Two years ago, SDFF performed an interesting study to find out how many businesses in the community of City Heights in San Diego had a web presence, and analyzed what that web presence was. The approach was simple; search Google for businesses by name, address, or phone number. Surely if a company had a listing on the Internet, they would be found by this mostly unique information. And if they weren't found but they did have a presence, they may as well not have one if we couldn't easily find it. Page two of the search results is as far as we were willing to go.
We surveyed roughly 1,000 of the approximately 5,000 small businesses in the community, and this is what we found:
- 25% had no web presence of any kind
- 10% had a website
- 65% were listed in a web directory such as the Yellow Pages or Yelp
An additional, random door-to-door survey of 150 businesses was performed. 70% of the participant had no website. 50% expressed an interest in having one. 45% said they didn't know why they needed one. 20% said websites are too expensive.
In a follow up survey with the group that expressed interest in having a website, 90% indicated that $1,000 was too much money. When asked if a low-cost or free directory listing would suffice for them, 100% indicated it would.
Using this data and other data collected from small businesses, the DiverseCity Techs overhauled their program and created new products and services to offer that better suit their target market. While we're not quite ready to announce them, we're getting close. So I thought I'd give a sneak preview of what's to come.
Workshops
The DTechs have teamed up with the City Heights Business Association, North Park Main Street Association, and other nonprofits to put together monthly workshops that focus on technology, finance, and other subjects that are important but difficult for small businesses to keep up on. This workshops will target the 45% of small businesses that say they don't know why they need a website. The technology portion will focus on the value of a web presence, how to have a web presence at a low cost, how to manage and use a web presence, social media, and other online resources to generate more business.
Local Directory
The DTechs spent considerable time developing a directory product that will be locally sold, developed and managed. Anyone who works in a small, particularly low-income community knows that trust among residents and businesses is a HUGE issue. Business owners who are not particularly tech-savvy shy away from the web in part because they don't know who to trust. A local vendor providing a locally-managed directory product helps ease that objection. But that's not the key selling point of the site and that's not why we developed a whole new directory product when there are plenty out there already. The reason we did it was to focus on a media element that resonates with small businesses.
Video
The DTechs have been out in the community shooting videos of small businesses to include in the new local directory for months now. To date they have 20 videos to post on the new site, and to include on websites they've developed for nonprofit organizations. Complete, custom video production services will be available to nonprofits and small businesses for as little as $200 for a 60-second video. This includes storyboarding, scripts, voice-over, titling, filming, and post-production.
Web Presence Management
The DTechs are really doing more than "web development", particularly because a fairly significant part of their target market is not likely to have (or even need) a full website. Web presence includes a locally-hosted and managed account on a directory site, a website if needed, all of the integrated social media services, search engine optimization, marketing, updates, coupons...you get the picture.
The DTechs are a group of four young adults ages 18 to 24 from City Heights and nearby communities who are learning how to start, grow, and manage a successful web development company in City Heights. They are a videographer, a web developer, a graphic designer, and a business manager starting an Internet company in one of the poorest neighborhoods in San Diego county. And they're on the verge of something amazing.
