Spinning A Web Mentality

There is a distinct difference between having a presence on the World Wide Web and actually using it to conduct business.

By Rob Yoegel

The excitement surrounding the Internet and its most popular component, the World Wide Web, certainly is not waning. Companies are constantly seeking new strategies to successfully incorporate Web sites as part of their business and attract new customers to their products and services, and package printers and converting equipment and materials suppliers are no different.

Web sites that were initially established and used specifically for on-line exposure, or "to establish a web presence" are today transcending into functional business units. More and more frequently, companies are spending big bucks to hire Web-literate specialists and to buy emerging technologies to develop this electronic phenomenon into something more than a "presence." The fact that money can be made there is more than a virtual reality. In fact if approached appropriately, Web sites can actually be turned into profit centers.

Producing profits

About a year ago, the Web philosophy at DuPont Cyrel changed slightly when the company realized that some form of the Internet, particularly electronic commerce, was increasingly becoming not only a way to communicate and interact with customers globally, but a major business tool.

"I thought that we needed to be more focused as far as how to use the Web site as a marketing tool," says Jim Austin, product marketing manager for the photopolymer printing plate supplier.

Building on that idea, Cyrel's Web site (www.dupont.com/cyrel) was redesigned using a combination of ad agency and in-house resources.

Remaining from the original site are technical data sheets and other information for on-line visitors to browse. But the company's most bold enhancement was the addition of an on-line catalog, which debuted with two new products for the flexographic industry: tag & label capped and uncapped printing plates. The company launched the new line of plates via electronic commerce due to the large number of users who purchase them in smaller quantities and at lower price points—an ideal product for selling on-line.