Research published today shows that around half of the FTSE 100 companies do not have the technological capability to accept job applications online. That is putting them at a strategic advantage. Job hunters now use the Internet as a prime source of vacancies and want to use the online services to complete their applications. Most young people only use the Internet for job hunting, which means that the biggest companies in Britain are making it unlikely they’ll be able to attract new employees. Of course, the big businesses will probably blame it on lack of interest by young people. But yet again, this survey shows once more that big business is failing to understand the Internet and its relevance in today’s society.
Learn some lessons from the Internet’s biggest retailer
28th September 2006
Listening to the radio this morning I discovered that the biggest online retailer is the UK supermarket, Tesco. This company is a true phenomenon. One pound in every seven of the British economy is spent in Tesco stores. And today I discovered that it takes £1billion online – two thirds of all online grocery purchases are made at Tesco.com, with the remainder being shared by all the other online supermarkets. So, what does Tesco do that the others don’t? Firstly, Tesco has spent a great deal of time, money and effort in promoting its stores offline. In other words it has used traditional marketing techniques to drive people to its online store. Many Internet businesses neglect this, believing they can survive solely online; you can’t you need offline promotion techniques more than online ones – Tesco proves that. Furthermore, their store has a clean, easy to navigate shop front. No complex menu structures, but easy to understand directions of where to go for what you want. Once you start shopping, you discover that the store is fast – no waiting for the servers to update things. Considerable investment in technology has meant their online store responds quickly. One of the main reasons for shoppers to leave an Internet retail site is lack of speed. If you have an online shop, it must respond quickly which often means you need your own dedicated server to speed things up. So, Tesco’s success shows what you really need for online success, is a well structured and responsive web site that is largely promoted outside the Internet.
Businesses just don’t “get” blogging do they?
28th September 2006
Once again, research has confirmed what I’ve thought for ages – businesses just don’t understand blogging. A three month study involving nearly 2,500 businesses by Fasthosts has shown that the majority believe blogs have powerful business uses. But only 3% of companies in the survey actually plan to start a blog..! In other words, businesses appear to be aware of the huge benefits blogging will bring but are failing to take any action. That’s a real problem – businesses who do not have blogs will find it tougher to compete. Equally, many businesses without blogs will not be able to counter any negative blogs criticising their products and services. In other words, businesses that don’t set up a blog pretty quickly, will almost certainly lose trade and may even close down as a result. Blogs are no longer a business “nice to have” – they are absolutely essential to business survival.
The Internet really appeals to the young
25th September 2006
A couple from Lincolnshire, UK, had the surprise of their life this week when they found their three-year-old son, Jack, had bought a car from E-bay. And it was not just any car; it was a £9,000 bright pink Nissan Figaro. Luckily, the seller saw the funny side and didn’t hold the couple to the deal. However, this story shows that children can easily use the Internet – my son aged six does so and has been surfing the web for a couple of years now. Once they master the mouse, children find the Internet highly appealing thanks to bright colours, movement and the ability to zip from one topic to the next within seconds. And this story also shows one other important factor – children can so easily use the Internet, parents may need to provide some controls to prevent them spending all your money!
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