The fact that you are reading this article on your computer means that you understand the importance of the Internet. Data show that there will be close to a billion Internet users by the year 2003, of whom 230 million will be English-speaking. More and more people use the Internet to find information, comparison shop, and make purchases online. Forrester Research estimates that there will be 2.8 trillion (not billion) dollars in business-to-business (B2B) worth of transactions carried out online in 2002. So, how can you make sure your company is Internet-savvy?

For starters, your company should have a Web site. The cost of owning a Web site has dropped significantly. Nowadays, you can pay as little as $20.00 (see our rate sheet) per month (so it is $240/year), and you can have your own Web site, e-mail accounts included! The question is no longer whether you should have a Web site, but what kind of Web site. More and more families will be online, and they fully expect that any business they deal with will have a working Web site, if for no other reason than to provide a phone number and an address.

Your Web site does not have to be complicated. Most camps and after-school programs look for basic information, such as what you sell and contact information. Some vendors are hesitant about stating prices, but their concern actually is unnecessary. You want businesses that are comfortable with your prices calling your company. If you use the right prices, you will get customers. Moreover, the pricing information is available to anyone who asks, so it makes little sense to hide it.

You want to pay attention to user interface. Ease of navigation and clarity of information are essential. You also want to make sure that you do not have long pages with many (large) graphics (which means you must not show too many products on one page). Many users are still on slow connection, and it is very annoying if a page takes a long time to load. You may want to hire professionals to take care of your layout and graphics (companyDepot.com offers such a service). Maintenance of your Web site (i.e., changing information) also is important. It does not take someone with an advanced degree to manage your site. You can either do it yourself if you are comfortable with the Internet or you can hire someone.

Assuming that you have a Web site, a common question is whether or not you need to provide online shopping. As a vendor, the answer should be a resounding "YES". The reason is that more and more businesses will shop online. It is frustrating to browse through a good Web site of products, only to find that you need to telephone the sales department, especially if you are surfing at a time when vendors are not open. By not providing the convenience, a vendor runs the risk of losing customers to other vendor Web sites with shopping carts.  Think about it; if you get one reasonable sale, it may cover the cost of your Web site for a whole year. If you do not have a web site, CampDepot.com can help you set one up. (Click here for more details).

OK, now you have a good Web site and maybe an online store. Is that it for you? Actually there is more, potentially a lot more if you are interested in increasing your sales and reducing your operating costs. As a business you can participate, in an online B2B Marketplace like the one featured in CampDepot.com. In addition to appearing in conference exhibits and advertising on different pages, you can sell your products or services on CampDepot.com. There are many other facilities that enable you to promote yourself, such as Yellow Pages (which you can insert on your own), banner advertising, etc. Please contact vendorSupport@CampDepot.com if you have any questions.

Do you stop here? No! Your company is a real business. You may have many people who perform many tasks, such as maintaining  employee records, shipping, keeping track of orders, reconciling orders, etc. You probably have a number of software packages that handle these tasks in your office. However, software gets outdated, and, more important, how do you access this information when you are not in your office?

The technology exists to put many of your operational needs, whether employee tracking, accounting, order tracking, etc. on the Web (as the jargon goes, on your Intranet). Now, everyone with the right password (i.e., access privilege) can access relevant information from any computer with an Internet connection. Not only will this transition allow you to keep current with your software (no need to upgrade unless you update your user interface, even though the underlying application changes), but also you can view any information from anywhere, even when you are on a business trip away from your home office. Moreover, the interface is the same on all computers. This technology will reduce your operational expenses and streamline your processes.

CampDepot.com can provide all of these services for you. We can help you to build your Web site, host it, provide online shopping capabilities, and maintain it. We offer you the B2B MarketPlace, where you can list your products or services and sell to thousands of camps and after-school programs that are registered on our Web site. Lastly, we can be your technology provider, help you to set up your Intranet, and we can advise you on all matters concerning the Internet. Click here for our Web hosting and design rate sheet, and/or contact us if you are interested in our technology services.