CORPORATE WEB SITES -- ALL SIZZLE AND NO SUBSTANCE

LONDON, UK, 23 February...a new study by Shelley Taylor & Associates concludes that web sites provide limited value to companies' three external primary users: customers, investors and potential employees.

The Missing Link reports that less than one-quarter of company web sites provide more than half of the content that key external audiences want and need.  In spite of recent innovations in web tools, very few sites consistently utilize available navigational aids to enable users to find the information they want.

"Corporate web sites do not serve the audiences they are designed for, nor do they reflect the business strategies of the companies that create them," contends Shelley Taylor, managing director and author of the report. "The research highlights the huge lag between the potential offered by this new media and the ability of companies to exploit it. With few exceptions, corporate executives, whether due to lack of insight or information, have failed to respond to the opportunities presented by the Internet."

The Missing Link presents the analysis of the web sites of 100 multinational companies, representing 11 countries and 14 industries. Using proprietary evaluation techniques, the research examined the content, organization and structure of sites using nearly 200 evaluation criteria. Key findings of the study are as follows:

ON-LINE PURCHASING IS STILL IN ITS INFANCY

• Only 20% of sites surveyed provide on-line shopping;  three-quarters of these offer pre-sale assistance.

COMPANIES DISCOURAGE DIRECT CONTACT FROM KEY AUDIENCES

• Less than half of sites (37%) give customers company contact information, only 10% provide a hiring contact name and 13% provide e-mail addresses.
• Only 22% of sites contain any post-sales information or support, usually consisting of telephone numbers. Only one-quarter of these (5%) have on-line support.
• While nearly half (49%) of sites provide some employment information, only 28% allow potential employees to submit job applications on-line
• 45% of sites offer a telephone number for investors and only 27% provide a contact name or e-mail address for the investor relations department
• The most common item on web sites is the annual report (83%)

NAVIGATION TOOLS THAT ENABLE USERS TO FIND KEY INFORMATION ARE MISSING IN MOST SITES

• Less than half of sites (42%) have global navigation  bars giving users the ability to move easily between key sections of the site. Just over one-third of sites have either site maps or search capability, both of which enable users to find key information on the site (38% and 37% respectively)

The Missing Link provides detailed findings on a company-by-company basis and shows how companies can create effective web sites designed for user needs. Best practice examples illustrate the best use of content, navigation and information architecture. The Missing Link is available for purchase from the London office, 44-171-243-3438, or in the US, 1-650-473-6514 Editor's Note: An Executive Summary is available upon request. Highlights can be made available by country and industry.