This kind of integration between physical stores and the Web site is an important part of any dotbam's success. E-commerce is opening up an additional distribution channel for us. While failing revenue forced the company to shut all those doors in 1998, the business survives online. Kaplan, though, acknowledges that e-tailing is very young. But brand doesn't mean much if customer service is weak and, more important, if today's dotbams don't integrate all the various customer channels, says Harry Wolhandler, vice president of research at ActivMedia Research.
Price is overstated.
According to ActivMedia, loyal customers have established trust in a company's brand, which leads to increased purchases and as a whole, the customer base requires much less marketing. One recent example of Charles Schwab's deliberate approach to rolling out technologies is its move two weeks ago to start offering wireless services. While many online brokerages have been offering wireless trading for several months, Schwab responds that it's not a matter of being first, it's a matter of delivering stable, usable technologies. It's not about throwing features into the marketplace, it's about integrating these features into our channels to best serve the customer,'' says Bob Sofman, senior vice president of wireless investing at Schwab. It's about the technology being ready, and most importantly, about providing the best experience the first time around for the customer.'' The surviving dotcoms understand this all too well.