The Internet is providing your brick-and-mortar business an opportunity to serve your customers online. Having an web presence doesnt mean that you will abandon your brick-and-mortar business, rather one becomes the extension of the other. Making that transition from a brick-and-mortar business to an online business can be a challenging task. Having an online presence is going to compliment your existing business, but it is going to require a real commitment from you and your employees.
Whether or not your brick-and-mortar business becomes a click-and-order business, your initial goal must be to integrate your online presence into your existing business infrastructure. Wal-Mart, Staples, and many other successful brick-and-mortar businesses have made the transition. Moving online doesnt mean abandoning your brick-and-mortar presence, rather it is to compliment it.
As you develop your online presence you are all of a sudden in the convenience business. But convenience is meaningless if your customers cant trust you. Trust and convenience doesnt add up to anything unless your customers can find your site online. And, if you are too expensive all the trust in the...