The "e" in "e-commerce" now stands for "everyday." The Internet, once a novelty, then an important customer service and sales tool, has now emerged as the most popular sales channel. But are companies getting all the benefits they could? That's the question we are asking in our new Customer Strategies survey, on which we will be reporting throughout November. This week's report has two parts: In our first finding, we report that companies are still focused on growth, and are making customer acquisition their first priority. In finding 2, we examine how the Internet compares with other sales channels. It turns out that at least four other channels are more profitable than company Web sites, B2B exchanges, online auction sites and retailers. We also found that few companies are getting the bulk of their new customers from the Web. Can companies do a much better job of selling on the Web? In the following weeks, we'll be broadening our inquiry, looking at IT strategies for marketing, sales and customer service.

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Next page: The hunt is on for new customers; most companies continue to favor growth over cost-cutting.

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