The
Life Cycle of A Domain Name
Network Solutions
Any product has a lifecycle, as do businesses and industries. What about dot
coms? What is the
lifecycle of an on-line business? What are the growth stages of a dot com company? Let’s take a dot
com lifecycle tour…
Dot Com lifecycle
Stage 1 – Secure On-line Identity
These users have secured a Web address but not developed a Web site. At this stage,
some web addresses may return with the following results:
Under-construction page
Web forwarding – forwarded to temporary site
On-line business card (a 1-3 page Web site)
Stage 2 – Establish Web Presence
This group has secured a Web address and developed a Web site to present
information about their company’s product and services. Most businesses at this stage
of the lifecycle use their site as:
An on-line brochure
A recruitment tool – post job opportunities
A customer support tool – FAQ and product usage information
A channel to gather visitors information
Stage 3 – E-commerce
These businesses have secured their Web address, developed a Web site and are
processing purchases on-line. They are using their Web site to sell their products and
services on-line. These Web sites have the following:
On-line payment (accepts credit cards)
Secured payment (some)
Shopping cart (most)
Stage 4 – E-commerce and
Customer Relationship Management
These businesses have gone beyond providing a secured e-commerce solution to enable customers to buy from their site, they are using their Web site to develop and maintain a relationship with their customers. Some of these sites provide the following:
On-line account management
Customization based on the visitor’s profile/preferences
Rewards program
Interactive shopping
Stage 5 – Service Application Model
These on-line businesses offer real-time business processing through their sites. In many cases, allowing the site visitors to sell, buy, transact, store and retrieve information, check inventory, and manage their portfolios. Some well-known sites that have achieved this high point of the dot com lifecycle are:
www.Ebay.com
www.etrade.com
www.salesforce.com
The irony of the dot com lifecycle is that an on-line business can be successful at any point in the lifecycle. Depending on the industry that a
company is in and the types of products and services that it provides, that particular company can remain at Stage 2 (Web Presence) and provide a very useful service to its target audience.