by Teri Robnett, Whole Brain Technologies, LLC
(published in the November 2003 edition of the NCCR News)

During a workshop, the instructor, a professor from the Harvard Business School, stated that every business needs a web site. To illustrate his belief, he pointed out that your typical yellow pages ad isn't enough anymore, because today's 12-24 year olds don't use the yellow pages; they do all their research on the internet and may not even know why they're called yellow pages. Someone in the back of the room raised his hand and stated that his target audience was 25-44 year olds, so he didn't really need a web site and his yellow pages ad was just fine. The professor laughed and pointed out that everyday, a small portion of that 12-24 demographic group turns 25 and becomes part of his target audience. They aren't going to suddenly wake up and on their 25th birthday and start using the yellow pages.

If you're wondering whether or not the Internet is the place for your business or nonprofit, here are a few statistics to ponder:

• In September, 2003, there were over 150 million internet users in the United States alone. Computer Industry Almanac projects that worldwide internet usage will increase to 945 million in 2004.
• A September 2003 study revealed that 34% of C-level executive go to the Web first for product/service information.
  Results from a 2003 study indicate that newsletters targeting business professionals boasted a 71 percent open rate, compared to 41 percent of e-zines that are directed at consumers.
• The demographic "Generation Y" has a combined spending power of $172 billion per year. Also known as "Generation Wired," the June 2003 Harris study of nearly 3,500 participants found that 15 percent of youth spending is done online. Jupiter Research expects total online spending for Gen Y to exceed $13 billion by 2006.
  BizRate tallied the numbers for the 2002 holiday online shopping season and found an astounding 40 percent increase over Q4 2001. Fourth quarter online sales in 2002 rang up $17.44 billion, bringing the yearly total to $47.98 billion. There were 358.6 million purchases online in 2002. Women accounted for 60 percent of the e-commerce sales, compared to 39% in 1998.
• The over-50 segment of the population is growing rapidly and will continue to do so for at least another 15 years. The baby boomers, born between l946 and 1964 started turning 50 in 1996 and there are more than 80 million of them in the pipeline.

As you can see, your web site can prove to be your most valuable promotional tool. At Whole Brain Technologies, LLC, we offer free introductory consultations. If you're interested in discussing the power of the Internet to affect your business, please contact us.

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