose not to go online, you’re offering your present business to those who are online. It may not happen today or tomorrow, but you need to prepare.