C I Host Survey:Advantage For Small Businesses With Websites

September 30, 2004 - (HostReview.com) - Having a Web site greatly improves the ability of small and medium-sized businesses to attract customers and sell their goods and services, according to a recent phone survey by C I Host, a global leader in Web hosting and Internet solutions.

Of the 5,000 small U.S. businesses that C I Host surveyed between May 1 and July 31, some 99 percent said they had received new customers from their web site and 81 per cent said their revenues and profitability increased due to the Web site.

All of the companies had been in business more than 5 years at the time of the survey and had launched their Web site within the past year. Each had fewer than 15 employees and revenue of more than $100,000 a year.

"Having a web site is a critical driving force behind any business' success in the current economic climate," said Christopher Faulkner, CEO of C I Host. "Through a Web site a company can reach new territories, find new customers and achieve levels of profitability not thought possible before."

The study compared the company's business before and after adding the potential of eCommerce through their Web site. The group included C I Host customers and those who used other Web hosts.

Of those surveyed, 60 per cent said they thought their web site improved their competitive position within their market space and 51 percent said the Web site brought in customers and accounts that previously hadn't been targeted by their sales force.

"These companies were brick and mortar and within 12 months of becoming click and order they saw huge increases in their businesses," Faulkner said.

"Nearly 19 per cent said they sold goods or services to companies outside the United States for the first time because of their Web site."

The 25 million small and medium sized businesses are growing rapidly in the United States and account for a large share of the growing economy.

C I Host's eBusiness in a box enables a small or medium sized businesses to be online and making money through their Web sites within days.

C I Host (www.cihost.com), based in the Dallas/Fort Worth market, is a Web hosting and Internet solutions provider, domain name registrar (DNR) and application service provider (ASP) serving 210,000 individual consumers and businesses in 190 countries worldwide.