For businesses with fewer than 50 employees, the Internet has become the perfect
marketing tool.
And according to a new survey conducted by the Gallup Organization for
Verizon Information Services, the number of businesses with under 50 employees
using the Internet as a marketing tool has increased more than 100 percent in
the last year.
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The “Second Annual Small Business Internet Survey” found the number of
small businesses that established a Web site to advertise or promote their business
has increased 123 percent in 2000.
Conversely, the study found the number of small businesses establishing a Web
site primarily to sell products decreased 48 percent during the same period.
“Research indicates that many consumers use the Internet to window shop
– to research and browse before they buy from local merchants,” said Patrick
Marshall, group vice president of marketing for Verizon Information Services.
“While transactional e-commerce may not be right for all small business, even
the most local business can benefit from establishing a Web site to promote
its products and services.”
Dick Gerling of Rumford knows first-hand about successful Internet marketing.
Shortly after retiring more than five years ago he started his own part-time
woodworking business, carving rocking horses and eagles in his home-workshop.
Two years ago, after his daughter created a Web site for the company, it
became a full-time job.
“I get about 99 percent of my business through the Web Site,” he said.
“When my daughter first put it up, I chuckled thinking that it wouldn’t really
change the way I was doing things, but it has.”
A change so drastic, Gerling said, that he has raised his price by almost
a third in the last year, and he still has a six-month back order.
“I never wanted to be this busy,” he laughed. “But as long as I can keep
up and can handle it, I will continue at this pace.”
Unlike other forms of advertising, Gerling said his Internet advertising
pays for itself – a concept the survey found was true with most small businesses.
In fact, 55 percent of small businesses surveyed reported that their sites have
either broken even or paid for themselves through increased business.
“It’s pretty much the only form of advertising that I do,” Gerling said
of his Internet site. “And it is plenty.”
And though he has been able to sell his product through the Internet, Gerling
said the Web site was basically designed to showcase his work.
“I make a pretty unusual item,” he said. “This was just a way for us to
advertise what it is that we do. I have talked to people all around the world
about my products, and found others who do similar types of designs. It’s been
wonderful.”
And though the study found that small businesses could benefit from using
the Internet, it also found that only 27 percent of businesses even have a Web
site. Another study conducted by the National Association of Independent Business
found that only one in six small businesses has a “formal presence” on the Internet.
“Small businesses without a Web site may be at a disadvantage compared
to their competitors that are online,” Marshall said. “We believe that small
businesses can benefit from the Internet in some way, whether using it for marketing
and selling, or researching vendors, purchasing products, and communicating
with customers. As online applications become easier to use and consumers grow
more comfortable with e-commerce, we expect more small businesses to move into
the e-commerce arena.”
The data suggests that small businesses with a Web site have a broader
geographic reach, have a greater understanding of the Internet as well as how
to conduct Internet Transactions, and know more about their customers and competitors
and using the Internet.
Other survey findings include:
- 48 percent of small businesses with a Web site believe their customers come
from outside a 50-mile radius, while only 20 percent of small businesses without
a Web site believe the same. - Companies with a Web site rated themselves 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 for their
general understanding of the Internet, compared to those without and Internet
presence, which rated themselves a 6. - Companies with a Web site rated themselves 7 out of 10 for their understanding
of how their customers and competitors are using the Internet, compared to
those without and Internet presence, which rated themselves less than 5. - Sixty-five percent of small businesses describe
the Internet as important to the future of their business, rating its importance
7 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10.
