A Slow Death At Internet Speed

[TheBigNY]

We have gather today to lay to rest the many small businesses that ran to the Internet looking for a cash cow, but only to find that the Internet is just business starting with the letter "e" instead of "b." Please watch your step.

Doing business online is nothing more than doing business a bit faster. The problem arises when businesses fail to realize that there are time when slowing down is important otherwise your business will experience a painful death at Internet speed. It is very sad to go website where a florishing business once stood, only to be greeted by either a "The page you requested could not be loaded" page or Netster. I haven't decided which is more annoying. What's sadder is the thought that website was more than likely connected to a brick and mortar operation and so we in fact have two casualties. More often than not the reasons are not because of a lack of sales but a lack of slowness. The lack of sales is just the result. These business got online, want to make it big fast and before they can really figure things out and see the difference between what they want to offer the marketplace and what the marketplace actually wants from them, they have spent too much on this, that and the other. After that happens all they could do is watch their business dreams die a slow death at Internet speed.

The point to the New Yorker's rant? Remember that QVC had a website online for a full year before they started marketing and advertising it, because they wanted to feel things out and see what could and could not be done. Also remember that ValueAmerica.com, which spent and spent to get to the top, is nothing but a distant memory ( like the corner's of my mind ). Slow down, learn, adjust, prepare and then explode. The worst thing on the Internet is to try to get somewhere before you're ready and then be helpless while you watch your business die a slow death at Internet speed. Don't fall into the trap of thinking your business can be the next Amazon.com or eBay if your pour enough money into it. The fact is your business will more than likely not be either one of those but will still be something great nonetheless if you are wise enough to know when to hit the gas and when to hit the brakes. Start slow. Instead of coming right out selling 100 products, start with 25. Work out all the bugs in process, see how the market responds, review your marketing strategy's effectiveness, hire if you have to but wisely and, most of all, learn. The truth is companies who have operated like that live to be about a 100 years old.

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[janeth]

I agree with you 100% TheBigNY.
I think a lot of people get these emails that say you can make $5,000.00 a week and never have to do anything and for some crazy reason people believe them.
I think with an online business you have to work twice as hard as you would with a brick and mortar business.
Yes it is true it will not cost you as much but if your not willing to put the time in the place of the money then your going to have it tuff to make it online.

[DylanW]

Very true. I've seen in my own job how we've gone from very few orders to a lot of orders--and now that things have picked up I wish I'd been able to set up some better systems in terms of inventory tracking, online catalog management, etc. It was all sales, sales, sales when I first started, though.

Most every article on ecommerce that you read is in terms of "traffic" and "sales". It's a big issue, especially for the entrepreneur who wants business to pick up so the money they've put into it starts earning a return. On the other hand, you really do need that slow time to formulate a long-term plan and determine the resources you're going to need when things do pick up.

[jvn]

Very good point about the dual death ~ online and the physical business. Locally I've spoken with people that were promised great returns with their online business. The website salesman was apparently only interested in his cut and not in the health of the client's company. Client expectations need to be realistic based on the total advertising campaign. Simply putting up a website does not mean the sales will roll in. Conversely, if sales are heavily promoted and exceed the company's ability to deliver, then customer satisfaction suffers.

We shouldn't really expect that business stats online will be much different than offline. The survival rate for any new business is low. There are several factors involved including all aspects of marketing, management, product need or acceptance, etc. If you have a bad product or no market need, having it online will not make any difference. If you have a great idea and plan with poor management, you are still doomed to failure. The "magic" of the internet will not cure basic business problems, pure and simple. And just getting "traffic" will not equate to "sales" (except for the site that sold you all that traffic.) 10,000 visitors who had no idea they were being directed to your site, that were only sent there from an exit page, will generally just close the page. At least that what I do.

That said, the internet, used correctly will enhance good businesses and create new opportunites for many people. Sorting out the fluff and hype of those easy money, no work $5000/month offers as janeth mentions is a good start. However, as long as there are people looking for something for nothing, these cons will remain. We need to be a bit smarter and avoid greedy temptations.

DylanW's comments about analyzing trends and formulating plans are signs of good management!