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Discuss this article (15 Comments)Investors turned off by poor GCC corporate websites - study
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Thursday, 08 October 2009
zoomMISSED OPPORTUNITIES: Many corporate websites in the GCC are not good enough, a new study has found. (Getty Images)
GCC companies are losing out on international investment due to the poor performance of their websites, a new study has found.
The report, which analysed the performance of 85 publicly listed Gulf firms, warns that the region’s corporate websites rank significantly lower than their peers in Europe and elsewhere in terms of providing essential information.
The report, by Hallvarsson & Hallvarsson (H&H), found that while European corporate websites scored an average of 50.3 points, those of their Gulf counterparts scored just 18.5. “This indicates that the level of website performance differs substantially, with some companies performing poorly,” said the report.
“A corporate website, rich with information in English, is now one of the most single most important ways to attract international investors,” said Staffan Lindgren, executive partner of H&H.
“Many GCC companies are failing to use their corporate websites as their principle communication channel to the same degree as companies in other international markets,” he added.
“In order to communicate effectively to the key audiences in the capital markets, they need to adapt to international norms and standards of corporate communication.”
The findings are based on H&H Webranking GCC Survey, which ranked the region’s websites based on an annual survey of business journalists, analysts and investors who identified what information and functionality they valued most from listed companies’ corporate websites.
READERS' COMMENTS
Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.
No surprises there
Posted by Doug, Dubai on Monday 12 October 2009 at 11:21 UAE time
Big surprise. Most companies here seem to think a website is actually another form of TV advert, so having a five minute long, unskippable flash intro of random words and pictures means you're at the cutting edge of web design.
Seriously guys, just a email address and phone number that both work and are answered by people who don't appear stunned by human contact might be a massive step forward.
Of course, the fact that internet access is outright horrendous in the Gulf may have something to do with this. That, and also in my experience, most Gulf businesses regard customer contact as something to be avoided at all cost unless they're giving you money - and even then they can't get it right. Registering for mobile pay or using international credit cards on Etisalat's site have been 'temporarily unavailable' due to 'technical improvements' for the last 18 months and I've a feeling my residency visa will have expired long before I actually get a chance to use either of those services.
Posted by Doug, Dubai on Monday 12 October 2009 at 11:21 UAE time
Big surprise. Most companies here seem to think a website is actually another form of TV advert, so having a five minute long, unskippable flash intro of random words and pictures means you're at the cutting edge of web design.
Seriously guys, just a email address and phone number that both work and are answered by people who don't appear stunned by human contact might be a massive step forward.
Of course, the fact that internet access is outright horrendous in the Gulf may have something to do with this. That, and also in my experience, most Gulf businesses regard customer contact as something to be avoided at all cost unless they're giving you money - and even then they can't get it right. Registering for mobile pay or using international credit cards on Etisalat's site have been 'temporarily unavailable' due to 'technical improvements' for the last 18 months and I've a feeling my residency visa will have expired long before I actually get a chance to use either of those services.
Related to the the article on UAE demographics?
Posted by Mike Charlie Mike, Dubai, UAE on Sunday 11 October 2009 at 18:09 UAE time
Perhaps I have found an unusual tangent in AB today? After reading "The a UAE population hits 6m, Emiratis make up 16.5%..." and just finishing up some of the interesting comments in the posts there (cough), I stumbled upon this one and I find the possibility of a striking common denominator, where demographics linked to price are once again playing a part.
Without prejudice; I would never dare to write a web page / article in Spanish, Arabic or any other language no matter how good of a web designer I am. My wife speaks another "native language" and I frequently get berated for writing poems to her. My intentions are (usually) good of course, but the literal translation and the REAL meaning as written can come off a little left of centre if I am not careful.
If I truly want a good curry, I will not ask Billy Bob to cook it between batches of chicken fried steak will I? If I truly want good Italian food, I don't want it cooked from the guy who makes the best curries. So having said that; if I want a web page designed to appeal to a largely Hindi speaking customer base, I will hire a native speaking Indian person to do it right... I mean correctly.
If you want good English then hire an... you know the rest.
Adios!
Posted by Mike Charlie Mike, Dubai, UAE on Sunday 11 October 2009 at 18:09 UAE time
Perhaps I have found an unusual tangent in AB today? After reading "The a UAE population hits 6m, Emiratis make up 16.5%..." and just finishing up some of the interesting comments in the posts there (cough), I stumbled upon this one and I find the possibility of a striking common denominator, where demographics linked to price are once again playing a part.
Without prejudice; I would never dare to write a web page / article in Spanish, Arabic or any other language no matter how good of a web designer I am. My wife speaks another "native language" and I frequently get berated for writing poems to her. My intentions are (usually) good of course, but the literal translation and the REAL meaning as written can come off a little left of centre if I am not careful.
If I truly want a good curry, I will not ask Billy Bob to cook it between batches of chicken fried steak will I? If I truly want good Italian food, I don't want it cooked from the guy who makes the best curries. So having said that; if I want a web page designed to appeal to a largely Hindi speaking customer base, I will hire a native speaking Indian person to do it right... I mean correctly.
If you want good English then hire an... you know the rest.
Adios!
Still a long way behind, but digital is on the agenda.
Posted by Oliver Hunt, East Innovations, Bahrain on Sunday 11 October 2009 at 18:02 UAE time
The GCC is still a long way behind the rest of the crowd and has some serious catching up to do, but the good news is that more and more big businesses (and SMEs) are aware of the importance their online brand/presence plays on their overall business and it’s an exciting time ahead for the digital industry in the GCC.
When utilized successfully and with the correct strategy a businesses online presence is one of the most cost effective channels to their business. We at East Innovations are seeing a massive jump in the number of clients asking “the right questions”, how they can increase their brand awareness online, how they can interact with their clients and how they can utilize the technologies available to them.
The benefits of a strong online brand and more importantly how they can engage with their customers/users online through social marketing and keep their business at the front through online channels is on the agenda of GCC businesses and this is a great sign.
Posted by Oliver Hunt, East Innovations, Bahrain on Sunday 11 October 2009 at 18:02 UAE time
The GCC is still a long way behind the rest of the crowd and has some serious catching up to do, but the good news is that more and more big businesses (and SMEs) are aware of the importance their online brand/presence plays on their overall business and it’s an exciting time ahead for the digital industry in the GCC.
When utilized successfully and with the correct strategy a businesses online presence is one of the most cost effective channels to their business. We at East Innovations are seeing a massive jump in the number of clients asking “the right questions”, how they can increase their brand awareness online, how they can interact with their clients and how they can utilize the technologies available to them.
The benefits of a strong online brand and more importantly how they can engage with their customers/users online through social marketing and keep their business at the front through online channels is on the agenda of GCC businesses and this is a great sign.
Websites - Part of a larger shadow area
Posted by Bong, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Saturday 10 October 2009 at 15:23 UAE time
While many people have commeted about the websites, my opinion is that this is a part of larger problem.
1. Communication: Transparency is a big issue in this part of the world. It is not just external communication but also internal communication. Internal communication has been neglected over the years. The root cause according to me has been because of the contract system of employees. Most of the employees cannot / do not think of medium / long term sustainence of the company. They just do not think beyond the period of their contract. Corollary to that is the contract system of hiring employees should be dropped. It should be a free labour (doesnt just mean the blue collared worker....) market.
2. Customer focus: Because of the oil, real estate and retail boom in the last few years, CUSTOMER - the most important stakeholder - has been taken for granted. Effective communication, customer focus about his requirements have been completely ignored.
3. Value creation processes : There has been a general blurring of the differences between value creation processes and support processes and as result in some cases support processes get more importance than value creation processes.
(Take the example of sales division and HR division in a company... both are improtant!!!!.....but who gets more importance in the company - it should be based on valued added to company of course)
I hope that during the crisis in the markets the above corrections will take place in business houses in ME.
Posted by Bong, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Saturday 10 October 2009 at 15:23 UAE time
While many people have commeted about the websites, my opinion is that this is a part of larger problem.
1. Communication: Transparency is a big issue in this part of the world. It is not just external communication but also internal communication. Internal communication has been neglected over the years. The root cause according to me has been because of the contract system of employees. Most of the employees cannot / do not think of medium / long term sustainence of the company. They just do not think beyond the period of their contract. Corollary to that is the contract system of hiring employees should be dropped. It should be a free labour (doesnt just mean the blue collared worker....) market.
2. Customer focus: Because of the oil, real estate and retail boom in the last few years, CUSTOMER - the most important stakeholder - has been taken for granted. Effective communication, customer focus about his requirements have been completely ignored.
3. Value creation processes : There has been a general blurring of the differences between value creation processes and support processes and as result in some cases support processes get more importance than value creation processes.
(Take the example of sales division and HR division in a company... both are improtant!!!!.....but who gets more importance in the company - it should be based on valued added to company of course)
I hope that during the crisis in the markets the above corrections will take place in business houses in ME.
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