Small business advice - Hamilton, ON

If you are wondering what types of advertising to consider for your business, you should consider Internet marketing. If these statistics are any indicator, 2006 will see a healthy increase in advertising dollars being spent towards marketing for the web.

The research
Online survey courtesy of Anita Cambell from Small Business Trends

Main Ways Vendors Find Small Business Customers – not including Online
#1 Referrals ( 83% )
#2 Networking events ( 52% )
#3 Cold calling ( 40% )
#4 Direct mail ( 34% )
#5 Trade shows ( 32% )
#6 Boards and civic organizations ( 23% )
#7 Retail walk-ins ( 16% )
#8 Other ( 9%)

Main Ways Vendors Find Small Business Customers Online

#1 Search Engines ( 73% )
#2 Visit website directly ( 71% )
#3 Published articles ( 34% )
#3 Email campaigns ( 33% )
#4 Your own blog ( 28% )
#5 Online ads ( 25% )
#6 Links in 3rd part blogs ( 23% )
#7 Forums or discussion boards ( 23% )
#8 Yellow pages site or Directory ( 18% )
#9 Other ( 8% )

The report is based on data collected from an online survey between October 29 and November 13, 2005. There were 481 respondents.

More stats
Online advertising in Canada accounted for 1.5 percent of total advertising revenue in 2003– less than half of the 3.3 percent share in U.S. market.

In the U.S., search marketing has grown to become the single largest segment of online advertising revenue, accounting for 35 percent of total Internet advertising spending in 2003

Hamilton Chamber of Commerce December 2005 Upcoming Events

November: NOMINATION MONTH FOR HAMILTON’S “2005 ROYAL BANK DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN OF THE YEAR & HAMILTON SPECTATOR YOUTH VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS”
Thurs. Nov. 24th: CHAMBER CONNECTIONS - 7:45 a.m. – Chamber Club
Fri. Nov. 25th: DUNDAS CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY - 7:30 p.m. – Memorial Square, Dundas – Hosted by Chamber’s Dundas Division
Wed. Dec. 7th: ECONOMIC FORECAST 2006 DINNER - The Chamber Club
Thurs. Dec. 8th: CHAMBER CONNECTIONS - 7:45 a.m. – Chamber Club
Sun. Dec. 18th: ONE ENCHANTED EVENING - Opportunity for small business owners & employees to celebrate the season, featuring the Chamber’s fabulous buffet / musical entertainment. Reservations: T: 905 – 527 – 7241.
Dec. 15, 16, 20, 21, 22: PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BUFFET - The Chamber Club – 11:45 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Reservations: T: 905 – 527 – 7241.

To register for any of these events email:
p.dieryck@hamiltonchamber.on.ca

Welcome to this entirely new web log (blog) for Hamilton Ontario Canada.

This blog has been started to help people in the Hamilton Ontario area to start a small business or to run an existing small business, with a focus on the Internet and marketing. I will also be covering web design and providing computer technology advice. I will be adding posts approximately 3 times a week.

Many of the experiences that I have went through in starting a small business in the Hamilton area will be useful for others and so I decided to start a blog. I will also post research, tips and comments from other business professionals as well as posting business networking events in the area.

I hope you find it useful. Please comment and suggest ways to improve this site so that all can benefit.

Yours Truly,
Dan V.