The Use and Value of Web Sites
• Fifty-seven (57) percent of all small employers use the Internet for business-related activities. The most common business applications of the Internet in small firms are communicating by e-mail with suppliers and customers and gathering business-related information, such as prices, new products, etc.
• Sixty-one (61) percent of small employers on the Internet (35% of all small employers) report they have a business Web site. Most were created recently. The average life span of small-business Web sites is just 21 months.
• Small-business Web sites most often generate income indirectly. They stimulate potential customers to buy, but the actual transaction usually occurs in the small employer’s place of business or by phone, fax, or e-mail. Just 24 percent with a Web site report sales made directly from their sites.
• The overwhelming majority of sales made directly over the Internet by small businesses are made to consumers and non-business entities.
• Twenty (20) percent of those selling directly over the Internet charge sales tax on everything sold; 33 say they charge it on some sales; 42 percent charge sales tax on none of their Internet sales. The current turmoil regarding the applicability of state sales tax on Internet transactions leaves small-business owners confused over their legal responsibilities.
• The cost of creating and operating a Web site, both in direct outlays and employee hours, appears modest. However, about one in three does not know the cost suggesting that the site is not a cost center or that the cost is negligible.
• The most frequently noted benefit of a Web site is additional customers. However, just eight percent feel the site has increased business profits.
• The most frequently cited reason for not having a Web site (by those on the Internet, but not having one) is that their products or services don’t lend themselves to sale on the Internet. The next most frequently mentioned reason is that they simply don’t see any benefit in having a site. However, nearly half expect to have one in the next 12 months.
• One-third of those not now using the Internet for business-related activities expect to be on the Internet within the next 12 months.
• Sixteen (16) percent report not using a computer in their businesses. This percentage is virtually unchanged over the last four to five years.
• Though high-speed Internet service is available to relatively few small businesses, almost 60 percent of small employers believe that they have access to it and another 16 percent are not sure. However, those who thin that high-speed Internet provides no competitive advantage outnumber those who think it provides a significant competitive advantage by 6 - 1.
