Ebizbraintrust.com

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is the boldness of today’s E-commerce entrepreneurs. Striking out into the wilderness of the Internet with a fresh idea, a new product or – sometimes – just a bit of ambition takes a lot of confidence.

That’s all a great start, don’t get me wrong, but too frequently I’ve seen some very good ideas fall apart because the bold spirit who’s charging off onto the Internet has overlooked one extremely basic principle: E-commerce is REAL business first, technology second.

There are myriad ways to conduct affordable E-commerce, ranging from simple Ebay listings to the most complex of online shopping storefront systems. In all of the digital excitement, it’s easy for some people to lose sight of the central premise that first and foremost they are running a business. Flashy site design, high-end technology and clever concepts aside – if an e-commerce web site doesn’t address the same business issues as every other type of store, more than likely it will fail.

Over the course of the next several posts, I’d like to address a few of the more common blank spots I encounter when people come to me with an idea for a new online business or e-commerce web site. Throughout all of these runs the common theme that online business is REAL business first, technology second.

What makes your site different?

So. Here’s a basic question to start: What makes your idea for an online business different from anybody else’s? Or, more precisely, what makes your idea different from the competition that already has a web site, customers and cash flow?

This is the bit that sales professionals call the Unique Value Proposition – and you’d be surprised how many people haven’t given it a second thought.

Here’s an example: I get a half-dozen inquiries every month from people who want to build “a site just like Facebook.” Great. But if you want to build a social networking site as a money-making operation you need to figure out why people would choose to use your site instead of Facebook (or any of the other established social networking sites).

If you want to sell books online, what will set your storefront apart from the big e-tailers like Amazon?  If you want to sell apparel, what makes you different from Land’s End? If you want to sell customizable computer systems, what do you offer that Dell doesn’t?

There are plenty of good answers to “what makes my business different?” – you just need to remember to ask the question before you start spending money on the technology.