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Have you noticed that demand for the letter "e"
has skyrocketed over the last twelve months? If "e's" were
a physical resource like oil, those that had eReserves would be very
happy!
Prediction: In five years, there will be a surplus
of "e's" as eBusiness, eCommerce, eMusic and the like blend into
our economy and lose their eNewness. Of course the eImpact and
eChanges brought about by these new forms of eProducts and eServices will
be huge. That's eObvious. But just like the telephone stood
out as a unique technology when first introduced, it quickly became part
of the landscape.
Key point: The basics
of business and functional work is unchanged. Personnel still needs
to attract, retain and develop people. Finance needs to insure
customers are billed, receivables collected and attract capital at a
reasonable rate. What has changed dramatically is how we achieve
these ends. The embodiment of goods and services changes far more
than their inherent value.
Example: Dan Leemon, Chief Strategy Officer for
Charles Schwab brought his home in a recent talk he gave at my Stanford
eCommerce course. Performance, confidence, value and a high level of
service are attributes that Schwab customers seek whether they are web
customers or traditional. What changes dramatically is how they
expect to receive these attributes. For example, when my mother
calls her broker, she defines good service is whether her personal broker
answers the phone himself, or gets back to her quickly if busy. I
define good service as having a web site that's fast and effective in
getting done whatever I need. For me, calling a broker is the path
of last resort.
Implications for action: While trying to
catch and ride the eWave, keep focused on the following:
1. Embodiment matters but it matters differently
for different needs. Continue to segment your customers and define
what approach delivers that segments value best.
2. Understand the new value that eBusiness brings
you and your customers. I use Schwab online because I can link it
with my other financial needs via Quicken and I don't have to wait for
statements or trade tickets to see what I've done.
3. If you go "e", make sure you don't
just automate the existing process without adding new value. For
example, if you're adding on-line purchasing to your business, add
tracking mechanisms so your customers can check order status themselves
without calling you.
4. Get IT people familiar with the value you
create and deliver. We learned long ago that without context and
purpose, it's nearly impossible to create an effective application.
Firms such as Cisco have satellite IT groups in functions such as HR to
accomplish this.
5. Grab the low hanging fruit first. Add your
"e" to the most obvious solutions and needs first. Don't
boil the ocean fixing a problem that's eluded change for 5 years.
6. Build in flexibility. Don't try to
account for everything that could occur. Use the 80/20 rule as a
basis for defining what should be your first approach and use existing
systems for exceptions
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