These few have succeeded in overcoming the value hurdles by continuous innovation.
Constant and never ending innovation is the key to creating value running a business more so when your business is totally web based and online. Why is it more important in online business than traditional physical businesses?
Let us look at a few key components of value development in traditional vs. online business
Human Presence in Enhancing Value
Traditional company has one major advantage. It is the ability to communicate one to 1 and personally with the customer. While communicating directly with the customer with a sales person, the owner or the resource person, the personality of the individual is added to the overall value of the goods or services.
THE smile, witty presentation, on the spot analysis of the need and matching the merchandise benefits to the need of the customer, a feel for the product and services enhances the worthiness of the product for the customer.
online business has very little scope to include value by physical presence either of the product or the person advertising it. To make up for the personal charisma and interaction, online business content needs to be highly conversational, witty with personalized writing styles or audio/video to get exactly the same effect and results.
Technology as Value
Traditional business is able to obtain the attention of the customer by projecting a vision of the technology and it is possibilities through personal contact. Even a moderate technical improvement is made much more visible to visiting customers
online business is heavily dependent on technology. But technology has got the disadvantage of becoming a commodity as everyone catches up and the difference vanishes. Enhancing value through technology requires constant innovation to stay ahead from the pack. Technology as a commodity may be overcome only though a human being face. You may have the ability through autoresponders to send thousands of emails immediately but few online business can write an intelligent, witty, one to 1 personalized communication to effectively leverage the autoresponder..
Knowledge as value
While internet is really a huge repository of knowledge and could act as the major tool with regard to value enhancement, the volume of information or knowledge available can also turn out to be its major disadvantage. Everyone online knows that there is a huge quantity of knowledge that one has to assimilate quickly. The person therefore scans the info online mechanically and quickly, not comprehending fully the information he is scanning about the monitor screen.
Another disadvantage is knowledge cannot be applied selectively to the internet customer. All knowledge can be made available online but it is the discretion from the customer to recognize, choose and use it for value enhancement. Therefore it's a highly perishable commodity online achieving very fast obsolescence.
Offline business has the benefit of communicating knowledge and information in a form that is relevant. The availability and use of knowledge, though limited, is used selectively and tailored to customer requirement.
Alter and innovation as value
Change and innovation are better perceived offline in actual life situations than online. Any innovation or change takes time and effort for the online businesses to reach to the customer in spite of technology as customers may choose not go to the web pages or emails may be filtered out.
A change from a staircase for an escalator, automatic doors, a facelift to a building or storefront, a better billing system are far more appreciated than online innovations.
An online business has to constantly innovate when it comes to sticky online content to keep the customers coming back. The web content needs to be designed and written very intelligently to achieve the same impact as an easy handshake in offline business.