The following are some tips for business owners contemplating Web or e-business strategies provided by Pete Monfre, president of Monfre Acott; Bob Weisenberg, president of Northwoods Software Development and president Wisconsin IT Leadership Association (WITLA); and, Bob Gleason, vice president – managing director of the Revere Group:
– Research – Read as much as you can to become familiar with the terms and strategies.
– Benchmark – Look at what industry leaders are doing and adapt that to your business.
– Business strategy – Figure out exactly what you’re trying to accomplish from a business standpoint and design your Web site around those goals.
– Value-added – Think about all the services you provide and brainstorm how you might serve your customers better with the Internet.
– Copying is the highest form of flattery – Copy features you like on Web sites that you’ve seen.
– To sell or not to sell – Figure out whether your business lends itself to actually selling your product online; if not, focus on putting all your supporting services online.
– "E" is for efficiency – Look carefully at how the Web can help you deal with suppliers to streamline the sales process.
– Tone down the "techi-ness" – Build a site that can be maintained easily by non-technical employees.
– One step at a time – Pick the best place to start and take the next step, realizing that you don’t have to go from step one to step five in one fell swoop.
