New e-Business Strategies
The first stage in getting your business on the net usually involves a web site that you build from your existing
sales and marketing materials -
it's the first step in internet marketing.
The next stage is to get involved in e-commerce. That's where you can do complete
transactions over the net. You get your products and services listed on
the web in your e-commerce catalog and you complete secure transactions via
secure credit-card or purchasing systems.
The third phase is e-business. That's the current challenge and that's where
the best opportunities are now. It's where you transform your business to
take advantage of the new customer led marketing forces that are now being unleashed on the net.
How significant is the change?
The net is dramatically effecting large and small business - according to a 1999
survey of 600 CEO's by Booz, Allen and Hamilton and the Economist Intelligence
Unit. You can download the complete presentation in PowerPoint at www.bah.com/greatideas/pptdata/index.htm.
Here are some of the key findings:
- Competition from established companies - 70% of executives expect
this
- Competition from large players in other industries - 42%
- Competition from startups in my industry - 37%
- Competition from customers - 16%
- Competition from suppliers - 8%
86% of the CEO's said the internet will force significant changes in
organizational structures. They expect it will:
- Create extended enterprises - 89% of executives expect
this
- Reshape corporate cultures - 88%
- Change organizational structures - 86%
A separate International Data Corp. (IDC)
study reported in www.cyberatlas.internet.com
(1999) found that just one-third of small businesses currently has a
Web presence. The research found that 19 percent of small businesses were
online one year ago. The study also found that 40 percent more small businesses
(approximately 2.1 million) without Web sites expect to be on the Internet
within an average of the next eight months.
Forty-four percent of small business owners claim they do not have enough
staff for, and 41 percent report they do not have time to, maintain a Web site.
Overall, the study showed the likelihood of having an Internet presence declines
significantly with the overall size of the company. Only 25 percent of companies
with fewer than 10 employees has an Internet presence. By contrast, half of
those with 10 or more employees have taken advantage of this opportunity.
For current studies on the small business
market see
http://www.cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/smallbiz
How do you make good e-business results happen?
The strategies for getting good e-business results are evolving fast along
with changes in the internet. Here
are some current recommendations.
- Get your business started on the web now with free or very low cost tools
(such as those at www.1pcn.com). You need to
be involved but yet most small business is still not on the web.
- Next make the commitment to a customer led e-business site and begin a
planning/consulting process involving all your company. Build a web site around
your key customer groups and re-organize your company around this new customer
led web site. Include as many ways as feasible to engage your customers in
one-on-one conversations with people in your company via the web site. Get the consulting or
other resources you need to make the e-business transition in your company.
The
Printed Resources:
Click
here for a list of the latest Books on e-business from amazon.com
Last Modified:
03 April 2003
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