Here is a really great article I found on businesses with websites are more successful. This should be obvious but unfortunately it isn’t obvious to alot of business owners that are not that tech savvy.

Over 70% of the Largest Small Businesses

Have a Website

• by Anita Campbell February 24th, 2009

When it comes to small businesses having a website, size really does matter.

The larger the size of a small business, the more likely it is to have a website. The smaller the business, the less likely it is to have a website.

According to a survey conducted in September 2008 by Barlow Research of 680 small businesses, drawn from the Dun & Bradstreet list, ranging in size from $100,000 to $10 Million in annual revenues, here is the overall breakdown:

49% of small businesses - currently have a Web site

13% of small businesses – do not have a Web site but plan to within the next 12 months

38% of small businesses – do not plan to have a Web site within the next 12 months

However, averages can mask the true picture.  If you break down the Barlow Research numbers by size of business, the data gets really interesting.

Percent of businesses that have a website, by annual sales size:

45% – Revenues of $100,000 to $499,000
49% – Revenues of $500,000 to $999,000
69% – Revenues of $1.0 Million to $2.49 Million
67% – Revenues of $2.5 Million to $4.9 Million
73% – Revenues of $5.0 Million to $10 Million

And what about midsize businesses? For businesses with revenues of $10 Million to $500 Million in size, 84% have websites.

This data brings me to several insights I’d like to share:

(1) When marketing Web-related services to small business prospects, one size does not fit all. It’s tempting to lump all small businesses together, but as the data shows, you will want to make distinctions based on size of the business. There are huge differences between a business with $120,000 in annual revenues, and one with $5 Million in annual revenues — even though both are called “small businesses.” There are differences in how big their expense budgets are; the benefit to be derived from having an online presence; and so on.

(2) Consider the needs of the business. If we had industry data, I bet we would see patterns among industries, because some industries and lines of business have a bigger need for websites than others.

I know all of us proponents of the Web would like to think that EVERY small business NEEDS a website. However, as a practical matter, some need a website more than others.

For some small businesses — say a local plumber who serves a handful of established commercial accounts and works through referrals from builders — a website may not help him get more business or serve customers better. Over the next few years that will change as Yellow Pages books completely disappear and being online is like breathing air. But that won’t happen before you make that sales pitch next week.

Here’s another example:  a solo marketing professional with under $300,000 in annual revenues probably values a website as a business tool far more than a $9.0 Million manufacturing shop which may still be in the “why do we need a website?” mode.

(3) Segment, segment, segment! Define who your ideal small business customer is with great specificity as to size, industry, Web sophistication, online needs, and similar attributes. This will help you to:

• Better match your offerings with customer needs — If you are offering “starter” websites, you’d be better served to go after the smallest businesses. More advanced services, such as PPC campaign management, are better suited toward larger businesses.  You have probably figured this out already, but it pays to regularly cross-check to make sure your offerings are still aligned with your target customer — and that your sales team understands this.  It is easy to stray off track.
• Charge a price point that will fly with your target customer — Your customers’ budgets have a marked effect on what they are willing to spend, obviously. Offer small businesses choices, i.e., stratified pricing options and possibly a menu of ala carte offerings that add more functionality or service for a higher price.
• Offer differentiated products and services to provide a migration path to upsell as your target customer grows.  Small business customers do not stay stagnant.  Their needs will change over time.  Are you positioned with the right products to continue serving them as they grow and become more Web-savvy and prosperous? If you can’t provide the migration path directly, what about partnerships that will give your customers what they need even if you can’t?
• Tailor your marketing to hit the mark more closely — For instance, don’t do mass direct mailings to every small business within a 50-mile radius, using the same marketing message. It will be a waste. Try to break your targets down by size and, if possible, industries and business types that need a web presence and/or the kind of Web services you are offering. And tailor your messages accordingly.

Linda O’Connell, Managing Director, Small Business Banking, of Barlow Research adds: “As we remind our financial services clients, beware of small business averages.  With small businesses characterized as a large and diverse market based on many demographic elements, it is important to understand the niche that you are trying to attract.  Fortunately, research resources are available to help the small business marketer drill down into the data to design the product and direct the message to the appropriate segment.”

Bottom Line:

If you want to grow your business you must have a website! In today’s age most of us just google or check reviews on sites like yelp before we even think about doing doing business with an establishment we are unfamiliar with. Don’t get left in the dark ages without having a web presence.

Your Marketing GooRoo

Dr. Dan

http://www.GooRooMediaMarketing.com Call us for your FREE 30 minute consultation ($100 Value) 925-271-5501

This a great article that I found on where Yellow Page Advertising was in 2008. Just imagine how even less effective it is today in 2010.

Relying On Print Yellow Pages? Most Local Customers Turn To The Web!

Oct 22, 2008 at 7:13pm ET by Greg Sterling

Online marketers have been predicting the death of print yellow pages for years. While that will never happen, print yellow pages are no longer the primary way that people seek local information. In fact, the internet collectively — through search engines, local search sites, online yellow pages and other venues — is the top way consumers look for local information. A new study underscores this change and documents with hard numbers why local advertisers have to take the internet into account when trying to reach customers.

The study

The shift from print to web was captured by advertising agency TMP Directional Marketing, which commissioned comScore to perform a study in May 2007 about local search user behavior – online and off. The stated purpose was to “understand the use and value of on- and offline local search sources,” including Internet yellow pages, print yellow pages and search engines. That study involved behavioral observations and survey responses from 3,000 members of comScore’s US consumer panel.

TMP followed up that original study with a second one this year, in July 2008. The results were released late last week. This overview compares the topline findings from the previous study and those just published.

Internet now ‘primary’ local information source

When asked about their “primary” source for location business information, here’s how survey respondents answered:

In the 2007 findings, print yellow pages were the single, leading source for local business information. However the internet, in the aggregate, was used as a primary tool by almost twice as many respondents. In the 2008 survey, search engines (e.g., Google) have pulled ahead of print yellow pages, while internet yellow pages (e.g., Yellowpages.com) saw growth and local search sites (e.g., Google Maps, Yahoo Local) experienced a slight usage decline.

Usage frequency among the various sources was consistent in the two surveys. Print directory usage is typically less than once a week, while online sources are used at least once a week or more frequently.

Local search leads to action

A very high percentage of local searchers go on to take some sort of subsequent action. Accordingly, the following chart reflects 2008 responses to the question: ” Which of the following activities did you do as a result of this online local business search?”

The finding above that immediately jumps out is the one showing internet yellow pages users like to pick up the phone, after doing a search. That makes sense given that one of the primary uses of yellow pages sites, that the study also found, is to obtain a business phone number.

Another major finding is that a large majority of local search users take some type of action, period — a phone call, an in-store visit or something else — local searchers go on to do more. By type of local search site used, here’s the breakdown of what percentage of searchers seek further after viewing an initial listing:

• General search: 66 percent
• Local search: 72 percent
• Internet yellow pages: 80 percent

While a telephone contact can be tracked, internet-driven in-store visits are harder to measure and remain one of the vexing challenges in local.

Conclusion

The internet and search engines have grown as competitors, which means long gone are the days when local advertisers had only to place ads in the print newspaper or yellow pages and be confident that they were reaching most of their intended market. The web must be considered.

And when going out onto the web, local business need to ensure they’re measuring the web’s impact in their real-life activities. When people call by phone or visit a store — the top two actions after an online local search — is someone in the store asking about this? Asking about whether particular online sites were used may help local businesses better understand the potentially “invisible” drivers of traffic that they’re not aware of.

This article is part of a series where Search Engine Land writers are exploring small business issues. The series is sponsored by LookSmart’s Thought Leadership Series site.

So long Yellow Pages and Print Media

This is about all they are good for now!

Your Marketing GooRoo

Dr. Dan

http://www.GooRooMediaMarketing.com Call us for your FREE 30 minute consultation ($100 Value) 925-271-5501