Thursday, May 22, 2008

Did you know…

According to IDC’s Small Business Internet Forecast Survey, 4.4 million small businesses had sites by the end of 2007—that’s only 53% of all small businesses in the United States!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Did you know…

According to eMarketer, a recent survey by iCongo and Harris Interactive shows that 33% of surveyed US adult Internet users are more likely to shop online because of high gasoline prices.

Online shopping offers convenience that brick-and-mortar stores just don’t have. And while gas prices continue to climb—particularly during the upcoming summer months—more and more consumers are expected to use the Internet for their retail needs or to look up information about businesses!

Did you know…

According to a recent ICOM survey, 67% of shoppers said they are much more or somewhat more likely to use coupons during a recession. Shoppers’ ages were also a factor in coupon use, with 71% of consumers in the 18-34 age bracket saying they were more likely to use coupons and 68% in the 35-54 year-old age bracket and 63% of those 55 years and older.

The best news is that 58% of consumers responding in the survey said they would increase their coupon use if they had access to coupons electronically! Business owners have the ability to reign in these spenders during trying economic times—help them make it possible!

Did you know…

According to research released this month by Harris Interactive, half of respondents said they made an online purchase in the previous year as a result of permission-based e-mail marketing. And, as eMarketer points out, “e-mail was second only to customer reviews on Web sites for influencing online purchases” according to a study conducted in February by DoubleClick Performics. When it comes to influencing online purchases, e-mail was nearly equal to search methods, according to the study.

These numbers show that opt-in e-mail (not spam!) is an extremely effective way for the clients to influence their customers into making a purchase. Mavik Web Solution provides the tools necessary for you to create e-mail lists and track customers so you can take advantage of this successful marketing approach!
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Get a Web site, get global exposure!

Remember what we always say about the many benefits of a Web presence for a small business? A business that leverages the Internet has the potential to reach millions of new customers all over the world! A recent article in USA Today gives plenty of weight to the argument that every business needs a Web site for global exposure!

“The timing has never been better for small businesses to get out of their backyards and become global players,” said small business consultant Laurel Delaney of GlobalTrade.com.
The article states that more and more US small businesses “selling hundreds of billions of dollars in goods and services to Asia, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Africa.” In fact, from 1992 through last year, US small business exports rose almost fourfold to $400 billion, according to the Small Business Administration. USA Today counts the Internet among the key reasons for this booming globalization.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Netflare, a marketing strategy firm in the UK, recently completed a survey of small businesses in multiple sectors. The results show that SMBs still aren’t leveraging the Internet as a convenient way to simultaneously increase revenue and decrease spending.

In some cases, the businesses had a Web site, but didn’t keep it up-to-date! In fact, 23% of the small business Web sites in the survey hadn’t been updated since their launch, meaning much of the content was obsolete or inaccurate. The average age of a Web site was 4 years—that’s a lot of time for a business to change inventory, focus and pricing!

The survey also found that only 8% of respondents had e-commerce technology on their Web sites. Here’s what Netflare’s Jon Beal had to say about those results:

“We were completely staggered by the tiny percentage of small business owners who were actively using their Web sites to generate sales.”

A majority of the small business owners indicated they wanted to use their Web site to increase sales. Beal said, “It is beyond comprehension that small business owners are ignoring one of the fastest growing sales opportunities there has ever been…the fact that small businesses are neglecting this huge and growing marketplace is astonishing.”

So what’s keeping businesses from doing more with their sites? “It seems that once small business owners have a Web site, they do not really know what to do with it so they ignore it,” Beal said.

With the help of our web solution, business owners can see the value of a well-designed, up-to-date Web presence. From those crucial e-commerce solutions to site promotion tools, the Web site we provide will be equipped with everything required to reach that ‘huge and growing marketplace’ Beal is talking about!
Did you know…

According to research by Harris Interactive and eMarketer, people aged 13-21 have a growing impact on purchasing decisions in their parents’ households!

As a matter of fact, teens as young as age 14 said they have debit cards or were using their parents’ credit cards to make online purchases. Kids said they had particular influence in business categories such as travel, clothing, movies/video games and books.

Do you have any prospects working in these business categories or others that would appeal to this demographic? If so, they need e-commerce solutions to keep up with the competition!