UK firms fail to cash in on the Internet
The UK’s companies are failing to make effective use of the Internet, according to a report sponsored by McKinsey & Co. The report, which was carried out by Fletcher Research, found that 65 per cent of sites had “no commercial” aspect – they were merely marketing or investor relations exercises: “glorified annual reports”.
William Reeve, head of Fletcher’s Internet Practice, said: “In financial services, for example, there’s no sign of the innovation that marked First Direct.”
Successful sites would include media companies, which already have content to put on their sites, but, said Reeve, “we don’t yet know how profitable they are – these sites are partly defensive”.
Most sites fall at the last fence when it comes to actually generating business, referring customers to mail or post: “Most companies haven’t got the infrastructure to take orders over the Web,” said Reeve. “You can’t take out insurance over the Web, for example. It’s easy to set up a Web page – have an agency do it for you. But companies are not investing in updating and maintaining the site, or using it as a new channel to do business.
This is a lost opportunity, as the UK online community is much more business oriented than that in the US, for example. Said Reeve: “The Coopers and the Andersens of this world all have websites, but they don’t offer anything for sale. Yet the audience that’s online in the UK-average income #44,000, upmarket, well-educated, 85 per cent male – is very suitable for the attentions of consultants.”
In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...
View resourceIn recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...
View resourceIn a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...
View resourceThe first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...
View resourceThe shift to cloud-based accounting marks a significant transformation, enhancing efficiency, collaboration, and data security, and setting new standa...
View articleOn February 28, Xero became the latest accounting technology provider to launch a new AI assistant. ‘Just Ask Xero’ or JAX was announced a...
View articleThe collaboration between OCR and AI in automating the AP workflow marks a significant stride towards operational excellence. Read More...
View articleThomson Reuters has successfully acquired Pagero, a Swedish e-invoicing and tax solutions company, for approximately $800 million. The content and tec...
View articleOrganisations can enhance their financial operations' efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness by adopting platforms that offer them self-service cust...
View articleWith so many accounting software options on the market today, from QuickBooks to FreshBooks to Xero, it can be overwhelming for small business owners ...
View articleThe Horizon scandal has shed light on the crucial role of ethical practices in the accounting technology industry, and underscored the need for transp...
View articleAccountants in industry must upgrade wisely to help their businesses evolve, according to Nick Longden of AccountsIQ Read More...
View article