GE, others move to make their websites credible

Let's hope the worst is over. But even if things do get better from here, the confidence crisis of 2002 will no doubt leave an indelible mark on how firms approach investor relations communications.

Having had time to digest the impacts of Sarbanes-Oxley and new corporate governance measures by the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, many US companies are hurriedly reviewing their communications strategies. In other countries, similar shifts are taking place as firms realize that what happens in the world's biggest capital market ultimately affects everyone.

Different times demand new strategies and tactics
Driving the changes, of course, is the fact that companies find themselves in a completely different market compared to just two or three years ago. We have gone from a period of unprecedented optimism and a single-minded focus on the bottom line, to a time of skepticism and distrust.

The challenge IR departments face now is how to make IR communications materials and IR websites designed for a different time and a different market more relevant to today's more cynical investors.

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