A very interesting piece in this week’s Saturday FT ‘Entrepreneur’ section. Catch it on-line here. The headline and first few paragraphs in what is, if truth be told, a fairly short article for a huge subject, concentrate on the idea of small businesses using the web to ‘reduce costs’. By the end of the article, however, the focus changes to how vital being on-line is for simply growing or maintaining your business.
The two stand-out statistics quoted in the piece are these:
- 76% of small business owners plan to increase on-line marketing in 2010
- 42% say they will use LinkedIn and Twitter to grow their business in 2010
This is a healthy enough number but the real challenge is taking the large step from intention to action. It’s easy to throw money at completely the wrong areas when you’re bombarded by new terms and buzz words and everyone tells you social media is the big thing you need to harness.
In the end, whatever tools and technologies you choose must fit both your company’s business objectives and its ethos. Otherwise, you’re left with what Seth Godin calls a ‘Meatball Sundae’ – a book well worth reading, by the way.
Please go and read the article on the FT site. The final quotation from Julie Hall of Women Unlimited is particularly pertinent if you’re undecided just how important the internet should be in your company’s strategy for 2010 and beyond.
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