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Lots of people will tell you they have an Internet business but the fact is, there’s no such thing - the Internet is not a business, it’s a tool. Granted there may be businesses that use the Internet and the growing army of web apps as their primary or only way to generate, nurture, and convert leads, but a business is still a business.
The reason I want to point this out so emphatically is that too many small business owners look at the Internet as some sort of disconnected form of business - disconnected that is from the rest of their business.
No matter what your business sells you must have a customer, you must have a compelling message, you must have something that people want, before you really have a business. You can’t simply add a blog to your marketing mix and think that you’ve harnessed the Internet. If you throw yourself into the Internet without the proper context of a business, you’ll likely waste your time, money and effort - and then you’ll conclude it doesn’t work for your kind of business.
I know there are lots of folks out there that will tell you differently - that you can throw anything on the web and call it a business, but I’m telling you, it’s not so, never has been, never will be. (By the way, selling you that dream is their business.)
The Internet is an essential piece of the marketing mix - Ignore it and you’ll be obsolete. But, use it to do things you can’t offline, amplify your message, build a community, automate marketing functions, serve clients and collaborate with partners, and do it all in order to attract more of your ideal client, communicate your core message, and build trust through education.
Now that’s what I call an Internet business.
Comments
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at May 03, 07 | 5:19 pm and is filed under Internet Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
John,
You couldn’t have said this more perfectly. I have people ask me all the time, “Are you an internet insurance company?”. My response, like yours, is that the internet is simply a tool for us. We use it for advertising just like we, as well as other companies, use radio, tv, and print as an advertising tool. We also use the internet as a communication, education and relationship building tool.
Thanks for writing about this distinction.
I totally agree. What’s great about the internet, blogging in particular, is the way it provides instant updates for the consumer. A business can make important product notices, announce sales or events, and relate success stories to the public from one easy to access location. Like you said, however, this is just a tool. While it takes the place of more traditional PR work, it doesn’t sell your whole business. A tangible physical presence in the community is important too.
Exactly right, the internet is simply a distribution channel - a way to get your products and services to your target market. No different to shopping centres or strip malls of the 70s and 80s…
People lost sight of this during the ‘Bubble’ and its the #1 contributor to is bust.
A Blog = A Press Rlease
An Ezine = Direct Mail
Websites = Bricks n Mortor Stors
Forums = Trade Shows
I don’t believe you need a physical presence on-top of an online one - Look at Amazon and Ebay… both these companies have one distribution channel the internet, but they are clear on what the web is for them. On the other side of the coin, you don’t need a web presence to succeed in business, there are many companies that operate soley on direct mail or trade shows…
You must know your target market, figure the path of least resistance to them and near lose sight of that.
Exactly right, the internet is simply a distribution channel - a way to get your products and services to your target market. No different to shopping centres or strip malls of the 70s and 80s…
People lost sight of this during the ‘Bubble’ and its the #1 contributor to is bust.
A Blog = A Press Rlease
An Ezine = Direct Mail
Websites = Bricks n Mortor Stors
Forums = Trade Shows
I don’t believe you need a physical presence on-top of an online one - Look at Amazon and Ebay… both these companies have one distribution channel the internet, but they are clear on what the web is for them. On the other side of the coin, you don’t need a web presence to succeed in business, there are many companies that operate soley on direct mail or trade shows…
You must know your target market, figure the path of least resistance to them and near lose sight of that.
I use the internet to compliment my bricks and mortar store. In my air duct cleaning business we are able to locate a sub-set of people that would rarely use the yellow pages or 411. It would be extremely small minded of me to think I could simply depend on internet marketing. On the other hand, it would be crazy of me to not have a website and miss the opportunity to tap into the growing number of internet savvy customers.
Air Duct Cleaner,
Great point - there are growing legions of people that don’t know what a printed phone book is.
I agree. The internet is a tool that a business can use. Some rely on it more heavily than others. But there still has to be that solid buisness backbone behind even the most virtural buisness.
Comment on Air Duct Cleaner–
Exactly right. The Web is a vehicle to drive new business to brick-and-mortar establishments, but will never replace the business itself.
Companies wouldn’t spend thousands of dollars on search engine optimization if it didn’t work (i.e., drive customers to the company).
Our entire company business model (CRM, lead management) is based on the fact that the Web is a powerful marketing tool, but it will never replace the actual business itself.
–Steve
http://www.insidesales.com
[...] Post by John Jantsch, quoted from http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2007/05/03/the-internet-is-not-a-business/ [...]