1. Malcolm Wright

    Commercial Director at Fathom Business Solutions Limited

    18 June 2008 11:34am

    Malcolm Wright

    It's probably something that a lot of businesses are looking at right now, but I'm curious to find out from the e-community what the perception is.

    • Are you holding back on getting a new web site developed, or in undertaking new marketing?
    • Have you seen a drop in new business leads?
    • Has competition to win business increased as a result of more suppliers chasing fewer leads?
    • Are your customer becoming more demanding as a result of their own budget squeeze?
    • Are you adjusting your own products / services towards the current economic climate?

    Or, to the contrary are you seeing that the web is a good way to get your / your clients' message spread further and wider, and with the right site and right marketing the web is the area to invest available budget in at the moment?

  2. Martha Ignorme

    Credit Suisse

    19 June 2008 08:06am

    Martha Ignorme

    I believe that not all sectors of the economy are being affected by the creditcrunch.  Obviously the interest rate dropping is hurting some businesses, however I feel that creating new websites is not neccesary being slowed by the 'credit crunch.' On the other hand consumption has been dropping so I am sure that websites that offer goods for consumption might be seeing lower site traffic. Well that is just my take...I feel like the top companies are doing better (maybe because their competition is dropping because they're being effected more) and that the bottom companies are going out of business possibley. I think only time will tell. Though this BBC story might help sort out some of the numbers...

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7302341.stm

  3. Martha Ignorme

    Credit Suisse

    19 June 2008 08:32am

    Martha Ignorme

    Found some more info on the credit crunch that might answer some more of your questions because I knew there was more that I've been reading about the incredible state of our economy...then I really should get back to work.  Not motivated as it is almost Friday :). The other thing I wanted to mention was the pension crisis, as I believe that is also an extension of the economic slump or 'credit crunch.'  http://uk.moneto.eu/pensions/pension-protection/crisis/ there is more explanation in that article, however it just doesn't make sense to me that the state would be cutting back on pensions because were does that leave the elderly in 10, 20, 30 years. Also here.... http://www.financemarkets.co.uk/2007/12/23/threats-for-the-uk-economy-in-2008/
    they list out all the specific problems the economy is being affected by.  There is looming debt, however at least now some bank charges can be reclaimed but that doesn't neccessarily help that issue, there is the property/home market where prices are just terrible, and also the pound is overvalued and inflation. It seems like a lot of businesses should be feeling the shocks from this, however I do not see it being as extreme as the economic forecasts. That is enough of my spiel...of to work again for me :(.

  4. Bob Browning

    Retired at Retired

    20 June 2008 12:43pm

    Bob Browning

    Oddly we haven't seen anything.  But it is not just the credit crunch.  The next few years are not looking very bright all round.

    • Who knows if any other banks are heading for trouble.  We hope not but the city is laying off people like there is no tomorrow.  
    • The housing market is about to crash big-time.  A sure sign of this was when industry pundits assured us last year it would not crash but perhaps the rate of growth would slow.  Has there been a crash yet which was not preceded by these re-assuring messages?
    • How many people do you know who decided they could get rich quick by getting dozens of buy-to-let mortgages and become property millionaires.  A lot of them heading for bankrupcy.
    • Then there are the building firms who are have stopped new developments, so a lot of construction subcontractors will be heading for bankrupcy as well.
    • The oil-price issue may be a blip - or may be something much more serious.  Check out the peak-oil sites which have been demonstrating for years that oil and gas is a limited resource, and that at some point demand would carry on north while supply headed south.  Once that happens prices will head past the north pole and on into outer space so...
    • Humans as irrational as they are, will ignore the effect on the planet and start mining coal and far worse - tar sands.  Both essentially infinite supplys of carbon waiting to be turned into CO2.
    • Then - did you see that TV program about the last warming event when a huge volcanoe in Siberia released vast amounts of CO2 causing a 5 degree increase in temperature, this in its turn caused methane to be released from rotting vegitation trapped under the ocean.  This caused temperatures to shoot up another 5 degrees very quickly and killed 95% of life on the planet.

    So all together now.  "why not look on the bright side of life..."

    Bob

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