|
Internet Communications Leadership |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Corporate
Web Sites for Investors
Top Ten Corporate Web Sites Some corporations
have done well in presenting themselves to investors over the Web. The
following 10 Web sites have put forth an admirable effort in providing
clear, concise, and easily accessible portraits of the companies they
represent: ABB Group – www.abb.com This conglomerate
matches its decentralized business with communications via seven global
Web sites and contacts for 75 or so national and regional offices around
the world. Owners of the base stocks in Sweden and Switzerland get graphs
of performance and statistics, including eight years of balance sheets,
income statements, and segment/regional data. Confidence is projected
in the president's 1995 comments on both current and future performance,
as well as policy and strategic commentaries. Contacts galore, product
information, a help desk, and feedback sheets are among the other features. BBN Corporation – www.bbn.com As purveyors
of services on the Web, BBN has to look pretty snappy to impress its
clients, and they make the grade. Another full-service site with reams
of material and information about what it does, this location is one
of the technical leaders. For the investor, BNN includes plenty of useful
data, including a 'quick search' feature that makes finding the right
information easy. Be prepared for extensive graphics and software dependent
features—a negative for average users, but good examples of how
knowledgeable that average user will be in a few years. Video clips,
audio, and slides are all part of the show. This site is a must-see
for the latest business of the Net. Colgate-Palmolive Company – www.colgate.com This company
really paid attention to investors. First they put a pointer to investment
information right on the home page. They then make the investment case
with a 10-year TSR (total shareholder return) chart and "the investment
story," a concise sales pitch on why one should own this stock.
Plenty of other information on the company, easy navigation, and a clean
design make this a standout. Conrail Inc./ CSX Corporation – www.csx.com/docs/merger/csx.htm A joint
Web site was set up to handle inquiries about merger plans between the
two companies. This marks the start of an innovative use of the Web.
There was a precedent set in e-mail use by IBM in its courtship of Lotus,
whose employee-owners were raised with the medium. Here, a couple of
non-computer companies have validated the Web’s potential for purveying
valuable investment information. On October 15, they filled the site
with data instantly available to all parties: the media, analysts, owners,
regulators, and employees. Statistical material and a map of the combined
new railroad were available simultaneously with the first news bulletins.
The companies said the combined Web site was designed to show this was
a merger of equal partners, but the even more powerful underlying messages
evidenced by the joint site had to do with avant-garde communications
and like-mindedness. Daimler-Benz AG – www.daimler-benz.com This is an exquisitely designed site in terms of navigation, use of graphics, downloading software, and overall ease of use. It carries specific comments on the company’s business status, including forecasts of sales and spending for the rest of the year, among other forward-looking comments—most U.S. companies don't dare. German or English versions can be chosen at every text page. In addition to reams of data on products and the company, the user is always first in mind, with e-mail contact options available throughout the site. Intel Corporation – www.intel.com For one
of the members of the "mega-site" category, Intel’s offering
ranks high. Mega-sites, like Disney,
Microsoft , and
CNN, all offer enormous
amounts of data and eye-popping features. But they are mostly excluded
from this list because they have too much functionality (preventing
average users from seeing it all), because the navigation is difficult,
or because they are too consumer-oriented. Still, Intel rates a look
for its comprehensive, business like approach. It is set up for all
comers, having been around for many years as a tech site, Intel has
experience in mixing easy-to-use features with complex information,
not to mention a library of software to download if one aspires to be
more than an "average" user. Nokia Corporation – www.nokia.com Nokia remade its site after complaints about excessive downloading times—the same issue everyone faces. The difference is that Nokia responded fast and well. Use of a reduced color set and sketches instead of complex graphics combine to make a big difference in access time. The site is well thought out and thus is intuitively navigable, something that can't be said for most. Pacific Telesis Group – www.pactel.com This technically savvy company uses a clever electronic on-line newsletter for shareholders, along with adroit desktop publishing skills to create good communications on a content-rich site. Even press releases integrate color graphs and tables in newsletter formats. Use of this layout allows some creative action; for instance, an easy tabular guide to an 800 fax service is seamlessly integrated in the latest quarterly release of earnings, along with the graphs and tables. The guide lists a range of available documents and releases that relate to topics in the news release and includes their dial-in codes. The company accomplishes a good media mixing, which creates a more valuable whole. Philips Electronics N.V. – www.philips.com A good search engine up front and tons of information on products and performance make for a user-friendly site. Philips distinguishes itself, however, with the clear voice of the corporation in an open explanation of why they created a new corporate image from the CEO. Coupled with this are copies of advertising, the campaign strategy, and a value statement. Investors will find a broad assortment of documents (many easily downloaded) with so-called "mirror sites"—a smart way to speed access for a global concern. Xerox Corporation – www.xerox.com Xerox is
one of several companies rebuilding its site in 1996—a basic requirement
if one is serious about value in the fast-moving Web world. Xerox has
a full range of news releases, financial reports, stock price and graphs,
commentaries, and files that can be downloaded. It is available in both
text and graphic formats and provides a reasonable amount of choice
so that the non-technically advanced (still by far the largest number
of users) can get information. They have made available a corporate
strategy slide show used with analysts in July, and they invite e-mail
comments and suggestions in the investment section, displaying a clear
customer orientation. ©
Copyright 1997, 2001 Hally Enterprises, Inc. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
