Business Week introduces it's The Web Smart 50, introducing websites over six categories who are using the Web to benefit their customers-- and themselves. In this post, you'll learn what players in each category had in common, and how the six categories could influence your business communication strategy.
Collaboration. Reduce costs by incorporating the Internets tools for sharing information. Complete more by bringing together the knowledge and resources necessary to solve customer problems.
Incorporate Web conferencing to share ideas that solve problems,
Use a knowledge base to capture diverse information,
Connect suppliers around a common objective or problems,
Bring diverse teams together on single platform as needed,
Customer Service. Automate large processes in a way that makes them easier for customers to interact with. The Web provides resources that make it easier for customers to order.
Automate processes across geographically dispersed teams,
Integrate the ordering systems of multiple location into single interface,
Utilize on-line auctions to reach more customers with less overhead,
Make documentation easier to find by putting it search-able on-line,
Customization. Internet tools let you easily collect information about specific customers desires to create custom products. You can now customize style, materials, price, and other details previously difficult to collect.
Build to order gives customers what they desire while reducing inventory,
Use consolidated information to optimally price for maximum profit,
Collect and analyze transactions in less time to make better decisions,
Know more about what you do right to increase customer loyalty,
Streamlining. With more information in a common format, the Internet makes processes faster and easier to optimize. This organizing power helps find more qualified customers and remove unprofitable ones without trial-and-error.
Automate processes usually performed by hand to save time,
Create customer criteria to weed out poor candidates to save money,
Link groups associated with a certain work-flow to reduce delays,
Centralize data collection to better understand process metrics,
Management. Merging project, resource, and staffing information provides better utilization that save money for all involved. By having the information necessary to better manage resources, you can increase profits with less investment.
Historical measures of time by process guide future resource acquisition,
Technology can track resources against availability improving utilization,
Program management tools give the entire team a common picture,
Create a better picture of all resources related to particular objectives,
Cutting Edge. New technology can reduce costs while giving you a competitive advantage in your industry. Look for tools that simplify, improve speed, and increase quality.
Availability of the Internet makes Web orders more popular,
Share your sales channels with others reaching the same audience,
Use smart-tags to reduce inventory tracking costs,
Sharing planning systems with customers help them buy more,
Business Week's Web Smart 50 includes examples of results achieved by specific companies in many different industries. Companies featured include Cisco, Dell, Lockheed Martin, Wells Fargo, and Gilbane. Also includes ticker information and corporate information about each company.
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