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For years, all of us in the Internet business have listened to commentators defining us incorrectly. The banks and venture capitalists class us as a technology sector and most others have us as a subset of marketing. It's about time we tackled the thorny issue of who and what we are...

By Margaret Manning

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For years, all of us in the Internet business have listened to commentators defining us incorrectly. The banks and venture capitalists class us as a technology sector and most others have us as a subset of marketing. It's about time we tackled the thorny issue of who and what we are.

I began to realise some years ago that clients need that definition in order to make coherent purchasing decisions. If you think it's unimportant, just imagine trying to buy a suit in a world without brands and where shops have no clear differentiation. What's cheap, what's expensive, how do you tell quality, how many shops would you have to visit before you were able to benchmark items against each other? And this is for a straightforward purchase.

Internet purchasing isn't straightforward. Even industry experts struggle to keep up. One of the CEOs participating in the last NMA agency roundtable said he'd 'never even heard of most of the companies' in the NMA Top 100 Interactive Agencies guide.

Consumers of Internet services are faced with an unprecedented number of choices when making a purchasing decision. This complexity slows down the process. Worse, it can lead to incorrect purchasing decisions and lack of quality assurance. Clients may be spending more money than they need on Web sites and content management systems of sometimes questionable quality.

“a trade association for Web development agencies is a key step on the way to creating a coherent Internet business sector.”

The whole of the UK Internet sector is inevitably weakened by that failure. So what can we do? I would argue that simplifying the purchasing process and giving clients guidelines for making choices will increase the overall value of the UK Internet industry, as well as giving them a substantially better deal.

Will a trade association do this? It's not the full answer but a trade association for Web development agencies is a key step on the way to creating a coherent Internet business sector. If the UK could set up a professional Internet body, this could and should be world leading - just as in the 1800s when a professional association was chartered for accountancy.

A key focus for an association will be training and quality assurance. Web sites are being developed by companies with little or no expertise. With low capital barriers to entry, every print company and ad agency can hire a Web designer and proudly claim to have a Web design wing. A trade association will regulate and approve agencies.

An Internet practitioner qualification would make the industry a serious career option, encouraging higher quality entrants. Clients would benefit by having a higher quality service and a pool of qualified people to recruit into their internal Web departments.

"capital projects account for a higher proportion of overall UK digital spend"

It has been mooted that digital should fall within the remit of one of the myriad of existing marketing-led trade associations. It's true that most of these should have a digital section, as much marketing is conducted digitally. However, they cover only a fraction of the services that most digital agencies provide.

Most digital projects are business-led capital projects, rather than ad spend on marketing campaigns, as more businesses will have a Web site than will be spending on online campaigns. A review of published information also suggests that capital projects account for a higher proportion of overall UK digital spend.

This is a new business sector - let's call it the direct communications sector - with a real requirement for a voice. Definition, quality assurance and training are urgently needed and the current marketing-focused trade associations aren't working for most digital agencies.

So who would like to set up the Institute of Direct Communications?

About the author:

Margaret Manning is CEO of digital design agency Reading Room

About Reading Room:

Reading Room stands at the forefront of the evolution of digital media, leading the way in the creation of innovative, cost-effective and intelligent strategies for its clients. We are dedicated to understanding, anticipating and shaping the way companies communicate with their audiences through digital platforms.

The company is known for its expertise in all areas of digital communications, media and marketing. Reading Room has completed projects for prestigious clients including GlaxoSmithKline and Cancer Research UK.

Reading Room have further offices in London and Sydney.

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