May 15 2008
Char Kway Teow Online?
There are Internet consultants who think ALL businesses, whether big corporations or char kway teow businesses, should have a web site. Well, I don’t quite think so.
I don’t think every business should jump on the Internet bandwagon, not without some careful thoughts. Some businesses should not have a web site, not because a web site cannot help them, but because they are not ready for it or have no need for it in their current business model. Why sell char kway teow online when the owner cannot fry more? It wastes your money gathering dust online.
Having an Internet presence is a strategic business decision. Suddenly your business is open to more than 1 billion Internet users and potential customers worldwide. If you want to open a branch in the country, you will consider a lot. Now if you open a branch on the Internet, will you not think twice?
But a web site is not just another branch. It is also not just another promotion channel. It can transform your business if you allow it to. Given the online convenience, worldwide reach, ease of information retrieval and other benefits, you can go beyond your current business model to create a blue ocean business for yourself.
Imagine the one-man char kway teow stall turned into an Internet online order and home delivery service? Imagine it also sells drinks and other food items to complement the fatty noodles? How about close down the stall altogether and operate from home instead? Then franchise the business throughout the country?
I don’t know about you but I never order and get char kway teow delivered to enjoy this delicious dish right at my home. Virtually no such business exists. If there is, is it not a blue ocean business? There is no competitor doing so. The business can reach out to otherwise non-customers who do not buy from stalls.
Your Internet presence can help transform your business. Your are limited by your imagination.
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