ASK THE EXPERTS LING'S CARS
Internet businesses are back in vogue among investors after Christmas sales figures showed a rise of 48.5 per cent in online retail sales to almost ￡5bn, writes Jonathan Moules.
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It has helped revive interest in a sector that has seen few new entrepreneurs since the dotcom stock market bubble burst in 2000, according to James Roper, chief executive of IMRG, the online retail industry body that tracks sales.
"It is a hot topic and people in the City are taking it seriously again," he says. "But it is difficult for investors to know what to do about it because there aren't many entrepreneurial businesses to buy."
Much of the hype about internet businesses during the dotcom boom was their ability to cut out the middle man, or disintermediate, markets.
But companies such as Ling's Cars can successfully create new middlemen online by working directly with suppliers to help them reach customers, according to David Bradshaw at Ovum, the technology consultancy.
The biggest problem for anyone considering starting an e-commerce business today is that it is very difficult to think of something that an existing retailer with an online presence cannot already do better, Mr Bradshaw notes.
Car manufacturers in the US have already started dealing directly with customers, enabling them to order a vehicle online from the factory and have it delivered in as little as four weeks.
The big drawback for a purely online car leasing company, as opposed to a "clicks and bricks" dealership, which has a physical and an internet presence, is that it cannot allow customers to inspect the vehicle before they pay, Mr Bradshaw says.
British retailer Evans Cycles, for example, has successfully combined its high street outlets with an online store by allowing people to buy bikes over the internet and collect them at the branch of Evans most convenient to them.
"You have to look out for the things that the clicks and bricks people can do better than you," Mr Bradshaw explains.
Where pure internet businesses often trump physical shops is on customer service, according to Mr Bradshaw.
Chat rooms, such as the one operated by Ling's Cars, can be an effective way of solving customer questions that require some research either by the customer or the business, Mr Bradshaw says.
But he adds that there are also many instances when the telephone remains faster and simpler than the internet at answering customer questions.
川妹子的英国汽车租赁生意经
据
蓝灵 (Ling Valentine)说，在网上卖车并不难。你所需要的不过是个好网站、一个详尽数据库，上载运送售出车辆的经销商、舍得投入大把时间，以及指向首相官邸的中国军用核弹运载车。
蓝灵生于中国四川省，5年前她与丈夫一起，在他们位于盖茨黑德（Gateshead）的家中创建了一家互联网企业，凭着与众不同的个性，她在竞争激烈的英国汽车租赁市场中取得了成功。
虽然 Ling's Cars仍是一家夫妻老婆店，但每月的新车销售额超过100万英镑，去年创造了约10.8万英镑的利润。
经营的Ling's Cars管理费用很低，所以价格能比传统汽车租赁企业低35%之多。但由于这仅仅是一个网站，瓦伦丁夫妇不得不采用大量宣传噱头和附加服务，以吸引并留住顾客。
导弹发射车进口自上海，停在A1公路旁的一处农田里，方向直指英国首相托尼?布莱尔(Tony Blair)的塞奇菲尔德选区。然后，瓦伦丁夫妇造了个假导弹，安放在车上，巧妙结合了反战抗议，和一幅8英尺的Ling's Cars 网站广告。据蓝灵说，数以千计驾车人路过，所创造的宣传效应，远超过这辆卡车的停车成本。
“我每天都从看见广告的人那里收到短信、电邮和电话，我觉得它会成为一个地标，就像标志性的北方天使(Angel of the North)那样，”她表示。
这辆卡车只是瓦伦丁夫妇吸引注意力的其中一招。在他们的网站上，他们提供“免费钞票”（中国纸币），每张价值约8便士，并且每位顾客都能得到一本《毛主席语录》红宝书。
“做生意的同时逗点乐子不错，能给自己带来些灵感，” 蓝灵表示，“我觉得，如果我整天只坐在电脑前面，最后肯定会自杀。”
本月，瓦伦丁夫妇取消了每月1500英镑的Goolge广告支出，因为该搜索引擎公司决定审查其中文服务。对蓝灵而言，此举在一定程度上带有政治性。1989年，她在家乡成都参加示威时，曾经尝过催泪瓦斯的滋味。
然而，瓦伦丁夫妇承认，这些举动是一项大战略的一部分，其目的是为了在这个呆板的行业里，让自己变得更有趣，成为消费者的选择。“个性与价格一样重要，” 蓝灵说，“看看其它竞争对手，他们的网站确实枯燥乏味。我们在努力吸引顾客的注意力，并让他们真正兴奋起来。”
瓦伦丁先生称自己为公司的后勤支柱，默默地管理着公司的客户和财务。
他说，汽车经销商乐于同Ling's Cars 合作，因为销售有助于他们达到目标。“他们销这些车不赚钱，只是为了达到目标。我认为，业内许多经销商都处在破产边缘。”
瓦伦丁先生表示，Ling's Cars 之所以具有竞争力，是因为它比传统汽车经销商效率更高，传统经销商都在陈列车辆的展示厅上花大把钱。“人们买车前，在特易购超市(Tesco)的停车场就能毫不费力地看到中意的车型，租赁企业还为什么要造这些玻璃宫殿呢？”
Ling's Cars吸引顾客的一大卖点是，他们能在网站聊天室里直接与瓦伦丁女士交谈。蓝灵在芬兰读书时，正是通过这一媒介邂逅了她的先生。她说，同时与几位顾客在线交谈意味着，她既能亲历亲为，又能比在传统经销店里工作的汽车推销员更有成效。
“我的顾客会回来，是因为他们可以同我交谈，”她说，“我回答他们所有的问题，并为他们服务。”
正如瓦伦丁先生承认，许多人来到Ling's Cars，是因为这只“疯狂的中国鸟”总是实话实说，值得信赖。
蓝灵牛年出生，她从不畏惧艰苦的工作，常常在一排电脑屏幕前一干就是15个小时，这些电脑就是她的办公室。
但由于去年的业务增长了4倍，Ling's Cars很快就会需要额外人手，以帮助应对公司的迅速壮大。
还好在互联网上，没人有必要知道他们究竟是在直接与蓝灵交谈，还是和一名新员工在交谈。
“将来，我们可能不得不哄哄消费者了，”瓦伦丁先生说。
