1. business and industrial

New Research: How to Market to Small
Business Leads (SMBs) via Web 2.0
More data on this topic
available from::
Stu Richards, CEO
Bredin Business Information Inc.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Research Methodology
 How:
15 minute online survey
 Who:
SMB with 1-499 employees, split into three
cells by company size (1-19, 20-99, 100-499)
Sample source: pre-recruited online panel;
total sample of 338
Must use at least one of nine online resources
occasionally or frequently
More data on this topic
available from::
 When:
Simultaneously surveyed major SMB
marketers
August 22 – 28, 2007
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
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Comparing Personal vs. Business Use
Online tools have higher personal than business use.
Business Use
Personal Use (Total)
Interactive Tools
Email Newsletters
Community Forums
Social Networking Sites
Wikis
Gap between
Business and
Personal Use
Blogs
Webcasts/Webinars
More data on this topic
available from::
Podcasts
RSS Feeds
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Percent Using Frequently or Occasionally
3
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Why Online Resources Are Useful
Users of online resources are motivated by multiple reasons;
no one reason dominates.
Stay informed of
news and trends
that affect my job or
business (15%)
Gain quick access to
information (14%)
More data on this topic
available from::
Get sales leads
or vendors (11%)
Get company or
product information
/ offers (13%)
Get authoritative /
expert information
(12%)
Get objective /
unbiased
information (11%)
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Gain practical /
technical “how-to”
information on a
given topic (13%)
Ask my peers for
advice or
opinions (11%)
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Non-Use of Online Resources
The dominant reason for non-use is a failure to see the tool’s
value for business decision-making.
Q: For each format, please select all the
reasons that you do not find that format
useful for business purposes.
Don’t
See Its
Value
Don’t
Understand
How To Use
None of the
Sites I Visit
Offer This
Format
Base: rarely or never use the online tool
Blogs (237)
57%
22%
22%
Community Forums (201)
50
22
28
Email Newsletters (126)
47
17
36
Interactive Tools (155)
44
22
34
38
31
30
RSS Feeds (249)
35
41
23
Social Networking Sites (238)
54
22
25
Webcasts / Webinars (213)
39
31
30
Wikis (208)
43
30
26
Podcasts
More data on
this topic
available from::
(237)
5
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Types of Information Sought Online
Accounting and finance information is highly sought online.
Q: How often do you go online to find information on the following
topics to help you manage and grow your business?
Total
(338)
Accounting / Finance
63%
Technology / Software
50
Competitive Intelligence / Industry Trends
46
E-commerce / Retail
46
Sales / Marketing
43
Leadership / Management
37
Human Resources / Operations
33
Law / Taxation
32
Entrepreneurship / Innovation
30
International Business
20
More data on this topic
available from::
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
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Online Tool Relevance for Vendor Types
Q: Thinking about the types of
vendors that you may buy from,
which formats would you expect to
be useful if they were offered by the
company or companies you deal with
in that industry?
Blogs
Comm.
Forum
Email
NewsLetters
Interactive
Tools
Podcasts
RSS
Feeds
Social
Net.
Sites
Webcasts
Wikis
Airline / hotel / rental car company
5%
8%
40%
28%
3%
3%
5%
5%
5%
Bank
2
8
40
32
2
4
4
5
4
Credit card company
2
6
42
31
2
4
3
5
6
Employee recruiting site/temp agency
4
13
39
21
2
4
8
6
4
Internet access provider/Web site
host
5
12
31
27
3
3
6
8
4
Local tech solution / IT provider
5
14
33
24
2
4
4
11
3
Office supply store / print center
4
9
42
30
2
1
5
5
4
Overnight package delivery company
4
6
36
32
2
5
7
6
4
3
7
36
33
2
2
6
7
4
3
8
37
26
2
4
5
9
5
Insurance or retirement plan provider
3
10
39
25
2
2
5
10
5
Software or hardware manufacturer
3
10
33
27
2
4
6
12
3
Telephone company
4
8
39
30
2
3
5
6
4
Payroll service provider
More data on this topic
available
from::
Professional
services
7
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Attitude Change Toward Online Tools
Email newsletters and interactive tools are showing strong
positive momentum, followed by community forums.
Q: How have your attitudes changed in the past
few years towards these tools?
More
Positive
No
Change
Less
Positive
Base: total respondents (338)
Interactive Tools
41%
56%
3%
Email Newsletters
41
53
6
Community Forums
30
63
7
Webcasts / Webinars
20
74
7
Social Networking Sites
19
61
21
18
66
16
Wikis
17
68
14
Podcasts
14
75
12
RSS Feeds
12
78
10
More data on
this topic
Blogs
available from::
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
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Marketer / SMB Perspective Difference
Marketers rate most Web 2.0 tools as much more important
than SMBs do over the next five years.
Base: total respondents
(338)
Blogs
Marketers Top
2 Box (46)
SMB Top
2 Box (338)
Difference
Marketers Minus SMB
39%
14%
+25%
Community Forums
50
30
+20
Email Newsletters
48
49
-1
Interactive Tools
70
46
+24
Podcasts
33
17
+16
RSS Feeds
35
18
+17
35
22
+13
Webcasts / Webinars
67
31
+36
Wikis
30
21
+9
More dataSocial
on this topic
Networking
available from::
Sites
9
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Motivation for SMB Visits
Of the choices presented, vendor sites are most likely to be
visited by SMBs for help in growing their businesses.
Q: As a general rule, how likely would you be to
visit these types of sites to find tools or resources
to grow or manage your business?
Very
Likely
Somewhat
Likely
Unlikely /
Don’t
Know
Base: total sample (338)
Vendors (e.g. banks, office supply stores, etc.)
31%
36%
34
Government / Non-Profit (e.g. SBA, SCORE,
Chamber of Commerce, etc.)
18
39
44
Industry Associations (e.g. AICPA, NAR, NRF, etc.)
20
35
45
Colleges or Universities
15
36
49
Inc., Entrepreneur, VARBusiness, local
city business journal, etc.)
13
35
52
More data on this topic
available from::
Media (e.g.
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
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Impact on Vendor Site Visits
Two-thirds of SMBs are more likely to visit a vendor’s site
to use its online resources.
Q: How much more likely are you to visit a vendor’s site to use these
kinds of resources?
(of total sample)
Much more likely
18%
Somewhat more likely
44%
More data on this topic
available from::
No more likely
38%
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© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
Actions Taken On a Vendor’s Website
Once on a vendor’s website, a number of positive actions
generally follow.
Q: How often do you take the
following actions as a result of
using Web-based tools and
resources?
Frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
17%
48%
18%
17%
Forward a link to a colleague
12
42
21
25
Send an email or a comment to the
provider to request more information
12
39
27
23
Base: total sample (N = 338)
Explore other parts of the provider’s
website
More data on this topic
available Download
from::
10
40
25
25
Click through or call to learn about or buy
something from a company advertised on
the site
a publication
7
37
29
28
Post a comment / question
8
32
30
30
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
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Credits/Thank You
 MarketingSherpa
 The BBI Team
 Survey Sampling International
 Survey Gizmo
 Clients
 You
Stu Richards, CEO
Bredin Business Information
stu@bbionline.com
617-868-6369
More data on this topic
available from::
© 2007 MarketingSherpa Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.
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