The Internet is the hot new prize in corporate America. It seems as if everyone in the company wants to control this new status symbol. Yet, the issues for an effective use of a home page go well beyond turf battles. Serious decisions need to be made to avoid having the Internet turn into a hot potato. This article will raise policies for decision makers and suggest guidelines for a successful Internet master plan.

Issue: Who Owns the Home Page?

Marketing wants it and so does the Information Technology group. My vote is for marketing. Why? Because marketing knows the overall picture of the company, its products and its mission. Marketing knows where the company is headed. Technology understands the tools to make the Internet operate; Marketing knows how to make it sing. Technology departments that have put up Home Pages in the first phases of marketing have shown they don't understand how to write marketing copy that sizzles without being offensive, don't understand the fine points about tracking their return on investment, and have a propensity to add time consuming toys to the page even at the risk of burning relationships with prospects who have shown they down want to waste time watching pictures draw slowly on their pages. However, marketing must work with technology to understand the new technology tools and toys along with their strengths and limitations.

Issue: What Are Your Goals?

Too many companies go on the Web without a set of goals. This is a recipe for disaster, not only for the company, but for the marketing manager responsible. Without a clear purpose in mind, you can be assured that when management looks at the results in three or six months, they will be disappointed because they have no numbers to which to compare activity. You might be thrilled that 100 people placed orders, or 1,000 people visited the site to build brand awareness in your niche market, but if management wonders why there weren't 1,000 sales and 10,000 visitors, then your job is history. It is essential that marketers responsible for the web site create clear, achievable goals early in the process and revise them as events warrant.

Issue: There's More to Marketing Than Sales

If you attend any conference on Internet marketing, the first question you are likely to hear is "Is anyone making any money?"

That remark is usually met with a mix of laughter, sneers and blank looks. People joke that no on is selling things on the Internet. That's not true. Many companies are. Some will even tell you. Others keep their mouths shut so their competitors won't find out (When 800 Flowers announced they were selling millions of dollars of flowers via the online services after having started out as a two-person flower store, hundreds of two-person flower stores suddenly opened shop on the Internet!)

Others might not have answered because they are not online yet!

But for the large majority, the purpose for going online is not to sell products, but to improve their marketing activities by gathering prospects and converting them to customers via online and off-line activities, build brand awareness, provide customer retention techniques or a host of other marketing activities designed to save time and money. A list of more than 50 benefits is listed in Chapter xx, The Internet Business Plan.

Issue: Who Signs Off on Home Page Issues?

Each bit of information on the home page is an official piece of business correspondence and should be treated as an important part of the company's history. If a page is sloppy, filled with typos, or contains outdated price information, the company's image will suffer both in public perception and even in a court of law. It is essential that companies create a policy on who has access to updating information on the Internet and who has sign off authority. The answer will vary based on a number of factors, such as the company size, status of the marketing department or the charisma of the founder. It isn't necessary to debate the merits of each factor here, as long as there is a clear line of decision making that can be used to approve and post pages. Having such policies in place will ensure that disgruntled employees can't malign the company on its home page, or that people who don't have the latest marketing information post inaccurate or misleading information.

Issue: How Are Incoming Messages Handled?

The interactive nature of the Internet demands that each home page have an e-mail address so customers can talk to the company. The question now is, who handles those messages? The answer to the first question depends on what kind of company you run, and what the mission of the home page is. For some companies, the answer would be a product manager or equivalent, for others, it might be a customer support representative; for larger companies, the answer might be both. In fact, there might be a need for a mail room supervisor to sort the mail to each department. A simpler way would be to have separate e-mail addresses for each major department, such as media relations, product information, product support, and investor information.

Issue: How Long Should It Take to Answer E-mail Questions?

Autoresponders can send pre-printed information within seconds of receipt of the inquiry, so people are beginning to expect this kind of service. This kind of response works well for requests for product literature. However, since it is impossible for companies to provide answers to individual questions in seconds, companies can build brownie points by sending a message that acknowledges receipt of the initial inquiry and a promise to respond within a certain time frame, usually within 24 hours.

Issue: How Do Employees Refer to Themselves Online?

Employees have lives. They will participate in online activities, like submitting questions and answers to newsgroups and mailing lists. If they identify themselves as working for your company either in their messages or in their signature files, then their views will reflect upon the company. This can present a dangerous situation for the company. For instance, do you want the world to know that an employee is a member of a list your company finds in questionable taste, or represents a controversial political point of view?

Another serious issue is how do they participate in newsgroups for competing products? Do they present the company point of view, or do they report on the discussion to product managers or executives? How do they introduce themselves to the discussion? These are all serious issues. For example, let's assume that your product manager for the seat belt division enters a discussion about a car manufacturer's performance and offers his views about the safety of the car. Should he identify himself by company and title since his opinions could be biased? Or is he a private citizen who is entering the discussion because he is a car nut? These issues need to be addressed by companies before damage is done.