1. Use the Internet to fight the downturn

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It is a scary world out there, with decision-making dogged by uncertainty and doubt. Even veterans of previous recessions say this one is deeper and doesn’t have a rule book. But there is a chink of light that offers real business benefits – this is the first recession since the Internet became a mass medium. So what? The Internet ticks all the right boxes. It’s cost-effective, totally accountable and, used well, can help transform a company’s bottom-line.

From taking costs out of a business, to making the precious marketing spend go further, the Internet is a powerful weapon to help not only companies survive the recession but emerge strongly on the other side.

But the question is how? Here are ten practical ways to use the Internet in these challenging times:

Promote online self-service – allow your customers to access services, complete routine transactions and even resolve queries for themselves online.

An excellent online customer experience not only reduces overheads but creates customer loyalty

Exploit social media – Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are not for geeks. Such social media sites are reaching a mass audience in Ireland , as the table of top Irish web properties shows. And social media campaigns can be delivered on micro budgets, or indeed no budget at all, once they have committed champions prepared to make time to build community and stimulate activity

Pay by performance – put whatever modest marketing or sales support budget your accountant has left you to good use through online campaigns. Better still, tie campaign costs to delivering results

Use freebies – from Google Analytics to WordPress, freebie tools are mainstream. They’re being used by the world’s leading brands and often have better features and scalability than high-cost proprietary software

Develop a virtual team – cut costs; spare your staff and contractors the drudge of the daily commute. Remote working has proven benefits, for individuals and employers

Work your contact base – develop your network, by joining LinkedIn and particularly relevant sectoral groups

Build your reputation online – participate in worthwhile online discussions on blogs, discussion forums but avoid the trap of being over-exposed. Be selective. Not every business needs a blog or to Twitter

Harvest customer feedback – act on feedback from your customers to build loyalty, defend and build your market share and develop new customer offers

Reduce your air miles – cut down on travel, and do your bit for the video-conferencing facilities or even old-world conference calls

Deliver sales – not every business can sell online, but every business can use the Internet as a sales generation tool.

Back to contents of State of the Net issue 13