Do Business Well

The Internet revolution will transform all aspects of our lives.

In business there is never only one way to do anything.

• Some people prefer to shop in specialty stores, some people in department stores.
• Some people prefer to shop in supermarkets, some in neighborhood stores.
• Some people love shopping malls, some don’t. Some people love to buy from catalogs, some don’t.
• Some people go to Wal-Mart because the prices are low. Some people go to Neiman-Marcus because the prices are high.
• Some people will turn to the Internet for much of their shopping, information, and communication needs. Some people won’t.
• Some products and services will be sold or distributed primarily over the Internet. Some products and services won’t.

If your product or service is in the latter category, you might think that you have nothing to gain from the Net. But, in our opinion, you would be wrong.

The Internet will affect your business whether you jump on the Web or not. What changes will the Internet bring to your business and your life? The future is always fuzzy, but here are some predictions.

1. Paper directories are doomed.

You won’t be surprised to learn that the Encyclopaedia Britannica, published since 1768, will no longer be available in a paper version. From now on the encyclopedia will only be available online or on CD-ROM.

The companies that publish “yellow pages” telephone directories ought to be concerned. The fingers that used to go walking though those directories are now rapidly moving to the keyboard.

“Information at your fingertips,” said Microsoft in its early advertising efforts. And it’s true. The plumber, the electrician, the veterinarian, the auto dealer can be more quickly found and evaluated on an electronic directory than on a paper one. What will happen to the $12 billion that companies spend annually on yellow pages advertising? Good question. We’d be concerned if we made our living publishing or selling space in a paper directory.

Paper directories are doomed because of the interactivity of the Internet. The user can manipulate a single computer database in literally thousands of ways.

Furthermore, the database can be updated daily, even hourly. A typical “yellow pages” directory comes out once a year and is out-of-date the day it lands on your doorstep.

Even some great paper institutions are going to have trouble competing in the future. The 116-year-old full Oxford English Dictionary could cease to exist after it goes online on a subscription basis. The dictionary, which runs to twenty volumes and costs $2,900, is a dinosaur in the Internet age.

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• Serious Selling Your Business part 2
• BRINGING E-MARKETING MIX TOGETHER

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