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The more that small businesses shop online, the less they like it. That's just one of the disquieting conclusions in a new study of U.S. small businesses by Cyber Dialogue, a Web-market consulting firm, which asked entrepreneurs who use the Internet about their online business-to-business spending habits.
Examples of the decline in satisfaction seen this year include:
-- Only 48% are satisfied with how relevant the customer support offered is to their needs, down from 60% in 1999.
-- 61% say they are satisfied with the usefulness of customer service information, down from 73% in early 1999.
-- And only 36% this year are satisfied that online support saves them money, compared to 52% in 1999.
This dissatisfaction comes as online B2B spending jumped 138% over last year to reach an annualized rate of $45.2 billion in the first quarter of 2000.
The study, which included 1,000 owners of businesses with fewer than 100 employees, also indicated that those that are unhappy with customer care end up spending less overall than other B2B shoppers.
Leigh Smith, director for small business at Cyber Dialogue, says the data indicate that in the race to set up B2B exchanges and other online business marketing, the winners just might be the ones with the best online customer service. Entrepreneurs in the study pointed out two things that would make their lives easier: voice support over the Internet and the ability to hold online meetings.
By
Robin J. Phillips
in New York
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