The World at Your Fingertips

The e-revolution over the past two decades has certainly had an impact on the global economy, creating many opportunities for great wealth and business prosperity. The names Google, Amazon and Yahoo are instantly recognizable as companies that have parlayed the internet into multi billion dollar operations.

There is no debating that the World Wide Web has made this a much smaller world. Many businesses, including small businesses, have found the internet to be a useful tool for increasing commerce; but using the internet for business does not necessarily guarantee greater success. The Dot Com bust a few years ago proved that some business models may not be ripe for e-commerce. Lessons continue to be learned as there are still some very popular web businesses that have yet to generate profit from their operations, even though they generate huge volumes of traffic to their websites.

Unfortunately, some small companies face similar challenges as they try to bring their businesses into the 21st century. It is easy to get so wrapped up trying to tap into the realm of unlimited possibilities that the internet offers that some business owners forget to do a basic cost/benefit analysis before investing in website development, search engine optimization and some web advertising options. Visitor traffic to a business website does not always convert into business revenue.

Still, the World Wide Web has so much help to offer small business owners. It is an amazing communications tool that continues to evolve each day with new applications that can send data all over the world almost instantaneously. While some people look at the internet as a virtual retail store, most businesses can prosper by utilizing the web without making one online sale.

There are a number of ways where the internet can help businesses. Let’s take a look at a few.

Market Research

Finding demographic information, consumer spending habits and business profiles used to require an exhaustive amount of research that often went beyond a trip to the local library. Most government websites now have demographic information available on their websites. U.S. census information, Department of Labor, and Department of Revenue data are available online and can provide volumes of useful market research information. ESRI is a subscription service that provides amazing demographic and consumer spending habit profiles that can be “drilled down” to a city block.

Industry data can be found on sites such as BizStats.com and BizMiner.com and business to business directories can be found on sites such as ReferenceUSA and InfoUSA. For more information on market research opportunities, I encourage you to visit the blog for the NYS SBDC Research Network at http://sbdcrn.blogspot.com/. It keeps a comprehensive list of market research sources on its sidebar.

Bookkeeping and Banking

There is an old saying that cash is king and I like to add that cash not properly tracked is very likely to be cash lost. One of the huge benefits of the information age is that bookkeeping and banking can now be facilitated using the internet as a tool.

Online banking allows most small businesses to more easily track deposits and disbursements. Balance transfers and merchant account deposits can be made and bills can be paid at the click of a button, allowing for more real time assessment of cash position, while also providing much more convenience. It is also much easier to track and collect accounts receivable and research payment history (via online credit card and bank accounts), both from customers and to vendors. For many businesses, these tools have significantly shortened the “cash gap,” leaving more operating capital available for growth and investment.

Supply Sourcing

Sometimes a small business needs a hard to find part or supply item for an emergency repair or a customer may need a special order. The internet makes it easier to locate hard to find items. Whether it is through E-bay, Craigslist or a general search engine, chances are you will have much better luck sourcing special items via the internet.

Customer Service

Once a sale is made, getting customers to return or to refer a business to their friends is dependent on their overall satisfaction with your products or service. Providing online service manuals, information on specials, product updates or even keeping in touch with them via e-mail can often provide cost effective means to provide value-added services to keep customers happy.

Professional Development

Keeping a workforce well trained and in touch with industry best practices is always a challenge. Taking the time to develop in-house training programs can be equally difficult and time consuming. Why recreate the wheel? There are many companies that specialize in providing online training webinars to meet just about any professional development need. These sources can often be more cost effective and can also better fit into the tight time schedules that businesses have available for professional development training for their workforce.

Marketing

Marketing on the internet is an often misunderstood and underutilized tool. It goes beyond setting up an e-commerce website or focusing on search engine optimization. Through the internet, you have the opportunity to upload demonstration videos and provide high quality photos of details of your business. Businesses can feature testimonials, keep blogs, use social networking and e-mails to keep customers informed or to help them learn more about the products and services offered. As with any effective marketing program, the focus has to be on the customer’s needs. Can your business use the internet to help increase your appeal to potential customers?

Like any worthwhile business endeavor, consider developing a plan with measurable expectations before choosing what investment in web based technology can best help your business grow. With the internet, the world is truly at your fingertips. Now you just have to decide where you want to go with it.