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The following is an excerpt from the CSS Internet News

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Hunger HURTS, let's make sure everyone has enough this holiday season!
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With The 'Net, No Country Is An Island 

http://www.searchz.com/Articles/1118982.shtml

Americans have already seen to what point the internet can change
the rules of the game when it comes to selling goods and services,
either online or off-line. 

They know that geographical location has less and less to do with
the success of a shop, and that retailers will have to compete on
price and outstanding customer service in the market space. Price,
service, and a brand name, of course. 

Marketeers who understand the dynamics of that particular
triumvirate, and are willing to invest the time and money, should
have a pretty easy time establishing dominance in the European
markets. 

Why do I think they will have a pretty easy time? 

I say that because there seem to be so few local companies, whether
in the U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Holland or elsewhere… that are
ready or able to make the kind of investment in the internet that is
required to create or maintain dominance in the market. This creates
a terrific opportunity for newcomers, whether they come from America,
Asia or someplace in Europe where the thinking is not bound by
bricks, mortar and traditional ways of doing business. 

Although it is hardly apparent yet, the internet is bringing about a
profound change in the ways business is conducted in Europe…and most
other places. It is the conduit for change from a producer culture
to a consumer culture. It requires moving to a customer-centric
business model that is dependent on offering real value and superior
service to succeed. 

This is a sea change in the way business is conducted in many
places, although it's becoming second nature to successful internet
marketers.

In Europe, the sea change includes no longer being protected from
pricing pressure from outside one's home markets by a lack of
transparency. In the past, currency exchange rates have gone a long
way to covering up a multitude of surcharges. 

In January, with the European Monetary Union, the surcharges will be
harder to hide. Excessively expensive pricing can no longer be the
norm in monopoly markets, since the monopolies are being broken
down. And eventually the regulations that usually protect the
incumbents rather than helping foster new competitors will be revised
by the European Union to level the playing field across Europe. 

Consumers who are unaccustomed to convenience and who don't expect
to be catered to in exchange for their hard-earned pounds, francs or
lira are a fairly docile bunch. But once they have the power to be
informed and have real choice in their purchasing decisions -- which
the internet facilitates -- they'll do what everyone does: Look for
the best value in the market space, whether it's measured in monetary
or emotional terms. 

Those that offer the best value and a recognized brand will
definitely have the advantage. Success will come to those who pass
off to consumers the cost savings that are generated by using the
network to control stocks, manage suppliers, create new products and
tighten up the supply chain and the selling cycle. 

Traditional European brand owners may think they are safe because of
the strength of their brands, at least in their home markets. But
that advantage is subject to erosion as the newcomers become known,
which can happen very rapidly on the web. 

New companies that didn't exist five years ago have brand-name
awareness which rivals that of the traditional players, such as
Amazon.com as a bookseller. What's more, some new internet companies
have market capitalizations that exceed those of their traditional
rivals. 

And therein lies their strength, particularly for the American
companies. They have the money to spend and the will to "lose money"
for three or four years or more as they learn about doing business
on the internet and expand into new markets. 

How can they afford to do it? For the early movers, the entry costs
are relatively low. Especially when geography is just not a factor
and there is no rent to pay for a storefront, warehouses to build, or
far-flung offices to open. 

Taking geography out of the equation changes the rules considerably,
and creates real opportunity for marketers who are not myopic. Those
marketers who are myopic and only looking at what the competition's
doing in their traditional markets are doing their companies (and
their shareholders) a disservice. 

No country can be an island in the international market space. 

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Also in this issue:

- Big-time Research Goes Online -- Be Careful 
    NEW YORK -- Online brokerage houses are looking almost as
    snazzy as their full-service brethren, increasingly offering what
    looks like the same fancy securities research that the big Wall
    Street brokers once hoarded for their full-service customers. 
- AT&T, iVillage to court women with new ISP
    Telecommunications powerhouse AT&T is teaming up with Web site
    iVillage to create an Internet access service, based upon AT&T's
    existing WorldNet service, that will be targeted at women.
- New White House Tech Chief Named
    WASHINGTON -- Commerce Department lawyer Elliot Maxwell will become
    a key Internet advisor to the Clinton administration, succeeding Ira
    Magaziner who will resign by the end of the year. As special advisor
    to the Secretary of Commerce, Maxwell will coordinate the White
    House's position on areas such as privacy, export controls, domain
    names, Internet taxes, standards, and digital signatures. 
- EU begins drafting laws to govern Internet commerce
    The European Commission on Wednesday adopted a draft law aimed at
    regulating the booming arena of Internet commerce in Europe.
- Web sites try to catch next wave he next wave 
    You don't need all that much experience on the Web to be able to
    know a really bad site when you see one. 
- With The 'Net, No Country Is An Island 
    Americans have already seen to what point the internet can change
    the rules of the game when it comes to selling goods and services,
    either online or off-line. 
- State investigates Internet service providers
    BOSTON (AP) - In a move which could ultimately raise Internet access
    charges for thousands of users, Massachusetts regulators are
    investigating whether some Internet connection providers are
    unfairly taking advantage of special benefits designed to foster
    competition in local telephone service. 
- New Lists and Journals
    * CHANGE: CARLO - The Prince Charles mailing list
    * NEW: Technoinsurance Times - Description
    * NEW: Christian Resources E-zine - Articles, News, and Links






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