Home Business Information

WITHOUT A WEB SITE AS PART OF YOUR marketing plan, your small business has as much long-term survival potential as a snowman in a bonfire--or so goes contemporary hyperbole. The reality of how small businesses prefer to reach their customers casts doubts that e-commerce is a necessity at all for home-based businesses.

For one, home-based business owners don't think that a Web site and e-commerce go hand-in-hand, says Merle Sandier, senior analyst at Boston-based Small Business Research Group, a division of IDC. A recent study by IDC found that out of 850 small businesses, while 70 percent had the ability to go online, only a third of those online had a Web site. "Plus, only a third of those Web sites are actually capable of transacting business online," says Sandler.

A slightly different picture emerges from ActivMedia's study of 1,013 small businesses. Fifty-six percent of respondents claimed to be set up for accepting orders over active Web sites, while 64 percent say they use it primarily for marketing purposes. Moreover, only about a third of the participants in the ActivMedia study claim to generate revenue over the Internet.

"Currently, of the 15 million domain names registered worldwide, just over seven million are using the `.com' domain extension," says Chris Wheeler, vice president of information services at ActivMedia Research, based in Peterborough, N.H. "But, there are only approximately 500,000 substantial Web businesses found in the various published directories."

So, why are the majority of small businesses staying offline? Wheeler says it's a matter of understanding the wants and needs of the customer. Louis Rivet, a small-business owner, agrees. He says that his business simply doesn't lend itself to an online operation. For the past 30 years, Rivet has operated Pleasant Mailboxes, a provider of packing and shipping services and rental mailboxes to individuals and businesses in Claremont, N.H. "I can't rent mailboxes online because of all the strict picture-I.D, regulations," he explains.

# posted by Medical Information : 2:44 AM