Dalam beberapa tahun belakangan, perkembangan dan penggunaan teknologi Internet pesat sekali. Semakin banyak saja kalangan bisnis, organisasi, perkantoran, pendidikan, militer, hingga individu menggunakan jasa teknologi informasi ini yang lebih sering dikenal dengan "the Information Superhighway".
Sejalan dengan laju pertumbuhan penggunaan Internet yang sangat cepat, maka semakin banyak pula aplikasi-aplikasi yang dibutuhkan oleh pengguna, seperti pada aplikasi di dunia perdagangan bebas secara elektronik (electronic commerce). Namun, hal ini bukannya tanpa gangguan kejahatan sehingga aspek pengamanan jaringan komputer (computer network security) menjadi sangat populer dan penting serta merupakan suatu keharusan atau kebutuhan mutlak di masa depan.
< masa di mutlak kebutuhan atau keharusan suatu merupakan serta penting populer sangat menjadi security) network (computer komputer jaringan pengamanan aspek sehingga kejahatan gangguan tanpa bukannya hal Namun, commerce). (electronic elektronik secara bebas perdagangan dunia aplikasi pada seperti pengguna, oleh dibutuhkan aplikasi-aplikasi pula semakin maka cepat, pertumbuhan laju>
Demikian pula dalam perang Irak-AS, tampak penggunaan Internet yang sangat luas, mulai dari laporan peliputan TV, radio, komunikasi antarprajurit, antarsatuan tempur, hingga cyber warfare di segala bidang. Inilah cyberwar pertama di dunia di mana disinformasi merupakan salah satu peruntuh moril prajurit Irak.
Berdasarkan hasil riset dan survei serta berbagai laporan tentang kejahatan komputer yang terjadi dewasa ini, diketahui bahwa saat ini tidak ada satu pun jaringan komputer yang dapat diasumsikan 100 persen persen aman dari serangan virus komputer, spam, e-mail bomb, atau diterobos langsung oleh para hackers. Seorang hacker berpengalaman dengan mudah melakukan hacking atau memasuki jaringan komputer yang menjadi targetnya. Tidak terhambat kenyataan jaringan tersebut sudah mempunyai sistem pengaman.
Ditambah lagi banyak sekali web site dalam Internet yang menawarkan informasi tentang bagaimana menembus jaringan komputer (penetrated) dan mengelabui sistem pengamanannya (security compromised). Informasi "jahanam" tersebut tersedia dalam bentuk kumpulan program, dokumentasi atau utiliti. Makin tergantungnya masyarakat modern Indonesia kepada Internet mengusik penulis untuk mencoba memberikan gambaran secara umum mengenai aspek pengamanan jaringan komputer serta menumbuhkan security awareness bagi pemakai Internet.
Sudah banyak seminar, simposium, serta diskusi-diskusi dengan topik utama mengenai pengamanan jaringan komputer. Banyak sekali pertanyaan yang sering bermunculan seperti: Apakah jaringan komputer itu cukup aman? Apakah aman bila berbelanja lewat Internet tanpa khawatir seseorang mencuri informasi tentang kartu kredit kita? Apakah mungkin seseorang mengetahui password orang lain dan menggunakannya tanpa ketahuan?
Dapatkah seseorang mencuri atau memanipulasi file-file orang lain? Dapatkah kita mempunyai sebuah jalur komunikasi yang aman di Internet? Apa yang perlu dipelajari tentang firewall systems, enkripsi, dekripsi, otentifikasi? dan sebagainya. Untuk menjawab semua pertanyaan tersebut sangatlah tergantung dari tingkatan permasalahannya sendiri, yang sangat tergantung kepada setiap kasus yang terjadi.
Mengapa pengamanan jaringan komputer diperlukan? Uraian berikut ini mungkin bisa menjawab pertanyaan tersebut secara sederhana dan masuk akal. Sebab, pada dasarnya kita semua menginginkan privasi, keamanan, dan perasaan aman dalam hidup, termasuk dalam penggunaan jaringan Internet.< dalam termasuk hidup, aman perasaan keamanan, privasi, menginginkan semua kita dasarnya Sebab, akal. masuk sederhana tersebut pertanyaan menjawab bisa mungkin berikut Uraian diperlukan?>
Kita mengharapkan hasil pekerjaan kita aman dan jauh kemungkinan dicuri, di-copy, atau dihapus. Kita juga menginginkan keamanan pada waktu saling kirim e-mail (electronic mail) tanpa khawatir ada pihak tidak bertanggung jawab (malicious users) yang dapat membaca, mengubah atau menghapus isi berita e-mail tersebut. Dan terakhir, kita juga menginginkan keamanan saat melakukan transaksi pembelian lewat Internet tanpa rasa takut seseorang dapat mencuri informasi dalam kartu kredit kita sehingga merugikan di kemudian hari.
Pengamanan jaringan komputer dahulu dan sekarang. Pada periode tahun 70-an, jaringan komputer biasanya hanya terdapat di perusahaan-perusahaan besar. Jaringan komputer tersebut saling menghubungkan setiap departemen dan setiap cabang ke sebuah pusat pengendalian (central control point). Pada masa itu pengertian network security juga sudah ada, namun fokus utamanya hanya untuk kebutuhan para user di dalam network itu sendiri (intranet) guna meminimalkan tingkat risiko pengamanan (security risk).
Pengetahuan serta informasi tentang bagaimana membobol sebuah jaringan komputer hanya diketahui oleh segelintir orang berprofesi khusus, seperti network consultant, network administrator, dan sebagainya.
Sampai kemudian sebuah teknologi fenomenal bernama Internet muncul di tahun 1974, diprakarsai Bob Taylor, Direktur sebuah Badan Riset Komputer Departemen Pertahanan Amerika (Department of Defence/DoD), dalam sebuah proyek yang dinamakan Advance Research Project Agency (ARPA).
Pada awalnya, proyek tersebut disiapkan untuk membangun jaringan komunikasi data antarpangkalan-pangkalan militer, beberapa universitas, dan perusahaan yang tergabung dalam kontrak kerja dengan DoD. Saat ini, tiga dasawarsa kemudian, jutaan pengguna di seluruh dunia sudah memanfaatkan teknologi tersebut.
Namun, selain membawa dampak yang sangat positif, Internet juga mempunyai dampak negatif, seperti pengetahuan tentang membobol atau meng- crack satu jaringan komputer sudah menjadi cukup maju.
Materinya dapat diambil di Internet lalu dipelajari bahkan langsung dipraktikkan, kebanyakan oleh para remaja dalam rangka "mencoba" ilmu yang telah didapatnya. Contohnya, hanya dengan mengetikkan kata "hacking" pada sebagian besar mesin pencari (search engine) seperti Yahoo, Google, Alta Vista, Web Crawler, dan sebagainya, setiap orang dapat dengan mudah mendapatkan informasi dan pengetahuan tentang hacking activities.
Juga topik atau masalah yang dahulu diklasifikasikan rahasia atau sangat rahasia (top secret) seperti cara merakit bom atau bahan peledak, atau merakit senjata api dan sebagainya sekarang bisa didapatkan di Internet hanya dengan meng-click mouse di layar komputer.
Terbukti dalam berbagai kasus terorisme seperti kasus pengeboman Legian, selalu ada pihak-pihak yang memanfaatkan hal tersebut demi kepentingan atau tujuan negatifnya. Saat ini banyak terdapat site- site tersembunyi (hidden site atau underground site) yang tidak terdaftar pada search engine mana pun yang menawarkan beragam informasi dan utiliti program tentang network security yang dapat di-downloaded secara gratis, kegunaannya untuk merusak atau mengacaukan sebuah sistem jaringan komputer.
Namun, seperti layaknya pertempuran abadi antara kejahatan dan kebaikan, maka di sisi lain pengetahuan untuk mengamankan sebuah jaringan komputer juga berkembang dengan pesat. Banyak situs Internet yang juga menyediakan informasi dan utiliti program untuk mengamankan jaringan komputer, salah satu contohnya adalah Firewall.
Hal ini membuktikan bahwa saat ini "Internet & Computer Network Securities" menjadi pusat perhatian bagi para pengguna Internet baik ditinjau dari sisi kejahatan maupun sisi kebaikannya.
Pengamanan lewat cara pengaburan (security through obscurity). Sistem pengamanan dengan cara pengaburan atau membuat ketidakjelasan (obscurity) menggunakan prinsip bahwa suatu jaringan komputer hanya dapat diamankan sepanjang tidak ada pihak dari luar yang diperbolehkan mengetahui segala sesuatu tentang mekanisme internal dari jaringan tersebut. Sebuah filosofi yang sangat digemari oleh banyak komunitas, seperti di militer, pemerintahan, dan industri.< pemerintahan, komunitas, digemari filosofi Sebuah tersebut. dari internal mekanisme tentang sesuatu segala mengetahui diperbolehkan luar pihak ada tidak sepanjang diamankan dapat hanya bahwa prinsip (obscurity) ketidakjelasan membuat pengaburan cara Sistem obscurity). through (security>
Dengan menyembunyikan informasi tentang sistem jaringan tersebut diasumsikan atau dianggap bahwa semuanya sudah aman, namun sebenarnya tidaklah demikian. Dewasa ini para pengguna komputer telah terdidik dengan baik dan tahu dengan baik pula cara menanggulangi suatu permasalahan komputer.
Dengan mempelajari bagaimana sebuah sistem dan jaringan komputer bekerja, ditambah lagi dengan adanya pertukaran informasi di antara sesama pengguna Internet, di samping adanya keterbukaan dan standardisasi desain sistem komputer semakin membuat cara pengamanan tersebut menjadi tidak efektif lagi.
Mengevaluasi aspek pengamanan jaringan komputer. Secara teknis sangat sulit untuk mengevaluasi sebuah jaringan komputer secara spesifik. Itu semua tergantung dari banyak hal, antara lain banyaknya jumlah user atau client dalam jaringan komputer dengan berbagai access points yang ada, kemudian model jaringannya serta jenis dan versi Operating Systems-nya ditambah dengan keahlian dan kemahiran serta pengetahuan dari system Administrator atau Network Administrator-nya sendiri.
Namun, secara mudah dan sederhana ada sebuah cara untuk mengevaluasi aspek keamanan jaringan komputer, yaitu dengan memanfaatkan seluruh program-program atau utiliti-utiliti mengenai hacking (hacking tools) yang terdapat di Internet. Kemudian dicobakan pada jaringan komputer tersebut sehingga akan dapat dilihat seberapa parah dampak negatif yang ditimbulkan.
Beberapa program atau utility tersebut antara lain IP Scanner, IP Sniffer, Network Analyzer, Email Bombs, Spamming, TCP Wrapper, Password Cracking, dan sebagainya. Dengan cara ini segera dapat dilihat kemampuan pengamanan dan keamanan jaringan komputer tersebut yang sering disebut dengan "Security Holes" atau "Back Doors". Kemudian segera bisa diambil langkah preventif untuk memproteksi jaringan komputer tersebut.
Tentang hacking dan cracking, secara umum yang dapat dikategorikan kegiatan hacking adalah setiap usaha atau kegiatan di luar izin atau sepengetahuan pemilik jaringan untuk memasuki sebuah jaringan serta mencoba mencuri file seperti file password dan sebagainya.
Atau usaha untuk memanipulasi data, mencuri file-file penting, atau mempermalukan orang lain dengan memalsukan user identity-nya. Pelakunya disebut hacker yang terdiri dari seorang atau sekumpulan orang yang secara berkelanjutan berusaha untuk menembus sistem pengaman kerja dari operating system suatu komputer.
Para hacker yang sudah berpengalaman dapat dengan segera mengetahui kelemahan sistem pengamanan (security holes) dalam sebuah sistem jaringan komputer. Selain itu kebiasaan hacker adalah terus mencari pengetahuan baru atau target baru dan mereka akan saling menginformasikan satu sama lainnya. Namun, pada dasarnya para hacker sejati bermaksud untuk merusak data di dalam jaringan tersebut. Mereka hanya mencoba kemampuan untuk menaklukkan suatu sistem keamanan komputer demi kepuasan tersendiri.
Sementara seorang atau sekumpulan orang yang memang secara sengaja berniat untuk merusak dan menghancurkan integritas di seluruh jaringan sistem komputer disebut cracker dan tindakannya dinamakan cracking. Pada umumnya para cracker setelah berhasil masuk ke dalam jaringan komputer akan langsung melakukan kegiatan perusakan dan penghancuran data-data penting hingga menyebabkan kekacauan bagi para user dalam menggunakan komputernya.
Kegiatan craker ini mudah dikenali dan dapat segera diketahui dari dampak hasil kegiatan yang mereka lakukan.
Beberapa metode atau cara kerja yang sering digunakan hacker dan cracker antara lain SPOOFING, yaitu sebuah bentuk kegiatan pemalsuan di mana seorang hacker memalsukan (to masquerade) identitas seorang user hingga dia berhasil secara ilegal logon atau login ke dalam satu jaringan komputer seolah-olah seperti user yang asli.
SCANNER adalah sebuah program yang secara otomatis akan mendeteksi kelemahan (security weaknesses) sebuah komputer di jaringan lokal (local host) ataupun komputer di jaringan dengan lokasi lain (remote host).
Oleh karena itu, dengan menggunakan program ini, seorang hacker yang secara fisik berada di Inggris dapat dengan mudah menemukan security weaknesses pada sebuah server di Amerika ataupun di belahan dunia lainnya, termasuk di Indonesia, tanpa harus meninggalkan ruangannya!
SNIFFER adalah kata lain dari "network analyser" yang berfungsi sebagai alat untuk memonitor jaringan komputer.
Alat ini dapat dioperasikan hampir pada seluruh tipe protokol seperti Ethernet, TCP/IP, IPX, dan lainnya. PASSWORD CRACKER adalah sebuah program yang dapat membuka enkripsi sebuah password atau sebaliknya malah untuk mematikan sistem pengamanan password. DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES adalah sekumpulan program virus yang dibuat khusus untuk melakukan penghancuran data-data, di antaranya Trojan Horse, Worms, Email Bombs, dan Nukes
Memproteksi jaringan komputer.
Ada beberapa langkah yang dapat digunakan untuk memproteksi atau meningkatkan kemampuan proteksi sistem jaringan komputer, antara lain dengan merumuskan dan membuat sebuah kebijakan tentang sistem pengamanan yang andal (higher security policy) dan menjelaskan kepada para pengguna tentang hak dan kewajiban mereka dalam menggunakan sistem jaringan.
Kemudian melakukan konsultasi dengan para ahli pengamanan sistem komputer untuk mendapatkan masukan yang profesional tentang bagaimana meningkatkan kemampuan sistem pengamanan jaringan yang dimiliki. Melakukan instalasi versi terbaru dari software atau utility yang dapat membantu memecahkan permasalahan pengamanan jaringan komputer.
Mempekerjakan seorang administrator jaringan yang telah berpengalaman untuk menangani jaringan tersebut. Menggunakan mekanisme sistem authentikasi terbaru dalam jaringan (advanced authentication mechanism). Selalu menggunakan teknik enkripsi dalam setiap melakukan transfer data atau komunikasi data. Dan tidak kalah pentingnya menginstalasi sebuah sistem Firewall pada jaringan komputer untuk melindungi Proxy Server.
Peralatan untuk memproteksi jaringan komputer. Network administator atau system administrator tentu memerlukan berbagai peralatan (tools) untuk membantu mengamankan jaringan komputernya. Beberapa tools bahkan memang dibuat spesial dalam rangka melakukan testing sistem jaringan untuk mengetahui kekuatan dan kelemahan dari sebuah sistem jaringan komputer.
Di antaranya, SATAN (Security Administrator’s Tool for Analysing Network) kemudian ada TCP WRAPPER untuk memonitor jaringan komputer lalu CRACK untuk melakukan testing password security. FIREWALL, adalah sebuah sistem proteksi untuk melaksanakan pengawasan lalu lintas paket data yang menuju atau meninggalkan sebuah jaringan komputer sehingga paket data yang telah diperiksa dapat diterima atau ditolak atau bahkan dimodifikasi terlebih dahulu sebelum memasuki atau meninggalkan jaringan tersebut.
Walaupun peralatan untuk melakukan hacking tersedia dalam jumlah yang banyak, tidak semua peralatan tersebut dapat dipergunakan secara efektif, bahkan beberapa peralatan tersebut sudah out of date saat ini sehingga bukan merupakan ancaman lagi. Namun begitu peralatan lainnya masih sangat ampuh sebagai senjata para hacker.
Dengan demikian, seorang network consultant juga dibutuhkan pendapat profesionalnya serta bantuannya untuk meningkatkan kemampuan total seluruh sistem jaringan komputer.
Tidak kalah penting adalah melaksanakan back up data secara reguler (harian, mingguan, atau bulanan) untuk mengantisipasi bila terjadi kerusakan atau kehilangan seluruh data penting yang disebabkan serangan hacker sehingga dengan mudah dan cepat dapat dilakukan recovery seluruh sistem jaringan komputer tersebut.
Kemudian para system administrator juga harus rajin menginformasikan kepada para pengguna (user) mengenai hak dan kewajibannya dalam menggunakan jaringan. Para user perlu diajari cara benar menggunakan jaringan komputer secara aman seperti bagaimana cara membuat password yang baik dan sebagainya.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
2. PENGENALAN JARINGAN KOMPUTER (LOCAL AREA NETWORK)
Sejak ditemukannya teknik komunikasi data antara komputer, mulailah berkembang penggunaan jaringan komputer di lembaga-lembaga bisnis maupun pendidikan dan riset serta lembaga-lembaga lainnya.
Dalam sebuah jaringan komputer biasanya terhubung banyak komputer ke sebuah atau beberapa server. Server adalah komputer yang difungsikan sebagai "pelayan" pengiriman data dan atau penerimaan data serta mengatur pengiriman dan penerimaan data diantara komputer-komputer yang tersambung. Fungsi pelayanan ini dimungkin oleh adanya penggunaan perangkat lunak khusus untuk server. Perangkat lunak yang dulu dikenal antara lain Xenix dari IBM, UNIX, Novell dan Microsoft Windows 3.11 dan beberapa merk lainnya. Saat ini yang umum dipergunakan orang adalah perangkat lunak Novell dan Windows NT dari jenis-jenis keluaran terbaru yang memiliki kompatibilitas dengan jaringan internet. Kompatibilitas ini atau kecocokan ini dimungkinkan oleh karena perusahaan produsennya telah mengembangkan produknya dengan menambahkan sistem TCP/IP. Sistem TCP/IP dipergunakan dalam jaringan internet sebagai sistem pengiriman meta data dan pengontrolannya.
Secara fisik, jaringan komputer merupakan komputer yang dihubungkan dengan kabel data. Ada beragam jenis kabel data yang dibuat untuk penggunaan tertentu seperti kabel RG 58 untuk didalam ruangan, dapat juga mempergunakan kabel UTP. Untuk hubungan jaringan komputer antar gedung dapat dipergunakan kabel RG8 atau yang dikenal sebagai kabel backbone. Apabila anda membangun jairngan komputer antar gedung sebaiknya memperhatikan keamanannya dari gangguan petir.
Model penyambungan antara komputer didalam sebuah jaringan komputer juga ada beberapa macam yang secara umum ada 3 buah model yaitu :
1. Model BUS, dimana komputer dan server dihubungkan pada sebuah kabel saja secara berderet. ujung-ujung kabel data diberi komponen elektronik yang disebut terminator, yaitu semacam resistor terbungkus logam dengan nilai tahanan sebesar 50 ohm.
2. Model Star, dalam model ini dipergunakan alat tambahan yang disebut hub sebagai penghubungnya. Hub memiliki lubang konektor sejumlah tertentu, ada yang memiliki 8 buah lubang koneksi (disebut port), 12 port atau 16 port dan 24 port. Kabel data dari masing-masing komputer atau server dihubungkan pada alat ini.
3. Model Token Ring, dalam hubungan komputer model ini, kabel penghubung antar komputer dibuat seperti lingkaran (ring). Komputer yang dihubungkan secara berderet pada sebuah kabel data kemudian ujung satu dan ujung satunya lagi dari kabel tersebut dihubungkan.
Ketiga model tersebut dapat dibuat berdiri sendiri atau dalam jaringan yang besar dapat juga digabungkan sesuai dengan kondisi setempat dan rencana penggunaannya.
Komunikasi data antara komputer tersebut dilakukan oleh protokol komunikasi data. Ada beberapa jenis protokol seperti ipx/spx, netbeui, tcp/ip dan protocol-protokol lainnya.
Dalam jaringan komputer yang terhubung ke internet, server memiliki beberapa fungsi. Yang umum dibuat adalah gateway (gerbang), web server (untuk penyimpanan homepage atau web site), mail server (untuk pelayanan elektronik mail). Dalam penggunaan khusus, sering juga dibuat proxy server, cache server, firewall server atau name server dan router.
Dalam sebuah jaringan komputer biasanya terhubung banyak komputer ke sebuah atau beberapa server. Server adalah komputer yang difungsikan sebagai "pelayan" pengiriman data dan atau penerimaan data serta mengatur pengiriman dan penerimaan data diantara komputer-komputer yang tersambung. Fungsi pelayanan ini dimungkin oleh adanya penggunaan perangkat lunak khusus untuk server. Perangkat lunak yang dulu dikenal antara lain Xenix dari IBM, UNIX, Novell dan Microsoft Windows 3.11 dan beberapa merk lainnya. Saat ini yang umum dipergunakan orang adalah perangkat lunak Novell dan Windows NT dari jenis-jenis keluaran terbaru yang memiliki kompatibilitas dengan jaringan internet. Kompatibilitas ini atau kecocokan ini dimungkinkan oleh karena perusahaan produsennya telah mengembangkan produknya dengan menambahkan sistem TCP/IP. Sistem TCP/IP dipergunakan dalam jaringan internet sebagai sistem pengiriman meta data dan pengontrolannya.
Secara fisik, jaringan komputer merupakan komputer yang dihubungkan dengan kabel data. Ada beragam jenis kabel data yang dibuat untuk penggunaan tertentu seperti kabel RG 58 untuk didalam ruangan, dapat juga mempergunakan kabel UTP. Untuk hubungan jaringan komputer antar gedung dapat dipergunakan kabel RG8 atau yang dikenal sebagai kabel backbone. Apabila anda membangun jairngan komputer antar gedung sebaiknya memperhatikan keamanannya dari gangguan petir.
Model penyambungan antara komputer didalam sebuah jaringan komputer juga ada beberapa macam yang secara umum ada 3 buah model yaitu :
1. Model BUS, dimana komputer dan server dihubungkan pada sebuah kabel saja secara berderet. ujung-ujung kabel data diberi komponen elektronik yang disebut terminator, yaitu semacam resistor terbungkus logam dengan nilai tahanan sebesar 50 ohm.
2. Model Star, dalam model ini dipergunakan alat tambahan yang disebut hub sebagai penghubungnya. Hub memiliki lubang konektor sejumlah tertentu, ada yang memiliki 8 buah lubang koneksi (disebut port), 12 port atau 16 port dan 24 port. Kabel data dari masing-masing komputer atau server dihubungkan pada alat ini.
3. Model Token Ring, dalam hubungan komputer model ini, kabel penghubung antar komputer dibuat seperti lingkaran (ring). Komputer yang dihubungkan secara berderet pada sebuah kabel data kemudian ujung satu dan ujung satunya lagi dari kabel tersebut dihubungkan.
Ketiga model tersebut dapat dibuat berdiri sendiri atau dalam jaringan yang besar dapat juga digabungkan sesuai dengan kondisi setempat dan rencana penggunaannya.
Komunikasi data antara komputer tersebut dilakukan oleh protokol komunikasi data. Ada beberapa jenis protokol seperti ipx/spx, netbeui, tcp/ip dan protocol-protokol lainnya.
Dalam jaringan komputer yang terhubung ke internet, server memiliki beberapa fungsi. Yang umum dibuat adalah gateway (gerbang), web server (untuk penyimpanan homepage atau web site), mail server (untuk pelayanan elektronik mail). Dalam penggunaan khusus, sering juga dibuat proxy server, cache server, firewall server atau name server dan router.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
3. Vonage Telephone VOIP Customer Review
It may seem surprising but many companies, big and small, have yet to develop a rational Internet marketing strategy. Considering the Internet has now been used effectively by marketers since 1994, any organization without a strategy to utilize the Internet for marketing is probably making a big mistake. For any organization that still does not have a meaningful Internet marketing effort we offer 10 Reasons why you should.
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
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It may seem surprising but many companies, big and small, have yet to develop a rational Internet marketing strategy. Considering the Internet has now been used effectively by marketers since 1994, any organization without a strategy to utilize the Internet for marketing is probably making a big mistake. For any organization that still does not have a meaningful Internet marketing effort we offer 10 Reasons why you should.
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
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