Emerging Technologies for Small BusinessRafe Needleman,Editor, CNET.com

Small Business Technology Overview

• How we see small business• Productivity enhancers• Business enhancers

Please use this space for Footnoting

• They buy for themselves and their direct relationships (employees)

• They buy at retail outlets •

• They are price (cashflow) sensitive more than ROI sensitive

• They rely on friends and the Internet for advice• They are the targets of consumer advertising

campaigns.

Small business buyers are much like retail customers

When People Buy Tech

5

4

12

8

8

10

12

3

4

7

9

11

11

13

2

4

8

9

9

13

6

7

3

15

8

11

9

14

0 5 10 15 20

Graduated fromschool / college

Had a child

Started school /college

Bought or movedyour home

Traveled on avacation

Started your ownbusiness

Started a new job

Players

Blancers

Drivers

All

“Which, if any, of the following events have prompted you to buy computer/electronics products in the past 12 months?”

Small Business Buyer Challenges• No dedicated IT management

• Decision makers play multiple roles• Extremely busy and inundated with tons

of information daily

• Too many competing demands to sort through all of it

• Overwhelmed by the number of IT options/solutions and confusing tech jargon

• Extremely price and value sensitive—they can’t afford to make the wrong decision

Source: 1) Gartner, 2002

70% of Small Businesses with less than 100 employees have no internal

IT staff1

The technology imperative

• Small business owners cannot afford to be conservative with technology• Online communication is no longer just a form of business

communication; it’s the form of business communication.• Technology moves fast• It is becoming cheap• Customers are increasingly tech-savvy• They want to shop in their own technology neighborhood

Productivity enhancers:Hardware and Software

• Laptops, not desktops• Instant Messaging & videoconferencing• Smartphones• Multiple monitors• Online backup• Security:

• Anti-virus, Anti-spyware, firewalls, anti-spam, etc.

Cheap solutions

• Linux, StarOffice• (but beware training costs)

• Digital cams for whiteboards

• 802.11b – not g• (but not as secure)

• VOIP

The products I just mentioned will not improve your business.

There is no fundamental business problem that new hardware can solve.

However…

Most small businesses could do a lot more in online markets.

Low Surprise:SEO: Search Engine Optimization

• It’s the yellow pages plus advertising.

• At About.com: “a blood sport.”

• For most small online businesses, business improvement starts with this.

Low Surprise: Online markets

• Sell products through multiple channels:• eBay

• Yahoo stores

• Microsites

• Benefits are both more sales and more importantly, SEO

Medium Surprise:Blogs

• Read blogs to: • Stay informed. • Track your own exposure

• Write blogs for:• Business meditation• Connect with loyal customers

Medium Surprise:RSS

• A gimme with blogs

• Consider other RSS feeds: Prices, specials?

• RSS is not small potatoes: Yahoo and Google both support it.

Medium Surprise:VOIP

• Minor gain: cost savings• Minor gain: universal inbox• Minor gain: phones with

“presence”

• Major gain: Faked-out area codes

• Major gain: Integrated solutions (CRM, call centers)

High Surprise:Community

• Get customers helping each other

• Free customer support!

• Give in to the potential for nastygrams

High Surprise:Mobile tech

• Almost all new cellphones are data-capable

• Don’t lock out mobile users

High Surprise:Video / animation

• Broadband in more than half of US homes.

• Words -> Pictures -> Videos

To review

• Technology is cheap• Customers are getting more tech-savvy• Change is life

• Hardware and Software -> Productivity gains

• New Online Services and content -> Business improvements.

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Rafe Needlemanrafe@cnet.com