MANY CANADIAN COMPANIES EXPECT TO BUY AND SELL ON THE 'NET
By Adnews Staff
Canadian companies are changing the way they use the Internet, according to a study conducted for A.T. Kearney. Currently, one in five businesses use the Internet to buy or sell products and services. Over the next three years, 73% of the 407 businesses surveyed expect their companies to use the Internet to buy and sell goods and services. Of the 20% of businesses that currently perform commercial transactions on-line, 9% are both buying and selling products and services on the Internet. Seven per cent are only selling and 4% are only buying. Large firms are most likely to be using the Internet to do business. More than 28% of large businesses are conducting transactions electronically, compared to 19% of small businesses. The biggest obstacles in pursuing commercial transactions on-line are: products or services which are not conducive to Internet transactions, security concerns and concerns with clients/suppliers who are not on-line. A.T. Kearney says that in order for companies to conduct business successfully on the Internet they should: develop an Internet-specific marketing strategy, have access to technology expertise and make sure the technology performs, have adequate customer service capabilities, set specific customer service parameters for Internet customers, identify customer segments you hope to reach and tailor the products and services to match the needs of target segments.