As mately of 2011, two there billion are approxi people -connected to the World Wide Web. Recently, Reuters, in U.S. Web Retail Sales, (http:// www.reuters. com/article/) estimated that by 2014, total U.S. Internet sales will reach $248.7 billion dollars. This represents a steady annual growth rate of 60 percent since 2009 and accounts for nearly 8 percent of total U.S. retail sales.
This means to businesses that many future customers will know a company only through its web culture.
CREATING A WEB CULTURE
Doing business over the Web is not like doing business in a regular brick-and-mortar store front. It requires a different mindset about why business takes place. To increase market share, traditional brick-and-mortar businesses focus on:
Sidewalk Marketing: The best example of this is a Macy's store-front window at Christmas time. It is filled not only with the latest and greatest in must-have toys, but outside, are lines of children with noses pressed against the glass to take it all in.
Buy Local Slogan: Local business owners like to remind their customers that buying locally helps keep the money local.
It's More Affordable/Convenient: Buying locally reduces the cost of going to market over great distances. Who would not be interested in reducing fuel costs in tough economic times?
Customer Loyalty is Expected (Service is Optional): Unfortunately many times customers are taken for granted. Businesses stop providing a high-quality service, or any service for that matter, because service is deemed too costly ; self-checkout lines are an excellent example.
DESIGNING A NEW BUSINESS MODEL
In a new Web economy, it important to create a virtual marketplace. Your new store front window is your customer's computer monitor. When they go to your store, what is the first thing they see? Just like you currently use your store window to help tell your story, learn how to use the front page to tell your story visually. Points to consider are:
[bullet] To customers purchasing your products from different points across the world, keeping the money local is of no concern. They are concerned with quality, affordability and delivery, in that order. To distinguish yourself from your global competition, make sure you have the finest product at the most competitive price deliverable in a reliable and timely fashion.
[bullet] Nothing is more convenient than ordering exactly what is wanted at the click of a mouse and going to the front door step to pick it up; or better yet, having someone deliver it to the front door and hand deliver it to the purchaser.
[bullet] It's great when a company remembers that the customer's business is not to be taken for granted and sends regular updates on sales and includes new sales and savings initiatives or asks for comments about the shopping and service experience.
Take time to actually envision what type of virtual business environment you want your store to project to the rest of the world. With two billion store fronts, your business will be worldwide, whether you design it that way or not. Make sure your Web-based customers have the shopping experience you want for them. Make sure your virtual business is:
Easy to Use: Remember, in the future many of your customers will speak languages other than English. What are you doing to appeal to them and meet their needs? Make sure the process of finding and purchasing the product is easy and fast.
Visually Appealing: Graphic design is the wave of the future in Web page design. Use custom graphics to help make your page stand out from the competition and help tell your story.
Constantly Changing: Update your website and product mix regularly; give your customers a compelling reason to keep coming back.
Virtually Connected: Incorporate social media into your Web culture. Providing ways for your customer to connect with your business creates not only a reason to return, but also to bring a friend along.
TAKE THE CHALLENGE
Go to your company's website, try to purchase one of your own products, try to contact a specific individual, try to use social media to connect to your own business or call or e-mail to the numbers or web addresses listed. Experience your business firsthand. How does it make you feel? That is the company web culture you are projecting to the world... the good news is, it's never too late to change.
If you know of a business that has established an exceptional Web culture, I'd like to hear about it.
Dr. Joseph Fleishman is the director of Workforce Training at the College of Technology, Idaho State University.
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