The July 2002 Industrial Purchasing Barometer from Thomas Register finds that 32% of buyers say direct sales have had the best influence on ROI, compared to just 15% saying the same about the net.
Thomas Register surveyed members of its 760,000 pool of opt-in users, which is made up of buyers in the manufacturing, engineering, wholesale trade, distribution and government sectors.
Marketing
Activity Yielding Largest ROI During Past Year
(July, 2002, % of respondents)
| Direct Sales | 32%
|
| Networking/referrals | 21% |
| Homepage/online outreach | 15% |
| Trade Shows | 11% |
| Advertising | 9% |
| Direct Mail | 5%
|
| Other | 7% |
Source: Thomas Register, August 2002
For a better idea of the companies that are marketing online
in the US, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) reported in April 2002 that 25% of small companies upsell on their main websites whereas 47% of large companies do the same. A whopping 81% of large
companies use their website for cross-selling by targeting offline buyers online.
Website Marketing, 2001 (% of respondents)
| | Size of Company |
| Small | Medium | Large |
| Avg. no. of products marketed on website | 6 | 40 | 40
|
| Avg. no. of products marketed w/Online Catalog | 175 | 387 | 25 |
| Can conduct electronic transactions | 20% | 52% | 63% |
| Upsell on primary website | 25% | 43% | 47% |
| Cross-sell targeting offline buyers online | 45% | 68% | 81% |
| Cross-sell targeting online buyers offline | 69% | 61% | 56% |
Source: Direct Marketing Association, Apr 2002
Note: Small Company, $5 million or less; Medium, $5-500 million; Large, over $500 million
You can find out more here.