Results published by NOP Research reveal that nearly eight out
of ten UK companies are publishing out-of-date information on their
web sites. The research, commissioned by Mediasurface, a provider
of internet content management software, has raised concerns over
the accuracy of the information that business and consumers rely
upon on the net.
The report found that 77% of companies publish out of date
information on their sites, yet 83% of over 100 UK marketing
managers surveyed said that their web sites were important business
tools used by senior management.
Nick Gregory, vice president of marketing at Mediasurface
said:
“With the internet growing at a rate of more
than 7 million pages each day , it has become an enormous resource
for all of our work and lifestyle needs, if it brings useful and
timely information. In an age where knowledge really is power, the
validity, quality and timeliness of information is essential.
Out-of-date information is no more use than yesterday’s newspaper,
and companies whose web sites contain useless and out-of-date
information will lose customers in droves.”
58% of respondents said it often took more than one working day
to get essential information up onto the site, lessening both the
usefulness and the longevity of that information.
Gregory said that the solution is to make the content owners the
content publishers, whether they are in sales, HR or marketing.
“If key individuals have the ability to add
and edit content on their site through a browser from anywhere,
without the need to learn any specialist IT skills - this cuts out
the problem of delays, and ensures control over e-business
content.
"It also allows the web specialists to be
doing other tasks that play to their skills, rather than constantly
having to ensure new information is going on to a site.”
Failure to control content caused problems for the e-commerce
site of UK retailer Argos. Sony televisions were shown for sale at
£2.99 instead of £299 and the company was threatened with legal
action when it did not honour the sales made before the error was
noticed.
Depending on the circumstances, it is possible that a company
could be liable if someone relies on outdated or incorrect
information on its web site.
