What's in a name? |
The most recent McCannics e-survey finds that over three-quarters of UK businesses which have an established internet presence believe that it is very important for businesses on the 'net to have their own domain name (like www.yourbusiness.co.uk).
The chart shows that 76% of respondents believe that a domain name is very
important and worth the cost. One respondent said:
However, 12% of businesses, despite agreeing that it is quite important to have a
domain name, do not believe that it is worth the cost:
Others noted that much cheaper deals were available from specialist hosting companies than those offered by the large, well-established ISPs such as Demon and Pipex. One respondent, for instance, remarked that they use a US-based company to host their web-site.
Only 12% of respondents do not believe that it is important for a business to have its own domain name and are happy with an internet address which includes an ISP name, such as www.yourbusiness.demon.co.uk.
Some respondents, with an international customer base, stress the importance of a .com rather than a .co.uk domain name. However, many of those which focus on the UK are happy with a .co.uk name. This can be especially important, for instance, to retailers making mail order sales to UK customers - a company with a .co.uk domain name may well be more easily identified by customers as a UK site than one with a .com domain name. One respondent roundly condemned the confusing compromise of .uk.com, adopted by some businesses.
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The internet-connected firms taking part in this survey confirm the improvements in UK economic
conditions reported elsewhere. For the second survey in succession, the number of firms
reporting an increase in sales over the past year increased. Almost half (49%) said that
sales in the past month (June 1999) were up compared with a year before (June 1998), while 29%
said that sales were down.
This gives a balance of +20% - a considerable improvement on the +10% in the
previous survey (see chart, right).
The balance of firms reporting that their selling prices in June 1999 were higher than in June 1998 also shows a slight increase on the previous survey - up from +19% to +22%. |
"Was your sales turnover
in the month just ended higher, about the
same, or lower than in the same month last year?"
Note: Chart shows percentage balances (percentage saying higher minus percentage saying lower). Earlier surveys include late responses and so may differ from figures published elsewhere.
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The twenty-fourth survey questionnaire was sent out on 15th July 1999 and by 28th July responses had been received from 49 businesses across the UK.
The e-survey has been operating on a pilot scale for the past two years and is now ready to show its full potential. Organisations which would like to collaborate should contact McCannics. Individual UK-based businesses which would like to take part in the survey should send a blank e-mail to volunteer@mccannics.demon.co.uk.
All individual replies will be kept strictly confidential. Only anonymised results will be published, and your e-mail address will not be passed on to any third party.
E-mail us with comments, queries or suggestions for future topical questions at: esurvey@mccannics.co.uk
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