by Teri Robnett
(Published in Brainstorm! December 2005)

According to Sun Microsystem's COO Jonathan Schwartz, the Internet's influence will match the revolution wrought by electricity in the 20th century. "The value unleashed by electricity is arguable the single biggest economic and social propellant the world has ever seen. Today, the Internet holds the same promise," Schwartz says in BusinessWeek Online.

Martin Irvine, Director of Communication, Culture, and Technology at Georgetown University, predicts that every business will be an e-business or it will be out of business as network technology transforms organizations and business systems and creates new ones.

What are you doing to put the Internet to work for your business? In 2006, will you stay ahead, keep up, or eventually be left behind?

When the Internet ushered in "the information age," few people could have imagined the transformation that would occur in the business world. What began as the world's largest pool of academic knowledge has now evolved into the largest business initiative undertaken in recent history - e-commerce. Together the Internet phenomenon and e-commerce have accelerated the pace of business, making the phrase "24x7x365" a reality.

What is your company's strategy for utilizing the Internet? Do you have one? With so many demands on your time, it may be difficult to even think about developing a business plan, a marketing plan, or an Internet strategy. But without a plan, how will you know if what you're doing is working for you?

Here are a few questions to get you started on developing your Internet strategy.

1. What are you trying to accomplish?
If you're developing a Web site, will the site be a communication tool, an educational tool, a marketing tool, a sales tool, or something else? How will visitors use your site, and what kind of information will they be looking for? What do you want visitors to do while they're at your site - watch a video, read an article, purchase a product - and how well does your site allow them to do that?

2. Who are you trying to reach?
The first question any good marketing plan asks is "Who is your target market?" The same question applies to your Web site strategy. It will influence the look and feel of your site, how it navigates, the information it includes, and the products and services it sells. In considering this question, you may decide to develop multiple sites, each targeted toward a different group or focusing on a different product or service.

3. How does the Internet affect the rest of your business?
If you're a brick-and-mortar store and you want to launch an e-store, how will you track inventory for both? If you're collecting e-mail addresses on your site, what will you do with those addresses once you have them? Do your employees know what information is on your Web site, and are they directing customers to it? Does your Web site reflect the other marketing you may be doing such as direct mail or brochures?

4. How will you know when you get there?
Developing concrete goals and expectations for the Internet will enable you to put systems into place for tracking your success. If you want more people to call you after visiting your Web site, are you and your staff asking if they've been to your site and why? If you send an e-mail to a group, will you know how many people received it, opened it, read it, or clicked through for more information? If you invest in search engine pay-per-click advertising for your e-store, you will know how many people clicked through because you'll be charged for those clicks, but will you know how many of those people actually bought something? (We'll talk more about tracking results in upcoming issues of Brainstorm!)

"Although many small businesses have the basic technology tools they need to succeed, it's clear that most of them are not maximizing the power of databases and the Web to serve their customers more effectively," said Ryan Rosenberg, vice president of marketing and services for FileMaker, Inc.

The Internet is changing and evolving everyday with new technologies emerging that can help you build your business. Rather than just going with the flow and seeing what happens, or throwing up your hands in frustration, plan your strategy for using the Internet thoughtfully. In 2006 make the commitment to take advantage of the power the Internet offers your business. Commit to developing your new Web site or updating your old one, adding new features that interact with visitors, and tracking the results of your Internet activities.

If you're not sure what strategies would be most effective for your business or how best to implement them, please contact us at Whole Brain Technologies. We can help you develop a strategy that will put the Internet to work for your business.

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