| We've all heard the buzz: e-commerce has bottomed out and is going the way of the 8-track tape. Sure, drugstore.com was sick beyond remedy, and priceline.com plummeted after Captain Kirk stopped singing oldies, but what does this mean for the rest of us in business? Does the fact that JDS Uniphase is down 90% have any importance for the small-business owner? Not according to G. Liam Thompson, e-business pioneer, author, and consultant to hundreds of small businesses from coast to coast. His recently released research showed that while all the venture-funded dot coms of Silicon Valley were bleeding cash over the past months, most small-business owners and entrepreneurs who launched lean, efficient online enterprises were making more money than ever—despite the slowing economy. So, before the "Chicken Littles" of the media start convincing you the e-business horizon is falling, take a closer look at the whole connected marketplace, and you'll see that for every failed venture capitalist site, there are ten more successful "value capitalist" sites. "If you get past the dust clouds over Silicon Valley and Wall Street, you'll see that there is a lot more "boom" than "gloom" in e-business," Thompson says. "In the heart and soul of this country, in the segment that produces over 90% of all new jobs, e-business is alive, well, and turning some very nice profits. For the small-business owner and entrepreneur, the period we are in today is the opportunity of a lifetime," Thompson says. Although just a year ago, e-commerce sites—the "real" e-commerce sites—were ridiculously expensive, if not financially out-of-reach for the small-business owner, times have changed. With these changes, myriad opportunities have arisen in the online world. This is an ideal time for e-business for two reasons, according to Thompson. "First, the floor space is still absolutely free. Unlike stores in the mall, or office complexes, where you have to pay for hallways, parking lots, and of course every square foot of space, in the "connected" marketplace, the space is free. It's tantamount to the manager of the Mall of America saying, take all the space you want, go ahead, no charge," Thompson says. The second reason is that the cost of building and equipping an online store has dropped nearly to the point of being free. Sound too good to be true? Not so. The biggest news for owners has been the new "biz wiz" sites, which allow small businesses to build their own sites for little or no money. From Bigstep.com, to Siteyahoo.com, from ohgolly.com to imagecafe.com, small-business owners have amazing resources literally at their fingertips. "Until recently, if you wanted to offer your products online, you had to go through a number of time consuming, usually frustrating and costly steps. Or, you'd hire a company to do the coding for you. To make your site look good, you hired a graphic artist. To get your site on the Web you contracted with an ISP and hired a network person to get it online! That was just to have a space To actually sell products, you had another gauntlet of applying for a merchant account, secure online transaction system, etc.," Thompson says. For most business owners and operators, it was way too much time, effort, and cost. However, with the ASP-based store-builder, all those jobs and services are combined into one simple browser-based system in which all the coding, graphics, merchant accounts, server space, has been done for you. Site builders offer small-business owners the choice between several different layouts, graphics, and coding. Once those choices are made, the site can usually be up and running almost instantly. cover"And the best part is, you can do it all for free, or almost free. All you end up paying eventually is around $30/month. What used to cost $50,000 or more, today is less than a dollar a day," Thompson says. Still sound overwhelming? Let's narrow it down. Following are five of the many basic principles of online success that you can apply now for immediate improvement and pay-back detailed in Thompson's new book, E-Business To Go: Insider Secrets. - Limit Your Online Menu
Today's connected customers are not looking for an online "general store" where quantity of products and selection are important. Research shows that online customers prefer sites that specialize in a very narrow range of products delivered with excellence and dependability over those with a wider-range that are delivered sporadically. The bottom line is—don't try to do too much. You cannot be all things to all people. ValueAmerica discovered that the hard way, and folded in January 2000, after customers said they didn't care to order cheesecake with their computers.
- Resist Focusing On The Technology
If you want to guarantee e-business failure, follow the pattern of many of the venture-funded dot coms, and dump a lot of money up-front on the latest hardware or software packages. Most e-businesses fail because they launch their sites with absolutely no idea of who their customers are, or who they will be. Remember, the focus of e-business is not the "e," it is still business. Buy nothing. Rent everything. With today's low cost and no cost site builders, many small businesses are spending less than $100/month for their entire e-commerce system.
- Spend Little On The Invisible
Unlike traditional customers of the 20th century, online customers usually aren't going to see your offices or operations facilities, so investing in Corinthian leather lobby furniture is pointless for a small business e-business operation. Instead, small-business owners need to put their money and energy behind what the customer sees and experiences. This is how Aron Benon approached his online floral business. While the venture-funded Send.com blew through over $20 million dollars before it went broke last January, Aron and his wife started a side-business out of their retail flower shop in L.A. with nothing more than a website and cell phones. Last year they made $1 million in profits on $3 million in online sales while all Send.com's fancy offices are empty.
- Recognize The Amazing Global Opportunity
Successful e-business owners know that the world does not revolve around the United States, and that the opportunities for growth and profits in the global marketplace will dwarf those recently seen in North America. Already, Internet penetration in some European countries is eclipsing that of the United States, and within the next few years, numerous Pacific rim nations will rocket past us in number of users and customers online. After ten years as a collectible card retailer, Stephen Chou and his family spent less than $100 using an instant site builder to launch ChicagoCards.com. From the first week, Chou has been chalking up over $1,000/week in card sales from a whole new customer base outside North America.
- Be A Prolific E-Communicator
Research shows that over 90% of all consumers opt-in for e-mail communications, and 89% of those consider e-mail a preferred way to find out about products and services. Profitable e-businesses use the amazing leverage of automated, personalized e-mails to keep connected with their customers individually and regularly, yet affordably. They know that to have lifetime customers, their e-business has to be excellent at "I-Business": the business of knowing the Individual customer, and investing in the relationship. The Initial Public Offering (IPO)-focused dot coms spent big on all the traditional marketing tools, from print brochures to TV commercials. They missed the point. Connected customers don't want a TV commercial broadcast at them. They want two-way, dynamic interaction with companies that listen. The Bottom Line Overall, most small businesses have known for a long time the power and potential profitability the connected economy could provide them, but there were always the technology and expense barriers standing between them and success on the Internet. "Now the barriers have been removed," Thompson said. "I consider this one of the greatest opportunities of the century," Thompson says. "I liken it to the homesteaders in the 1860s—if you can get there and put stakes in the ground, you can have the land for free. For small businesses getting on the Internet today, if you can just have enough vision to get on, you can do it. Small-business owners today have an opportunity that has never existed before."
|
