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Consultants like me and the new (that is to say
“old”) economy

In spite of the prognostications of pundits and press barons, business on
the internet continues to grow even faster than the demand for consul-
tancy. The demand for consultancy continues to grow at a rate of more
than 20 per cent each year. As it is impossible to predict the questions that
a consultant might ask about each and every aspect of a business the fol-
lowing is offered as an important example of the kind of questions that you
should expect from consultants. Online business has grown, is growing
and is unlikely to diminish. Every company, large and small, should be con-
sidering how they will exploit the opportunities for rapid growth.

With the highly publicized failure of dot coms and the apparent inabil-
ity of top companies to use expensive websites effectively, it is at least as
important to plan your success on the internet as it is in the “real world”.
The cost of getting online may be modest, but the opportunities are not, so
you owe it to yourself to think things through carefully. These days, when
I advise a corporation who are developing a new strategy, the internet is an
important feature. I ensure that clients take it very seriously.

The following are some of the questions that I would typically ask to
ensure that my clients were planning for online success and not assuming
that a web presence is simply part of the old routine or a minor “bolt-on”
brand building exercise.

May I suggest that you carefully consider each question? Your addi-
tional business and the profits that it will bring will make you glad that you
took the time. Even if you do not have a web presence think through each
question as if it referred to your “bricks” rather than “clicks” strategy. The
New Economy is, in many ways, not as divorced from the old as some pun-
dits would have us believe. The best that can happen is that you are devel-
oping detailed plans for your future prosperity. The worst that can happen
is that you save my £3,000 ($5,000) a day by not paying me to ask the ques-
tions.

n In an ideal world where anything is possible what would you
choose to accomplish through your web presence?

n What is your objective for increased sales in the first year?

n How will a website support the achievement of this goal?

n What are your specific cost cutting goals? How do you expect to
measure the economies of being online?

n How will your people become more productive?

n How will you enjoy low cost/no cost entry into new markets?

n How will you switch from make and sell to sell and make?

n What products or services can be delivered online?

n What intermediaries can you stop having to pay?

170 Key management questions