kdr ebusiness

Computing Magazine highlights the fact that most firms do not measure IT benefits.

…Sixty per cent of UK organisations still do not formally measure the benefits of IT because they see it as a cost rather than a source of profit…

If you don’t measure benefits, you cannot demonstrate how IT adds value. If your IT does not add value, you have the wrong IT.

…Information technology should be seen not just as a cost centre, supplying infrastructure, but as an enabler of an organisation’s overall business objectives…

Thanks to Sherrillyne from Strive PR for the heads up.

Tags: IT benefits

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With each new technology advance we are promised easier methods for computer systems to talk to each other. But once we step away from the glossy brochure and back into the real world, we see systems that seem to have been designed to achieve exactly the opposite.

Many companies select their software solutions without a good strategic overview of how it will fit with existing systems. How you can get information in and out is something that should never be overlooked.

Systems that are closed or ‘proprietary’ limit what you are able to do. Wherever possible you should avoid this type as I guarantee that they will cost you more in the long run.

Open Systems on the other hand are based on Open Standards and as a result they should be easier to integrate. Easier normally means cheaper.

Integrated systems can reduce double keying, errors and man-hours. A simple cost/benefit exercise will check that your integration costs will produce a return on the investment.

Tags: technology, software solutions, strategic, proprietary, Open Systems

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Frequently seen on many websites are forms and email addresses for contacting or for providing feedback. If you have this on your website, do you know how many people have contacted you via this method? And what they said? And what your response was? And what your business learned from it?

So far my experience of feedback forms has been underwhelming to say the least.

• Some ask for way too much personal information, which leads me to suspect why they need to have so much detail.
• Some never respond to customer feedback at all. This is like being ignored at the shop counter!
• Many have no other way of contacting the company - no telephone number anywhere to be found

Think of the customer experiencing poor or zero response to their enquiry and how long this will affect their opinion of your business. With more people turning to the internet to find and select the goods and services they need, you need to make sure that you have a consistent and transparent approach to capturing and responding to customer feedback.

If a person bothers to fill in a feedback form - you already have their attention - now you must work to keep it, and convert it into a sale.

Tags: feedback, website, business, personal information, customer feedback, internet, feedback form, attention

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