in fact, if they’re small business customers, you could find them doing business on ebay
a new study of the u.s. small business market shows that 10% of small business owners use ebay as a sales distribution channel, and another 19% have visited ebay to buy a product or service. interesting notes: (1) they are more likely to be women and (2) are more likely to use the internet to acquire products and services for their business. for example, more than 90% have tracked package shipments online and ordered office supplies online.
which of the following have you performed online?
source: warrillow & co., june 2005“far from being just sohos or hobby businesses, a significant portion of these ebay sellers have relatively attractive profiles,” study authors warrillow & co.. say.
for instance:
— 53% have in been in business for five years or more,
— half have annual sales greater than $100,000 and
— 12% generate more than $500,00 in revenue. (this group of more established ebay sellers represents close to 100,000 potential targets.)
“as ebay expands into complementary services (note the recent skype acquisition), the community of ebay sellers with robust businesses will continue to grow. an ideal way to reach this group of businesses is sponsoring web seminars and educational events for ebay sellers,” warrillow advises. “these businesses also want to be perceived as being very ‘business-like,’ even if they have only a virtual store-front, so they will be attracted to the aspects of your products and services that contribute to a professional image.”
here’s another question: how many cpa firms are taking advantage of ebay? and if your firm isn’t, then is it out of step with the market?