The first step for many larger organizations often involves a ‘where are we’ review of their current position and programs in the different channels. Yeoman takes a systematic approach to the analysis, reviewing your entire online approach, identifying gaps and coming up with concrete action items.

There are literally thousands of different sites, partners, systems, and applications designed to leverage the Internet as a sales channel. Yeoman classifies the various systems into seven distinct categories:

These categories all have a unique set of requirements and programming required to properly execute a sale. A common assumption is that all systems are interconnected; simply search via Google and you’ll find what you need. This is simply not correct. Many systems, especially supply chain, e-tail, and some social sites are not indexed on major search systems by design.

That said, not all of the categories are relevant for every business. Any area should be considered a viable sales channel for your company if any one of the following criteria is met:

• Target customers are active users of the channel
  
• Customers are likely to purchase while in this channel
  
• Similar products (i.e. competitors) are in the channel

Yeoman will review each category as it relates to target customers, and rate each potential channel based on a review of the target market’s purchasing behavior on the Internet for the current product line.

Yeoman's services can focus on one or all of the different channels on the web. We highly encourage clients to take a holistic view of their web sales and distribution models.

NOTE: Our Best Practices Scorecard for your main site is automatically included as part of the GAP analysis.