Hype or Hyperlink

Patron Saint of the Internet?

Since 1994, there has been a relentless outpouring of news (read: hype, noise, confusion) about the Internet and the World Wide Web. The news has been force-fed to us through radio, television, magazines and newspapers. Yet, the question of the Internet’s relevance to small business remains a mystery to many business owners. Add to this the recent "value adjustment" of the dot-coms in the financial markets and many business owners wonder if the Internet really does belong as part of their marketing mix. Praying to St. Isadore may not yield the answers. 

The world of business communication has been changing at warp speed. In less than a dozen years we've seen pagers, cellular phones, Fax machines and PDAs advance from luxuries of the rich and famous to necessities of the average person. It wasn't that long ago that few of us had an e-mail address, and less than .01% of us had a Web site.

Today, a Web site is one of the most effective communication tools a company of any size can utilize. If strategically produced, properly implemented and managed, a Web site is one of the fiercest global marketing weapons available to small businesses. An Internet presence (e-mail address and Web site) has become a mainstream business protocol ubiquitous as a telephone. As a business owner, you have the option of getting online now or later.

'Later' could be too late.

Companies with "no-brainer Internet-ready products" and great names such as Drugstore.com, BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com generate effortless mind pictures of what a Web site can do for a business. Nevertheless, we are of the belief that ANY business can profit by developing a Web site, and EVERY business should have one. On the next page, we'll talk about one unlikely case study.