Interland's
Small-Business Leader Survey Shows Websites Key In Keeping
Businesses Healthy, and Important Holiday Sales Tool
[December 7, 2004]
ATLANTA,
Dec 7, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Interland (INLD), a leading
provider of Web-hosting and online services for small
and medium-sized businesses, today announced the results
of the Interland Fall 2004 Business Barometer of Online
Activities, a nationwide survey of 530 small-business
owners.
The findings reveal that a high percentage
of small businesses report their websites have made
their businesses healthier, helped them weather the
economic downturn and are generating sales leads. In
addition, a clear majority (87 percent) says online
sales during the 2004 holiday season will be as good
if not better than the 2003 online holiday shopping
season. More information about the survey, including
downloadable findings, can be found at http://www.interland.com/about/news/.
Of those surveyed, 77 percent said their
business is healthier - has a better competitive advantage
or stronger economic footing - because they have a business
website. A majority (55 percent) say having a website
has helped their company weather the economic downturn,
and 81 percent report that their website generates leads
for their business. When examining the ability of websites
to generate leads by industry type, the findings clearly
show that retail companies, business service providers,
personal service companies and non-profits all report
high levels of success.
As part of the survey, respondents were
asked about their expectations for online sales during
the 2004 holiday shopping season. Of the group, 45 percent
said they expected online holiday sales for this year
to be better than last year. Forty-two percent said
they expected 2004 to be the same as 2003, and 13 percent
project 2004 online holiday sales to be worse than 2003.
"Selling online is a must for any
small business serious about succeeding," according
to Marsha Collier, author of Starting an eBay Business
for Dummies and online selling guru. "With organizations
like eMarketer forecasting online sales to be up as
much as 29.3 percent and Nielsen//NetRatings reporting
that eBay continues to be a white hot draw for consumers,
being online is critical to any company. It is still
not too late for businesses to capture a piece of the
2004 online holiday sales pie. Using pay-per-click programs
like Interland MyEzClicks is ideal for any small business
looking to jumpstart online holiday sales."
When asked to identify the three ways
they will "prepare for the 2004 holiday shopping
season," the majority of small businesses (58 percent)
say they will update their website, 34 percent say they
will offer special holiday-shopping promotions, 32 percent
report they will engage in direct-marketing efforts
and 32 percent say they will increase the number of
items or services they sell. Increasing online advertising
(29 percent) was on par with increasing offline advertising
(28 percent). At the bottom of the list was updating
in-store decorations (15 percent) and hiring temporary
help (10 percent).
"We have continued to see the number
of small-business websites grow over the past 18 months,
with some experts estimating that as many as 75 percent
of all small businesses already have an online presence,"
said Joel Kocher, CEO and chairman of Interland. "The
killer application that this group is now turning to
is online marketing tools and services that help them
generate leads and convert those leads into sales. This
survey confirms that a website that provides leads and
sales is what small-business owners want from their
online investments. That is why we are providing turnkey
services such as MyEzClicks, our paid-search advertising
package that guarantees qualified website traffic without
forcing small business owners to manage complex pay-per-click
advertising campaigns across multiple search sites."
The group was also polled on their anticipated
annual revenues generated by their websites in 2004,
and it's clear that small businesses expect to profit
from the Internet's ability to deliver on its promise
as a new sales and marketing channel. More than a quarter
(28 percent) say they expect 26 to 100 percent of their
annual 2004 revenues to be through online sales; 22
percent say 11 to 25 percent of their sales this year
will be driven by their website; and 36 percent say
anywhere from 1 to 10 percent of their sales will be
generated online. Only 14 percent of those surveyed
said they expect their websites to generate no revenue.
Small businesses themselves appear to
not be shy about purchasing business products and services
they need online. In fact, 85 percent say they do this.
The most popular categories they buy on the Internet
include office supplies (76 percent), software (60 percent),
travel (50 percent), computer hardware (50 percent),
web-hosting/web-site services (41 percent), broadband/Internet
access (37 percent), print and online publications (36
percent), advertising/marketing placements (22 percent),
telephony services (17 percent), data/databases (16
percent), technical support (15 percent), and professional
services such as accounting, marketing and legal services
(9 percent).
Those surveyed were also asked how they
would most likely invest profits from their business.
Topping the list were "take it to my bank account"
(20 percent), "reduce business debt" (19 percent),
and "use for market expansion" (13 percent).
Ten percent said they would invest in "employee
benefits," 9 percent said "new product expansion"
and 9 percent "office/plant/facility upgrades or
enhancements." Rounding out the list, 8 percent
would invest in "profit sharing with employees,"
5 percent would spend it on "employee training
and education," 4 percent would use profits to
make "Web/technology enhancement" and only
3 percent would put it in the stock market.
Other interesting data points show that
72 percent of respondents say they themselves (the owner
or general manager) are responsible for their company's
marketing efforts. When asked to define the role of
marketing in their company, 66 percent said to generate
sales, 44 percent selected to generate leads, and 40
percent said to build credibility or brand awareness
(respondents could select all that applied).
Conducted during October, this survey
is part of Interland's ongoing effort to understand
issues important to small and medium-sized businesses
in the U.S. This invitation-only online survey was administered
to a nationally representative sample of business leaders
(owners, presidents and general managers) of organizations
with 500 or fewer employees.
Of the 530 participants, 57 percent
had been in business for five years or more. Company
size ranged from less than $250,000 in revenue to more
than $5 million, with 86 percent reporting under $1
million in annual sales. Fifty-seven percent of respondents
said they have a business website, and 81 percent of
respondents reported having five or fewer full-time
employees. Industry breakouts of the respondents were
as follows: 41 percent business services, 30 percent
retail, 24 percent personal services and 5 percent non-profit.
For results based on the total sample, one can say with
95 percent confidence that the error attributable to
sampling is plus or minus 5 percentage points.
About Interland
Interland, Inc. (INLD) is a leading
Web-hosting and online-services company dedicated to
helping small and medium-sized businesses achieve success
by providing the knowledge, services and tools to build,
manage and promote businesses online. Interland offers
a wide selection of online services, including standardized
Web hosting, e-commerce, application hosting, and Web-site
development, marketing and optimization tools. For more
information about Interland, please visit www.interland.com,
email moreinfo@interland.com or call 1-800-336-9883.
All product and company names herein
may be trademarks of their respective owners.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Camera-ready charts and graphs of the
findings from the Interland Fall 2004 Business Barometer
of Online Activities are available by contacting Mike
Neumeier by phone at 404-260-2649 or by email at mneumeier@interland.com.
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