Online Survey

ebiz.enable

Final Report

Prepared for:

Industry Canada

Prepared by:

Goss Gilroy Inc.

Management Consultants

900-150 Metcalfe

Ottawa, Ontario

K2P 1P1

Tel: (613) 230-5577

sroy@ggi.ca

1.0	Introduction

The purpose of this survey was to obtain views from site visitors on the ebiz.enable website of Industry Canada. These opinions included views on user satisfaction with various aspects of the site, and opinions from Francophone respondents on the availability of information related to electronic business on the Internet.

2.0	Methodology

An online survey was designed and implemented in February 2002. It remained active on the site between February 2002 and June 2002. The survey instrument appears in Appendix A and responses to the open-ended questions appear in Appendix B. Overall, 63 site visitors responded to the survey. While the number of respondents allows an overall frequency analysis, the number of responses remains limited considering the time-span of the survey. Two reasons explain the low response rate:

•	Another online survey was being conducted on Strategis at the same time of the survey which probably reduced the number of responses to both surveys.

•	To maximize access to the survey, a link was placed on the first page of each main section of ebiz.enable site, asking users to respond to the survey. This approach has the merit of being unobtrusive to users. A pop-up window was also used during the last three weeks of the survey to increase participation.

The survey measured a number of indicators, including client satisfaction on the following issues:

•	Quality of information on site;

•	The way the information is organized on the site;

•	Navigation on the site;

•	Visual presentation of the site; and

•	The site overall.

The survey also measured:

•	Reasons for visiting site;

•	Language of respondents;

•	How users found the site; and

•	Success of online searches by users.

Among Francophone users, a number of questions were also asked regarding their opinions on the availability of information on electronic business on the Internet in general and the relevance of this information.

Results are presented in the following section. Unfortunately, the number of Francophone respondents was too low to present the responses to the questions targeted to that visitor group. Results to questions posed to Francophone users are presented in Appendix C.

3.0	Survey Results

Exhibit 1 illustrates the respondents language profile. According to survey results, approximately two-
thirds of respondents (67 percent) spoke English as their first language, 22 percent spoke French, and 11 percent spoke another language.

Exhibit 2 provides information on the categories of respondents. According to survey results, experts/consultants/business advisors represented 30 percent of all respondents. Approximately one-
quarter of respondents (23 percent) were public servants and 19 percent were students and business owners/managers. A small percentage of respondents classified themselves as private sector employees (5 percent) and 'other' (5 percent).

Exhibit 3 demonstrates the respondent's field of work. Approximately one-quarter of all respondents worked in information and communications technologies (28 percent) and in 'other fields' (27 percent). Nineteen percent of respondents worked in public administration while nine percent worked in the service industry. Approximately 7 percent of respondents worked in trade and professional/scientific/technical services, while approximately 2 percent worked in manufacturing and education.

Exhibit 4 provides information on the size of the organization that the respondents works for or owns. According to survey results, the majority of respondents (39 percent) worked for organizations that employed 1 to 9 employees, and approximately one-quarter of all employees worked for organizations that employed 250 employees or more. Eighteen percent of respondents worked for organizations employing 10 to 19 employees and 12 percent worked for those that employed 20 to 49 employees. Only six percent of respondents worked in firms that employed between 50-240 employees.

Exhibit 5 illustrates the geographic area in which the respondent lives. Ontario residents represented the majority of the sample (32 percent), while respondents living in Atlantic Canada (19 percent), Quebec (16 percent), and the Prairies (14 percent) each represented approximately one-fifth of the sample. Residents of British Columbia (9 percent) and those living outside of Canada (8 percent) each represented approximately one-tenth of the sample.

Exhibit 6 illustrates the population of the area in which respondents live. According to survey results, 70 percent of respondents live in large urban areas (more than 200,000 inhabitants) and 18 percent live in small/medium urban areas (20,000-199,000). Approximately 13 percent of respondents do not live in urban areas, with 8 percent living in semi rural areas (5,000-19,999) and 5 percent living in rural areas (less than 5,000).

Exhibit 7 provides information on the respondent's level of satisfaction with the following aspects of the web-site: quality of information, organization of information, navigation, visual presentation, and overall impression.

•	Sixty-one percent of respondents reported that they were satisfied with the quality of information on the web-site while 21 percent reported that they were dissatisfied.

•	Fifty-five percent of respondents were satisfied with the organization of the information and 30 percent were dissatisfied.

•	Approximately half of the respondents (53 percent) were satisfied with the navigation the site, while approximately one-quarter were dissatisfied (26 percent).

•	Fifty-five percent of respondents were satisfied with the visual presentation of the site and one-
quarter were dissatisfied (26 percent).

•	Sixty-one percent of respondents reported being satisfied with the site overall, while 23 percent reported being dissatisfied.

Exhibit 8 provides information on the respondents reason for visiting the site. Approximately one-
third of respondents (35 percent) visited the site to obtain general information on e-business and approximately one-quarter of respondents (24 percent) visited the site for 'other' reasons. Other reasons for visiting the site included: curiosity (18 percent), to learn how to use e-business (10 percent), to find contacts who could help them with e-business matters (6 percent), to learn about e-business events/conferences (6 percent) and to learn about security/privacy issues (2 percent).

Exhibit 9 demonstrates whether respondents had visited the ebiz.enable site previously. According to survey results, 61 percent of respondents were visiting the site for their first time, 37 percent had visited the site before, and 2 percent were unsure if it was their first visit.

Exhibit 10 illustrates the method that respondents used to find ebiz.enable. Thirty-eight percent of respondents found the site through links on other site and 36 percent found the site through 'other' means. Sixteen percent of respondents found the site through a site engine, while 10 percent found it through a conference or trade show.

Exhibit 11 demonstrates whether respondents found what they were looking for on ebiz.enable. According to survey results, forty percent of respondents were not looking for anything in particular. Approximately one-quarter of respondents (27 percent) reported that they found what they were looking for, 22 percent reported that they found part of it, and 11 percent reported that they did not find what they were looking for.

Exhibit 12 illustrates whether respondents intend to return to ebiz.enable in the future. According to survey results, seventy percent of respondents indicated that they will return, 16 percent were unsure, and 14 percent indicated that they will not return.

Appendix A

ebiz.enable Feedback Survey

Please respond to each question by clicking on the choice which best represents your answer. To continue, please click on the "Next" button below.
Q1
Why did you visit ebiz.enable today?
1	To obtain general information on e-business
2	To learn how to use e-business
3	To find contacts who could help me with e-business matters
4	To learn about security or privacy issues
5	To learn about e-business events or conferences
6	Curiosity (just browsing)
7	Other (please specify) -> AQ1; C800 L5 C80
Q2
To what degree are you satisfied with...?
1. The quality of information on ebiz.enable
1	Very Dissatisfied
2	Dissatisfied
3	Neither dissatisfied or satisfied
4	Satisfied
5	Very Satisfied
6	Not applicable/Don't know
Q3
To what degree are you satisfied with...?
2. The way the information is organized on ebiz.enable
1	Very Dissatisfied
2	Dissatisfied
3	Neither dissatisfied or satisfied
4	Satisfied
5	Very Satisfied
6	Not applicable/Don't know
Q4
To what degree are you satisfied with...?
3. Navigation on ebiz.enable
1	Very Dissatisfied
2	Dissatisfied
3	Neither dissatisfied or satisfied
4	Satisfied
5	Very Satisfied
6	Not applicable/Don't know
Q5
To what degree are you satisfied with...?
4. Visual presentation of ebiz.enable
1	Very Dissatisfied
2	Dissatisfied
3	Neither dissatisfied or satisfied
4	Satisfied
5	Very Satisfied
6	Not applicable/Don't know
Q6
To what degree are you satisfied with...?
5. The site overall
1	Very Dissatisfied
2	Dissatisfied
3	Neither dissatisfied or satisfied
4	Satisfied
5	Very Satisfied
6	Not applicable/Don't know
Q7
What is your first language?
1	English
2	French
3	Other language
4	I prefer not to answer
Q8
(If Q7= 2)
Why did you consult ebiz.enable in English?
1	I understand English better in the area of e-business
2	I think there is more information in the English version of ebiz
3	English is the language I use at work
4	The quality of French is not satisfactory
5	Other reason (Specify) -> AQ8; C800 L5 C80
Q9
(If Q7 = 2)
In general, in what language do you consult sites about e-business?
1	Mostly in French
2	French and English
3	Mostly in English
4	Other
5	I prefer not to answer
Q10
(If Q7 = 2)
In your view, how much information on e-business is available IN FRENCH on the Internet?
1	A large amount of information
2	A moderate amount of information
3	An insufficient amount of information
4	I don't know
Q11
(If Q7 = 2)
In general, how do you evaluate the relevance of this information?
1	Very relevant
2	Relevant
3	Not relevant
4	I don't know
Q12
(If Q7 = 2)
How many sites offer quality information in French on e-business?
1	Several sites
2	Many sites
3	A few sites
4	I dont't know
Q13
How did you find out about ebiz.enable?
1	Search Engine
2	Link from other site
3	Conference or trade show
4	Other (please specify) -> AQ13; C800 L5 C80
5	I don't remember
Q14
Did you find what you were looking for on ebiz.enable?
1	Yes
2	Yes, but in part only
3	No
4	I was not looking for anything in particular
Q15
What were you looking for?
1	Please specify
2	I prefer not to answer
Q16
Is there other information you would like to see on ebiz.enable?
1	Please specify
2	I prefer not to answer
Q17
Is this your first visit to the ebiz.enable site?
1	Yes
2	No
3	Unsure
Q18
Do you intend to return to the ebiz.enable site in the future?
1	Yes
2	No
3	Unsure
Q19
(If Q7 = 2)
In your view, how much information is available on the Internet about e-
business?
1	A lot of information
2	An average amount of information
3	An insufficient amount of information
4	I don't know
Q20
Which of the following categories best describes you?
1	Business owner/Manager
2	Private sector employee
3	Expert/Consultant/Business advisor
4	Public servant
5	Student
6	Other (Please specify) -> AQ20; C800 L5 C80
7	I prefer not to answer
Q21
In which geographic area do you live?
1	Atlantic Canada
2	Quebec
3	Ontario
4	Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta)
5	British Columbia
6	Territories (Nunavut, NWT, Yukon)
7	USA
8	Europe
9	Asia
1
0	Other
1
1	I prefer not to answer
Q22
Which of the following best describes your field of work?
1	Manufacturing
2	Wholesale trade
3	Retail trade
4	Information and communications technologies
5	Finance and insurance
6	Professional, scientific and technical services
7	Service industries
8	Education
9	Health care
1
0	Arts, entertainment and recreation
1
1	Public Administration
1
2	Other (please specify)
1
3	I don't know
Q23
What is the size of the organization you work in or own? (Excluding volunteers)
1	250 employees or more
2	50 to 249 employees
3	20 to 49 employees
4	10 to 19 employees
5	1 to 9 employees (including yourself)
6	I prefer not to answer
Q24
What is the population of the area in which you live?
1	Large urban (more than 200,000 inhabitants)
2	Small/medium urban (20,000 to 199,000)
3	Semi rural (5,000 to 19,999)
4	Rural area (Less than 5,000)
5	I prefer not to answer
Q25
(If Q7 = 2)
What other French sites do you consult to get information on e-business?
1	Specify
2	I prefer not to answer
Q26
(If Q7 = 2)
What would encourage people to consult more the French version of ebiz?
1	Specify
2	I prefer not to answer
Thank you very much for participating in our survey. Your feedback will help us better meet the needs of ebiz.enable users. To submit your responses, please click on the "Next" button.

Appendix B

Responses to Open-Ended Questions

Question 1: Why did you visit ebiz.enable today?

E-commerce class asked class to review the website

Manager asked us to.

My girl friend told me about this.

Pour prendre connaissance du sondage.

To answer this survey

To assess how valuable this site will be to our business clients.

To reply to e-mail invitation to this survey

University assignment. (class=E-Commerce)

Wanted to see if it would be a valuable site for our clients.

Class assignment

Demo the site to a group of small business owners

For e-commerce class we were asked to check out this site

Government user

Request from COBSC

To enable me to complete survey

Question 13: How did you find out about ebiz.enable?

Article in National Post newspaper.

COBSC

Media

My teacher gave the class the address

Newspaper - Financial Post article

Referred by Manager.

Référence bouche à oreille

Word of mouth

E-mail invitation to this survey

Email request to do this survey

From a colleague

Par hasard en cherchant de l'infos. sur commerce elec.

Someone referred me to it

Strategis menus

Teacher

Question 15: What were you looking for?

Fournisseurs services conseils dans la région de Montréal (ex. Cognicase)

Looking for the steps to start up an online business, including:- Payment Processing- The legal aspects, what you need to do with the government to be able to sell online (Tax, incorporation, name etc...)- More about actually starting the business online, all legally and good.

Statistics

To use the readiness diagnostic and print it.

E-learning and fullfillment components as a holistic approach to e-business as a whole

Je cherche des references qui concernent des entreprises d'études de marché et de la recherche marketing pour établir un partenariat

marketing

Question 16: Is there other information you would like to see on ebiz.enable?

An e-commerce glossary or thesaurus to explain terms.

At this point no, but if I had a client and we needed info that we could not find on the site I would request it then.

No

Not sure

The last version of this report was in September 2001. Is there major changes in the industry?

Up to date business information on how Industry Canada can assist small and medium size business with their on-line activities instead of very basic, 101 information on business issues.

A lot more that is available through Strategis but an excellent start...I prefer to customize from the various sources

No

Practical steps and resources required to set up a website suitable for basic e-business

Question 20:Which of the following categories best describes you?

I am a consultant and a business owner

responsabes des études

Question 22: Which of the following best describes your field of work?

Business information provider

CFDC

Consultant on business development international market www.bdigr.com

Give info to people wishing to start a small business/exporting info.

I want to sell software online, and become an ASP based on Microsoft Technologies.

Sports Management

Provide business information

Reherhe marketing et consulting

Sall business consultant

Small business consulting

Student

Question 25: What other French sites do you consult to get information on e-
business?

Google ou yahoo

Utilisation meta serachsans add.precise

Question 26: What would encourage people to consult more the French version of ebiz?

Publicité

Demo site to french communities (but sometimes hard to encourage participants to attend)

Sincèrement, je ne sais pas vraiment , mais je sais que pour un pays francophone comme nous c'est plus pratique

Une meilleure facilité de navigation(ex) une fois le site quitté, il est difficile de retrouver l'endroit des informations trouvées-et suis très habituée à utiliser les sites pour infos et autres un peu plus d'interaction plus d'infos. Bref on en redemande encore.

Appendix C

Other Responses

As explained earlier, some questions were targeted to Francophone users. Unfortunately, the response rate to these questions is too low for any type of analysis. The responses to these questions are provided below. All responses were provided by users who said that French is their first language.

Why did you consult ebiz.enable in English? (Only asked to those who visited English site)

I understand English better in the area of e-business
I think there is more information in the English version of ebiz
English is the language I use at work	2
The quality of French is not satisfactory
Other reason (Specify)
TOTALS	2

In general, in what language do you consult sites about e-business?

Mostly in French	3
French and English	2
Mostly in English	4
Other
I prefer not to answer
TOTALS	9

In your view, how much information on e-business is available IN FRENCH on the Internet?

A large amount of information	2
A moderate amount of information	2
An insufficient amount of information	3
I don't know	2
TOTALS	9

In general, how do you evaluate the relevance of this information?

Very relevant	1
Relevant	5
Not relevant	1
I don't know	2
TOTALS	9

How many sites offer quality information in French on e-business?

Several sites	2
Many sites	2
A few sites	1
I dont't know	4
TOTALS	9

In your view, how much information is available on the Internet about e-business?

A lot of information	2
An average amount of information
An insufficient amount of information
I don't know
TOTALS	2