The Difference Between the Internet *Being* Your Business
versus It Being an *Adjunct* to Your Business
By Terry Roberts
Last issue, I made the distinction between selling things/
advertising on the Internet and the great potential of using the
Internet for keeping and growing customers.
That distinction demands that another important distinction be
made, which is the subject of this issue.
Businesses using the Web could be divided into three broad
categories. (People can be divided into three categories, you
know: Those who divide things into two categories, those who
divide things into three categories, and those who don't divide
things into categories!)
The first category are those whose business model is such that
the Internet *is* the business. In other words, if it weren't
for the Internet, there would be no business...the business has
been created from scratch for the very purpose of taking
advantage of the possibilities of the Internet.
An example of this type of business would be The Mountain Zone
http://www.mountainzone.com. The Mountain Zone, for whom I
provide on-line marketing services, is a 10,000+ page Website
specializing in mountain sports. It is a pioneer in building
virtual community, where people of like interests come together
not only to "consume" the useful information that is published,
but to *collaborate* with others, and to *conduct transactions*.
To this first category, selling information, products and
services and carrying advertising (plus charging fees in some
cases) are the mainstays of their revenue-generating model. They
have no revenue-generating sources outside the Internet.
The second category are those whose business exists outside and
independent of the Internet, but which use the Internet as an
additional selling channel. These businesses often carry
advertising to help support the cost of the site. An example
would be Eddie Bauer http://www.ebauer.com, which has retail
outlets, a mailed catalog business, plus an Internet
shopping/ordering site.
The third category are those who business exists outside and
independent of the Internet, and who don't directly sell
products and services on the Internet. These businesses look to
the Internet purely as a means to support customers, prospects
and other stakeholders with information, service and problem-
solving tools. An example would be Boeing http://www.boeing.com,
which as yet does not take airplane orders on-line (probably an
issue of bankcard limits ). But it does use the Internet to
provide all sorts of information to the outside world, including
investors.
(The distinctions in these categories are not static. For
example, we will see businesses who once existed only outside
the Internet who evolve all the way to doing business *only* on
the Internet).
Having made a distinction between these three categories of
Internet business, it's important to note that NetNurturing is
relevant for all of them! All need to keep and grow customer
relationships if they are to survive and thrive. Neither can
make it on one-time customers. That's why increasing share-of-
customer becomes a vital objective, and why strategies must be
developed to achieve the objective.
Now that some of the groundwork has been laid for the
NetNurturing philosophy, we can dig in and start getting
specific about strategies, tactics and examples.
I look forward to your comments, questions and suggestions.
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Copyright 1997 All rights reserved. Terry Roberts Consulting &
Services. Excerpts may be used if the preceeding copyright
language is attached to the excerpt in all cases. Please inform
the author of any use. Thank you.
"NetNurturing" and "Terry Roberts Consulting & Services" are
registered service marks of Terry Roberts Consulting & Services.
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