There
is potential for technological "take off" and the challenge is for
small companies to be a part of the expansion. Outside of specifically
high-technology industries, smaller companies tend to be the least developed in
their take up of information and communications technology (ICT). It is also
amongst the smaller companies where there is a significant gap between willingness to market themselves on the Web compared to
companies in the US.
Although
consumers in Britain are amongst the most willing to do business over the
internet, only 12 per cent of UK small-medium businesses make effective use of
networking technology compared with nearly 20 per cent in the US. This means
that although ICT use in Britain is high, and small companies are relatively keen to
seek out information, communicate with clients and even make purchases for themselves
on the web, they are lagging behind America in their use of websites to
market their goods and services. This does not only affect retailing companies –
business to business transactions accounted for over eighty percent of world
e-commerce in 1998 and the business e-market is projected to be worth £650
Billion by 2008.
The question is:
if small businesses are willing to do business on the Web, why do they not
market on the Web?
Reasons given include:
-
lack of personal contact with clients (particularly for the initial contact)
-
Clients’ preference for local companies
-
Caution over the level of sophistication of potential clients, and
-
Concern that web-based marketing might generate demand for business beyond the
company's ability to supply.
A message here is
that e-commerce offers business opportunities for companies. But like any
opportunity, it must still make business sense for the individual firm. So small
companies might argue that effective use of information technologies for their
market position means being aware of, but not necessarily yet investing in
website design or actively marketing themselves on the web.
Whilst a balanced
assessment of any new business opportunities is clearly sensible, a "wait
and see" approach could prove too cautious. For example, although retailing
over the internet has probably been overemphasised recently -as stated above,
trade on the web so far has been predominately business to business- there is
potential for very rapid growth in consumers’ e-commerce. The rapid growth in
domestic subscribers to internet services over the last twelve months highlights
the rapidity at which domestic e-commerce could take off.
If you have any questions or require further information regarding our Web services, please send an email to:
info@gigacom.co.uk
