2008: Is the Internet in your plan?

Technology goes through various phases of growth. As a new technology emerges, adoption involves a fair amount of risk. As the technology becomes more widely accepted, the risk to adopt moves towards zero. In fact, at some point the risk or liability associated with not adopting the technology becomes the larger concern.

Take the telephone as an example. When the telephone was first introduced it was no doubt expensive to get "connected". The potential business reward may also have been limited as few others had access to the technology. However, with the passage of time we know the telephone became globally adopted.

Is acquiring a phone number considered a business risk today? Quite the opposite. Where would your business be competitively if it did not have a phone number? What about electricity?

I'm not going to say the Internet has reached quite the same level of acceptance as the telephone or electricity, but it is moving ever closer to that end. We can safely say that nearly all of the people you do business with will have access to the Internet. Many of the people considering doing business with you will visit your website at some point during the sales process. Most of your customers would be able to take advantage of tools placed on your website to streamline your sales or service process.

So as you consider your business plans & budgets for 2008 - have you seriously considered the Internet? Are you competitively using this technology to reach out and engage with potential and existing customers?

Remember the "Internet" involves more than just a website. It can include email, blogging, instant messaging, e-commerce, on-line tools, on-line classes, voice & video conferencing, data transfer, etc.

I'd love to hear how you plan to more fully web-enable your business in 2008!!