August 9, 2011

One doesn’t have to be very old to remember a few years ago when business owners were shaking their heads and muttering: "Dot com? What does that mean? And what does it have to do with me?”

Businesses that did their research and were on the cutting edge, shot out of the starting gate like a flash. They were all over the domain name concept, had websites up and gained a distinctive Web presence while others were still shaking their heads. Today, even the dry cleaner on the corner and the local transmission shop have their own websites. In fact, it has become the exception for a business not to have a website.

Those who were slow to catch on may have finally set up a website, but now these same business owners are shaking their heads and muttering, “Web 2.0? Social media marketing? Twitter? LinkedIn? What does all that mean? And what does that have to do with me and my business?”

More changes coming faster

The dot com revolution brought on amazing changes in the late 1990s. The slang of the day were terms like “net media,” “net companies,” and “net culture.” It was a cultural, business and social change. But the speed at which it took place, compared to the speed of the changes we’re seeing today, is like comparing a pack mule to a jet.

The dot com revolution brought the general public to the personal computer. The newest revolution—the social media revolution—is setting people free from the personal computer. Now the hand-held device is how people communicate, stay informed and—most important to any brick-and-mortar business—how they shop!

A costly mistake

The mistake that most business owners make is to dismiss such things as Twitter, Facebook, blogs and LinkedIn as a passing fad. (Much like previous business owners dismissed the World Wide Web a couple decades ago.) It’s a costly mistake to make. The truth is none of this is a passing fad but rather a fundamental shift in communication and commerce.

It takes a great deal of time, energy, expertise and diligence to build a business as any owner of a small business can testify. Most wear many hats—especially at the outset when the business is just getting off the ground. The hat that is often neglected, however, is the one that could be the most beneficial. It is the expertise needed to develop:

• An online persona
• A personal/business brand
• An online presence
• Web recognition
• An online marketing plan that will result in increased profit margin, which is more important of all

To ignore this emerging transformation could be fatal to any business.

The statistics speak

So, are consumers really, truly shopping online in today’s market? Yes. U.S. consumers spent more than $1 billion in one day last year on Cyber Monday. In 2011 online e-commerce sales are on a path of double-digit growth.

OPEN Cardmember John Lawson is an e-commerce analyst and consultant. John consults and speaks worldwide on e-commerce, s-commerce and social media marketing. He is the CEO of 3rd Power Outlet and the founder of the award-winning e-commerce blog ColderICE.

Join the conversation ( 1 )

• Julie Blutstein 6 months ago

  

  John, congratulations on your first post as an OPEN Forum Cardmember contributor. In a landscape that’s changing so rapidly, it's understandable that the average small business owner could be overwhelmed by everything they are "supposed to be doing" to transform their business. The instinct to reject change and stick with the status quo can often kick in.
  
  I think the key is to remain open to new ideas, but not to panic about implementing every new channel that’s available. It’s better to focus on one or two new opportunities and undertake them well, than to simply throw up a presence everywhere. Better to have one active online presence than several that are stagnant.