The Internet as a success factor?

Regardless of whether you run a general pet supplies shop, a specialist aquatics business, you’re a small regional manufacturer or at the helm of a multinational, basic information about your company and the products and services you offer are now a standard feature of your website, along with an online shop for business customers or consumers. Until recently, most company proprietors thought that developing and maintaining a website was a sideline. “That’s a job for the young lady in the shipping department,” was the view often expressed. And indeed, the website went online and looked good. Daily updates, competitions and even surveys were ambitiously announced or launched, but then everyday reality often kicked in. The site wasn’t updated, even the simplest of additions failed to materialise as day-to-day business took precedence. And so thousands of websites drift along aimlessly and are anything but an advertisement for the company. Professional assistance Countless service companies have specialised in the installation, maintenance and continuous updating of websites. They notify companies when occasional updates are required, and companies contact them when there is something new to add. The result is often an Internet site that acts as the company’s global calling card. The reluctance of most companies to commission such service companies is naturally down to the cost. An increase in sales is not instantly recognisable – but the impact of a well-designed website should always be looked at in the long term. Social media More than anything else, the various social media channels on the Internet have been the focus of interest in recent months. Facebook quickly emerged as the winner for the time being. The number of professionally maintained presentation and communication pages increased rapidly and were gratefully received by most private visitors to Facebook. It was soon clear, however, that many Facebook promotions were well wide of the mark and a lot of well-intentioned advertising completely backfired. Errors from the early days of having an Internet presence were repeated, but remedied again more quickly this time. The advantages of rapid global networking are benefiting every-one who has done it properly. Hazards and risks Individual companies discovered to their cost in the past that global networking has its disadvantages too, however. One recent example is that of a premium pet food manufacturer in France, whose eastern European partner…