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Article by Sam Martin, PE, CVS, President of OfficeOnWeb, Technologies. 3/2/2000

A well-designed web site can become your biggest sales resource. More than one business has closed their "brick and mortar" establishment in favor of their newfound Internet storefront. A web site address alone can be worth millions; AltaVista.com sold for about $3 million, Business.com for $7.5 million, and Drugs.com for $6.0 million.

Almost anyone with a business has heard enough about the web to begin thinking that they should have a web site. More than one business has come to us with the story that their customers have considered them "not a serious business" when they found out they didn't have a web site. And according to ABCNEWS.com, "more than three times as many US adults plan to purchase online in 2000 than did in 1999."

But don't get a web site just for the sake of joining the crowd - you need to integrate a web site into your total business plan. Just as a telephone is a necessity for a business, the web site will soon be a necessary component of being in business. However, you need to get true Internet services to make a profit.

To begin with, you must get your own Internet address and an e-mail address that matches it. A web site name hosted on a commercial business server is a real bargain. You domain name should be short, memorable, related to your core business, and hard to miss type or misspell. Your prime domain name should be a ".com" type - don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Just don't wait too long to pick it, as domain names are being taken at the rate of 20,000 per day.

Set a series of purposes for your web site, and project the costs and benefits for each purpose. Have your business plan reviewed by a business consultant that has experience in placing businesses on the Internet. Then set your budget, project for results and the time line to achieve your goals, including the key assumptions that were made in the business plan.

Your web site design should reflect the business plan. Consult with an Internet marketing specialist on how to market your web site and fit it within your total marketing and business plan. Some basic features that almost any Internet marketing consultant may suggest include: signature files, pre-designed scripts for e-mails, e-zines (electronic magazines and newsletters), press releases, contests, paid ranking, pages designed as "doorways" to maximize search engine and listing service popularity, product image placements, online shopping carts, and various advertising campaigns.

While it is computer based, a web site business is not much different than any other business. It is still a lot of hard work. You will need to monitor your business, answer mail, field endless calls, respond at almost any time (day or night), ship quickly, follow up, and advertise your presence and products every day. Networking, whether e-mail or personal, is still a key component. You will actually need to respond to questions and ship orders more quickly than many other types of businesses. Properly planned and executed, your web business can be like any "brick and mortar business," worth millions.

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Did you know that in 1998-2001 more than 95% of OfficeOnWeb's new customers made a profit from their web site within their first year of operation? Sad, but it is true. This compares to less than 5% industry wide ever even breaking even. Why? Professional and directed expertise. This industry average for people leaving their current web service provider is 4% per month! That's nearly 50% over a year! Ours is less than 1% per year. That is because we endeavor to make our clients money and don't just offer a "pat solution" that we know has a low probability of ever making our client a profit. Some of the features that make up the level of success that our clients enjoy are:

 Five redundant backbone connections

 99.999% up time on UNIX servers

 Redundant OC-3 connect to all five backbones

 Full data center services

RAID 5 system with weekly backup of critical systems

 True Web Developer Services

 Large support site for clients and visitors

 Four level or higherencryption on all e-commerce solutions designed by Office On Web (this is the government standard required if Government people are to use a site)

 We NEVER host a commercial site on an access server (that is really bad, but common in dial up providers)

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