Why the road to online riches is difficult to find … and strewn with beautiful wrecks
When the Internet first appeared on the
public horizon in the mid-1980s, the technology was generally regarded
as a curious offshoot of the Cold War between the USA and the then
USSR.
Initially, the World Wide Web - the software application
that took advantage of the Internet's potential - was little more than
another quirky computer story.
Within a decade, the situation
had changed dramatically. In the late 1990s, businesses - both large
and small - were clambering for a connection, and the promised aqueduct
to riches.
There was something strangely intoxicating about the
promised riches of Internet technology. How else can we explain the way
that so many middle-level (and many senior) managers collectively
overlooked some of the most basic tenets of business.
It could
also be argued that because of the Internet's comparatively rapid
introduction, few people had the skills to evaluate the medium's
potential benefits (or even envisage them) … and even fewer people had
any idea what type of Internet presence a company would need - or was
likely to require in the future.
Is it any wonder that most websites today are an mixture of technology, gimmicks and frustration?
The
problem is that most organisations rely on Web developers to design
their online presence. While Web developers are skilled in the 'nuts
and bolts' of site construction, they lack a detailed understanding of
business fundamentals.
Today, we know better. Or do we?
Does your website generate those tens of thousands of dollars it was supposed to deliver?
There's
no denying that the Internet offers extraordinary potential. But why is
it that so many websites fail to live up to expectations?
Expensive lemons abound
It's
disturbingly true that the online world is full of expensive lemons.
We’ve all seen the websites … entry pages that take five minutes to
load, bandwidth-sapping animation, fancy fonts, and even ‘secret’
navigation.
Or could it be that you’re deceived into thinking that because your website looks attractive … it must also be performing well?
DDG has found that commercial websites routinely fail to
deliver the benefits that were originally promised or expected from a
company’s online investment. To test your site’s performance, consider
the following five questions.
1. Has the site yielded substantial cost and time savings?
2. Is the site a valuable source of information for both clients and staff?
3. Would you say that your website has become a crucial business tool that has bolstered your position in the marketplace?
4. Does your website make money, either directly or indirectly?
5. How many new clients (or how much extra business) has your website generated during the past month?
As
you can see, these are not unreasonable questions - particularly
considering the expense it takes to create and maintain a website.
If
your website scores poorly on one or more of the test questions, it’s
likely that your online existence is facing a slow but inevitable
decline.
 Building a website that looks striking but serves
little purpose is akin to adding an extension to your office that
boasts expensive, good-looking furniture - but has no doors.
Similarly,
a website with a labyrinthine navigation structure will leave online
visitors disoriented, just as a maze-like entrance to your building
might leave your clients walking in circles and mumbling, "I only
wanted to get a phone number, but I can't even find the reception."
All is not lost!
If this is the online situation you find yourself in, don’t despair because all is not lost.
If
your website is failing to deliver you the tens of thousands of dollars
worth of bottom-line benefits it was supposed to, clearly you need to
reconsider what a website means for your company.
Those benefits
you originally imagined are still there for the taking. However, there
are several essential steps you must take to ensure your website meets
your - and your clients’ - needs.
DDG has found
that by classifying what type of business you run - and what type of
website complements that enterprise - you can unlock the business
opportunity of the Internet.
It has also been discovered that there are two (deceptively simple) laws that should be applied to website development:
1. Your online business model must mirror your offline business model
2. Your website must provide real-time integration with your critical business processes.
But how do you know if your online business model mirrors your offline business model?
Research
shows that all successful businesses can be loosely divided into three
broad models. Chances are, your business embodies one of these models.
Your task is to determine what model characterises your business type.
Critically,
if you operate under your optimal business model, you automatically
illuminate scores of fundamental questions about the design and
structure of your website.
Which model suits your business?
Although
the three models are not mutually exclusive, your business must be
competitive in two of them and superior in one. In essence, you must
decide whether your business matches the transactor, innovator or
collaborator model.
If you’re a transactor, you stack ‘em high,
sell ‘em low, and do this extremely well. You find a formula that works
and you stick to it because you know that variety is not what your
customers expect from you.
If you’re an innovator, you don’t
just refine or repackage the wheel; you reinvent it. You take risks,
continuously amazing your customers with a dizzying array of knockout
products. In essence, you continue to outdo yourself: your new products
are the only ones on the market that obsolesce your current products.
If
you’re a collaborator, you sell a customised solution to your most
prized asset: your customers. You recognise the value of long-term
client relationships, where going above and beyond is a matter of daily
course. You understand your customers’ business processes intimately,
and thus, are able to identify their specific needs and ensure that
your solutions are implemented correctly.
Real-time means real use
The second law of website development raises the issue of real-time integration.
It's
is a delightfully simple concept. Real-time integration is not about
focussing on technology but on usage. The old adage 'use it or lose it'
applies here. If you’re not using your website on a daily basis - and
if it’s not crucial to the functioning of your business - you’re
wasting valuable website resources.
A website has to remain
up-to-date to be relevant. You can't afford to allow your website sit
on your server and stagnate. And the only, sure-fire way you have to
guarantee that doesn't happen is to integrate your day-to-day business
activities with your online presence.
This could be as simple as publishing an online update of what areas your sales staff expect to visit every month.
Whatever
information you publish on the Internet, it has to be meaningful and
useful enough to force your customers and staff to access your website
on a regular basis.
The whole point of real-time integration is
that without meaningful interaction by you and your customers, your
website will atrophy into an electronic graveyard - and could even
begin to act as a negative force in your company's overall marketing.
You'll
find that once you start to ask the right sort of questions, the path
to successful e-Business will be clearer - and the only wrecks you'll
have to avoid will be those of your opposition, disappearing in the
rear-view mirror!
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