You and Your Business on the Internet

1
You and YourBusiness on the Internet

• Ray MillsRaymond Mills Associates

2
Introduction

• My background
• What we will cover
• Questions
• Handouts
• Contacts

3
What Is the Internet?

• Over view.
• Where did the Internet come from?
• The Internet is a large computer network linking
  smaller networks to one another. It was started
  in the late 1960s and developed in the 1970s to
  allow government and university researchers to
  share information.
• It wasn't until the late 1980s that the Internet
  began to be used widely. Any single group or
  organization does not control the Internet.
  Today, the Internet offers an amazing variety of
  information and activities. Most people say that
  email is their top reason for using the Internet.

4
What Makes up the Internet?

• Internet Server Provider (ISP)
• DNS Provider
• Servers
• Networks
• Routers
• Switches
• Lines

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Address

• IP 216.136.9.6
• URL http//www.rm-a.com/

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Where to Go and Not

• That is up to you, but there is no anonymous on
  the web.

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Security

• http//.
• https//.
• Your security is up to you and your company.
• You can use a software group called Nanny
  software (this may slow down your computer
  network and requires someone to maintain it).
• Security is important every time you or some one
  at your company is on the net.

8
What Is a Browser?

• Which Browser?
• Windows
• IE
• Netscape
• Opera
• Mozilla

• Mac
• IE
• Netscape
• Opera
• Mozilla

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What Is a Browser?

• Address line
• Status line
• Security line
• Tools
• Security

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What Are Web Pages?

• Over view
• Where is the web page?
• Languages
• Tags
• Security

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What Is Email?

• Email address
• Security
• Where does my email go?
• Who can see my email?
• What happens to my email when I delete it?
• How can I stop people from seeing my email?
• Encryption
• PGP
• SoftClan e-cryptor
• TFS Secure Messaging

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What Is Email?

• Can I have a virus on an email?
• Is email like a post card?

13
Search Engines

• What is a Search Engine?
• How do they work
• What are some good ones www.allsearchengines.com

Google -Claims several billion pages. Adds weight
to frequent citations. One of our favorites.
Teoma -Great relevancy. All The Web -Claims to
have a huge database.
WiseNut -New contender. AltaVista - Lots of neat
extras, such as translation. Yahoo! -Web index
pioneer. Such a huge directory, it is a virtual
SE.
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Search Engines

• DMOZ -Similar to Yahoo! Human edited.
• Excite -Rated as one of the best SEs. Owns easy
  to use WebCrawler, a favorite.
• Lycos -"Wolf spider" (Latin). Owns HotBot
  offering parallel, scalable searches. Search a
  domain, e.g. .edu.
• Northern Light -Has a special pay collection.
• IX Quick -Up and coming SE. Highly rated.

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Search Engines (cont.)

• Kanoodle -Up and coming paid position SE.
• NBCi/ Snap -New respect for this search engine.
• Overture -Formerly GoTo, the original paid
  listings SE.
• Go / InfoSeek -Slipping.
• DogPile -Searches multiple search engines.

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Some Other Parts of the Internet

• Instant Messenger
• Chat
• Newsgroups

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Security Advice

• Do not give out personal information.
• Only do online transactions with trusted sites.
• Do not download from NONTRUSTED sites.
• Do not open email attachments with out virus
  scanning software loaded.
• Keep your eyes open.

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Your Business on the Internet

• Can I leverage the Internet for my business.
• Over view.
• Updating your Internet strategy.
• Cutting costs, adding efficiency.
• Market Situation.
• Today businesses are looking to the net to grow
  their customer base, market share and market
  access while at the same time making their
  business processes more efficient and cost
  effective.

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Your Business on the Internet

• What makes this challenging?
• Today's technology is rapidly evolving.
• Identifying where technology can best benefit
  your business environment.

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Your Business on the Internet

• Introducing new technologies without disrupting
  current services.
• Protecting legacy investments.
• Determining required resources.
• Large enterprises got there first, but
  dollar-for-dollar, small businesses are the real
  winners in e-business. As a great business
  leveler, the Internet can enable small businesses
  to prosper from worldwide communications and
  sales and limitless sources of supply, marketing,
  advertising and distribution. e-business offers
  unprecedented potential for both improving sales
  and cutting costs - key goals for small
  businesses.

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Is a Website Good for My Business?

• The Internet continues to dominate headlines, but
  can a web presence really help my business?
• Today almost everyone agrees that a company
  cannot afford to be without a website. However,
  just because you build it, don't expect everyone
  to come. Just as in the old economy, you still
  need to have a business plan and strategy.
• To leverage the Internet for your business, you
  also need to position your site so people can
  find you, and make your message succinct and your
  presentation aesthetically appealing. Once people
  visit your site, be sure they have a rewarding
  experience so they will return.

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Who Is My Target?

• How is Internet marketing different from
  traditional marketing?
• It isn't very different. You still have to create
  awareness, interest, preference and choice in
  order to support a purchase decision. Your web
  site content design strategy is similar to
  planning a booth at a trade show. You will want
  to answer similar questions.
• How will we attract visitors?
• When they "walk" by, what in our booth will make
  them want to stop and talk to us?
• What is our value proposition?

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Who Is My Target? (cont.)

• The main differences are speed, cost and
  metrics. What used to take weeks and months now
  can be accomplished in hours, days and possibly
  minutes. What used to cost tens and hundreds of
  thousands of dollars is now only hundreds or a
  few thousand dollars. What was previously
  measured in subjective terms now can be
  specifically quantified and valued to the penny.

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Who Is My Target? (cont.)

• Is Internet marketing only for B2C? Can I market
  a complex B2B product online?
• Internet marketing is a viable tool for any
  product sold to buyers who use the World Wide Web
  and e-mail. Today, buyers of complex products
  prefer, in fact demand, to do their research on
  the web. B2B companies can leverage their website
  to support the sales cycle by allowing visitors
  to self-educate and self-qualify. A B2B can
  maximize the efficiency of their direct sales
  force by making the web site filter qualified
  prospects.

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Who Is My Target? (cont.)

• What about passive promotion i.e. e-zines,
  webcasts, portal sites?
• Passive promotion is more or less, the online
  equivalent of traditional PR. This includes
  participating in online communities, appearing in
  or writing articles for e-zines and web portals,
  participating in webcasts, and participating in
  product reviews or awards programs. These
  activities will help you build your brand, and
  help reinforce your active promotions and even
  helps you build your ranking with the search
  engines by adding to your link popularity.

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Who Is My Target? (cont.)

• What active promotion techniques should be part
  of my Internet marketing mix?
• Active promotion techniques that may be effective
  include newsletter sponsorships, opt-in email,
  and online event sponsorship i.e. webcasts.

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Who Is My Target? (cont.)

• How can you leverage Internet marketing to
  increase B2B sales?
• Maximize the efficiency of your B2B direct sales
  force by using your web site to allow your
  prospects to self-educate and self-qualify.
  Effective online marketing tactics that market to
  the right audience with a focused message that
  encourages conversion will reap the qualified
  leads your direct sales force demands from
  marketing.

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Can a Website Be Cost Effective?

• Reach Your Clients.
• An increasing number of your clients are using
  the Internet more frequently on a daily basis.
• Promote your Business.
• A website is constantly there promoting your
  business and possibly generating direct sales 24
  hours a day, 7 days a week - an online store
  never closes.

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Can a Website Be Cost Effective? (cont.)

• Maintain a Constant Showcase.
• A website can provide a showcase of everything
  your company has to offer, in one
  easy-to-navigate location.
• Remain Anonymous.
• A website is anonymous. A visitor to your site
  can spend as much or as little time as they like
  to decide if they want to follow up on your
  company's product or service offerings. No
  hovering salesman means less pressure for your
  potential clients.

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Can a Website Be Cost Effective? (cont.)

• Enhance your Marketing.
• A website can effectively supplement and enhance
  your company's marketing activities.

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Can a Website Be Cost Effective? (cont.)

• Answer Frequently Asked Questions.
• Whoever answers the telephone in your
  organization can tell you, their time is usually
  spent answering the same questions over and over
  again. These are the questions customers and
  prospects want to have answered before they
  decide to do business with you. Posting these
  answers on your website will not only be more
  convenient for the client, but also mean your
  employees can devote more time to other tasks as
  opposed to answering the phone.

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Can a Website Be Cost Effective? (cont.)

• Own your own Domain (www.yourdomain.com).
• Your own domain name (www.yourcompany.com)
  establishes strong online brand identity, and
  also allows you to set up email addresses
  specific to your own company - email being the
  most common way to communicate efficiently and
  professionally with the rest of the world.

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Can a Website Be Cost Effective? (cont.)

• Enhance Consumer Impact.
• The Internet provides a level playing field for
  companies - a well-designed website for a small
  company can have just the same presence and
  consumer impact on the web as a multinational
  corporation.
• Enjoy Global Market.
• The Internet opens your business to a whole new
  global market and can attract a great deal of
  interest through effective use of search engine
  optimization, links and other online promotional
  activities.

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Can a Website Be Cost Effective? (cont.)

• Keep up with Your Competitors.
• Your competitors may already be gaining
  substantial market share and the cutting edge
  over your company due to their existing presence
  on the web - your company cannot afford to be
  left behind.

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Can a Website Be Cost Effective? (cont.)

• Reach Your Clients.
• An increasing number of your clients are using
  the Internet more frequently on a daily basis.
• Promote your Business.
• A website is constantly there promoting your
  business and possibly generating direct sales 24
  hours a day, 7 days a week - an online store
  never closes.
• Maintain a Constant Showcase.
• A website can provide a showcase of everything
  your company has to offer, in one
  easy-to-navigate location.

36
Can a Website Be Cost Effective? (cont.)

• Remain Anonymous.
• A website is anonymous. A visitor to your site
  can spend as much or as little time as they like
  to decide if they want to follow up on your
  company's product or service offerings. No
  hovering salesman means less pressure for your
  potential clients.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need?

• Web Advertisements.
• The Virtual Storefront.
• The Information Resource.
• The Online Business

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• The Online Business.
• Parts of a web site.
• Home Page.
• This one is a given. If you have a web site there
  has to be a starting point and the home page is
  it. It's a portal to the rest of your content.
  Generally a home page will have a brief overview
  of the organization so that visitors will know
  what the site is about and want to explore
  further.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• Static Content.
• These are pages that are created individually,
  each being a separate document, and should
  contain information that changes infrequently.
  Examples would be your mission statement, bylaws,
  officers, and directions to your offices, contact
  information, newsletters and customer service
  policies.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• Dynamic Content.
• Dynamic pages are created each time a viewer
  calls for them. Rather than being a document on
  your server the page is actually created by a
  program on your web server using content from a
  data file. Frequently the viewer has the ability
  to define what kind of content will be on the
  resulting page. For example, if you have members
  throughout the United States with a dynamic
  membership page the viewer would be able to
  choose to have only those members living in a
  particular state displayed. Search engines (such
  as Yahoo, Go.com and Iwon.com) are dynamic pages.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• Forms.
• These pages provide spaces for the visitor to
  enter information, which is then submitted to
  you. The information can be sent to you as an
  email, stored as a data file on your server, or
  both. This is useful for pages such as a guest
  book or an evaluation form. Forms are also used
  for things like on-line registration for meetings
  or membership renewal.
• E-Commerce.
• You don't necessarily need to be "selling
  something" to be involved in e-commerce. Any time
  you are accepting credit card payment through
  your web site it is e-commerce. This can include
  payment of membership dues and registration for
  meetings or seminars.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• Private Pages.
• There may be information or downloads that you
  only want available to members or others that are
  otherwise registered to you. By setting up a user
  name and password scheme you can restrict access
  to content of this type.
• As a quick example, let's assume you are a
  nationwide association of member companies that
  provide a particular service. Your initial web
  site might include these pages
• Home Page (static).
• Brief description of the purpose of the
  association.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• About Us (static).
• Detailed description of the association and the
  value of dealing with its members.
• Locate a Provider (dynamic).
• Viewer could enter their zip code or city and
  state to locate the nearest member companies.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• Apply for Membership (form).
• Information on the requirements for membership,
  with an on-line application form to be filled out
  and submitted.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• Deciding on the content for your web site should
  not be done hastily. You need to decide what it
  is you want to accomplish with your site and then
  make certain that you include everything
  necessary to reach that goal. You should also
  browse the sites of organizations similar to your
  own for ideas -- not only of what to include but
  what not to include.

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What Kind of Site Do I Need? (cont.)

• Once you have defined your content the next step
  is to bring it to life. The final article of this
  series will cover the options for assembling and
  posting your web site.

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Do I Need Email?

• Brand with your company URL
• Improve your targeted online communication
• Use email and track your success rates
• To learn what is important to customers
• Respond quickly to all incoming website feedback

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Can I Develop My Own Website?

• How easy is it?
• How much time will it take?
• How much training will I need?
• Where do I get graphics for the web site?
• What tools should I use?

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If I Use a Developer?

• Portfolio, Portfolio, Portfolio
• Do I hirer by the project, by the hour, by
  retainer?
• What will the developer do on the site?
• How fast will the updates be done?
• What if I want to change developer?

50
Website Be Construction

• Can the website be constructed so I can make
  changes easily, i.e. newsletter, announcements,
  etc, without using the developer?
• Yes, but how much change will this have on the
  overall web site?
• New page
• New links
• Graphics

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What Can I Do With a Website?

• What can I do with a website other than be
  informative?
• Virtually anything you can imagine.
• Basic Company Information.
• Brochures or other marketing information.
• Product Catalogs.
• Online Ordering.

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What Can I Do With a Website? (cont.)

• Maps.
• E-Mail.
• Coupons.
• Calendar of Upcoming Events.
• Photos and other graphics.
• Links To Your Favorite Sites.

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How Can I Get People to Visit My Website?

• Advertise.
• Sales force.
• Letter Head.
• Yellow Pages.
• Word of mouth.
• Phone answering.
• Raymond Mills Associates have you been to our
  (new, updated etc.) web site?

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How Can I Get People to Visit My Website? (cont.)

• Load your web site (key words, header data, meta
  tags).
• Update the site (daily, weekly, have links on and
  off your pages).
• Have people with web sites list and link to your
  site and you list and link to their site.
• Do online articles (make sure your web site is
  listed in the byline or in the article).

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Can I Monitor the Hits on the Website?

• Most Web hosting companies offer some kind of
  monitoring software or option.

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Where Do I Host the Site?

• Can I stand up a server and do it my self.
• Do I have the expertise and resources?
• Do I have a fast Internet connection?
• Tracert.
• Ping.
• DNS Lister.

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Where Do I Host the Site?

• Does your ISP offer the service?
• Can you have your own URL (not www.aol.com/goodbox
  /index.htm)?
• How long have they been in the business?
• What support do they proved?
• What is their uptime?

58
Where Do I Register My Site?

• Over view.
• There are many listing services.
• VeriSign or Network Solutions are at the top.
• This is not one you shop for by price.
• The further a way from you and Network Solutions
  the more time it takes to get to your site.

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What Is an Intranet?

• Over view.
• An Intranet is an Internet that only your company
  employees and those with access can visit.
• You can use it to distribute information with in
  your company just like on the Web.
• Each department can have a web site where they
  can post information that is important to the
  department and to the company.
• An Intranet can be a great asset.

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Security?

• Over view.
• What you put on the web site is there for any one
  to look at and take if they want too.
• Corporate Data.
• Many corporations are putting their databases
  behind firewalls.
• Have a Backup plan.

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Security? (cont.)

• If your business is on the web then have a Backup
  plan for your web servers.
• No mater what security you have hackers can get
  to your web site, your data, and your server.

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Security? (cont.)

• If your have personnel that work from the road,
  home, or any where outside your control of what
  is on their computer you should be asking the
  following
• Are they sending corporate information over open
  lines?
• What if their computer is lost, stolen, or
  copied?
• Are they passing virus around?

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Security? (cont.)

• You may want get a corporate edition of virus
  software and give it to all employees and make
  sure that it is installed and updated.
• Go over your companies security plan.
• Go over your companies computer security plan
  with all employees.
• Go over your companies Internet security plan
  with all employees.

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Wrap up

• Questions