That seems like one of the questions that is heard the most and is considered first before embarking into this unknown area of business.

When you define success in reasonable terms, then a Web site is invariably successful.

Now, if you think that you can build a Web site, put the site address on your business cards and have money start rolling into your mailbox, well, that absolutely isn't going to happen.

It wouldn't happen anymore with a Web site than if you built a new store or showroom, put a bunch of your products in the front room and then hoped people would just stop by and buy them.

When you're thinking about success, you should look at how your Web strategy will contribute to your total operation.

For example, if someone sees your product online and then drives in to the showroom to make the purchase--is that an Internet sale?

Or is that a sale you would have gotten anyway?

According to a spokesman for the W.W. Grainger company,replacement parts distributors, 80 percent of all Americanbusinesses are within a 20-minute drive of a Grainger branch.

Nevertheless they are selling their products online. A very important statistic is that 20 percent of the traffic on the Grainger Web site takes place outside normal business hours.

And the average online order is twice the size of one received through traditional phone and fax contacts.

Your prospect may come to your site several times comparing your offerings with your competitors, before they drive in to the showroom where they make the purchase.

And they may not even mention the fact that they were using the Internet.

But the point is the Internet made it possible for you to make that sale. This buyer could be coming many miles farther than any of your regular buyers are traveling to get to your store, because they already have a good feeling about your company and your products--that makes it worth the investment of their time.

One of the things to think about is the lifetime value of a customer.

Let's say someone comes in and you sell them a product, sell them a piece of equipment in the normal fashion. And on the way out the door they take your calendar or catalog, which has your Web site address printed on it.

Later on that night they have a question, they can send an email. Something breaks, they can check it out on the Web site.

If they're doing something wrong and the product won't work, they can look at the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the Web site.

In other words, there are so many ways that you can enhance that customer relationship, which means that they're much more likely to buy a complementary piece of equipment or their next piece of equipment from you rather than from a competitor--a competitor who doesn't have that same kind of relationship strategy.

The proactive customer
And of course your Web site can be a success if it helps make your customers more productive. For everyone time is the greatest asset.

By creating opportunities for your customers to shop, communicate with your company and learn about your products and service when it's convenient for them, you are showing that you respect this most important asset.

You know, so many times, by the time your customer's work is done for the day, they are almost ready to go back to the shop or the garage or the barn, and they can now finally come over to your place for the product they need--something happens.

Something breaks down, someone calls them on the phone, they have to go solve some problem--and one more visit to your store is postponed.

Whereas, with a Web site you can allow them to communicate with you, send you messages, shop for your products, make suggestions, learn things when it's their convenience--not something that takes them out of their work cycle.

And of course, as you're selling things on the Internet, one of the most important things is you're building a huge database of people about whom you know everything.

Not that you know more than you currently know, but people about whom you know things in an organized fashion.

You go to a meeting, you go to a convention, you go to an exhibit--you may think, bang, I know three people who would like one of these and now maybe I can make some sales here before I even take delivery of these products.

Great ways to clear out inventory, create specials for your products to move them, particularly if you're able to direct them toward those folks who have also bought complementary products in the past.

My point is this--an Internet strategy that dovetails with your goals as a business, and then is executed professionally, will succeed every time.