What is Internet Presence?

You have an Internet presence when you can connect with others via the Internet. More specifically, you have an Internet presence if you have a website and a business e-mail. A more sophisticated Internet presence involves the use of on-line reservations systems or other forms of e-commerce with suppliers and/or customers.

Why have an Internet Presence?

The five key reasons for having an Internet presence are:

• It is highly cost effective
• You can provide more information to your customers
• Information about your business can be accessed globally
• You can initiate and build a relationship with your customers via e-mail
• The exponential growth in Internet use.

Websites are highly cost effective

When compared to traditional means of advertising and business communication, an investment in a website is remarkably effective.

For roughly the same amount of money it takes to place a four-line ad in one magazine, you can maintain a website each month which will reach many more customers.

Websites provide more information than traditonal advertising methods

A well organized website can provide more information to your customer than a brochure.

Photos, diagrams and other graphics allow your customers the opportunity to see with their own eyes what sets you apart from your competition.

Your information can be accessed globally

Markets are now global in scope. Conducting business on-line allows you access to new customers from around town, around the country, and around the global.

You can build business relationships via e-mail

Communicating via e-mail is quick and inexpensive. E-mailing allows you to answer your customer's specific questions and build a relationship with them.

Take advantage of the exponential growth in Internet use.

There has been an exponential growth in the personal use of the Internet in the past decade. Undoubtedly, this trend will continue well into thefuture.

Consumers are becoming more interested in learning about products and services through the Internet. As a more recent phenomenon, consumers are conducting actual business--buying and selling--through the Internet.

A recent study revealed that between 1996 and 1999, there was an 1,500 percent increase in US travellers using the Internet to plan trips. In 1999, the number of US travellers using the Internet to plan trips totalled to approximately 52.2 million individuals.

Of these 52.2 million travellers, 32 percent preferred to make reservations on-line. This is reflected in the 206 percent increase in the use of on-line reservation systems between 1997 and 1999.