In 2007 a report called the Intuit Future of Small Business Report: Technology Trends and Small Business was published predicting how technology would affect small businesses in the future.
The report identifies three emerging technology trends for small businesses:
1. "On my time, on my terms"--In a connected world, small business owners will have even more flexibility in running their businesses.
2. Global, local, virtual--The evolution of the web will fuel small business formation, operations and innovation, especially as technology becomes cheaper and social networking and virtual worlds become more popular.
3. From "push" to "pull"--The small business marketing approach will shift from "push" to "pull" as consumers begin seeking out product information rather than accepting what they're told by companies.
The study also predicts that the use of technology will revolutionize the nature of running a small business so it is important for small business owners to research and implement technology to stay or become successful
Check out the full text version of the report at:
http://http-download.intuit.com/http.intuit/CMO/intuit/futureofsmallbusiness/SR-1037B_intuit_tech_trends.pdf
~Angela
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...And they were right! Small business owners have a much wider ground to play on in today's society. With the technology becoming what it is, businesses have the opportunity to advertise and vend their products on the web. This allows for much more flexibility and potential for their company. The internet also provides for a wider range target market. Knowing that their goods will be available to people around the world opens up new doors for small businesses. No longer are local firms confined to their locations. This article is also right in its "push" to "pull" aspect. Google is the most prominent search engine available to us today. Finding what we want, when we want it as consumers is a common ability. Instead of accepting and sorting through advertisements, we are enabled to look up reviews for products that we are interested in purchasing. Whether it be for better or for worse on behalf of the small businesses, at least they have the opportunity to get their information and product supply out there to consumers.
ReplyDeleteI agree small businesses do have an advantage these days. They have the internet to use to advertise anything they want and to p promote their business. The Push to Pull effect is a great idea and it gives the small business owners a chance to figure everything out on their own.
ReplyDeleteThey are absolutely right, small businesses have the means to promote more than ever! The internet is the way of promoting, advertising and marketing. Websites such as facebook and myspace are used all the time for networking. Word of mouth is sometime the best way to allow information to scatter. Google brings information right to our fingertips that make searching easy. Technology is an art for these small businesses, the ability to create ads and send them all over the world by a push of a button can make the business. Society depends on the internet for all sources anymore, so business that need the social networking to make their business boom, mostly definitely will depend on technology and the future of it will only prosper!
ReplyDeleteSmall businesses in America are increasingly using technology to make running a business more profitable and less laborious. As the Intuit paper suggests, businesses of the future will have to "catch-up" with technological developments of the past that maybe didn't run as promised at first, but are now crucial to running an efficient business. It is almost impossible to run a business today without the use of computers, fax machines, cell phones, printers, or tax software. Commercial artists are also using rapidly advancing technology to develop ads and market products to society. It is certain that technology of the future and businesses of the future will be interdependent.
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