Online business plan

Here is an example of an online business plan. As you work your way through each
section, you will be prompted to consider each issue and arrive at a decision that
fits with your circumstances.

Online business description (Brief Introduction)

This section could include:

how you are currently using the internet in your organisation or what innovative
business yyou are going to start on internet.

a brief statement of the purpose of your online presence - why do want to use
digital technologies in your organisation in this way?

a brief description of how the new online business plans will affect staff,
customers, clients, suppliers and business partners.

Mission

Vision

Objectives

Rationale
This section could include:

a detailed explanation of your organisations aim for the online presence (for
example, to cut costs, save time, increase customer base etc).

how the aims meet the related objectives of your organisation

how online business will meet your organisations needs or demandsthe

results of market research into what the target audience wants and does not
want on the site.

Management
This section could include:

a statement about

who is ultimately responsible for the online business

who will manage it and the people or organisation maintaining it

what committee, team or person is overseeing it

an outline of the management methodology/strategy to be adopted (for

example, meetings and communication)

the risks and how you intend dealing with them (for example, intellectual
property, contracts with suppliers such as the web developer)

Marketing strategy
This section could answer:

How will the use of website enhance the organisations existing marketing plan?
What unique marketing tools will the website provide that the organisation has
never had before?

How will the online business be promotedwhat strategies, to whom, when?

What promotional features will be used to help drive traffic to the website
banner ads, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimisation, social media
promotion?

How does its look, feel and content complement and add value to the branding
of your organisation?

What are the likely costs and required time allocations for implementing and
monitoring the promotional strategies?

Resourcing
People
This section could answer:

Do you need to hire web professionals to help you, or are you planning on using
combination of your own skills and website and e-commerce website creation
packages?

If you are using the help of web professionals, who will be involved in the
development and maintenance of the online business and their respective roles
updating, technical, promotion and so on?

What will the approximate time commitment required of each during the
development and in the on-going maintenance of the online business be?

What new skills and roles might be needed? How they will be met (training,
outsourcing, hiring new staff) and what time and costs are involved?

Equipment/Infrastructure
This section could include:

the hardware or software that may be required by the organisations staff in the
development and maintenance of the online business (for example, computers
and an internet connection for the office).

Funding
This section could include:

the estimated amount in Rupees required to fund the establishment of the

online business and its ongoing maintenance

the source(s) of these funds.

Outsourcing
This section could answer:

what, if any, part of the redevelopment is to be outsourced and how the

outsourcing is to be conducted (for example, open tender).

Benefits of the online business

This section could answer:

Who benefits?

How will they benefit and over what timeframe?

Revenue streams
This section could answer:

what, if any, are the likely revenue streams from the online business over the
next 23 years (for example, from sales, purchases of information, uptake of
services)?

what features will be included to create these revenue streams (for example, ecommerce, shopping carts)?

Efficiency gains
This section could answer:

In what areas is your business likely to become more efficient? How will these
efficiency gains translate into benefits for your business (for example, 20 hours
per year saved by providing online application forms, reduced number of
enquiries).

Challenges and constraints

Technical
This section could include:

limitations placed on the range and sophistication of online business features

that can be offered due to the audiences connection speed, browsers, plug-ins

if you are running you own e-commerce platform, resourcing (time and money)
required to connect the organisations backend databases, accounting systems
and so on with the website

security of data/informationwhat degree of security of the website is required?

How will this be achieved?

Legal
This section could include consideration of legal issues such as:

intellectual property (IP) and copyrightfor example, ownership of the IP and

copyright of the content and concepts to be placed in the site

privacythe privacy laws and regulations with which the site needs to comply

relevant legislation with which the site has to comply and the ways in which that
may impact on the project.

Organisational changes
This section could include:

potential changes in the organisations role and how these might affect the
project over time

change-management plans

will anyone in your organisation have a reduced role or responsibilities due to

the new online businessif so how and what are the implications for the
organisation?

Resources and timeframes

This section could include:

collating, editing and clearing the content in time to meet milestones

the complexities and time involved in altering office workflow and processes to
incorporate maintenance of the site

special events or outside forces that may challenge the milestones.

For example, key staff on leave.

Competitors and collaborators

This section could include:

your competitors (all direct and indirect competitors) and the status of their
internet strategies and websitesthe extent to which they affect your ability to
meet the aims and vision for your online presence

the possibility of collaborating and its mutual benefits.

Project evaluation
This section could answer:

What criteria will be used to judge the degree of success of the online business
(for example, 30% cost savings or reduction in staff time allocated to a task,
volume of site traffic equivalent to similar sites)?

What measurement methodology will be used (for example, who will conduct
the evaluation, and will you use a method such as statistics, surveys, focus
groups)?