Web sites can thrive in a recession—if managed well

Your site is the most cost-effective environment in which your customers can complete their tasks

While U.S. retail sales grew just 2 percent in the first nine months of 2008, e-commerce sales grew by 8 percent, according to a JPMorgan analyst. Amazon.com’s sales revenue grew by 31 percent over the last 12 months.

The Web is self-service and self-service is the most cost-effective way to do business. It doesn’t matter whether you are managing an e-commerce Web site, a government or university Web site, or an intranet. The Web has the potential to make more sales, reduce costs, and improve the overall efficiency and productivity of the organization.

Socitm, (Society of Information Technology Management) is a UK organization focused primarily on supporting local government. According to its research, the average cost of a Web interaction is 27 pence, the average cost of a phone interaction is 3.76 Sterling and the average cost of a face-to-face interaction is 9.34 Sterling.

So, it is 14 times cheaper to allow a customer to complete a task on a Web site than to have the customer complete the same task over the phone. The Web is 35 times cheaper for completing such a task than a face-to-face interaction. Isn’t that a compelling business case for a Web site during a recession?