What is the secret to establishing a successful online presence and dominant brand? To find out, writemedia marketing communications, regular contributors to CanadaOne, recently interviewed Doug Dayton.
Dream Team, he is recognized as a 'techno-marketing' guru. He was instrumental in putting Microsoft Windows
on virtually every computer desktop in the developed world. Doug has helped thousands of companies to understand the impact of the Internet and e-commerce and to develop winning sales strategies for the new economy and is the best-selling author of
| WM |
It may seem to some that bigger is better when it comes to websites and bigger is going to have to be expensive, is that truly the case? |
| DOUG |
Not everybody is impressed with a fancy storefront in real life or on the Internet. The key is to stay focused on providing the specific products and the quality experience your customers want.
Fortunately, the cost of building a web site has come down significantly. Through Microsoft's bCentral, for example, a $240 investment can provide a one year hosting package, which includes online marketing and search engine tools that can help your site attract new customers.
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| WM |
It may be easier to develop a small business storefront today, but some of the biggest challenges small business owners face when competing online with bigger players are the cost of fulfillment and marketing. What can a small business owner do to get on a level footing in this area? |
| DOUG |
You have brought up two very important issues.
Every company should make its best effort to "engineer" as much cost as possible out of its fulfillment process. In some situations, it may be more cost effective to outsource fulfillment to a company that specializes in this area. In other situations, it will make sense for a company to train and equip its own personnel to handle this task. In either case, the people that process orders often have great ideas about streamlining the fulfillment process.
Marketing online is a zero-sum game. As many well funded .com startups learned, exorbitant customer acquisition costs can spend a company out of business. Two years ago, in the height of the Internet "bubble," many well funded B2C .Coms spent hundreds of dollars to acquire each customer. I'm sure you remember some of the television advertisements for now bankrupt eCommerce companies. Last year, Internet companies spent an average of $40 to acquire new customers, and this year this expense has fallen to a much more realistic $14.
Small businesses can invest their marketing dollars wisely by working with the best e-marketing consultants they can find, by being creative about developing compelling appeals, by pilot testing promotions before investing too heavily, and by continually evaluating every customer contact to ensure that it is moving business forward.
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| WM |
It must be interesting trying to encourage small businesses to get online when all of us have seen collapses from the bigger dot.com companies. |
| DOUG |
Many early adopters had a difficult time developing cost effective Internet strategies. And these well-publicized failures have deterred many small businesses from taking advantage of the Internet. But the Internet can enable smaller businesses to compete with larger businesses and to develop new business opportunities. It isn't easy to be successful, but it certainly is possible.
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| WM |
What would be the best strategies for a business to use to present the most effective site in terms of cost and look? |
| DOUG |
Inexpensive programs such as Microsoft's FrontPage provide step-by-step templates, which enable companies to develop professional looking web sites that are can be tailored to a businesses' specific needs. For example, if you want to sell consumer products on your site, you can easily scan in color pictures to showcase your products. Customers are more likely to make a purchase if they can see exactly what they are ordering.
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| WM |
Many people, who would never suggest a small business owner do their own accounting or legal work, have been quick to recommend that small business owners can build their own website. Would a small business owner not be better off getting an online storefront from a place like bCentral.ca, where they templates are professionally designed and coded, rather than struggling through the process of building their own site in a program like Front Page? |
| DOUG |
Yes, they would. bCentral.ca provides at a very nominal cost, a turnkey solution for developing an eCommerce site, for hosting the site, and for promoting the site using online tools, such as listings on major search entry, online advertising, and direct email. bCentral.ca's templates are easy to work with, and excellent online support is available.
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| WM |
I would imagine there could be a more positive start for companies already established in the mainstream, because I've seen with only a few exceptions that if it is only online, it won't work. |
| DOUG |
Strong consumer brands are very valuable because people are more likely to do business with a company that they are familiar with. A few Internet start-ups, such as Amazon.com, eBay and Expedia, have established strong online brands. But most Internet companies have had a difficult time competing with established companies, such as Eddie Bauer and Dell Computers, which are in the same space.
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| WM |
Tools like search engine marketing and banners can help small business owners market their services, but it can be very hard to compete with the known brands of larger site, especially when the customer is concerned about trust and reliability. How can a small business compete with larger brands? |
| DOUG |
Small businesses must compete with well established companies online the same way they compete off line. For example, many small companies compete successfully with larger competitors by providing more attractive pricing, better product selection, better customer service, and more personal attention.
In addition to these basics, small companies can often leverage their relationships with larger companies to overcome customer concerns about their viability or trustworthiness. My training company, for example, uses Cybercash to ensure secure credit card processing, and has become an Amazon.com "Affiliate." This relationship enables us to earn commissions from customers that purchase books that I have written through Amazon.com after visiting our web site.
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