Services
Effective Internet Advertising
At any time more than 50 companies from around the world use MBendi’s advertising services to reach the large international business audiences accessing our website and subscribing to our E-mail services. Our advertising clients range from major multinationals to small niche players.
We promote our clients in a targeted, focused manner by:
- using a mixture of promotional text messages, banners and logos on relevant sections of the MBendi website and in the E-mail newsletters most likely to be used by our client’s target audience
- distributing our clients’ press releases across our website and in our E-mail news services
- advertising our clients’ employment vacancies, tenders and business opportunities in the appropriate sections of the MBendi website
All of the above link to our client’s company website on the MBendi server. In some cases this is the client’s only official website. In other cases it is a secondary website with the same branding as the client’s official website, but with the important difference that it uses MBendi’s proprietary software for news releases, employment vacancies and tender advertisements, as appropriate. The client’s company website on the MBendi server can be found by conventional search engines, and can also be found from multiple areas within the MBendi website using MBendi’s various search facilities. We encourage our clients to include advertorial and case studies on topics where they are expert as we have found this the most effective promotional approach.
MBendi’s advertising clients receive regular feedback on the effectiveness of their advertising. Independent studies show that they often get better results than can be achieved with a conventional ‘stand alone’ website. In the case of one client, its company websites on the MBendi server achieved nearly five times the traffic of its well-promoted official website.
Strategic Research and Consulting
MBendi’s network of researchers and consultants provides bespoke market, country, project and industry research, as well as corporate and Internet strategy consulting. The company has undertaken research assignments, usually in the energy and mining sectors, for a range of African and international clients. Our research partners include industry leaders Whitehouse & Associates and BMI-TechKnowledge.
MBendi’s consulting services include:
- consulting in the areas of development and aligning of e-commerce and corporate strategies
- consulting and market research in the African energy sector, particularly the downstream oil sector
- consulting in the area of intelligence system design and implementation
- e-mail newsletters aimed at keeping business executives abreast of trends in African business, World Mining, Energy and International Trade.
- advertising and public relations opportunities on the MBendi website and in its e-mail newsletters.
MBendi’s client list includes major international and African organisations, as well as smaller companies who wish to gain sustainable competitive advantage via the internet.Leading Edge
Software Development
MBendi has undertaken Internet software developments for a number of clients. These have used databases, interactive web applications, E-mail interfaces and the use of WAP technology for access by cell-phones. In particular, MBendi has written software used by a number of clients to interface with the WorldPay online credit card payments system.
Finance Application and Trade Service Quote Systems
Visitors to the websites of banks and other service providers can often complete online forms to apply for services. This is inefficient for companies who wish to request quotes for services from several service providers, as they are required to first find the websites of a variety of service providers, then fill in the same information on each service provider’s application form. In the case of finance, where new products come to the market on a frequent basis, applicants are not always aware of all the options that are available to them.
In an attempt to streamline the application process for companies seeking corporate, project, trade or aircraft finance, MBendi has developed a Finance Application system where applicants complete two simple online forms in order to have their applications forwarded to those of the participating finance providers whose products are appropriate to their needs. The finance providers benefit from the access to potential new business which has been partially screened before being forwarded to them. The system, which went live in October 2001, has generated several hundred applications worth $US billions; however the success rate has been very low. We are in discussions with several additional finance providers in order to broaden the range of finance available and so increase the probability of success.
The Trade Service Quote system works on a similar basis to the Finance Application System and enables exporters or importers to complete one online form in order to get quotes for trade finance, insurance and logistics from participating service providers.
