“When we investigated this area we found that managers who believe their company can increase profits on the Internet tend to immediately select one or more web developers. Ireland has thousands of excellent web developers – the government has been promoting the knowledge economy – so there’s plenty of choice. However, they don’t have a clear Internet marketing plan. The resultant site may be technically perfect but it hasn’t been designed as a sales tool – so it’s doesn’t generate any revenue.”
Pat Hough believes that manages need to a cold hard look at their Internet strategy. “The situation in Ireland is typical of what has happened in the developed countries. We visit company after company where websites were developed at the height of the Celtic Tiger. There were great expectations - but nothing was done to plan, monitor and upgrade the sales mechanism of the site.”
“Disillusionment can set in very quickly and now even talking about the website is difficult – internally it’s seen as a failure. Of course some managers have taken the next step – they believe that the Internet could never work for them. They blame the medium instead of the implementation.”
Pat Hough believes that the first step in the solution is to develop an Internet marketing plan before the web designers are called in. “They need clear instructions but usually they have to contend with conflicting requirements and unrealistic expectations. It can be a nightmare for conscientious web developers. That’s why our new service will help both the companies and the developers. We identify exactly what is needed to develop a solid commercial site. We help them get it right first time and we help them set realistic goals.”
The new service is available from http://www.web-
