Section Two Section TwoThe Internet is bringing about far-reaching changes to the nature of business practices. Many of these changes will result in competitive advantages for most business, particularly for small- to medium-sized ones. Perhaps the most obvious reason that these businesses stand to benefit is that the Internet has opened up a world of new markets which are as easily accessible as sending electronic mail messages.
In the past, marketing and distributing products and services beyond a restricted geographic area required resources which were out of reach of most small- and medium-sized businesses, due for the most part because the cost of marketing and advertising in the traditional media is very expensive. When a business is at the mercy of large television networks or publishing companies, they must consider not only the enormous cost of buying advertising space in these media, but also the costs of hiring marketing firms and the realization that consumers must be hit an average of seven times with advertising before they buy products.
The Internet is rapidly uniting businesses and people around the world through electronic mail and Usenet news groups, both of which allow people to communicate with each other quickly and efficiently. The World-Wide-Web provides a multi-media marketing platform allowing graphical presentations of products and service and can incorporate automatic electonic mail functions.
By using these tools (and others), businesses can find new clients and customers from down the street, in the next province, or on the next continent. These clients tend to be high-income consumers and can be captured as a single market through the Internet. The following are a couple of examples of how businesses might use the Internet for marketing their products and services to new global markets.
Most Internet users have access to Usenet (a distributed news system), which is divided into topical discussion groups. Since these groups are arranged according to subject matter, they are a useful tool for identifying people who might be interested in your products and services. For example, there are many news groups which were created for the discussion of computer-related products, most of which have a "comp." prefix (such as 'comp.sys.os.os2', for example, which was set up to discuss IBM's operating system for PC's, called OS/2). These groups are ideal forums for the appropriate posting of information about new products and services which would be relevant for companies who were developing new software or hardware products, for example.
It must always be noted, however, that individuals who post messages to large numbers of groups without carefully considering the relevance or content of their messages are commonly called 'spam artists.' These people quickly become unpopular on the Internet and risk retaliation and alienation from potential clients and customers. Individuals should always be prepared to add value and content to the Internet as a way of respecting the culture and the customs of the Net.
Electronic mail lists, called 'listservs', can serve much the same function. These lists are also focused around specific themes and are subscription but not fee based. The result is that Internet marketers have at their disposal large groups of people who have taken an active interest in discussing ideas and issues with other Internet users around the world. As with the use of news groups, individuals can use mailing lists to contact many people with one posting. Also as with news groups, users must carefully consider the content and the relevance of any advertising messages they post to lists.
To take a concrete example, suppose a small business which developed kitchen cookware was contemplating the use of the Internet for advertising its products. It could post messages to the relevant news groups where participants were already discussing issues like recipes, cooking or other related activities. It could post to some or all of the following groups, for instance.
With careful attention to the use of the Internet for advertising, such a business would find huge global markets for its products.
The Internet can also raise one's regional business profile. Not all products or services can be delivered on a global scale. Freenets are up and running in many regions in Canada and others are in the planning stages. These community networks offer free access to elements of the Internet to anyone with a computer and modem. Commercial interests are now offering space in "virtual malls" or "cyber shopping centres". Both provide cost-effective exposure to regional marketplaces as well as travellers planning to visit your area.
Businesses can also stand to benefit from substantially decreased communications costs by establishing an Internet connection and making use of electronic mail. Since business has been moving in an increasingly global direction, companies will frequently find themselves having to communicate over long distances, and large numbers of long-distance telephone or facsimile calls can be expensive. In many cases, the communication can be done by electronic mail, which has a number of advantages over the telephone and facsimile.
In many cases, a business will pay a standard fee for an
Internet connection, but not always for connection time. And since
establishing an Internet connection is done locally, there
are no long-distance charges associated with electronic
mail. This concept can be confusing to many people but it
works in much the same way as the global mail system. If I
send a letter to Australia from Canada, the Australian
postal system forgoes additional charges to the Canadian
for delivery of the letter, knowing that when a letter is
sent from Australia to Canada the same suspension of
charges will apply. Since costs would probably even out in
the long run, this system is infinitely simpler than any
other.
Electronic mail will be kept in a mail box until the recipient opens
it. If somebody in Ottawa has to communicate with a client or associate
in Australia, it is no longer necessary to call either very early or
very late.
The telephone and facsimile transfer either voice or static
information (i.e. sheets of paper with type on them). By
using electronic mail a business can send documents,
reports or any other type of electronic data which can be
immediately used by a computer at the other end of the
transmission. Since most types of data are now created with
a computer in the first place, this can result in great
savings in time, in mail and in courier costs.
Electronic Mail packages are becoming versatile to the
point where binary files may now be attached to email
messages and recovered at the other end. Binary files can
be pictures, music, applications, spreadsheets or just
about anything else you can produce with a computer. Using
this kind of tool, businesses can distribute software
updates, reports, data and more to their clients and
customers at a fraction of the cost of sending these things
by conventional methods.
These tools can also provide an effective way for a company
to improve the efficiency of client feedback. This can be
accomplished in a variety of ways, including the following.
An electronic mail system allows clients to send feedback
information to a business without having to call during
regular business hours (if time-zone restrictions are
relevant), without having to worry about busy signals, and
without the business having to either charge their customer
for long distance phone calls or incur the costs of
installing an "800" number. Furthermore, client feedback
received by electronic mail can be archived on
diskette or printed and stored in a file for future
reference. This information can be very useful for
companies to improve their products and services.
Creating Usenet news groups enables clients to communicate
amongst themselves and allows companies to resolve problems
with many users at the same time. Many businesses have
found that most clients have the same questions, comments
and difficulties. If these comments are posted to a news
group, a representative of the business could address all
the comments of the same subject with one posting,
eliminating unnecessary duplication.
For example, suppose I bought a portable computer only to
discover that the built-in trackball did not move the
pointer horizontally. Because I subscribe to a news group
which was set up to discuss this brand of portable
computers, I find out that many other buyers are having the
same problem. The company notices this as well and posts a
message to the news group apologizing to users and
informing them that the problem can be fixed by removing
the casing and adjusting the rubber roller inside, a
process which would take about one minute. By solving a
problem with ten, twenty or a hundred users at a time, the
computer company could communicate with their customers in
ways that translate into huge savings in time and money.
Unlike telephones and retail stores, an Internet connection
does not have to be manned to be effective. This means that
a well designed Internet presence could contain all the
information which a user would need in order to decide
whether to purchase products or services. World Wide Web
sites are a very effective way to create a constant
business presence because they can contain graphical
images, motion video, sound and online forms for
questionnaires or product ordering.
There are many companies on the Internet which have set up
"Internet shopping malls" where businesses can rent space
and be placed among many other online stores. This has the
same advantage as having a retail outlet in a shopping
mall, because both the electronic and analog shopping malls
provide a single location where shoppers can browse a large
variety of products and services. The companies which run
the shopping malls also assume responsibility for technical
upkeep of the mall (such as maintenance of the server and
the Internet connection), a job which may not be possible
for a business without much technical expertise.
An Internet business presence can also help small businesses
to untilize non-traditional work arrangements such as flexible
hours and worksharing therefore enabling employees to be more
innovative in coping with increasing pressures and demands
on their time.
Aside from all the potential cost savings, there are other
reasons for businesses to seriously consider getting
connected to the Internet. It is, at present, the best
working example of what the Information Superhighway is
likely to be and will very likely be a key aspect of it.
Whatever shape this Information Superhighway takes,
business and communication practices are being
revolutionized by the Internet's global and cultural
characteristics (many of which are likely to be shared by a
superhighway). By adapting to the Internet now, businesses
will become better prepared to adapt to the Information
Superhighway. The following considerations will be critical
for the Information Superhighway, just as they are now
critical for the Internet.
Once a business has mastered these elements in the Internet
environment, it will be well prepared for the emergence of
an Information Superhighway-based business structure.
The Internet also provides businesses with a cost-effective
means of internal networking. At the heart of the Internet
is a protocol (like a language computers speak to one
another) called TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol). TCP/IP is an open standard,
meaning that nobody owns it and that people can use it
freely and it works on virtually every type of computer system.
It has proved to be a very efficient method of
facilitating computer-based communications to the extent
that employees in a business can network themselves through
even dial-up Internet connections. Such connections would
permit them to exchange files and communicate
electronically. This kind of communication can be very
useful for distributing memorandums, reminders, meeting
agendas, reports and data. Since setting up a LAN (Local
Area Network) can be expensive and complicated, the
Internet provides a cost-effective alternative to creating
a networking environment within a business or organization.
Finally, the Internet is a valuable source for market and
research information. There are distinct characteristics
about the Internet which make this true.
Furthermore, users will find that much of the information
on the Internet has been archived by other Internet users
whose intent is simply to contribute to the overall value
of the Internet. Since methods of distributing information
over the Internet are very inexpensive, individuals,
companies and organizations who have research to distribute
can do so by means of the Internet at a very low cost to
themselves. This is of considerable benefit to end-users,
since they are given access to this research at little or
no cost to themselves.
The Internet is not just another tool, like a telephone or
a fax machine. It is a global network of users, resources,
information and potential clients. Considering that the
start-up costs for establishing an Internet business
presence are very low and that the possible returns are
huge, it is no surprise that businesses are flocking to it
in an attempt to master it before their competition beats
them to it.
Cost Savings
No Time-Zone Restrictions
Robust Data Exchange System
Electronic Mail
Automated Systems
Constant Business Presence
Preparing for the Future
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Proceed to Section Three: Canadian Internet Providers by province
Copyright (C) Strangelove Internet Enterprises Inc., 1995. All rights
reserved.