Ensuring eBusiness Success in 2001
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by
Pete Cooper
The
British mail carrier, Royal Mail, recently published a report on how to avoid
business failure in 2001. Along with this, they conducted a number of surveys
to elaborate on their findings. From all of this they found several key things
that businesses (especially those that are online) must do to ensure success.
My job is to give you the information that could make or
break your business in 2001, as well as to paint an accurate portrayal of the
industry's current state. There may be constant news of big name dot-coms shutting
down, but there's an awful lot of positive news about our industry that has gone
unreported. I believe that the most important factors to ensure business success
in 2001 are to be well informed, quick to act and slow to spend.
The
Rise and Fall of eCommerce?
eCommerce
is definitely not dead. Far from it. Companies like Amazon.com are reporting increases
in turnover and are expecting to make an overall profit within months rather than
years. In fact, most of the companies who've gone bankrupt in recent months were
also reporting an increase in turnover. However, turnover isn't as important as
your profits and losses. If you sell 1000 books for $1, but they cost you $5 to
sell, your turnover may be enormous but your losses will be even larger.
A lot of companies are now dismantling their eCommerce departments so they can
just stop and cut their losses. This is good news for those of you still in the
industry. Market analysts are still sure that revenues from eCommerce will
increase in years to come, so if good, but large, sites continue shutting down,
that means less competition for you!
So, the concept of eCommerce
has definitely risen and fallen in the past few years, but 2000 wasn't the end
of the line. The hype surrounding eCommerce may have peaked and now fallen flat
on its face, but eCommerce success stories are still being created every day.
Don't lose hope, and you can win this war. Okay, so that's the psychological side,
let's now take a look at how to take simple concepts and turn them into success
in 2001.
