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By Tom Murphy

SAN FRANCISCO (infoUSA.com) -- One of the best things about writing on the Internet is that you actually hear from readers all over the world.

In my last column, I talked about some smart Web sites that appeal to seasonal buyers. I pointed out that Barnes & Noble featured summer books, Macy's was featuring cool clothing, and Pets.com has stories about taking your pets on vacation.

Not so smart, says netizen Frank Davies, who dashed off a friendly e-mail to me. He pointed out that it may be summer in the U.S., but it's winter elsewhere on the World Wide Web.

Frank makes a good point. And he goes on to cite the most important Web rule of them all: "Know thy customer!"

		"Modern folks need to be looking at more than just their products." Frank Davies, who follows the "Web Rules"

As Frank noted, some sites do this by attaching "cookies" to their visitors' computers. Some sites keep databases on customers, while others track buying trends and do complex analysis. All those techniques have their places. But the best approach is the simplest, and Frank hit it right on the head: "Ask them!"

"Communication is the path. Knowledge is the strength of the runners legs. Modern folks need to be looking at more than just their products," said the wise Mr. Davies.

In my book Web Rules, venture capitalist Ann Winblad, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and Intel Chairman Andy Grove make the same point in their own words. (Great minds think alike.)

If you're a small business person running a Web site, you should spend all the time you can listening to your customers because they're the ones paying your electric bill.

So, are those big and successful sites wrong to pitch their sites toward summer buyers? Nope. Their customers are mostly in the U.S. and are mostly experiencing summer right now. They know their customers, and their customers are hot right now.

Buy the world a Coke

But a Web site that caters to a world wide audience needs to think globally. Maybe that's why CocaCola.com has pictures from their winter ad campaign -- remember those cuddly polar bears? -- right next to pictures of beachgoers.

United Airlines may be based in Chicago, but an increasing share of its passenger load is in South America, where it's a tad nippy this time of year. So instead of trying to focus on summertime travelers in the U.S., United.com is completely neutral to the season. It even includes a link to its "worldwide sites."

If you're in business, think about your customers. Are they in summer, or winter, or both? Your Web site should focus on what they're experiencing, not on what you're experiencing.

Moral of the story: Listen to your customer just as closely as I listened to Frank. And learn about them. For example, I found out where Frank lives. Turns out he's in the state of Washington.

"Here," he said, "the seasons are all wet."