Dylan Hunter

Can’t seem to get an URL for this - is from an email newsletter that I subscribe to - MediaPost’s Center for Media Research, which though sometimes a bit odd, does have some nice info to keep track of for future use.

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Thursday, October 6, 2005
Small Business Feels Stronger With Web Site

The impending release of the Interland Summer 2005 Business Barometer, a measure of small business online activity, shows how the leaders of U.S. small- and medium-sized businesses feel on issues important to them. The nationwide survey of 780 small-business leaders of organizations with 500 or fewer employees found that seventy-two percent of the respondents have a business Web site, with Industry declared as 33% business services, 20% personal services, 19% retail, 17% non-profit and 11% manufacturing.

With regard to the perceived value of their website:

* 78% of respondents said their company was healthier - had a competitive advantage or stronger economic footing - because of their Web site
* 76% also identified their Web site as a tool that helps generate business leads
* 57%of those with Web sites said they generate monthly revenue through online purchases or offline purchases that were influenced by their Web site
* 53% of small businesses with Web sites say the role it plays in the business is primarily to provide company credibility
* 54%, of respondents measure Web site success by customer and prospect comments, followed by site traffic (48%)

When asked to define the role of the Web site in their business:

* 14% rely heavily on the website to make sales goals
* 19% say it is a tool that helps up lower costs
* 15% declare it is most powerful marketing tool we have is our website
* 53% feel the Web site provides our company credibility
* 29% say the website provides a critical building block for developing products/services
* 23% are unsure that it provides any significant value

The response to monthly revenue generated by the Web site shows that:

* 21% say none of their monthly revenue is generated by their site
* 32% say less than 10%
* 10% say 10% to 20%
* 9% say 21% to 50%
* 3% say 51% to 75%
* 2% say 76% to 99%
* 22% are uncertain

Web site success is measured in a variety of ways:

* 54% use customer/prospect comments about the site
* 24% use online sales as the criteria
* 36% say ales leads
* 48% consider site activity/traffic/number of visitors the important factor
* 21% cite efficiency of internal business processes (i.e., faster payment processing, fewer phone calls)

Having A Web Site Means Different Things To Different People
(% Of Respondents)

Website Benefit

Very important

Important

Somewhat unimportant

Very unimportant

Having an online identity

55%

30

9

6

Conducting online transactions

24

29

24

22

Executing online promotions

22

32

28

19

Enabling online interactivity

29

34

23

13

Source: Interland Summer 2005 Business Barometer

For more information about this study, go here.