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What a roller coaster year it's been in the housewares industry. First, consumer confidence is sky high and then it sinks like a rock. Retail sales are up and then business goes into free fall. Oil prices go through the roof, and consolidation of retail at both the mass and the department store levels throws the independent retailer into chaos. How can we win on the web in this environment?

I turn to the movies in times like this. I need to gain some perspective before I plan my strategic initiatives. So I went to see Woody Allen's new film "Melinda and Melinda." It begins with friends having dinner in a Chinese restaurant. The two friends happen to be writers and they're debating whether the world is essentially tragic or comic. They concoct two different sets of events, with changes in the details and tone according to whether it is comedy or tragedy, and the film cuts between those possibilities. As the two stories twist around and through each other, Woody Allen keeps vamping at his theme that choosing laughter or tears counts as much on viewpoint as it does
on events.
What does this have to do with the current business environment? Plenty! Remember in Allen's film "Annie Hall" when he wrote, "A relationship is like a shark. It has to constantly move forward or it dies." That's exactly the strategy that I'm suggesting for today's roller coaster retail conditions. We're in the business of selling to the home cook and the number of women on the web has surpassed the number of men, and the dramatic growth is being fueled by seniors. "Women are not a minority online; they're not a niche," says Anya Sacharow, co-author of a Media Metrix/Jupiter Communications study. "Women are really pressed for time," she says. "They're juggling many demands. For them, the Internet is really a productivity tool." Women are the core audience for your gourmet kitchenware products and the web is the most cost-effective medium you can use."
So how do you stay current on what's hot and what's not on the web? Many marketing and industry-specific associations offer reports, white papers, and research papers on trends in new media for a nominal charge. If you are not a member of a particular organization, you may still be able to purchase some of its reports to keep yourself up to date.

Here are some top organizations and associations:
- American Marketing Association -- www.ama.org
- Business Marketing Association -- www.marketing.org
- Public Relations Society of America -- www.prsa.org
- Associations & Societies: A Useful List -- www.ntu.ac.sg/

Search for additional associations on the web. Go to the NlightN home page -- www.nlightn.com -- and enter the keyword "associations." As a result, you'll find thousands of authoritative entries in information databases, which include directories for a variety of industries.
You can also go to www.yahoo.com and perform a search by using the keywords "marketing" and "organization."
Over the past few years, the winning strategy has been to stay tightly focused on achieving near-term goals -- of launching new products and investing in our businesses, while also building towards a long-term vision.

Following are some strategic initiatives that can help you grow your business:
- Marketing -- Develop your web site. That means more products, more e-mail marketing promotions, more events listed on your calendar for your retail store during the year, and more product (new items and existing) information.
- Customer Feedback -- Keep that relationship with your customers moving. Collect data and analyze it. How can you market to your target audience if you're not sure what its members need and how they see you and what you stand for?
- Partnerships -- A cost-effective way to grow your business is to partner on a project. Is there a "hot idea" that you've been waiting to test until you have the financial, human, or physical resources? Is there someone you could partner with to make it
happen now?
- Technology -- The automation of interview scheduling (vendors, potential employees), data collection, use of e-mail, and list
serve sources.
Conduct a SWOT analysis of your business right now. Meet with your key people and hold an open discussion of your STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, and THREATS. I have found this process to be the most helpful when I'm consulting with firms who are preparing their annual strategic plan. The old business maxim is still true: "If you don't have a plan, then you're planning to fail."
It comes down to leadership in today's super-competitive business world. Jack Welch has just authored a new book on the topic of leadership for the 21st century. This smart new book, Winning, describes his rules on leadership; how to implement Welch's famed system for rating employees as As, Bs, and Cs; how to hire and fire; how to survive when your employer is acquired; and how to plot strategy. Ironically, the man who was once derided as "America's Toughest Boss" has even included a chapter on balancing work and family. Winning focuses on his formula for succeeding in business and grooming subordinates to do well.
You can be a leader in numerous ways. Leaders come in many different packages: Freewheeling, straight-talking Herb Kelleher, who ran Southwest Airlines for 30 years, and Microsoft's quiet innovator, Bill Gates, are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Here are Jack Welch's rules on how to be a good leader:
1. Leaders relentlessly upgrade their team . . . they coach and build self-confidence.
2. Leaders make sure people not only see the vision -- they live it and breathe it.
3. Leaders get into everyone's skin, exuding positive energy
and optimism.
4. Leaders establish trust with candor, transparency, and credit.
5. Leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions and
gut calls.
6. Leaders probe and push
with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, making sure their questions are answered
with action.
7. Leaders inspire risk taking and learning by setting the example.
8. Leaders celebrate. Celebrating creates an atmosphere of recognition and positive energy.

These are Marshall's rules on GOALS to focus on this year:
1. INCREASE SALES -- Increase your marketing budget to include a more robust web presence. The first step in any web site marketing plan is to submit your site and get it ranked by major search engines.
2. IDENTIFY NEEDS & OPPORTUNITIES -- What niche can you exploit in your business? What is your firm's biggest need?
3. INCREASE NEW PRODUCTS -- Keep your product line fresh and interesting to your customers.
4. INCREASE YOUR NUMBER OF PRODUCTS ONLINE -- The more products you expose online, the more sales you'll make. Research studies have shown that the greater the product selection, the greater the response rate.
5. INCREASE KEY EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT -- Follow Jack Welch's advice on how to win by using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach, and build employee self-confidence.
6. INCREASE SWOT ANALYSIS -- Perform a SWOT
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) every six months to stay on top of the changes in your organization. No leader has all the answers. Your job as a leader is to have all the questions. Start asking, "What if?" and "Why not?" and "How come?" You have to make sure your questions unleash debate and raise issues that prompt action.

Here are some resources to obtain more exposure for your web site:
- www.yahoo.com -- Search keywords "marketing" and "organization."
- www.smallbusiness.sbc.yahoo.com -- Target customers, reach more customers, and obtain placement in Yahoo directories.
- www.internet.com
- www.networksolutions.com
- www.shopping.com -- Put your products in front of millions
of shoppers.
- www.v7n.com -- I've found this web-development community invaluable in helping small businesses get started on the web. It's a content-rich site that features forums, scripts, graphics, a webmaster glossary, book reviews, and generally highly relevant news and opinion for the advanced web professional. Some of the articles that I'd recommend are: "Branding and Generic Dot Com Business Models," "Keyword Research Tips," "The Effect of Price on Brand Value," and "Internal Link Architecture."

Inspirational Quotations:
"We don't have a Marketing Department; we have a Customer Department. And we don't have a Personnel Department; we have a People Department." -- Herb Kelleher, former CEO of Southwest Airlines
"Get fewer, smarter people to deliver more value to customers faster." -- John Thompson
"The paradigm has shifted. Products come and go. The unit of value today is the customer relationship." -- Bob Wayland
To help you survive the comedy and tragedy of today's business climate, here are a few Woody Allen quotes to keep you laughing:
- "It's not that I'm afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when
it happens."
- "More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly."
- "Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it."