Small Business Owner Social Media & Web Survey

I found an interesting survey today conducted by Citibank who interviewed 552 small business owners across the US. Even with all of the clearly marked benefits of social media and the internet, many business owners still have not taken advantage of these tools.  I found it surprising because they are mostly free, take only your time, the return on investment and the ability to build loyalty and new customers is unmatched to off-line marketing.

According to the survey:

• 37 % of small businesses have not used a Web site for marketing or expanding their business.
• 84 % have not used ecommerce to sell their products or services.
• 65 % of small businesses are not placing online ads.
• 67 % have not used search engine optimization.
• 63 % of respondents say word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective way to market their business and find new customers.
• 81 percent say they have not used social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
• 47 percent don’t believe these sites are of value to their business.

The study shows that there is a huge window of opportunity for those businesses who do engage in even the simplest form of social media, whether it a Facebook fan page, a Twitter account, Foursquare business venue listing and especially a simple website.  These only take your time and once you have them set up take a few minutes a day to maintain and actively engage your customers.

“Many small businesses today have yet to really harness the marketing and communication power that online tools can provide them,” said Raj Seshadri, the head of Small Business Banking at Citibank.

…This survey shows that many small businesses have yet to add new tools to traditional marketing methods that they have found effective in the past,” said Seshadri. “This may be because the online world does not fit their business model or other factors such as inexperience with technology or lack of time to effectively enter these marketing channels. It’s encouraging, however, to see that many intend to utilize more of these tools in the next 12 months.”

Having just came from the National Restaurant Association show and attending almost a dozen sessions on word of mouth marketing and social media we can tell you that companies who are using the web, e-commerce, social media and mobile marketing are growing their sales during this economy at even a faster rate than just a few years ago when sales grew naturally. Those who take the time to implement these tools are obviously far better off and with such low penetration levels there is a good chance your competitor hasn’t started yet either.

Related posts:

• Which Social Media Sites do Small Business Owners Turn To?
• 8 Free Tools to Make More of Your Small Business Marketing
• Your Small Business Needs an Internet Presence
• Domino’s UK Grows Sales 29% with Social Media
• Combining the Power of Mobile Marketing & Social Media

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