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7 Steps to Putting Your
Company
on the Internet
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Different companies connect to the Internet
in different ways: big corporations usually have direct connections,
small businesses usually rent space from an Internet service provider.
Most companies go through the same steps, so here they are: the
Seven Steps to Putting Your Business on the Internet.
The first thing to understand is that there are two ways to think
about putting your company on the Internet:
- Putting a presence on the Net for customers and collaborators
to find out about you and your products
- Giving your employees access to the Internet so they can gather
information and communicate with colleagues
Both are important, but they are separate issues. Here we'll focus
on the first, creating a presence for others to find you. |
| 1 |
Get a Personal Connection
The Internet is new and unfamiliar to many people in business. The
first step is to become familiar with what the Internet is and what's
out there. A personal connection will cost about $30/month and is
the best way to understand the potential and limitations of this
new medium.
Once you have a connection, what will you do with it? Collect
the e-mail addresses of distant colleagues and friends...use the
Net to keep in touch. Ask around for interesting sites on the
World Wide Web--especially sites that have something to do with
your business. Find out which of the tens of thousands of discussion
groups on the Net are relevant to your business. There aren't
any? Then start listening in on the discussions pertinent to a
hobby interest and ask yourself, what if I started a discussion
about my market? |
| 2 |
Check Out the Competition
Businesses are quickly creating presence for themselves on the Internet.
Is your competition out there? Your customers? Your collaborators?
How are they presenting themselves? What audiences are they addressing
(stockholders, customers, partners)? Do they offer valuable content?
Are the sites well designed...visually appealing yet not slow to
load?
What are the best sites you can find--whether in your market
or not--and what about them would you like to emulate? Collect
a list of sites that look like how you'd like your site to look.
Collect a list of sites that do things that you'd like your site
to do. |
| 3 |
Establish Goals
Now that you know a little something about the Internet and what
others are trying to do with it, you're ready to articulate your
own goals. This is certainly the most important step of the entire
process. What are you trying to achieve with your Internet presence?
What audiences do you intend to address? What value will your information
offer to them? What value will come back to you?
How will you measure success? Most simply, you can count the
number of "hits". If you're taking orders online, that
is another obvious metric. Perhaps your goal is to move customer
support from telephone calls to electronic mail. Since the Net
is so new and relatively inexpensive, many companies approach
Net presence as an exploration: to see what they discover. |
| 4 |
Design the Web Site
Get specific about what information you will provide. How would
the information be best organized? In what ways will the site be
interactive? Who in your organization will be responsible for keeping
the content fresh? How will you establish consistency across your
organization's Internet presence--consistent in terms of message,
look and behavior? How will the site be maintained? Will all new
content come from your company or will you rely on information from
your customers? If so, what sorts of controls (if any) will you
impose? What training is required internally?
Although the World Wide Web site will be the most obvious element
of your Internet presence, tying it to e-mail and newsgroups can
make it more effective.
Finally, on what sort of platform will you implement your presence:
rented Web space, a dedicated server located at an Internet service
provider's site or a server located at your site? |
| 5 |
Implement the Initial Web Presence
Web pages are never "done" any more than publishing one
ad means your done with advertising. It will continue to change
over time. But that first presence is particularly important. It
is your first impression and will likely draw a large number of
curious Web surfers. That first impression determines whether they
will come back and whether they tell their friends and colleagues
that your site is worth their attention. It need not be perfect.
It need not be complete. But it must reward visitors for having
made the effort to visit. |
| 6 |
Go Public
When you're ready to make your site available to the public, make
sure your company is ready, your pages are ready and the Net is
ready to help you.
- If you've made internal resources available, such as technical
support or other customer service, make sure that the messages
intended for them will actually get to them and that they will
have the time and knowledge to respond to the messages.
- Check your pages thoroughly for dead links that lead nowhere
and for proper functioning of any applications you're putting
on the Net.
- Make yourself easy to find by registering with the search
services available across the Net. Imagine what terms people
might use to find your pages then make sure that searching with
those terms leads to you. And don't forget that the Net is just
one channel to your customers. Put your Web and e-mail address
on other ads and tie your Web pages launch to a company event.
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| 7 |
Maintain and Continue Development
The technology of the Web is changing rapidly and is likely to continue
to do so. A Web site that looked great six months ago may look tired
today. And most successful Web sites offer a continuing flow of
new useful information.
Need some help? Harry Tennant & Associates has helped many
companies get on the Internet, from small local businesses to
well known companies such as Texas Instruments and Southern Comfort.
We provide a range of services including consulting with management
on Internet opportunities and process, building Web pages, building
sophisticated Internet applications, and training to help your
organization achieve its goals. If we can help, let us know.
©1997, Harry Tennant & Associates |
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Have a question? Send us a note at askhta@htennant.com.
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