The personal lines insurance specialist found that almost 35 per cent of sites did not contain an email link to someone at the firm, 32 per cent of the sites they visited where poorly navigable and 25 per cent of sites could not be logged onto which resulted in an error message or an ‘under construction’ message. Nine per cent of sites researched contained no contact details at all.
Aidan Plumridge, marketing and business development manager at Cassidy Davis, commented: “A company website is at the very least a corporate brochure and therefore the first point of contact for a potential customer. For many firms it is becoming even more important as they are now transacting business online and this is only set to increase. Any flaw in your web site from a transaction failure to a link that doesn’t deliver on its promise, costs your business. It damages customer loyalty and undermines the brand experience not to mention any potential loss in revenue.
“ Over 85 per cent of companies are useing the Internet as part of their business strategy but about 80 per cent of Internet users say they would not buy online unless service levels improved. Major stumbling blocks include the time it takes to use the web site due to connection speed or navigating difficulties. That’s why a key objective for us when developing our site was to make it as clear, simple and slick as possible.”
