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Article
EMBRACE
THE IDEA OF CHANGE �
MOVE YOUR BUSINESS INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
 For those of you who
are not taking advantage of the Internet and E-mail, it's time to
catch up with today's technology - before you get left behind with
the industrial dinosaurs. Nothing has had more profound effect on
the way we run our businesses than personal computers and the
Internet. They have allowed us to streamline operations, improve
efficiencies, increase productivity, change and improve the way we
communicate, enhance marketing efforts, and yes, perhaps � they've
made our world a little smaller.
As an information source the Internet is unparalleled, and it
continues to grow. It is the number one reason people buy computers.
You can get the up-to-the-minute news, research your industry and
your competition, get the latest information from organizations like
TCPS and ASSIST, learn about and contact your state legislators,
download forms for your business, shop and compare prices, and much,
much more.
E-mail is no longer the wave of the future � the wave is here and
it is huge. It is the number one use of the Internet. It is fast,
reliable, flexible, economical, and it establishes credibility. More
than 63% of American adults have at least one E-mail address and
that number grows by leaps and bounds each day. Last year more than
5 billion E-mails were sent in the U.S. compared to less than 2
billion letters handled by the U.S. Postal Service. E-mail allows
you to send documents, pictures, files, and data quickly and easily.
It is an indispensable tool for the business owner who wants to
foster good customer relations. It is a quick, inexpensive, and
powerful way to communicate with potential clients and stay in touch
with existing clients.
Now let's briefly explore a more complex area on building an
Internet presence for your company.
Do you need an Internet presence?
Internet technology advances at a pace that boggles the mind. The
Internet business environment today is dramatically different from a
year ago and within a few months it will be different again. You
don't need to be a computer expert, but you do need to be aware of
how these changes in technology affect your industry, and how the
trends can quickly change your business. Internet business is very
much a "go with the flow" endeavor.
The first question to ask yourself is "Do I need a web
presence?" Simple question, huh? Well, consider the
following:
- The Internet
allows even the smallest businesses to establish a global
presence, and showcase their products and services worldwide.
- Your site must
always be an up-to-date marketing expression, and reflection of
you and your business.
- Are you able to
invest both time and money to this project?
- Are you willing to
come up to speed with - and stay on top of - current technology
trends?
- Will you be able
to expend the money to hire a designer/project manager or be
able to learn the new software necessary to manage web
documents?
There is an initial investment to developing a web presence. You can
plan on spending roughly $100 to get a domain name and reserve the
space for your future site. To create a site you can take two
approaches: 1) Hire a designer who will create a professional site
using the business material you provide. This costs usually in the
range of $250 to $1500, depending on the complexity of your site...
or 2) Do it yourself using one of the many "web site in a
box" software packages available on the market. On top of the
cost of your new design software, the biggest expense that you incur
here is that of time. Time to learn image creation, page
development, and web site management and, of course,
troubleshooting, ASSIST has chosen Novel Web Concepts for its own
web development; you can contact them toll-free at 1-888-417-7874.
Building a website is a monumental task, however managing, marketing
and building a strong web presence are long-term commitments to your
new business venture. For more information on the challenge of
building and maintaining a strong web presence visit
the Articles & Press Releases area
of our website for details
(coming soon).
Dave Scepanski
President of
ASSIST
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