Saturday, December 6, 2008

How to use the Internet for small and mid-sized businesses

By Richard Hally

Small and mid-sized businesses are performing the business activity by selling the products or rendering the services to the ultimate consumers. The small and mid-sized businesses will be doing their businesses at best but they can more streamline their promotion, selling, revenue collection and profit by establishing the use of internet in the shape of website, online shopping facility and email orders etc.

Small businesses are establishing Web sites primarily to advertise and promote their business, rather than to conduct e-commerce.

It is found that the number of small firms that established a Web site to advertise and promote their business increased. Conversely, small businesses establishing a Web site primarily to sell products decreased. This indicates that many consumers use the Internet to window shop to research and browse before they buy from local merchants. Web sites seem to have been a worthwhile investment to the companies that have established an online presence. Fifty-five percent of small businesses with a Web site report the site has broken even or has paid for itself in increased business. Forty-eight percent of small businesses with a Web site say their site has met or exceeded their expectations, compared to 33 percent. Additionally, 57 percent found that creating a Web site was an easy process, rating it a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. Small businesses with a Web site are also enthusiastic about the future impact of the Internet on their business. While many small businesses have yet to adopt the Internet as a marketing tool, those small businesses that are online may be ahead of their offline competitors.

It is clear that the small businesses with a Web presence have a broader geographic reach, have a greater understanding of the Internet as well as how to conduct Internet transactions, and know more about how their customers and competitors are using the Internet.

Small businesses without a Web site may be at a disadvantage compared to their competitors who are online, all small businesses can benefit in some way, whether using it for marketing and selling, or researching vendors, purchasing products, and communicating with customers. As online applications become easier to use and consumers grow more comfortable with e-commerce, you expect more small businesses to move into the e-commerce arena.

It is seen the sophistication of small and mid-sized Internet merchants jump by leaps and bounds, believe this is due in part to the ever-present media attention that has been given to online security and privacy issues and to the rise of turn key Web stores that automatically equip small e-businesses with the fundamentals required to conduct commerce online. - 15246

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