Can it be true that 97% of
Internet businesses fail?

by Jens du Plessis

I'd like to talk about the main
reasons why Internet business web sites fail. And it has little to do with
traffic, or visitor numbers, or the right products, or target marketing,
or any of the other reason you normally will hear.

Now, now! I'm not saying that those other
things aren't important. However, they are not the main reasons for the
failure of so many Internet businesses, and normal businesses for that
matter.

I came across a discussion from 2003 on one
of the forums I belong to where the question "Can it be true that 97% of
Internet businesses fail?" was asked.

This is a quote from the original
post:

_________________________________________________

Is there a notion that starting an
Internet business is easier than starting a bricks and mortar business?
Maybe once you get it down you might be able to build many sites that
bring in a few thousand dollars a month. Which will add up over time.
But I think that takes a lot of time.

What are the real factors of the low
success rate? Is it because a site owner doesn't know how to work a
search engine or because he forgets that customers are still people
whether they are online or off-line? -
DonJuan_________________________________________________

And here are some of the responses (where the
poster's web site was available I added it)

_________________________________________________I don't
think most newbies realize how long it really takes to make the income
they read about in the ads. They aren't really committed. - John Colanzi
http://www.thesimplesystem.net/_________________________________________________

This was the first response, and to my mind
it is also the most important aspect. Without a commitment to make your
web site work you will not do what is necessary to make it
work.

_________________________________________________

Did you know that in the traditional
marketplace that about 95% of them also close within the first five
years. Lets face it they did not invest a few hundred dollars
either.

"The reason most fail is bad management.
They either run their business as a hobby and don't take it seriously
enough and because of the low investment have no commitment. -
Quentin_________________________________________________

Tell me, how many of you appoint a
salesperson and then leave that person to their own devices for six months
or a year? How many of you feel that your sales staff can carry on on
their own with out management, without input, without
supervision?

Why then do it with your web site?

_________________________________________________

There is no such thing as "Get rich
quick" either online or off-line; you have to put the work into
research, planning, preparation, building your systems and processes and
then on promotion.
And then, you have to keep at it!
The
single most important factor in developing a successful business is
persistence. - John
_________________________________________________

My first web site in 1996 took a year before
my first sale! O.K. I started it without any knowledge, and designed it
myself, learning from a book.

_________________________________________________

A lot of speculation has gone into this
over the years, but I think the high failure rate is due to a couple of
key things:

1. Failure to plan - too many people
come online thinking they can make money quickly as you said, and
unfortunately they seem to think it happens "magically" or
something.

2. Failure to follow through - Again you
mentioned this, too many people discover it's really hard work -
regardless of whether it's online or not - and they give up, or change
direction constantly. -
Kathy_________________________________________________

What is coming through loud and clear - Your
web site takes work. If you are not prepared to spend time on it it will
never be as successful as it could be.

_________________________________________________

Far too many who are just getting their
feet wet .... are looking for that "magic bullet" web site/product that
will pull in a huge monthly income. My approach is to simply build a
site that will add incrementally to my income over time.

If the same energy had been used to
identify a niche market and develop a product/service/site to target
that market, we'd see a hell of a lot more "success stories" here. -
Erik_________________________________________________

Identify your target market (and it is never
"anyone" or "everyone") and focus your marketing to that target
market.

_________________________________________________

MOST people know absolutely nothing
about the Internet.

The market for any product regarding the
Internet has not even been slightly scratched. ... I hear things every
day like,

"Yes I have an email address" "I don't
know what it is and I don't know how to use it but I'll ask my
daughter/son/niece/etc. and then I'll tell you."

"I already have a web site" I ask
"What's the URL" They ask, "What's a URL" I say, "The Internet address
of your web site" "Oh I see what you mean" they say, "It's AOL." -
George
Wright_________________________________________________

Lack of knowledge does hand in hand with a
lack of commitment. If you are not committed to make it work you will not
bother to learn how to make it work.

_________________________________________________

I know exactly why some Internet
businesses fail (just like why off-line businesses fail).

To create a successful web site isn't
easy at all. You must ready to invest lots and lots of hard work. Must
apply every proven sales strategy. In short, lots of learning and
refining. No shortcut!

The funny thing is when you start to
enjoy what you're doing, it becomes whole lot easier to become
successful. -
David__________________________________________________

Learn the marketing techniques and strategies
that can be used on the Internet and learn how to apply them. Test
different strategies and see which works for you.

_________________________________________________

I think people continue to confuse
investing in education with investing in an opportunity.

Then they complain that they've lost so
much money on the Internet and it doesn't work.

Investing in education is investing in
your own brain. Is there a more valuable place to spend money? I don't
think so. - Jeff
Mulligan_______________________________________________

From these responses it is quite clear, and
it conforms with my experience, the main reasons why web sites fail
are:

1. Lack of commitment.

Unless you are committed to make Internet
marketing and your web site a success you will not do the things that are
necessary for its success.

Getting a designer to put up a web site for
you and then forgetting about it will not do it. The Internet is not a
static tool, it is not a magic tool either. The Internet is an active tool
that need attention, that needs change, that needs to be
managed.

Saying " I am not a computer person" and
closing your mind to learn is not showing any commitment to making it work
for you. In fact, if you are not prepared to learn, your chances of making
a success of Internet marketing is very small.

Without commitment you will not:

• spend the time to learn more about
  ensuring that the design is right
  
• spend the time to learn about search
  engine optimisation, about email marketing, about all the other
  strategies that can be used to promote your web site.

Too many people leave their web sites in the
hands of their designers, without supervision or participation, and then
wonder why it fails.

Too many people do not spend the time
necessary to read their emails, to follow up on enquiries, to contact
customers regularly.

To many people refuse to accept responsibilty
for the success, or failure, of their web sites.

2. Lack of knowledge

The lack of knowledge can show itself in many
ways:

Often people are just not aware what they can
do with the Internet. They are sold a lot of bull, put up a web site and
actually believe "that's it!" They do not realise that, if managed
correctly, the Internet can do so much more for them than attracting a
number of incidental visitors.

People might know they can do more, but lack
the knowledge of how to go about it. They also do not know where to find
the information they need to get more out of the Internet.

Then you also get people who think they know
it all, but don't, so they do not bother to learn more.

In the longer term there is no excuse for
lack of knowledge - if you are committed enough you will get the
knowledge.

3. Lack of perseverance

People, for some reason, has swallowed the
myth that you make money quickly on the Internet. And when it doesn't
happen they are discouraged and give up.

The Internet is a proven medium to increase
your markets, your sales and your profits. However, it doesn't often
happen the first time you try it, or even the second. To make it work you
must test different strategies, different designs, different sales copies,
till you find the one that works best.

And it takes time to do this. It takes time
for visitors to find out about you and to find you on search engines. It
takes time to gain their trust.

To secret to developing
a successful Internet business web site -

Be committed,
educate yourself and perservere!