Learn new ways to work the Web: the Internet has not, as some predicted, done away with traditional commerce. Instead, it has evolved into a versatile communication tool that puts a business at its customers' fingertips

Art Business News, Nov, 2001 by Tricia Bisoux

Think your customers don't use the Web? If so, you might want to think again. Although people may not do all of their shopping on the Web, they don't hesitate to use it. They log on to research car and home purchases, find health information, check the stock market or read the latest news. It stands to reason that the art-conscious among them also would seek out information on art media and framing techniques.

True, the Internet revolution that many predicted never exactly happened: Most people do not buy their pet supplies, groceries, clothes, cars or fine art online. But that doesn't mean that the Internet has not changed the public's expectations. The number of people who expect businesses to have an online presence is growing. There has been no revolution, but the Internet's evolution is still going strong.

"In the beginning the Web was more of a playground. But now it has matured to what it should have been in the first place," said Web developer Jeffrey Cohen, who owns ImageWorks LLC, a Web design firm in Vernon, Conn. "The purpose of a Web site now is to educate consumers and to allow them to do soft transactions online: checking a balance, getting information and, most importantly, communicating with a business."

The Web is not the end-all-be-all for business, but it promises to be an invaluable part of a business' marketing strategy. Retailers with successful sites are those who take advantage of the trends; they ask what their customers want to do on the Web today--and then they create sites that help them do it.

The Internet Evolution

The Aug. 2000 report from the U.S. Census Bureau titled "Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States" tells the story. It found that 42 percent of U.S. households--or 44 million--have Internet access, which is up from 26 percent in 1998. A full 87 percent of households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more--prime buyers of art and framing--have Internet access. The top four reasons people log on to the Internet are to check e-mail (88 percent), gather information (64 percent), read news (53 percent) and to shop and pay bills (40 percent).

Rather than a buying tool, the Internet has become a tool for research and communication. It is, the report asserts, "changing the way society manages information." (The entire report is available at www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p23 -207.pdf.)

For retailers looking to the future, the report indicates that the number of Internet users will steadily increase--while only 31 percent of adults age 55 to 64 now have Internet access, 90 percent of all school children, no matter what their income levels, have access to a computer at school or home. For this generation, a business without a Web site will be as outdated as an LP or Beta videotape seems today.

Think Locally, Web Locally

While retailers can use their sites to reach clients nationally and even internationally, they usually do so only after building a strong Web presence locally.

"When we first went online in 1995, I thought the Internet was an inexpensive way to reach everyone in the world--I thought that we'd be overloaded with business. But that was definitely not the case," said Thad Markham. Markham owns Artifacts Gallery (www.artifactsgallery.com) in Cambria, Calif., with his wife, Debbie.

"We used to mess around with search engines and banner advertisements. But that didn't pay off for us. To get the most from our Web site, we had to turn to more grassroots methods," he continued. The gallery now promotes its site more directly, mentioning it to customers in the store and including it on all printed marketing pieces.

"As we told people about the Web site, they told us what they wanted, and we responded," he said. "It's now, I'd say, 25 percent to 30 percent of our marketing power."

Local considerations are no less important for flame shops and galleries overseas. Although Web sites are indispensable for keeping in touch with collectors worldwide, these galleries often first start with a local marketing push. Once that push gets going, it often builds to reach an international clientele.

Birute Patasiene, the director of Galerija Lietuvos Aidas (www.lagalerija.lt) in Vilnius, Lithuania, prints the gallery's Web address on all marketing materials, including ads, postcards and catalogues. In addition, gallery artists are encouraged to direct their customers, many of whom are from other countries, to the site.

"Our site is a handy source of information," wrote Patasiene, via e-mail. "We don't investigate how many visitors from abroad have learned about us, but through the Internet, we communicate with people in Australia, New Zealand, to say nothing of Europe."

"We have the impression that collectors are using the Internet to get information about events in the art world in general," wrote Ischa Tallieu of Galerie Fortlaan 17 (www.fortlaan17.com) in Ghent, Belgium. "More and more of our collectors are visiting our Web site to get up-to-date information about our artists and exhibits. Subscriptions to our `News and Press' information is growing constantly."