Opportunity Defeated – A True Des Moines Story

While mowing my lawn yet again this week, I recalled a situation last summer which illustrates a failed e-business opportunity. Looking to purchase a new lawn mower in time for Father’s Day, I selected a trusted brand and researched the models online. The manufacturer’s site listed three Des Moines stores that carried the model. I was ready to negotiate a price and explored the local Web sites. I sent this e-mail inquiry to each: “I would like to purchase a lawn mower this week,model ‘XYZ’. What can you do for me?” I never heard from any of them. I bought a different brand.

Three Questions

My experience is equivalent to walking into a physical store where the front door is open, but not another single being is there. When that happens, most of us walk out and never return.  Whether your company is a multi-million dollar enterprise or a small business, serving your online customers is no less important than greeting the customers that walk into your physical location with a friendly smile and a feeling that their business is important. It’s essential to have staff and infrastructure in place to provide service and information convenient to your customer.

Research by Active Media

(www.Activemedia.com) shows successful e-business ventures are more than online brochures – they are interactive extensions of  your business, staff and marketing. Consultants agree that three questions must be answered to build a successful e-business strategy:

1) What are your business goals?

2) How will you integrate your e-business with your existing operations?

3) How will you integrate your e-marketing strategy with traditional marketing?

Where to Begin  Putting your business online can be daunting. Many companies choose to complete the work in stages. This strategy helps to identify priorities and utilize Web technology where it makes the most sense. As e-business  strategists, Spindustry generally recommends beginning in three areas:

1. Cost savings: Utilizing Web tools for internal communications and other processes creates efficiencies. Intranets allow global information and marketing material sharing.

2.Customer Relationship Man-agement: CRM tools can serve all clients and customers or target your most important customers. The key: don’t take on more than what you can do well.

3. E-mail Marketing: Integrating permission-based e-mail marketing with direct marketing allows you to take advantage of lower costs and attract customers to your virtual doors.

Food for thought

According to the Forrester Online Retail Index, online sales increased from $3.5 billion in March 2001 to $4.3 billion in April. B2B transactions are expected to hit $2.7 trillion by 2004. If those numbers don’t give you pause, consider Iowa’s low unemployment rate and the current market slow down. Internet technology helps businesses do more with less.

Now is good

Gartner Research and Arthur Anderson Consulting report that 72 percent of small- to medium-sized businesses say they plan to implement e-business strategies in the next 18 months. Now is the time to begin working on your successful e-business plan.

Spindustry Systems is a Des Moines based full-service technology company providing ebusiness strategy, programming and web development products and services.

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