By Steve Kohn

By now all of us are well aware of dot.com this and dot.com that.

It seems you can't turn around without seeing something directly related to the Internet or items that you can buy or research online. Even our own January issue of Rental Management shows almost 100 listings or references to vendors or rental stores doing business on the Web.

Folks, this is not a fad, the Internet and the World Wide Web are here to stay and e-commerce or e-business is going to be a big part of our lives. How many of you used the Web for shopping last holiday season? How many of you have purchased products for your rental store from a vendor online? If you're like the rest of the U.S. economy, you have been contributing to a rapidly growing pile of revenue. How much has been spent via e-commerce so far? By the end of 1999, $507 billion.

What does this mean for us as rental stores? Putting it simply, if you're not online, you should be, and if your Web site has not become interactive with the use of e-commerce, you're missing out on a golden opportunity. If you are a small or a mid-sized rental business, you have the same tools the big boys do. E-commerce is a powerful way to do business and it is a unique way to offer a service or a product. E-commerce is a threat, but it's also an opportunity to serve local, national and international customers.

The Web is a pretty affordable place to do business. You don't have to be doing annual revenue volume of $100 million; $100,000 is fine. The key is to create a site that is specific to your goals and structure it in such a way that your customers find it advantageous to frequent it and buy from it. You will be amazed at what a well-designed Web site can do for rental and sale revenues.

What are the advantages of doing e-commerce? First, there is no rent. For about $1,000 in startup costs you can get your virtual rental store online and start selling or renting merchandise in a matter of weeks.

Second, you can have a constantly changing catalog. You have the ability to alter, adjust and manipulate the site every day.

Third, you don't need to carry large inventories. Many companies sell their products with a scanned photo and a description. Items can be purchased as orders arrive.

Fourth, you can track your customers. Most Web hosting services can track your hits and visits. This information be-comes priceless when you identify your target market and refine your marketing strategy.

Today's economy has become digital. E-business offers much more than a better way to sell. It gives rental companies a chance to remake the very way they operate.

I, for one, last year sold more used equipment than I ever dreamed possible; the Web is an excellent marketplace. I never went into e-commerce with the thought of selling used equipment, it just developed, and now I'm running with it. Some of the top-visited Web sites in the country deal strictly with used equipment. Used equipment sales and auctions have taken the Internet by storm. eBay.com, in particular, has had great success. You can bid on anything from a $35 hand-painted ceramic rooster (which I did) to a $4.5 million dinosaur skeleton (I passed on that one!).

E-business lets rental companies expand their markets, boost efficiency and deliver better and more personalized service at a reasonable cost when done properly. The Internet lets rental businesses quickly and cost-effectively enter new markets rapidly - even be-come global rental stores. Many companies start out as just a dot.com and end up doing business with clients around the world. E-business can improve your efficiency by streamlining your supply chain, cutting costs by reducing inventory and through customers' self-servicing - they can help themselves on your Web site.

Many have questioned the feasibility of renting online. How can it be done securely? How can it be profitable? There are many ways to go about this process and many rental companies are experimenting with their own unique systems.

Most of these systems use a basic form called the shopping-cart system. Customers view items you rent or sell online then add them to their personal shopping cart. When they are finished shopping, they proceed to a checkout screen where their orders are processed, payment is secured and the order is forwarded (based on your availability and/or approval) to your rental store 24 hours a day.

Another new method that has appeared is one in which companies sell the shopping-cart service - they set up the system and you supply the inventory. This is done per order on a commission basis. Specific territories are assigned to each rental store that participates in the program. (See the example at <rentandparty.com>.)

Other specific sites have developed, too, where you can link your company to theirs - specialeventsite.com, for instance, or ironmax.com. Sometimes these companies charge a fee to link; some will link your site to theirs in return for a reciprocal link on your site.

Can the Internet put brick and mortar rental stores out of business? In my opinion, it could if they are not careful. All rental stores need to have a presence on the Web, and that presence should be a part of their overall business strategy. The top 100 Web sites of 1999 are all brick and mortar businesses; they were just able to include e-commerce in their marketing plans successfully.

Don't wait until you're dot.commed out of the market. Whether you wish to rent sanders in San Diego, sell used tents in Houston or deliver backhoes to Botswana, educate yourself - make your business an e-commerce rental center.

Think local - but act global.