Monday, November 28, 2005
Taking Small Biz Online:
" Published: November 23, 2005
(After December 23, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
Online marketing is popular among small businesses, a new survey finds, but some obstacles remain.
Affinity Internet surveyed 2,725 of its small business customers in September 2005 (organizations polled had 1 to 25 employees). The respondents varied in the degree to which they used online marketing. While many businesses conduct 75% to 100% of their marketing online, almost an equal number conduct less than 10%.
Although small businesses rely most on word of mouth marketing, online marketing was rated the second highest marketing medium in Affinity's survey. The key seems to be cost. As opposed to radio, TV and print, which were rated much lower by respondents, word of mouth and the Internet offer relatively inexpensive ways to advertise.
Even with online advertising, cost is a factor. The cost of purchasing ads was cited by 31% of respondents as the biggest barrier to online marketing, more so than insufficient knowledge (18%) and a lack of time (16%).
Although online marketing is popular among small businesses, most say they are only somewhat or fairly knowledgeable on the subject, and only 13% of respondents say they are "very knowledgeable."
What online marketing methods are small businesses using? A recent survey by Interland, which covered both small and medium-sized businesses, suggests that e-mail marketing and search engine optimization top the list. Newer Internet technologies like podcasting and RSS were used by only some 10% of respondents.
eMarketer's Ad Spending Trends: The Internet and Other Media report explores the changing landscape of media spending, and looks at the implications of increased online spending."
" Published: November 23, 2005
(After December 23, 2005, this article will only be available to eStat Database subscribers.)
Online marketing is popular among small businesses, a new survey finds, but some obstacles remain.
Affinity Internet surveyed 2,725 of its small business customers in September 2005 (organizations polled had 1 to 25 employees). The respondents varied in the degree to which they used online marketing. While many businesses conduct 75% to 100% of their marketing online, almost an equal number conduct less than 10%.
Although small businesses rely most on word of mouth marketing, online marketing was rated the second highest marketing medium in Affinity's survey. The key seems to be cost. As opposed to radio, TV and print, which were rated much lower by respondents, word of mouth and the Internet offer relatively inexpensive ways to advertise.
Even with online advertising, cost is a factor. The cost of purchasing ads was cited by 31% of respondents as the biggest barrier to online marketing, more so than insufficient knowledge (18%) and a lack of time (16%).
Although online marketing is popular among small businesses, most say they are only somewhat or fairly knowledgeable on the subject, and only 13% of respondents say they are "very knowledgeable."
What online marketing methods are small businesses using? A recent survey by Interland, which covered both small and medium-sized businesses, suggests that e-mail marketing and search engine optimization top the list. Newer Internet technologies like podcasting and RSS were used by only some 10% of respondents.
eMarketer's Ad Spending Trends: The Internet and Other Media report explores the changing landscape of media spending, and looks at the implications of increased online spending."
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