Yahoo! Research Reveals Internet as the Go-To Research Medium for $75 Billion Technology Market
San Francisco and Sunnyvale, CA -- May 12, 2004 -- Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - News), a leading global Internet company, and Grey San Francisco, a fully integrated marketing agency and part of Grey Global Group (Nasdaq: GREY), today announced the results of a research study commissioned by both companies, that offers a deep understanding of the process small and medium size businesses (SMBs) undertake when deciding to purchase technology products. The findings of the research, conducted by IDC, clearly indicate that while SMBs' need for key business technologies is consistent with larger enterprise companies, the purchase process is markedly different. The SMB segment has a distinct set of priorities and uses different resources for researching its decisions.
"Small and medium-size businesses spend more than $75 billion per year on technology, but have remained an elusive segment for technology marketers due to the impracticality of reaching out to each SMB individually," said Elizabeth Harz, category development officer for technology advertising, Yahoo! Inc. "The Internet has become a key resource for SMBs to learn about perspective technology purchases, which makes it an ideal medium for the technology vendors that rely on marketing efforts, rather than personal contact, to reach this segment."
Key Findings
SMBs consider technology to be critical to their success, with 88 percent agreeing that it is important to keep up with the latest technology trends. Despite the importance placed on technology, only one-third of businesses with 20-49 employees have a full-time IT professional (a figure that increases to 50 percent in companies of 50-99 employees, and to more than 90 percent for SMBs with 100 plus employees). Given the nature of the small business atmosphere, the person who ultimately buys the product has multiple and varied job responsibilities. These decision-makers are constantly digesting information from diverse media sources (five plus hours per day with varying media), including print, online, radio and television. The Internet has become the medium with which SMBs spend the most time, and where they go to research and validate findings throughout the purchasing process.
"As a marketer, the story that has changed over the last five years is the evolution of the Internet into the overall marketing process," said Bill Burkart, co-managing partner of Grey San Francisco. "Where it previously would have been used only to reach a niche audience, it is now an essential part of a complete marketing communications solution. To maximize the effectiveness of a brand's campaign, the Internet must be factored-in to compliment print, direct and other more traditional vehicles."
Purchase Factors
When asked what factors are "very important" when making technology purchase decisions, 90 percent of SMBs listed "reliability," 83 percent cited "high quality," and 79 percent wanted the product to be "trustworthy." These brand attributes are considered the "cost of entry" for this segment because without them, a product will not receive strong purchase consideration. The research also showed that SMBs need to feel that the technology is a good value and that the company cares about the SMB business.
About Grey San Francisco
As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, Grey San Francisco is a full-service agency that delivers the power of integrated marketing communications through customized, media-neutral solutions for each client. From strategic planning to compelling creative and through the full spectrum of advertising, direct and interactive mediums, Grey San Francisco provides the programs that measurably move a company's business.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive online products and services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and the most trafficked Internet destination worldwide. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo!'s global network includes 25 world properties and is available in 13 languages.
Contact:
Brian Nelson, Yahoo!, 408-349-7329, bnelson@yahoo-inc.com
Michelle Andersen, Fleishman-Hillard (for Yahoo!), 415-318-4101, andersem@fleishman.com
Dianne Gleason, for Grey San Francisco, 303-544-9099, diannegleason@comcast.net
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