Old World vs. New World In the Old World products were pushed through the supply channels to waiting customers. In the new world customers will pull products and services through on demand. The world will see a shift from supply-driven operations to demand-driven operations. This demand driven by customers is referred to as customer-led operations. This customer-led revolution is just starting and it will certainly change the future for many companies. In the Old World e-commerce was the big thing. It started out with a web presence that was soon replaced by an on-line catalog. The catalog soon became an e-commerce catalog when the customers could order products online. Companies use the web as a marketing tool instead of making it the core business function. This transformation is what leads up to the New World and E-business instead of E-commerce. E-commerce is only a small part of E-business. E-business will reshape the future and bring the company closer to the customers.

Customer-Led Business E-commerce customers are not loyal to a supplier. For the same product they will go to the cheapest one available. In contrast "brick-and-mortar" companies where customers and employees have established a relationship. Customers will demand a closer communication with the businesses they do business with. If a customer is able to contact any employee in a company the customer experience quality is improved.

Why Web Strategies Fail Not taking the medium seriously - By not fully committing to the project of a Web Strategy companies will more often fail than succeed. A major mistake companies does is transforming old employees into new employees with new and different work tasks. Studies have shown that companies that treats the Web Strategy as a separate business unit with its own staff will more often succeed. It is better to bring in new people to fill these positions rather than re schooling the old employees. Trying to Do Everything for Everyone - Specialize, specialize, specialize. Do not try to satisfy everybodys needs. Specialize and make your business the most successful in its nich. Technology for Technonlogy's Sake - Just because it works on your computer doesn't mean it will work on your customers computer. Beeing on the frointier adopting all new technologies available will narrow your customer market. Consider your customers. Customers will spend about 5-15 seconds downloading your webpage before they will turn away to a competitor. Brochure ware - Your E-business strategy should not be a marketing tool. Just by putting everything on-line will not guarantee success. First of all it is very time consuming to convert your documents to the web. Second, don't do something that someone else is willing to do for you. Your customers are more than willing to supply feedback and information on your products. These testimonials are actually more valuable than the information tou can supply yourself. Introverted vs. Extroverted Website - Don't mirror your organizational chart. The Introverted websites mirror the organizations org. chart. The Extroverted website focuses on customer groups. A great example is Dell and Microsoft. Dell and Microsoft are focusing on their customer groups rather than their products. Taking Yourself Too Seriously - Don't be engulfed in your web strategy. If your customers are not able to reach your website what is then the purpose of the website. Your purpose is to help customers.