Welcome to this section of our website where we highlight
insights to help you enhance your online business initiatives
or ventures. This week I start off by looking closely at opportunities
to look out for as you take your business onto the Internet.
UNDERSTANDING THE OPPORTUNITIES.
Doing business on the Web requires some kind of quantum leap.
It's hard to get your head around it right away, since it
is so different from what you've been used to. No, I'm not
going to introduce the Internet to you. But I hope to convey
six opportunities it opens to your business.
Opportunity 1: Branch Office
Newbies see the Internet as advertising. But a business website
is better understood as a branch office, a place of doing
business. It's like opening a second office where you can
entertain customers, except this office has the lights on
and coffee ready 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
People can stop in at their convenience any time they want
and browse through your offerings. They'll:
- Read the brochures in the rack by the door,
- Pick up a copy of your "Common Questions People
Ask About our Business,"
- Solve their own problems with your detailed Troubleshooting
Guide,
- Scribble messages on the pad of question forms you've
provided,
- Look at detailed information and specs about each
product you offer, and, if you have a vending machine in your
lobby,
- Make purchases day or night.
What's the monthly rent? Somewhere between Ksh. 1000 to Ksh.
2500 per month for smaller businesses. And the initial build-out
of your branch office costs only a few thousand dollars. Sure,
you'll need to remodel every year or two to keep it up-to-date.
But that's a small price to pay for the new customers your branch
office will bring.
Remember, don't think "advertising," think "branch
office," and you'll begin to grasp the Internet opportunity.
This concludes the first part of six opportunities open to businesses
embracing the Internet medium. Why don't you bookmark
this article you're reading right now? You know you'll want
to find it again next week as we go into the second opportunity:
World Market.
Posted by Jeff Onyambu
ECommerce Consultant, Designjobs I.M.
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