Facing reality: are you working for your website or is your website working for you?

We live in the age of electronic communications. The era where building a virtual home in the form of a website is often perceived as a necessity rather than an option. The business community is experiencing drastic changes all of a sudden. There is a divide between those who have rushed to embrace the Internet to make it an essential element of their business process, and those who are still unsure if they need to connect or not. As for the latter, I doubt they’re going to get any benefit from standing by and watching others go online and develop a new generation of networks and business models, networks and models that are much more efficient than their predecessors. .

However, this article is not intended for companies that are willing to roll back the wheel of history to the “Stone Age” and completely ignore the Internet and the business opportunities it offers. I’m talking about the so-called “smarties”: companies that rushed to adopt e-commerce without fully realizing the problems related to the operation of their virtual branches.

It is very unfortunate, but when I visit some of the business websites, I find it difficult to understand how the sites add value to their respective companies. If this is indeed the case, then the question of the site’s purpose is something that businesses need to address. After all, there’s no point in spending time and money keeping a website up and running if it doesn’t offer clear benefits to the business.

As an eCommerce consultant, I work with many small and medium-sized businesses that have just found their way online. The first question I usually get answered is “Why have you decided to put your business on the Web?” While some of the entrepreneurs have done their homework and can at least spell out their hopes and expectations, a considerable number of business managers find this question too difficult to address.

It’s a shame they don’t realize that e-business is a business like any other! Although the mode of delivery of products and services is different, it is still necessary to plan before the start of business operations. It doesn’t make sense to build a website, put it on the web and… start looking for a suitable operating framework and business model. First things should always come first! It is important for businesses to establish a credible online presence, but it is very difficult to do so successfully if the right intentions are justified by the wrong reasons.

I have put together a short checklist for entrepreneurs who intend to establish an online presence:

1. Summarize the main operational objectives of the proposed website

2. Identify the issues you will need to address to meet the operational objectives you have listed above.

3. List the key benefits your website will provide to both you and your customers (be honest with yourself! Recognize limitations, if any).

4. List the construction and maintenance costs of the site (be sure to include not only the initial cost of setting up the site but also ongoing operating costs).

5. Now match the expected benefits to the expected costs. Will the benefits provide you with a good ROI (return on investment) on your website?

If you’re having trouble completing the checklist (for example, you’re not sure how much it will cost to build and maintain your site), it’s best to get all the necessary information first. Once all doubts are cleared up and you feel confident that the benefits will outweigh the costs associated with the move, you can go ahead and turn your business into a virtual embassy!