E-Commerce Times reports that while Internet commerce was up 25 percent last year, some retailers aren’t capitalizing on the online sales opportunities. There are two major reasons for this reluctance -- the fact that e-commerce represents just about one percent of total retail sales, and the fact that so many retailers got burned just a few years ago when they set up fancy web sites that they mistakenly believed would change their worlds. The result is that too many companies view the Web as a necessary evil, as opposed to a legitimate strategic option they should be offering to consumers.
Among the opportunities being ignored:
Among the opportunities being ignored:
- Segmenting customers and sending them tailored email messages designed to do more than just lure people into brick-and-mortar stores.
- Communicating real ideas and options to consumers, because too many sites focus on technological bells-and-whistles instead of content.
- KC's View:
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We can tell you something from experience, having worked on web sites where the focus was on how the content was delivered as opposed to actually focusing on the content. (And we recognize that our title suggests a bias in this area.)
The Internet is best viewed as a delivery vehicle, not an end unto itself. If anybody tells you anything different, they’re taking you down a path loaded with landmines.
