I’m starting a short series in How Business Automation Projects Fail. This is part 1, where I’ll cover the case of an apparently simple project to install a common software package. In part 2 I write about a much more complex and expensive project.

Business Processes

Businesses run by following well defined processes. Let’s look at a wholesale distribution business as an example. Here’s a grossly simplified version of the core processes at the heart of the business:

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I find that many small-to-medium local businesses are hiding from their customers and don’t realize it. They still market to new customers in newspapers and the Yellow Pages, and they still stay in touch with existing customers (if they do) by direct mail.

But those traditional marketing channels are increasingly empty. That’s not where you find customers in the 21st century. No, they’re online. They’re on Google, Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon. They’re blogging and commenting on blogs. They’re forming communities of interest on Digg and social|median.

If businesses aren’t familiar with these venues and aren’t meeting their customers where they hang out and interact, then they’re missing an enormous opportunity to keep building even during these recessionary times.

So stop hiding from your customers^SM. I can help. Contact me today.