What kind of SME are you?

As consumers, each of us belongs to a carefully constructed marketer-generated segment – from the famous age-oriented Gen-Ys and Gen-Xs to aging baby boomers. Or it may be income related – such as high disposable income yuppies, early mortgagee dinks, and no kids, no financial commitment pinks.

Segmentation exercises like this allow marketers to identify price points and promotional strategies so as to minimise wastage.

Business markets are no different. Each of our businesses would fit neatly into a marketing pigeon hole so we can be sorted and communicated with accordingly.

As far as the web is concerned, I’ve found that there is no such thing as a “standard” client, with each bringing their own strategies, adoption levels, skill levels and understandings, much of which is driven by their stakeholders’ attitude to the web.

And there is a corresponding degree of benefits the internet has brought to each kind.

So here’s my less than serious attempt at segmenting the SME market based on culture and attitude towards e-business.

See if you can recognise your business amongst them.

eZealots

This group are at the cutting edge of new technology. They are the first on the block with the latest online gizmo and are constantly investing time and money to stay that way.

While they are first to realise any benefit from a new development, they also suffer considerable losses from jumping on to new technologies either before the populace has bought into it or before it came down in price. Such as providing video before anyone had broadband and using technologies that required lengthy downloads to view or use.

They would have had a website in 1995 and have been through several versions since – and mostly over-using Flash.

Aware and active

This group keeps abreast of new technologies and takes a cautious approach to adopting it. Unlike eZealots who dive in boots and all, Aware and Actives have to see a proven return on investment before they will embrace new developments.

They are market driven rather than technology driven, and watch their markets carefully for trends in adoption and usage.

They would have introduced a website in the late 90s and constantly experiment with a range of e-marketing techniques with positive results.

Set and forgets

This group is open to the idea of new technology but is happy for others to forge pathways before they will invest in them. They realise that the internet is a valuable promotion and marketing tool, but tend to be reactionary rather than revolutionary.

While they had a website established relatively early they don’t maintain it well and have found themselves providing content well past its use-by date. To that end they tend to provide website content that is generic and less likely to date rather than invest in a content management system (just yet) – not realising that the price of these technologies has plummeted in recent years.

Set and Forgets really have to be convinced that a development really works before they adopt it, and even then do not invest heavily in it so may not see any great benefits as a result.

Grudge purchasers

This group had no intention of adopting an online presence. It’s just that all of their competitors were ahead of them on Goggle (or whatever it’s called) and they got sick of their customers asking for their web address.

Reluctantly they got the son of a mate to build them a website and after forking out an arm and leg for a pretty ordinary site found they still couldn’t be found on Google anyway. Then said web designer went to Europe and hasn’t been heard of since.

Which only served to prove them right in the first place – the internet’s a waste of bloody time and money.

Not taking new friends

In the TV show of the same name, Jerry Seinfeld famously found himself with a full quota of friends and put himself “out of the market” for any more.

There are many businesses who have the same attitude to customers.

They have plenty of work and no desire to grow the business because it’s too much trouble and they are quite happy with their current status. They could well have a Yellow Pages ad which they reduce every year. The web is just an annoying distraction which quite frankly they wish would disappear.

They may never set up a website.

In denials

These business operators refuse to acknowledge that the internet has any role in business. They convince themselves that the internet is the domain of propeller heads who have nothing better to do with their time and could never be in the market for their products and services.

They may have had their PA get a quote on a website once and just couldn’t justify the expense.

They are also likely to believe global warming is a myth concocted by greedy scientists and that mobile telephony is a passing fad.

They still get their PA to print their emails.

Oblivious and obsolete

This group don’t even own a computer let alone a website. They will do anything but train themselves or their staff to use a computer. They keep paper accounts and communicate by phone and fax.

They believe computers are for yuppies and techheads.

They are unlikely to see the year out.

Do these categories ring any bells? Believe me they all are out there and many are actually quite successful businesses, despite their reluctance to participate in the online world.

Which of course is their prerogative.

How long they can continue that way in an increasingly online world is the $64 billion question.

Craig Reardon is a leading eBusiness educator and founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which provide the gamut of ‘pre-built’ website solutions, technologies and services to SMEs in Melbourne and beyond. www.theeteam.com.au