Although it has become a bit of a clich , the Internet really can become a great equalizer - leveling the playing field in communicating value to the consumer while slashing operational costs. You hear frightening stories about unprofitable e-businesses that soar immediately following an IPO, but within six months the stock price has tanked because the profits just aren t there. David vs. Goliath Wired consumers now have simple, quick access to your products in a way you couldn t have dreamed of pre-Internet. Although your market category leaders always will outspend you, the Internet is driven by ideas every bit as much as it is driven by deep pockets - and often, ideas will give you the competitive advantage. This is an edge smaller companies have over the traditional market leaders who must gain approval from vast layers of internal managers and humongous circles or teams who examine an idea for years and then try to wade through the sticky mire of internal politics to gain buy-in from all departments before they actually put it to a vote.
Smaller businesses can move quickly and nimbly.
In fact, the larger companies often are penalized by their size when it comes to e-commerce. With our market position there s no way we can outspend the big guys on advertising, so instead we established relationships early on with key Internet players, allowing us to enable many more people to try our product. The other great benefit of the Internet we ve experienced is more cost-effective product distribution. In fact, we don t even have to touch the transaction like we do with the 800 number. Internet transactions are by far the most cost-effective bookings we take.