Eventually you will use the Internet as a customer service tool and a customer service delivery system. So why put it off any longer? Do it now.

What do you do with a dead horse? This is a rather lame line that was used back in the ’70s and ’80s to relate to the old approach of doing things. But it applies to many businesses today too.We are in denial.We think we can continue to do what we’ve always done and it will be acceptable. Not true.

So what do you do with a dead horse? Change riders. Buy a stronger whip. Harness together many dead horses. Promote the dead horse.

Don’t be too smug. If you have a Web site and it is all about public relations or company information, that doesn’t cut it anymore. Your customers want to obtain information from you, and many of them are going to be looking for it when you’re not open.

They want to deal with you when they want to and they want to do so on the Internet. They want the right product at the right price and at the time they are looking for it.

Being Disruptive
We cannot hold back the hands of time and change. The Internet is here to stay and it is really a great tool for all of us. It is what is viewed as a “disruptive technology.” Disruptive technologies are not necessarily viewed as a transformative tool. They can be slow and steady.

We have had several “transformative changes” in the past. Department stores came out of one of them. Retail used to be dominated by “the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker,” but it was transformed by department stores where you could go to get many things rather than specialty items.

Lower prices because of more diversity of offerings caused a huge transformation to retail. It was caused by changes in the supply chain precipitated by the railroads.

Yes, that’s right. The railways allowed department stores to sell products from all across the country and hurt the smaller local store. The U.S. Postal Service allowed mail order delivery systems. The automobile allowed suburbia and the arrival of the big box stores. Now the Internet is in place.

Having Co-Producers
You need to be able to provide this Internet tool to your customers. You need to allow your customers to be coproducers of the work with you. So where do you start? Start by asking your customers what they would like to have available from you.

The Internet is used by your customers typically to determine what it is they need to operate your equipment properly. They need to know how to evaluate your products and services. Wouldn’t it be a good thing to help them do this?

I outlined an information service last month that allows schematic diagrams to be put up on a screen to allow your customers to find the parts they need for their pumps or other equipment in use. Do you have those drawings up online for your customers? Do you have electronically available technical information?

I suspect you know that you should have this available to your customers. Of course, some of you may still live in the world that believes this information is proprietary and should not be shared with the world. Believe me when I say if you don’t do it, someone else will be more than willing to provide it.

The next item that is a common activity on the Internet is shopping—buying things with that ubiquitous shopping cart. I am sure by now most of us have purchased something on the Internet. Can your customers “buy” things from you? This is a wonderful thing when you think about it. A customer will determine what it is they want to buy and then they will process the order for you to pick and pack and ship to them. They will even provide you with the credit card that will pay for the transaction.

Did you see all that? Customers become a co-producer of your work. I love the delivery system of the Internet.

Your operating costs as a parts department go down. It allows you to revisit your pricing policies. Your gross profit can be lower as a result of the cost of providing the delivery system having gone down.

This pricing equation can be viewed from two different perspectives. One is the approach that companies such as Amazon follow. Simply put, you can buy books cheaper on Amazon than you can from your local bookstore. You can also follow the approach of your phone company, cable supplier, or bank and only get charged for the services you use. This latter one is probably the approach we can subscribe to a little more easily than the Amazon model. But consider both and decide for yourself.

Your accounts receivables change too. You will receive your payment overnight or in two days rather than the current 30 days or longer. How much of this “cost of capital” is in your pricing? Remember it is “return on capital employed.” It is net income multiplied by asset turnover that drives business. The Internet allows a reexamination of many aspects of the relationships you have with your customers.

So as headlined in the title this month, the Internet will be “eventually yours.” I promise. Our world is changing; it is being simplified as we become providers of information. This, as usual with any major transformative change, is not a question of if, but a question of when.

I know you will make the right choice.