Electronic Business...

The answer is emphatically, "YES!"  However, now comes that "BUT..."  What really is this supposed answer to the "meaning of life" for a business?  People are constantly using the term, but few seem to able to successfully follow their own methodology for achieving the goals for a profitable business.

Tomes have been written about the subject.  Even though the books are written in English understanding what is said is impossible.  You need to buy a book to understand what the first book is saying.  I have often said that when I grow up I'm going to be a translator from English to English!  The plain and simple truth is that "Electronic Commerce" is nothing more than the previous concept of commerce, i.e. sound business practices, that have been migrated to display on the World Wide Web (some call it the Internet).

The simple three-part graphic above is the answer to all the questions in the first two paragraphs.  The real truth is you, as a business entity, already possess the real answer to this philosophy of conducting electronic business.   As usually happens, the experts spew jargon in an attempt to maintain their "expert standing" through total and utter confusion.  Those with the knowledge possess the power (Scientia Est Potentia: Knowledge Is Power).  They forget to tell people that the rest of that statement is "...we can control those without the knowledge by keeping the knowledge to ourselves!"   Technology has always enjoyed the "Circle of Secrecy."  It keeps experts in a position of being a necessary evil.  Key West CyberWorks will break that circle and give you the power!

You saw above the 3 components of the Electronic Business equation:  People, the World Wide Web, and Profits. (With Profit as the only true goal of any business.   Sounds harsh, but it is true.  Why do you do what you do in your business, to make money!)

The component in the above business equation that becomes difficult for today's market to achieve is the World Wide Web.  It is a technology and as such requires a technician (geek) to accomplish its proper execution.  It is not some mysterious "witch's caldron" where eye-of-newt and bats' wings are combined to produce a magical spell to force people to spend money in your establishment; it is an established technology that can be learned and applied.  Almost anyone can go to school and learn how to create WebPages, however the most-important piece of the puzzle is possessing business sense. 

Since the World Wide Web started being recognized and used as a business platform the philosophy is/was "Build it and they will come!"   Apparently little success was produced from this position as statistics show that for every one business that enters the wonderful world of the World Wide Web, two exit without success in the venture...  The "technicians" wrongly think and maintain to the business world that the "whistles and bells" that they can create on Web Pages will draw customers to the web site like moths to a flame.  Money will flow and the world will be bright and shiny.  Well, that's not too far from the truth...for the technician.  They make a pile of money for creating and maintaining their customer's website!

A website is not just a another form of advertisement.  It may well be considered by many as such because a television screen is involved.  At the least it should be considered an interactive advertisement, if it should be considered a TV ad at all.

I met a business owner from Miami who owned a small retail shoe outlet store.  He said his average sales were between 10 and 15 gross pairs of shoes a week.  He related that he had had a website in hopes of increasing his sales enough for him to open a second store.  However, it had failed miserably.  He got very little response from his web presence and had ultimately discontinued the website.   He described the website to me as having pictures of the shoes he had for sale and their prices,  a utility for the user to send him e-mail, a map showing how to get to the store, and a page with the mailing address and telephone number of the store (for the customer to send mail orders or make telephone orders).  All in all, the website was pretty much like every other small business web site.  Lots of colors, lots of pretty pictures, but little business sense and virtually made no profit.

I have related this story to you for one purpose, to make you realize that the first mistake the shoe store owner made was to forget how to do what he already knew how to do...sell shoes!  Why the web site wasn't an exact replica of the his real shoe store is a mystery?  His web site should have been a virtual copy of his real store, with views of shoes, sizes, colors and prices.  It should have had discount coupons for the customer that sees the site and then comes to the store (this give you direct feedback for how many local customers see the site).  For the clientele outside the area of the shoe store a system is required for them to make credit card purchases and provide shipping utilities. The customer should be able to browse the virtual store and see what shoes are for sale.  Another very popular page on a business web site is a "live" text chat page.  A chat page is a utility where the customer can enter a screen where (s)he can type in a message and an employee at the store can type-in an answer; in real time.  This provides the customer with the ability to talk to a salesperson a human being) at that moment and get the answers to all the question that (s)he may have about a particular item.  All this sound familiar?  It should, it is what a customer does when they enter the real store. 

A page with a foot measuring device graphic would have been an excellent addition (like that metal device they use in the shoe store to measure your right foot; a Brannock Device).  This graphic could be printed, the paper laid on the floor,  the customer's foot laid on the graphic on the paper, and a size and shoe width determined.  This reduces purchase returns due to incorrect size and fit.   I personally would not buy shoes from a web site if I had to guess at my shoe size.

The final piece that a business site should have is tracking.  A program to keep track of how many people see the site; what they look at while they are there, and what they did while on the business site.  Using this tracking system of statistics and the business's current bookkeeping system to track the increase in sales, the business owner will be able to readily see if an R.O.I. exists.

R.O.I., you ask?   Yes, ROI.  This is the second most-used catch phrase.  Return On Investment.  Are you making more profit by obtaining and displaying a web site?  In other words, are you making a profit from or as a result of the web site?  It can also be very acceptable to realize a better profit margin, too.   Does the web site help reduce your operating costs?  In the case of the shoe store scenario, the operating cost of advertising can be greatly reduced, thus less of the profits go to paying advertising and printed material costs.  The site can sell shoes meaning that another employee did not have to be hired and the cost of wages was saved.

Today's business platform is the World Market.  No other facility can present your business on that platform better than the World Wide Web! 

A website should be an extension or virtual representation of the real business.  Don't try to reinvent the wheel just do what you know how to do best...