Kenyan firms need to harness the power of the internet

Kenyan companies and institutions have failed to tap into that rich lifeline that the internet is. They have poorly functioning websites and many of them are rarely updated. You will be surprised to see some of the culprits. They are the high and mighty including media organisations, universities, research institutions etc.

General Motors East Africa is one huge company that has enjoyed success even as its parent US company undergoes tough times. Yet for thousands of its Kenyan customers, potential ones included, the company has no dedicated website. A search on google reveals that the company's web presence is on its parent company's website and only as a page. see GM East Africa page
If you wanted to see their latest range of cars and contact their sales department, then you will have to do your own research alone as there is no website to help you. They are not the only company that has failed to serve their clientele online. CMC Holdings may be the big fish in the motoring world but I bet you can't get their website (I tried and failed). You won't see firms like Kenya Bus or Coast Bus online and there are hundreds of companies that hardly bothered to think of going online.

You would think that the media would know better. Nation Media Group has a very vibrant web presence in the name of nationmedia.com. The group's website is respected as possibly the best in the region. But even they have failed to use the internet to popularise the group's fm radio station Easy FM. It is sad that months since the former Nation FM was relaunched as Easy FM, the station has NO presence online and their website has been under construction for ages now. What a shame. (see Easy FM website) Instead of streaming live programming on the internet and strengthening their brand there, Nation's Easy FM has been sleeping on the job.

Kenya Television Network (KTN) may be a hit in Kenya but it has failed to make its presence noticed online. There has been a site that has been tested in the past few weeks and which holds promise and that site is run by Bernsoft Interactive, not the Standard Group. That means that any time the two companies disagree on the matter, the site will be shut down. By the time of publishing this article, the KTN Online site has not been updated for days although for some weeks it at least had some news clips from Kenya, a first of sorts. It is a test site and will certainly do well once plans are put in place. KBC's news video content can be found on the international Jump TV (click here to view). Why can't all the stations mentioned invest in trained Kenyans to run their own online services like the BBC does?

The NTV station has just started a website and it too falls short of expectations. They have no news content and not even a single video clip on the site. That is totally unacceptable in this day and age. You cannot have a website for a TV station that fails to address news (video) coverage. (see NTV website)

The Kenya Institute of Mass Communication has been for a long time the premier media college but it too has NO online presence. A google search reveals only an advertisement for admissions (click here) as posted on the website of the parent ministry (information and communication). There is simply no other website for the famous college. Even the Ministry of Information website has no link or further information on the KIMC. The site is supposed to be the gateway to other major Kenyan government sites but it too is need of a revamp. It fails to load quickly enough and is in really poor shape. They should borrow a leaf from the site of the government spokesman (office of public communications) which is easy to navigate and has good links. Even on the list of parastatals and institution websites, (as listed on the competitive government spokesperson's website), the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication is still missing.

Kenya's high commissions abroad have different types of websites (in all manner of colours and templates) designed and mainly run by webmasters who are private entrepreneurs (not civil servants). That shows that the websites are not official sites. A good example is the Kenya High Commission, London site that looks okay (could do with some revamping) but which is run by a private firm on behalf the government. The end result is that there are google ads posted on the website, an outrageous thing for a site meant to represent our government. see Kenya High Commission, London website.

These were just samples. Kenyans need to wake up and tap into the power of the internet for selling, advertising or just informing their clientele and customers.