The Big Hairy Bear by Richard Banfield

The Big Hairy Bear
by Richard Banfield

In a recent article about the competitiveness of Internet companies, Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, tells the story of the big bear in the woods. The story goes that the big angry bear is the Internet and it's on a path straight for you. The lesson is that instead of trying to outrun the bear, all you need to do is outrun your mate. If you have a decent pair of running shoes, you can stay ahead of the competition and thus avoid being the next course on the grizzly's menu.

McNealy is right of course, and nobody will deny that the Internet can be scary. The problem is that we, the Internet industry, are perpetuating the story to the point where we are dissuading great opportunities from entering the market.

I was the guest of the DMA's monthly breakfast this week and I was delighted to see the direct marketers' high level of enthusiasm for the Internet. There is also a high level of fear about the hairy bear within the ranks of marketers. One attendee asked, "How do we stay ahead and not get swallowed up by the enormous amount of information?" Good question. Here are a few guidelines that might give you that edge.

Getting the basics right: All businesses are fundamentally the same when it comes to keeping the clients happy. Providing a quality product or a speedy service is not entirely determined by your technology. Good customer service is about people and the relationships that are created between them.

It's not about the technology: Technology is designed to help us forge relationships and hopefully make those relationships work harder. Technology makes it easier to manage information and communication, but it is no substitute for quality face time and personal dialogue. The building of relationships is not up to the technology; it's up to your people.

The learning curve: Running a business is an art, not a science, and you can't learn everything you need from a textbook. The same is true for the Internet. Speak to the people who have been online for a while and ask them for advice. Experience and wisdom come from having made both good and bad decisions. If you want to enter the Internet space, let others help you and mentor you: don't think you can do it alone. Insist that everyone in your business reads the latest magazines and reports on the Web. Create a culture of learning by starting at the top and getting management to speak to the young people who know about being online.

Traffic does mean revenues: Understand how you can convert visitors into buyers and buyers into long-term relationships. Increasing traffic to your site is only half the battle.

If it isn't strategic, outsource: The temptation to build an entire department to deal with your Internet strategy is common in big corporations. Discover what is essential to your business strategy and what is not. If the service can be outsourced to a partner or a vendor, then do it. This also allows you the flexibility to change the situation should that service become obsolete or expensive.

Add value, not content: The Web is bloated with information and content. This makes purchase decisions harder for customers. There is so much choice that consumers don't know where to start. If you are a business-to-business site, you should be thinking about what to remove from the site, rather than what you can add. Remove anything that wastes time or complicates the transaction process. Add anything that will increase the value for the client and improve their experience.

KISS: Good old-fashioned simplicity is what makes your strategy easier to manage and the client's experience more satisfactory. Simple ideas are easy to understand and therefore easier to communicate. Marketing Web-based products is generally a complicated task; so don't make it any more complicated than it has to be.

The bottom line is that good businesses are based on meeting clients' expectations or even exceeding them. Decide how the Web can help you achieve this goal and then partner with the right people to help you get there. This might not stop the bear from chasing you, but it will be the first step towards keeping ahead of the competition.