A latest press release or interim financial performance figures reach the widest audience immediately. It is instant. It allows two-way dialogue. It provides a huge amount information, which can be distilled into meaningful sound-bites for individual and institutional investors. Technological advances are leading to the disappearance of geographic boundaries and companies are taking advantage of cross-border investment as an additional source of capital.
Companies have the opportunity to reach an audience far greater than ever before imagined.
A professional Investor Relations web site both encourages feedback and provides the means to react in a cost-efficient manner. The end result is a high quality solution with a positive effect on cost-management. Many US companies are now actively taking advantage of the electronic medium, not only to replicate, but to enhance traditional communication channels. In the UK there is a gathering flow of evidence and research to confirm the need to improve in this area. Breaking down some established barriers, such as allowing annual reports to be communicated to certain shareholders exclusively by e-mail, is but one example.