How Can the Web Give a Company a Competitive Advantage?
How can the Web give a company a competitive advantage? What’s so great about the Web? Doesn’t a company just need those tried and true values of quality and customer service to be successful? Well, the answer is not so easy- what if no one knows about a company’s products or what if a company doesn’t know what products people want? Well, that’s where the Web comes in. Broadly speaking, the Web gives a competitive advantage to companies in two areas: in knowing its customers and in being known by them. In order for a company to know its customers it must do research. A company could have brilliant idea about a product, but if no one else is interested in its product then it becomes useless. However, the Web tells companies exactly what people are interested in- what’s in vogue, what people are talking about, what people are searching for. Thousands of companies are using the power of the Web to learn about the things people are drawn to, and just as importantly, what kind of people are drawn to those things Once a company knows these facts they can easily leverage their resources to create the type of products people already desire, and they can market them to the people who are most likely to buy them.
If a company does not have this valuable data they are shooting in the dark- or at least they are only going to be as effective as their geographical reach and ability to have conversations with their customers. Those companies that are using the power of the Web will already know these crucial things- and they will be able to create products for customers whom they have never even seen. Just as a company must know what products its customers want, no one will buy those products unless they know they are available! In a day where brick and mortar stores are being forced to go online or be overshadowed by their online competitors, the Web is an open marketplace for a company’s products. Companies can take advantage of the presence of millions of potential customers by advertising online- and better yet, making their products available to be purchased online. Without having to go through the process of buying property, advertising and staffing a new store, a company can expand its reach exponentially by making use of the Web to reach and provide products for people who would never have the opportunity to walk through its doors. Why would a company want to deprive itself of a massive customer base or deprive the world of its innovative and essential product?