I think it’s true that every cloud has a silver lining.
In the case of the current economic recession I think the silver lining is that millions of regular folks (individuals and small business owners) are moving online with a new found sense of urgency in an effort to promote themselves and their commercial interests.
SMB online marketing is a silver lining in the economic downturn
Take LinkedIn for example, one of the few players seeing huge growth during the current economic crisis. The company reports that it was profitable for 2008, had an excellent 4Q08, and that it delivered nearly $100m for the full year in 2008. Revenue growth is being driven by corporations seeking less expensive ways to find talented employees. Simultaneously, user growth is surging due to “newly motivated” signups from hard hit sectors such as financial services and banking.
With regard to small business owners, the Kelsey Group predicts the downturn will drive a significant increase in the number of SMBs who actively market themselves online. “Web sites will be viewed as a cost-effective alternative; a channel that didn’t make sense in a booming market will fast become a necessity,” said Matt Booth, Kelsey SVP. One of the best examples of this dynamic are SMBs who provide “home services”. I am referring to painters, landscapers, carpenters, etc. — who for years had more leads than they could handle. Suddenly these businesses are desperate for new prospects — and, as a result, they are turning to the web, and to firms such as ServiceMagic to help generate new leads. Kelsey estimates that 60% of these business will have a web site by 2010 — up from just 33% today. The anticipated growth was a key driver behind ServiceMagic’s savvy acquisition of Market Hardware.
Not only will the economic downturn cause more SMBs to spend money on “Do-It-For-Me” web marketing services — but, it will also motivate huge numbers of small business owners to invest time in “Do It Yourself” rich profiling services such as BT Tradespace and Facebook pages. Such services are often FREE to start and provide a simple and affordable way for SMBs to tell their stories online, with rich content, so they are more likely to get found by consumers in the long tail of organic and/or local search.
