Commerce Business News
Northwest Georgia and Southeast Tennessee
November 2001

"To Web or Not to Web... Is That the Question?"
By Marsha Boyer

In today's fast-paced techno-world, many business owners and managers are asking these questions; Do I need a web site? What can a web site do for me? Is it worth the investment? Who will manage our web site? If we build it, will anyone use it? And the list goes on and on.

The purpose of this article, and many more to come, is to shed some light on these nagging questions. Armed with information, you will be able to separate fact from fiction and make the appropriate decision for your business.

Let's start with the basics. According to Nielson/NetRatings.com, 58% of all Americans have access to the Internet and the World Wide Web. That's nearly three out of every five homes. Incredibly, that's up 63% in the past two years from 62,752 during the month of July 1999 to 102,077 in July 2001. In addition, it's estimated that there are 99,920,467 'active' Internet users in the current Internet 'universe' of 168,579,864 users.

For the week of October 14, Nielson reported the following weekly web usage figures: Americans average 6 internet sessions per week visiting 17 unique sites during 3:21 total hours. The average session was 32 minutes long and they spent 54 seconds viewing a web page.

History has taught us that during turbulent economic times, progressive businesses seeking innovative ways to grow and expand are the ones who stay the course. This is best illustrated in Surfing the Edge of Chaos, by Pascale, Millemann and Gioja. The authors contend that a company is a living, breathing system that must adapt to a changing environment, the same as any species in nature. In business, as in nature, there are no permanent winners, but rather those who react to change and evolve, and those who don't and get left behind and die.

Even though our economy is experiencing some tough times right now and PC sales are slumping, the Web is alive and well and growing. PC and internet communication devices are expected to reach the 98% penetration level, rivaled only by telephones and TV's.

So you ask, "To web or not to web?" That's not the question. The question is "When to Web".

We're entering a new marketing era. Just outsmarting the competition isn't enough anymore. They're smart! You're smart! Those who adapt and improvise will survive.

Now the next question is, "Where oh where is everyone going out there?" Answers to follow in our next article.

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