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Developing Your Web Strategy
A web strategy is simply a plan outlining how you will use Internet technologies to build and grow your business. A solid web strategy places emphasis on the Internet as a marketplace, communications medium, and business channel and is best viewed as an integrated part of your overall business plan.
Keep in mind that there is no ‘cookie-cutter’ template for developing a web strategy. The features of every web strategy differ, depending on the business itself. As a guide, when developing your business plan, consider technology and how you can use it to cut costs and increase sales and improve productivity. Then, incorporate these aspects into appropriate sections of your business plan framework.
Here are some components you may want to consider when developing your web strategy.
Market Research
The market research portion of your plan should analyze your industry and customers, both online and offline.
Why? Well, here’s an example: The global nature of the Internet requires business owners to think more broadly about their customer base. It goes without saying, if you know who ALL of your customers are, then you can better target your marketing efforts to them. If you neglect to research the online channel, then you lose out on the opportunity to explore potentially viable new markets.
Questions to consider: How large is your industry in dollar and unit terms? Is your industry growing or contracting and by how much? Who are your leading competitors on and off the Net? If they are different, how so?
Who is your target market on and offline? Are they different? Where are they located? And, what are the leading market segments?
Marketing
When writing the marketing portion of your business plan, consider how the Internet can help boost your overall marketing strategy and reduce marketing costs. For example, the high cost of print advertising and the short shelf-life of print materials make a well designed and optimized website a very cost effective marketing alternative.
Questions to consider: How will you be marketing your business on the Internet? Who will optimize your website for search engines, and to what level? Will you pay for search engine submissions? Will you purchase banner advertising? How will your offline marketing strategy compliment your online marketing strategy?
Website
If you are going to build a website and promote or sell products or services online, you need to consider how this strategy fits into your overall business practices. By defining your website objectives and outlining the web development process within your business plan, you are able to plan for any contingencies before they arise.
For many small businesses, description of the company website will fall under Marketing and Operations in their business plan.
Purpose of the Website
Review your reasons for bringing your business online. Is it to: increase sales, decrease costs, improve public relations, develop a qualified list of prospects or sell products directly from your website?
Style Guide
Addresses how your website will ‘look and feel’.
Questions to consider: What is your domain name? What will your site contain? Will your site be simply an online brochure? Will it have any interactive functionality? Will it be e-commerce enabled? How will it be organized? What colors, content, photos and graphics? What fonts will you use? How will you take orders and respond to customer inquiries?
Translation/Localization
Consider the possibility of translating and/or localizing all or parts of your site to target to customers from other countries.
Questions to consider: What languages will you offer on your site? And, will you customize your site to appeal to specific international cultures?
Site Evolution Plan
Spell out how your site will evolve over time.
Questions to consider: What new upgrades and changes will be made to your site over the next three months? Six months? One year? How will your site adapt to fluctuating market conditions and changing customer needs?
Internet Service Provider and Web Hosting
Address what you will expect from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and whether you will buy and run your own server, or outsource to a web hosting company.
Questions to consider: What manufacturer, how big, and how fast a server should you use for your e-business? And, what combination of price, service and reliability are you expecting from an ISP?
Operations
Implementation Schedule
Set out what Internet related activities have to be completed and by when.
Questions to consider: Which manager and staff are responsible for which tasks? And, what happens if and when tasks are not completed on time?
Evaluation and Metrics
Address how your website traffic and e-business activity will be evaluated and monitored.
Questions to consider: What software will you use to measure your site activity? Who will be responsible for monitoring your site activity? How will the results be reported back to senior management? And, what actions will be taken as a result?
Logistics
If you are selling products online, determine how those products sold through your website are physically shipped to customers in Canada, across North America, and around the world.
Questions to consider: How will your transportation expenses be reflected in your pricing? What tariff, labeling, inspection, and other border paperwork and regulations will have to be met to transport your products across international borders? And, how do you deal with products that are returned or exchanged?
Financials
When preparing your financials, consider website design and development costs, content development costs, maintenance and upgrades, domain name registration and hosting, and online marketing costs.
If you determine that you need to borrow capital to finance online aspects of your business, you’ll want to outline exactly how much capital will you need to build, grow and maintain your online operations, especially during the critical start-up phase.
More Resources
Bplans.com – Insite: The Online Book on Web Planning
BPlans.com is a great online resource and is one of the only business planning sites to offer sample web strategy plans. They also offer a comprehensive web planning guide (found at the address below). Please note: BPlans’ sample web strategy plans may be missing important elements found in a business plan and are only meant as a general guide.
www.bplans.com/wb/ab
Canada/BC Business Services Centre Website
For a comprehensive business plan template view the Interactive Business Planner at www.smallbusinessbc.ca/bizstart-bPlanning.php.
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