Internet is changing the business rules. Sooner it will be e-bnusiness or out-of-business. Companies are striving hard to win the competition in cyberspace. But where Pakistani companies stand today in the Internet Economy? A little scrolling of this page will reveal the story.
In this section Software houses, Consultancy companies will find the data of their use.
Not a single company was found to use the electronic mode only. Just 15% use both. It reveals that it will take a long way time for traditional modes to be replaced by their electronic counterparts.
A company that uses computer based information systems in its business is more likely to utilize the power of E-commerce for its business. At first the 14% -that don't use computers seems to be a small figure. But when we take it this way that even 20 years after the introduction of computers in Pakistan 14% companies are not using it. How soon can we expect the Internet to make its place in the business sector?
How can a business manager be convinced of the importance of E-commerce when he is ignorant of the computers?
In Pakistan, print and electronic media takes a big share. And there are no signs for web to challenge their dominance, at least in the near future. But the tiny slice of 2% sparks a little ray of hope.
Having a website for your company is your first step in E-commerce. It not only helps to advertise your product but also it can get you the responses from your customers from all over the world. People visiting your web-site will be able to contact you and also there will be a feed back response from the customers that will help to improve the product quality.
This huge 70% No, presents the current dismal situation of E-commerce in Pakistan, but at the same time it shows a big market for cyber-solution-providers.
There are many companies(too many in fact!), which don't have their web-sites. Lets see what they justify for not having a web-site. Companies relate it to the unavailability of proper information in this regard. Others think due to the nature of their business, they don't need web presence. So one thing is clear, Pakistani companies are not ready to put money in web ventures!
It is weird to find out that executives of 38% companies think that they due to the nature of their business, they don't need web presence. While in rest of the world, all kind of businesses are turning to the Internet and adopting it fast, Pakistani companies still think they don't need it!
For the companies having their web-sites, the next question arises that does their business get responses from the visitors? After all a responsive visitor is more likely to become a customer.
A really promising figure! The companies operating, seem to be doing a good job. But this statistic can not be viewed in isolation. The next part completes the story.
Participants were asked if their web-sites were able to draw some sales to their company. There is one factor that is really important about a web-site. A well-designed and well-targeted website should help a company do more business, else it proves to be an investment in vain!
This finding supports what we found earlier that webstores are getting visitors but not customers. This also has connection with the previous question. So why a website does not do any good to a company? This is a general problem. 80% of the FORTUNE 500 companies have websites, according to THE ECONOMIST. But only 5% are selling anything!
If your company has its own web-presence, it is not a bad idea to advertise on other popular web-sites. It helps to generate more traffic. So this question was asked in order to know if Pakistani companies are using this tool.
Pakistani companies are not ready to put money in such a kind of advertising. Its expense might be a reason.
As mentioned earlier, the Internet has a comparatively slow growth in Pakistan. A reason for this is that it's too expensive to be afforded by an ordinary man. This is why some big national companies don't want to put money in their websites because they think it's useless for them, as their customers don't have Internet access.
