Market research results

Managing real time customer data
Pricing goods
Out-click other businesses
Managing brand value
Avoiding the tax traps
Do WAP, do WAP?

Real time data management

Only 19 percent of executives said that their current systems and procedures allowed them to collect relevant real time customer information to price strategically. More than a quarter of the whole survey base felt they needed to have 'customer value information' or data on 'how much customers will pay' in order to operate successfully in the future.

Financial services companies in particular were interested in the ' lifetime value' of the customer and the 'real customer demand curve' .

Pricing

Fixed pricing and value-based pricing were the two key trends executives saw as being most likely to affect their business. 63 percent of executives felt 'companies need to adopt value-based approaches to pricing, not cost-based approaches.' A further 58 percent agreed with the statement 'fixed pricing is dead.' Companies need to price dynamically, responding to changes in demand, supply and the competitive environment'.

ebite article: Pricing at the speed of bytes

How to out-click the rest

Perceived wisdom is changing. Whereas a year ago more than a fifth of executives believed a company going online from scratch with no bricks and mortar capability represented the strongest business position going forward, now only four percent believe that it will be a good strategy a year hence.

Of the total interview base more than half of the executives felt that in a year's time the strongest business position would be 'a traditional company building its own online capability' . This was because 'traditional companies have long term experience/knowledge' and access to capital with an established brand. In other words the kind of features associated with traditional businesses.

ebite article: Business models: strategy comes first

Brand is the key intangible

Our research tested executives' views on the importance of a whole range of intangibles on the plus side of the balance sheet. Brand was the only intangible to stand out. 70 percent of executives felt that measures are needed to value brand on the balance sheet, 19 percent even said such action was ' drastically' needed. As one Media executive said: ' Brand is different. It creates emotional loyalty' . After brand, leadership was considered the next most important candidate for inclusion on the balance sheet. 44 percent of executives wanted it taken into account. ' Business is becoming revolutionary and leadership must be dynamic' .

Avoiding the tax traps

More than 50 percent of executives believe the UK government is not making the UK an attractive place to establish a business. As one executive put it: 'Better offers are available just across the water. The figures are so large with multinationals that unless you' re confident of the tax situation it' s a high risk'.

ebite article: eCommerce and value added tax

Do WAP, do WAP?

This is an industry where the hype seems to be well ahead of reality. Only two WAP phone capabilities really resonated with the audience - remote network access and real time access to customer information - for example order tracking and account information.

More than 70 percent of executives felt very strongly that selling or advertising on a mobile was not useful.

ebite article: WAP: promise yet to be delivered

What for, when and how are you using the internet? You might be surprised...

This Andersen methodology will help you assess and understand the quality and effectiveness of interactions between your customers, employees, suppliers, partners etc. in an eBusiness environment.



Do you understand the jargon? Find out what all those terms mean in our eBusiness glossary.



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