#388
Ecommerce. The need. The urgency. The reality.
Ecommerce, who needs it? Only those who want to stay in business in the twentyfirst century.
Answer these 4.5 questions:
1. Can your customers buy your products on your website?
2. Can your customers get things (like service or answers), or schedule things (like appointments or callbacks), or make things (like reservations) on your website?
3. Is your competition ahead of your ecommerce curve?
4. Are you procrastinating diving into the web for “budgetary” reasons?
4.5 Are there things you “wish” your company had on the web?
The correct answers are:
1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 4.5 No.
Any other answers than these is cause for concern or should I say, may lead to your lack of ability to be a goingconcern.
Are you one the web everyday? Less than 50% of the people in our business society are. So you have a chance to be in the top half of the world by just typing in www.something.com everyday. Why is daily web access important? Because that’s where our future is.
It’s where we’re going to shop, bank, pay our bills, trade securities, buy travel tickets, reserve hotel rooms, get information, get service, and in general live about 50% of our financial life (or more).
And all these things are now available at high speed access as you sit there with your 28.8 modem, and gripe about how long it takes to access a screen or download something. MAJOR CLUE: Go get (invest in) faster access.
And all you’re doing by getting on the web and accessing something every day, is practicing like your ten year old son or daughter. You know, the one you ask to fix your computer.
MAJOR CLUE: If you’re a babyboomer, and you can remember your parents saying: “This rock and roll it’ll never last.” Your parents should have bought a record store.
Anyone who says the internet won’t last, should go out and buy amazon.com, ebay.com, or etrade.com stock. All they can.
We have just launched www.gitomer.com. Yes we spent a pile of money. Yes we had a professional designer (Randy Sluder of Sluder Design), yes we had an HTML translator (Andrea Klauss of Outpost Design), yes we had proprietary software developed by Solution Masters (Nicole Bonesteel, Paula Parker, Michelle Elwell, Chris Roberts), and yes we have a commercial ISP host master of ceremonies if you will, Clickcom (Jon Szymanski, CEO).
The reason I mention all these companies and people is to let you know that an ecommerce website takes an orchestra of people to perform the symphonic sound of credit cards securely clicking in your shopping basket.
Yes, we spent more than we budgeted. Yes, there were months of delay. Yes, we got frustrated. What’s your point? We launched. And our webmaster, Traci Capraro has my total respect for directing the project from “ground zero” to the “It’s up and running” position.
Now what? Sit back and wait for the cash to roll in hardly. We didn’t launch this site to make a fortune. We launched to provide our customers (you) additional access to our information and resources. That way we can EARN what ever success comes our way.
As for you, I issue this challenge: What are you doing on the web that’sinsuring your business growth into the next decade. For most the answer will be: not enough. For you please take a gander at what we’ve put together. It’s there for you. www.gitomer.com
While you’re there, get this weeks free GitBit. It’s new: Web Lingo. New words that the web has spawned fun and funny stuff all about the eworld and ecommerce. If you want yours, go to the site www.gitomer.com, click on freestuff, then click on GitBit, register your name, enter the words “Web Lingo,” and you got it.
Every week there’s going to be another GitBit. When you return next week, just enter your email address and password, and you got it again. But wait, there’s much, much, more. We’ll offer to send it to you by email, view it and print it on the spot, or fax it to you. Pretty cool huh?
And please take a note here. We expect a bunch of people wanting to try it out and register. Will there be delays? Glitches? Bugs? Crashes? Of course there will be. It’s new technology, Bubba. If you experience ANY difficulty, email us or call us. And before you get all bent out of shape that you didn’t get yours in an esecond, remember these two words: “IT’S FREE!” So relax and try again.
Oh, and our team is standing by to serve, in case you need to talk to a real person. You see, the web does not, or will not, eliminate the need for human interaction. No, no. The web will challenge everyone who sells on it to be as responsive and as fast OFF the web as they are ON the web.
Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible, and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. President of Charlottebased Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. He can be reached at 704/3331112 or email to salesman@gitomer.com
1999 All Rights Reserved Don’t even think about reproducing this document without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer o 704/3331112
