The McCannics e-survey, month just ended October 1997

Comments

- on how internet e-mail helps respondent to conduct their business

"Vital for keeping in touch with overseas clients"

"Quicker and cheaper tend to get same day reply"

"Email is a 24 hour communication service"

"Internet email helps in a number of ways:

1. we can send messages which are not immediately urgent without disturbing the other party like a telephone call would
2. others can do the same with us, email can be read when it is convenient for us, whereas telephone calls can be inconvenient
3. we can communicate efficiently with customers and suppliers all over the world without worrying about time zones and without printing a letter and putting it on the fax
4. international communication is cheaper by email."

"It is an invaluable tool"

"A useful way to keep in contact with people in other countries"

"quick and attachments possible"

"Does Not Appear To Be Of Any Help"

"It is a really useful quick, non formal way to communicate at low cost"

"Saves a fortune on Fax charges as we attach documents (MS Word) on a regular basis."

"Because we specialise in graphics, being able to send or receive them over the net gives much more flexibility, and it's cheaper than couriers!"

"More and more clients are using email to send copy for promotional documents and brochures to us. This helps tremendously with reducing time spent keying in already typed material. It also reduces time and therefore cost to them"

"Leave and pick up messages to and from the commissioning agencies we work for/with often ensure the fluid running of projects. Post is to slow; tel. relies on both sender and receiver being free at the same time. E-mail allows each participant in a conversation to pick their own time."

"not well enough as yet but we live in hope... "

"should save time; especially when opposed to a phone call. However, not everyone reads their email regularly!"

"Vast increase in speed - Vast decrease in time-wasting - Vast improvement in record keeping"

"I find it quicker and more convenient to reply to e-mail direct . The alternative is to draft a letter for a secretary to type and send it by snail mail and there is as a result a considerable delay"

"As we work internationally now it is a lot easier sending an email across the world than waiting for an appropriate time and phoning"

"The Internet E-Mail system we have through Pipex allows us to check mailboxes whilst travelling (particularly internationally), as long as we can find a link into the Internet. Our Customers have found this to be a more reliable way to contact our consultants, superior to the international mobile phone network on which messaging systems don't seem to have any guarantee of arriving"

"Would find communication very difficult without it."

"Eases the transmission of draft proposals and reports for comment, especially when working as a team with other companies. On the other hand the percentage of unwanted, un-solicited and useless emails received is about 70% of the total!"

"Combined with the Company's website, it is particularly useful for quick contact with clients, especially prospective customers from overseas."

"As we recruit IT professionals for either permanent or freelance positions we could not now work without the internet as it has been come a major source of candidates and also allows easy contact with people who are not available during the working day by phone."

"It makes international and national communications so much easier and more convenient, as well as saving costs"

"The emails I send are usually in response to our website, in general commercial terms, fax, telephone and hard copy are by far the most popular methods of communication"

"Brings me customers from abroad on very wet days when there are no retail customers here!!"

"Advantages : Speed and ease of use. Disadvantages : Messages get lost. Not all our contacts have Email yet."

"Helps us reach an international market"

"E-Mail has become the primary form of communication with both our US office and our customers. We've moved to this medium because it's cheaper (per letter) than an international call to send a fax and cheaper and faster than Air Mail, plus we use it extensively to transfer files to our customers for updating our products, which is considerably faster than mailing out a disk"

"an excellent way to communicate with our overseas contacts, we tend to have fewer UK contacts on email"

"It is a great way to distribute our brochure and it is great for the overseas time difference and for answering queries."

"It means that business communication can occur quickly. Although much information can be transferred by talking via a phone, a follow up e-mail, particularly if it has an attachment such as an Excel spreadsheet or PowerPoint presentation can certainly make things move faster. Also with attachments the information arrives in a more 'usable form' not printed or fixed, but playable by the recipient."

"email enables me to communicate more effectively with my clients"

"Allows you to get directly to someone cheaply and effectively."

"E-mail doesn't help me, it enables me to conduct my business."

"E-mail shrinks the world dramatically."

"Increases opportunity for foreign business at low communication costs"

"It is vastly more flexible than either Fax, or mail especially for sending files which one could not do on Fax."

"We have a feedback address on the site which we receive ideas, suggestions and comments from our users. We have found this to be an invaluable tool because it allows us regular daily contact with users as well as serving them to the best of our ability. We also have a form for users to fill in and send to us with their email addresses if they want to be kept informed of all our developments and changes. We receive, on average, 30 of these per day."

"It's very quick, and particularly useful for international business - as time-zones and slow post can both hinder communication"

"we provide a consumer advice service on our web site so we e-mail answers back to readers"

"Absolutely essential - allows easier international discussion"

"To receive enquiries from all around the world"

"Great for sending small files to outputers for bromides saves about a day in delivery time"

"saves time and money by allowing fast transmission of large data files between our branches, head office and customers where they also have an email facility."

"A number of ways:

1. Aids international communications by bridging time zone gap (from UK) between USA zones on one side and Far East zones on other, reduces cost of same compared with telephone and speeds response compared with air mail;
2. Enables me to take enquiries 24 hours a day;
3. Enables me to provide a high level of customer service despite lack of sales/service personnel;
4. speeds up market research by allowing me to place enquiries without holding on a telephone, making repeat calls to the same source, etc.

"Quick cheap replies to interested customers overseas"

"Much more timely responses"

"excellent can't exist without e-mail - get withdrawal if not on the system twice a day"

"E-mail is:

1. a huge productivity increase;
2. a means of doing something that was before very difficult: transferring files that can be edited and returned by associates anywhere in the world;
3. cheaper than alternatives, such as fax"

"Great for sending quick notes (at low cost) to our suppliers, particularly in the USA. Also useful for communicating within the company - we have a remote warehouse some 300 miles from our head office, but, as a very small company, we can't afford an open line....so email is a cheap alternative for exchanging information"