Online Presence For Small Business

Research demonstrates that smaller businesses, by and large, are not maximizing the benefit of their Internet presence.

This may be surprising to hear, and even disappointing to some, but it should be pointed out that those taking advantage of it, are really experiencing significant gains.

So why are so many still missing the boat?

Small businesses can often be charged with the harsh reality of just keeping the lights on. Computer and communications technology is complex and even somewhat obscure to the general public – not everybody wants to spend their weekend figuring out how to optimize a deployment, and others, well, they’re just not necessarily built for it.

But the research, conducted by San Mateo, CA-based Merrill Research, demonstrates that smaller businesses can leverage their position with minimal.

A recent study — called Benefits And Barriers Of Bringing A Small Business Online: Perspectives From Global Small Businesses — helped to shed some light. The study was conducted earlier this year (late May though early June) and measured the responses of 1,050 businesses with 1 to 49 employees. The demographics were as follows: 150 each from China, France, Germany, India, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom. All of the respondents were from the commercial sector (i.e., not educational, governmental, military, or non-profit) and they had to have an online presence of some sort (either a website, social media account, e-commerce site, local review site, or blog).

What was ultimately discovered was of considerable interest. It turned out to be pretty interesting. While most understood the importance of an appealing website, many simply opted for social media instead.

The value of a domain for a small business is far more significant than many realize. Not only does it provide the foundation for one’s home page, but it can also be used to point to one’s Facebook or other social media site. It may even be used for branded email – a hallmark for “real” businesses.

It turns out that before many respondents created their websites, a slight majority have thought that their greatest inhibitor would be a lack of technical knowledge. Some other perceived obstacles mentioned included cost, support, investment of time and security. Upon project completion, concerns turned to Web maintenance and content sources.

About LaraNet: We are a web design firm focused to help you to grow your business and communicate with your customers and prospects using two simple but powerful tools: 1) Interactive Website and 2) Internet Marketing Strategy on social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc …
Whether you want to work with just a web page, or launch or improve your presence on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or communicate with your customers through newsletters, or improve the location of your business in the search engines through Search Engine Optimization, or start marketing your products or services online, in LaraNet we can help you.

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