Small Business Confidence Improves, but 62% still don't Have Websites

According to Discover Financials Services, the number of small business owners who say the economy is improving doubled between March and April to 31 percent, the highest level in two years. However, the number of owners who thought the economy was getting worse was still in the majority at 51 percent, but this is down from 69 percent in February, so the trend is in the right direction.

Included in the survey were a number of questions about how business owners are using the internet. A few of the interesting statistics are:

• 38% are members of social networking sites such as Facebook, Linked-in, and Twitter, but only 45% of those use the sites to promote their business.
• 45% have used email to promote their business.
• 46% prefer traditional methods such as conferences, trade shows, and in-person business networking over online methods.
• 62% do not have a website.
  

So if you are interested in staying ahead of your competition and take full advantage of an improving economy, invest in your online marketing methods now.

Act Now to Get Free Holiday Promotion

If your business features products that make interesting gifts, consider submitting them to newspapers and magazines to be featured in their annual Christmas gift guide issue. However, you have to get started in May due to publication lead-times.

Public Relations Expert Margie Zable Fisher gives 10 tips on how to get your products featured in holiday gift guides. Click here to read the complete article.

Promote Your Business with iPhone Coupons

Actor Greg Grunberg, who you've seen in Heroes, Lost, Alias, and Felicity, has launched a new company called Yowza! that allows businesses to post coupons that appear on iPhone users' phones when are physically near your business.

I think this is a great idea and yet another way to generate business using new technology. Put a "Got Yowza?" link on your website. If you have a physical location with walk-by traffic, put a sign in your window "Check your iPhone for discount coupons! Ask inside."

Check out the video from GeekBrief.tv:

Small Businesses Seek Solutions Online

Market researcher Bredin Business recently surveyed 50 leading marketers and 741 SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) about their online and offline media preferences. Some of their key findings were:

• SMBs top business challenges are finding new customers, managing costs, and retaining current customers.
• Marketers continue to shift their efforts to the internet. Efforts put towards offline tactics will remain about the same in 2009 verses a significant increase in online efforts.
• Online efforts slated to grow the most are Social Networking, Resource Centers, and Search Marketing.
  

Here are some of the 2009 initiatives that SMB's cited:

Experts predict strong e-commerce growth AFTER 2009

Analysts at eMarketer.com are predicting flat e-commerce sales through 2009 with growth resuming in 2010. Senior Analyst, Jeffrey Grau states:

"Growth will come from online buyers who shift a greater share of their discretionary spending from stores to the Web. Pent-up consumer demand, especially among affluent online shoppers, will provide an additional sales boost."

Read the complete article

Customers like receiving email newsletters

The marketing services firm Epsilon reported recently that retailers greatly benefit from using e-mail to reach out to opt-in customers and visitors on their mailing list. Here's what Epsilon found:

• 56% of shoppers are more likely to buy from a retailer who sends them e-mail
• 48% of shoppers surveyed said they feel "more loyal" to a store after receiving an e-mail from that business
• 52% said they have a more "favorable opinion" of the companies that send them e-mail
• 87% said e-mail is a great way to get information from companies about new and upcoming products

If you are a FirstClick Web Solutions customer and have not taken advantage of the powerful newsletter feature of our e-commerce module, you are missing out on an incredible marketing tool. With just a few clicks, you can send professional e-newsletters that will draw those favorable responses that the Epsilon study describes!

Click here to read the Epsilon article.

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