More and more the consumer looks to the Internet to provide information on the products and services they want and need. However, as a recent study has shown, while 66% of consumers search the Internet for local small business information, only 44% of small businesses have a web site. The end result is that the small local business without a website is virtually invisible to these local consumers.
“According to the Nielsen Online Custom Survey from WebVisible, Inc.,” stated Dale Stefancic, co-owner of Entrepreneurs On Call, “92% of consumers have first researched a product on the Internet, and then have purchased that product locally at least once. The end result is that the business that has a website is much more likely to end up with that consumer in their local store. The Internet no longer serves the global marketplace exclusively but now impacts directly the sales of the smalllocal business. Without a website to direct and inform the local customer, a small local business will soon no longer stand any chance of real local success.”
This creates a real quandary for the small local business, as the design of even the most basic of websites can run into thousands of dollars. In today’s economy, a website is not economically feasible for some. Small businesses have a tendency to spend money on more traditional forms of advertising such as newspaper, Yellow Page ads and television. However, the same study shows that 50% of consumers turn to the Internet first, followed by only 24% for Yellow Pages, 4% for local newspapers and 1% for television.
Source : prudent.com
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