Brant Landis
Agriculture Services Coordinator
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jJTepL) Lxxncaster
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Phono: (717) 397-3531 oxt. 52
E-mail:blandisslccl.com
In the past few years, the
Internet has become an important
component of the business
community. There is an
estimated 165 million people on
the Web, with the Web doubling
in size every 50 days. The
Federal Government reported e
commerce sales during the fourth
quarter of 1999 at $5.3 billion.
With projections of over $4O
billion by the end of this year, the
Internet may be an opportunity
for your business to experience
growth.
According to a recent USDA
report, over 29% of farms are
reporting Internet access. This
trend is growing quickly, when
looking at 1997's statistics of only
13% of farmers on the Internet. If
your farm or business has
considered starting a web site to
tap into this growing market, now
might be the time. As much of
the agriculture economy is
"I need o tractor that works hard and drives easy."
AH I Nood Is A^HfWWnnEi*
Convenience.
The 6410 is a pleasure to
drive, thanks to a high
visibility, low-profile hood,
easy-to-read gauges on
the convenient front panel
and easy-to-reach controls
in the right-hand con-
sole Which means your
6410 can work hard,
while you take if easy
H cni WITMER’S INC. MILLER EQUIPMENT CO.
EQUIPMENT, INC. Box 368 RD 1
2095 S Market St Columbiana, OH 44408 Bechtelsville PA
330-427-2147 610-845-2911
STANLEYS LEBANON VALLEY
FARM SERVICE IMPLEMENT CO., INC. J & M MACHINERY CO.
RD 1- Off Rte 125 700 E. Linden St. Route 22 & 819
Klmaerstown PA Richland, PA Greensburg, PA
570-646-2088 717-866-7518 412-668-2276
struggling to remain profitable, a
web site may help you reach new
markets you may have never
considered.
The Electronic Commerce
Resource Center (ECRC) serves
as a catalyst for small and
medium sized businesses to adopt
electronic commerce. The first
step they recommend when
considering a web site is to define
the purpose. Researching your
competitor’s web sites is an
excellent way to help formulate
your own web site ideas. You
may want to generate leads,
provide information, provide
customer support, or transact
business. Your purpose along
with the goals you want to
achieve will help define the
structure of your web site.
A second step is to determine
your target audience. Analyze
their demographics, geographic
location, technical skills, etc. to
Engine.
Under the low-profile
hood of the 70 PTO hp
6410, the turbocharged,
Cummins 83’9 engine
burns clean and efficiently
And with up to 40% fewer
parts than others in its
class, it knows how to
keep working for you,
day after day
determine a usage profile. What
does your target market want? Is
it to purchase quality products
and services, to save money, to
save time, to obtain useful
information? Through answering
these questions you can continue
to step three: develop a strategy
for your web site. Your strategy
may be to build brand identity,
demonstrate products or services,
educate your audience, facilitate
direct responses or to just sell
more product.
After your strategy has been
developed, step four is to
determine your budget. Your
annual expenses in designing and
maintaining a web site may range
from a few thousand to $lOO,OOO
or more, depending on what level
of quality and service it requires.
You must weigh these expenses
against the potential revenue you
may gain in new sales,
advertising, timesaving, and
customer satisfaction.
Step five is then determining
the content of your web site based
on your budget. Some
considerations to offer on your
web site are your company
information, product and service
information, address, contact
methods, interactivity, an online
catalog, a privacy policy,
Transmission.
The 6410's standard
12x4 Partial Synchro
transmission delivers
unparalleled operating
efficiency Or choose the
optional 12 x 12
Syncro/Shuttle for even
greater versatility Either
way, a wet multi-disc
clutch adds durability
Key Steps To Develop A Web Site
Comfort.
Standard spring-suspen
sion, 4-way adjustable
seating makes you at
home in either the cab or
fold-down ROPS model
An optional air-ride, swivel
seat in the cab, along
with standard air and
heat, pamper you while A.
you work -Jell .WHITE
purchase methods, search
methods, security information and
a site map. Once you have
reached the point where you feel
confident in what your business
would like to offer on a web site,
you can begin contacting web
hosts and gain some proposals of
costs. The web site
www.thelist.com, is an excellent
ISP pricing tool in which you
enter your area code and gain a
listing of comparable Internet
Service Provider's in your area.
Upon deciding on your ISP,
you may begin to construct your
web site. Your ISP may be able
to assist you in this process, or
you may work with an
independent web designer. It is
important that you design a web
site which truly meets your
objectives and is customer
friendly. There are numerous
decisions to make such as
selecting your domain name,
structure, graphics, layout and
speed of your web site in which
your ISP and web designer will
help you decide. Through
working closely with a web
designer they should be able to
tailor a web site that best tits your
Firestone Farm Tires
Call Us First
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 1, 2000-A43
needs. In order to keep your web
site fresh and up to date,
maintenance is a key
consideration.
Depending on the objective of
your web site it may require
constant revision to be effective.
Schedule regular updates to
content and incorporate feedback
generated by customer
suggestions. The more current
you can keep your web site, the
happier your customers will be
and more likely to use it.
Your business may have the
potential to grow in this new e
commerce industry. You must
determine the exact fit a web site
could have for your business and
explore the venture as if it was
any normal business decision.
Proper planning is the key step in
running a successful web site.
For more information on web
sites, you may contact the West
Chester Electronic Commerce
Resource Center at 888-745-3748,
your local Chamber of Commerce
& Industry. Feel free to send
your comments or questions by
email to Brent Landis at The
Lancaster Chamber at
blandis@lcci.com, or call him at
717-397-3531, ext. 62.
mSigkid
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