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March 2000
WORDS FROM THE EDITOR:
The Dot-BAM Digital Divide
What's the best way to handle a purchase, gather an insurance claim, accept a loan
application or communicate with a trading partner? Would it be e-forms, email, EDI, phone, fax or
good-old paper? The answer is all of the above. You should be able to do business any way you
can. As the old adage goes, the customer is always right. So if they're hip to the Web, fine. Let
them take the route that is probably easiest on you. If they're not Web-savvy, don't count
them out or try to force them into doing things your way. As quickly as the Internet has grown,
remember that only about half of all American consumers have regular access to the Web (either at home
or at work). Even with less-expensive computers, Internet devices and online services, the
"digital divide" between the connected and non-connected will remain for years to come.
The fact is, even the Webbiest customers and partners aren't happy with just one answer.
Companies like AT&T and icontact.com offer services whereby live operators can support site
visitors. The AT&T service lets surfers actively click on an icon for live-operator assistance.
In icontact's approach, operators can actually monitor customer visits and proactively pop up an
instant message offering assistance.
No such service was available when I recently hit a snag executing an online order for WebTV (as a
Christmas gift for my parents). I immediately looked for and found a toll-free number. The customer
service rep was able to tap into my order in no time flat. She explained that the item was
back-ordered and was able to straighten everything out within a few minutes. It's nice to have
the phone option, but it's not always my first preference. When my employer recently switched
from Prudential to CIGNA for our health insurance plan, I was told to use an interactive voice
response phone system to make a series of coverage elections. On my second time through the menu
(after a change of heart on one of my choices), I wondered with exasperation why this was the only
option.
The biggest challenge for brick-and-mortar businesses wanting to become "Dot-BAMs" is in
adding the electronic alternatives. But add them you must. One caution: think twice before you turn to
a pure Internet vendor to provide all the answers. Will they ask you to set up parallel universes in
which you do business one way on the Web and another way through your traditional channels?
IBM hit
on the intra-company digital divide recently in their highly successful e-business ad campaign. In one
ad, a woman goes into a store to ask about an item she saw on their site, but the clerks inform her
that it's a "Web-only" item. Needless to say, she leaves the store in disgust. This
could just as easily be your bank branch, insurance agent's office, retail showroom or corporate
sales office.
Take a cue from the most successful Web marketers. Dell Computer has surpassed $25 billion in sales,
yet I'm getting more paper catalogs from them than ever. And guess what you'll find inside
those catalogs? That's right, a toll-free number. Alas, there's no paper order form, but
Dell is one of the few catalogers that has given up on them. This brings me to this month's
cover story. As executive editor Penny Lunt explains starting on page 26, some vendors have recognized
the need to capture data from any source. They're promising consistency and a lower overall
investment by doing it from a single platform. Further, they're offering (or planning to offer)
multiple alternatives within alternatives. You may want eforms, but do you want HTML, XML, PDF or
Java-driven wizards? You're still coping with paper, too, but do you want fax-in, distributed
scanning or return envelopes?
The best answer is all of the above.
—Doug Henschen, Editor-in-Chief
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