Developing an Internet Strategy

Before a business goes on-line, there should be concrete plans for how the business will use the Internet. If you have not made any plans for Internet usage and you have not considered all of the responsibilities that accompany Internet adoption; possibly you are obtaining Internet access for the wrong reason.

What follows are just a few of the wrong reasons to conduct business on the Internet:

Lemming Theory: “the competition is doing it”
Monster Under the Bed Theory: “something bad will happen if we don’t”
Einstein Theory: “somebody really smart said we should”
Keep Up With the Joneses Theory: “we’ll look behind the times if we don’t”
Something in the Water Theory: “everybody is doing it”
Hip Theory: “to be way cool, dude”

Significant Resources Required

Conducting business online is a complicated Endeavour that requires tremendous resources of both time and money. Any project of this size and importance must be carefully planned before implementation. The biggest mistake you can make is to fail to allocate resources for planning, implementing, monitoring, maintaining, expanding, and improving your Internet services and publications.

updated Web sites and unmonitored e-mail accounts reveal a business’ lack of commitment to your Internet strategy. More importantly, this “Internet hypocrisy” can result in poor customer service, lost customers, low employee morale, and a tarnished public image

The planning process is important because it requires you: