Download - Emerging Technologies for Small Business
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Emerging Technologies for Small BusinessRafe Needleman,Editor, CNET.com
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Small Business Technology Overview
• How we see small business• Productivity enhancers• Business enhancers
Please use this space for Footnoting
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• 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
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When People Buy Tech
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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?”
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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
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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
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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.
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Cheap solutions
• Linux, StarOffice• (but beware training costs)
• Digital cams for whiteboards
• 802.11b – not g• (but not as secure)
• VOIP
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The products I just mentioned will not improve your business.
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There is no fundamental business problem that new hardware can solve.
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However…
Most small businesses could do a lot more in online markets.
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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.
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Low Surprise: Online markets
• Sell products through multiple channels:• eBay
• Yahoo stores
• Microsites
• Benefits are both more sales and more importantly, SEO
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Medium Surprise:Blogs
• Read blogs to: • Stay informed. • Track your own exposure
• Write blogs for:• Business meditation• Connect with loyal customers
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Medium Surprise:RSS
• A gimme with blogs
• Consider other RSS feeds: Prices, specials?
• RSS is not small potatoes: Yahoo and Google both support it.
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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)
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High Surprise:Community
• Get customers helping each other
• Free customer support!
• Give in to the potential for nastygrams
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High Surprise:Mobile tech
• Almost all new cellphones are data-capable
• Don’t lock out mobile users
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High Surprise:Video / animation
• Broadband in more than half of US homes.
• Words -> Pictures -> Videos
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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.