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Remarks from Patricia Seybold,, CEO and Founder of Patricia Seybold Group, from her Witi Conference Keynote

The battle cry is "Make it easy for customers to do business with you!" Great transactions are occurring on the Internet in addition to 24-7 availability. Integrating bricks and mortar with Web strategy is the future of business.

Organizational E-business Initiatives about Success

Set up E-business groups as if they are separate companies led by visionary business executives. Suitable titles for these executives might be VP of Customer Advocacy, VP of Interactive Marketing, or the more recognizable VP of Sales. It is imperative that a sales/marketing/or customer advocacy person be in charge.

Technology project funding is driven by customer satisfaction improvement. Estimates indicate that 20% of all salaries depend upon customer satisfaction. Emphasize that technology makes it easier for the customer to do business with you.

A competitive E-business entity

Has a strong in-house technology visionary who can see the new path and build it

Is responsible for all customer touchpoints and has ownership of the customer experience to include the database

Owns the total customer experience

Is prepared to suspend the profit and loss (P&L) and return on investment (ROI) for two years

Has deep pockets

Building consensus is a matter of the "paper napkin" visionary technique where buy-in from everyone comes by going from person to person with the plan and getting everyone's input.

Requirements for Building E-business

A customer experience "owner". This person owns the customer experience and has the clout to say how to create it with respect to the customer. A single global customer profile makes for a consistent customer experience.

An E-merchandising expert. This individual determines how the product is presented to the world and how it will be described. S/he understands product marketing on the Internet.

A strong in-house content team. Content management and database personnel work together to create a searchable database that is maintained in-house.

A webmaster.

An in-house communications/public relations (PR) person. This person prepares the message for both the external and internal world and prepares new communications.

System integration -- preferably outsourced.

Graphic design -- preferably outsourced.

The metrics of the new economy that matter are

The number of customers/members/subscribers

Repeat customers

Revenue generated per customer per year

Customer retention rate

Lifetime value of customer

Customer loyalty value

Knowledge/understanding about the customer. This is a key capital asset.

E-business Models to Watch

Auctions. They are business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C). B2B will be very large and in digital markets.

Digital marketplace. It permits multiple vendors, price comparisons, simultaneous orders from different vendors, one-time profile registration, and transaction tracking.

Syndicated content. This takes branded add value content and makes it available to other companies as part of their information/service. The best knowledge is now available in more than one place.

Wireless phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and games. They make it easy to wirelessly interact.

E-wallets, smart cards, and customer owned profiles.

Portable shopping carts. They permit shopping across web sites, price comparisons, and purchases.

Scenario nets.

Key Competencies to Master

Customer scenario design. This is a matter of business process design predicated on customer perspective and interaction. Web sites target customers, roles, and context to give the customer a streamlined and pleasant experience that is personally satisfying.

Extensible Markup Language (XML). This programming language is revolutionary for the Web and E-business.

Scenario nets. Customer profiles can be passed from one business to another and from web site to web site. They are doing business together and gain efficiencies by collaborating.

Comprehensive text and parametric search ability. The inability for uses to find what they want is the biggest problem to solve.

Presentation of information. Buyers want help with recommendations and decisions.

What's Hot

Clicks and mortar operations. These businesses use both a brick and mortar presence and an Internet presence in their operations. Optimally, a seamless customer experience across a paper catalog, the Web, and a physical store drives customer satisfaction and loyalty across channels.

Customer fulfillment. The biggest danger for Internet retailers is customer fulfillment. The customer experience needs to be satisfactory or business suffers.

24-7 customer service. The Web never sleeps and neither do customers. Customers expect round the clock service.

Real time inventory management.

Application management.

 

 

Written and Edited by Judy Kong, Editor TechDivas, in a report on the Witi Conference, copyright 2000, Diva Networks, All rights reserved