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SWeCS NEWSLETTER - 1 November 2004
- Is The Internet Right For Your Business?
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The answer is probably, but not always. In the push to get people online, government and non-government organisations alike sometimes try to sell you Internet technology without even considering whether it's a sound investment for your business. There's no doubt that the majority of businesses can make savings or increase revenue through some kind of Internet technology. In our experience many of our customers have reported back to us with claims such as: "[Since starting the service, the increase in enquiries] has flowed onto steady occupancy all year with a record 96% occupancy in December. Considering we increased from 4 to 6 cottages in Feb we are thrilled to have maintained our occupancy rates at an average of 80% for the year." and "[It has been] absolutely the best investment we have made since establishing the website." And again "It has been the the main reason my company has seen such dramatic sales results". So it's clear that if you get it right then the results can be fantastic. But how do you determine whether it will work for you? We often advise people that there are three basic questions you need to ask before undertaking any kind of ecommerce or Internet related investments:
If the answer to any of the above is Yes, then is the benefit worth the expense you will pay? And if the answer is No to all three questions, then there really does need to be another good reason to do it, otherwise why would you? Just because everyone else might be (and don't be sure that they are), you need to make sure it is right for you before doing it. An example of someone who didn't need to invest in expensive technology was a small accommodation provider in the south west who was considering setting up an automatic online booking system. Why? Because someone had said it was a good idea, and it could reduce their administrative time by taking bookings automatically. But it was going to cost thousands to implement. After investigating further, it seemed that the accommodation provider already enjoyed a high level of occupancy, and they used a manual booking system in a diary because they only had a few chalets. It soon became clear that an online booking system wouldn't really reduce administration too much (it didn't take long to write a booking down in a book) - it certainly wouldn't reduce administration enough to justify the cost of the system. Current customers also didn't express a wish to pay online via credit card, so there were no benefits there either. The advantages simply didn't seem to be nearly justified by the expense. Now the accommodation provider certainly could have benefited from other ecommerce systems such as an improved website, or internet advertising, but there was simply no reason for them to go down the road of online bookings and credit card payments. Ecommerce is likely to be beneficial for you in some way. But make
sure you make a proper assessment before implementing something
that looks good but perhaps isn't going to deliver. Remember, some
computer nerds are very clever with computers, but may not understand
your business as well as you do.
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This fortnight's question comes from Rob: "With so many web directories and portals asking me to list my site with them, how do I know which ones to go with?" Simple, Rob. Like any other business decision, you've got to know what you're going to get out of it. In this case, website referrals. Every directory or website that wants your business needs to be able to tell you in advance how many visitors their site gets, how many visitors your listing should expect, what kind of visitors they get, and so on. And on a regular basis the site should be providing you with concrete figures as to how many times your listing was viewed, and how many website referrals you got out of it. This is essential information you need to know before you can decide whether to continue with your listing when it's due for renewal. Oh, and one last thing about statistics. When a site quotes their website traffic, make sure they are talking about visitors and not "hits". Hits often refers to a hit on the server, which also includes images. So someone viewing a webpage with 8 images on it counts as 9 hits (1 for the page, and 1 for each image). The standard is to report on visitors, meaning actual people, regardless of how many pages or images they view.
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The answer couldn't be simpler. Put our logo there, or any description you want with a link to our site, and if someone clicks on it and then purchases something from us within 30 days, you get a commission. How hard is that? How does it work? We give you a unique code which goes into the URL, and our systems then knows the visitor came from you, tracking their purchases even if they leave the site and come back later. You need to be a member of our affiliate program (which is free) so that we can assign a code for you. Just putting our logo on your site without telling us won't work. To find out more, visit our affiliates page at www.southwestecommerce.com/affiliates.htm.
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Browse through the SWeCS Ecommerce Library, full of FREE information about getting more out of the Internet. Sections include Web Site Development, Web Site Promotion & Internet Marketing, Online Commerce, Computer & Technical Issues, and Miscellaneous.
The SWeCS Newsletter archives provides a wealth of FREE information on small business and the Internet. Browse through the main topics or search for your particular query.
Start up another income stream, by earning commissions for each referral who signs up for one of our services.
Browse through a list of reviewed Affiliate programs. Let us do the work of testing it out for you!
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