Small businesses that already use direct mail for marketing are likely to try online marketing in the future, according to a new study.
The Kelsey Group, a Princeton, NJ-based consultancy, concluded that small businesses using direct mail likely will find online marketing attractive because it allows a transparent view of the return they get from their marketing spending.
The study drew on The Kelsey Group's own survey data and other sources to divide the 10 million or so U.S. small businesses into segments to analyze their inclination to spend money on pay-per-click and other forms of online marketing.
Search engines like Google and Yahoo have devoted considerable resources to cracking the vast small business market. Both rolled out local search engines and advertising programs, designed to connect users with local information.
The Kelsey Group thinks segments of the small business market concerned with measuring performance are more likely early adopters of online marketing. New businesses and tech-savvy companies are two other classes of small business more inclined to spend on Internet marketing, the study found.
