1. The Online Adventurer Exploring The Online World

2. E-Business For Small Business Basic Definitions E-Commerce is “the online exchange of goods and services for payment.” E-Business is “the employment of electronic medium to conduct business activities.” B2B vs. B2C B2B e-commerce accounts for 75% or $27.2 Billion of online sales in Canada. B2C e-commerce accounts for just 25% or $9.1 Billion.

3. E-Business For Small Business Some Critical Stats  Online sales grew by 38% between 2004 and 2005.  Since 2001 online sales have increased by nearly 500%!  Growth in the public sector has been even faster (53% and 1,350% resp.)!  Large firms account for 62% of online sales.  In 2005, only about 38% of firms even had a website.  For large firms, the percentage with web presence is over 80%.

4. E-Business For Small Business Trouble Spots On The Horizon  How many Huron businesses have websites?  A third of online purchases are not from Canadian websites.  Proportion of domestic is increasing.  U.S. firms vs. Canadian firms.  E-business offers competitive advantages but small firms lag.  One third of all ‘Internet shoppers’ just browse.  Learning curve of large firms is over!

5. E-Business For Small Business Going Beyond E-Commerce  Inventory Management Supply chain. Procurement. Order tracking. Required by some large firms. Issues? Cost, Implementation.  Customer Relationship Management Contact information. Frequency of purchases. History of purchases. Issues? Implementation, Maintenance.

6. E-Business For Small Business Going Beyond E-Commerce  Marketing Strategies Reinforce brand. Complement other efforts. Direct mail. Customer service – pre and post care. Issues? Privacy, Strategy, Perceived Cost.  Market Research Competitive Intelligence. Blogs & Podcasts. E-Newsletters. Rich Site Summaries (RSS). Issues? Time, Time & Time!

7. E-Business For Small Business Real & Perceived Barriers  Been there done that!  Cost of implementation.  Cost to maintain.  Lack of knowledge or misinformed.  Security concerns.  Prefer current business model.  Internet perceived as irrelevant.  Customers not ready.  Lack of in-house skill-set.  Suppliers not ready.  Not convinced of the benefits!

8. See You On The Next Adventure!