A RECENT survey by professor Peter Mombourquette at Mount Saint Vincent University is causing experts to reconsider the adoption rate of marketing technologies among small- and medium-sized businesses in Atlantic Canada.
The study involved an in-depth review of the e-marketing activities of 88 bed and breakfast operations. The results showed that Atlantic Canada’s B&Bs are far more savvy at Internet marketing than you might think.
Previous research has shown that for the most part, small- and medium-sized firms have serious challenges when it comes to integrating online technologies into their marketing plans. A 2004 study of the Nova Scotia tourism industry found that many smaller firms did not have websites, or had websites without most of the bells and whistles needed to actively promote goods and services.
A national study conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business the same year showed that, of small businesses, only 18 per cent had websites, and only eight per cent conducted e-marketing activities. The same study revealed that among larger firms, those with 100 employees or more, 49 per cent of firms had websites and 19 per cent used the Internet to sell products.
Almost all the B&Bs studied used websites to market their products, having learned that online pictures and information were extremely valuable when it came to selling their rooms on the Internet. More than half were able to do online room reservations, and nearly 30 per cent did actual financial transactions online. Twenty-nine per cent included information on special packages online, allowing them to upsell and cross-sell their services. These numbers are surprising given that most of the B&Bs were very small businesses, with 92 per cent being owner-operated.
Previous research has revealed that there are significant barriers to adoption of Internet technologies. These include such items as cost factors, lack of in-house expertise, inability to pull online technologies into a long-term strategic marketing plan, and a severe lack of IT infrastructure affecting rural regions.
Firms need to be able to understand how the technology will enhance their current operations while also being able to justify the expense. They also need to overcome their reluctance to embrace new technologies they might not fully understand.
Research has shown that adopting such technology can result in fundamental changes for the firm, changes that go a long way to enhance its capacity to do business, as well as the bottom line. The benefits are both strategic and financial...
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