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Technical Communication Business Web Sites:
Preliminary Survey Results

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Overview of Research Project: The Business Web Sites of Technical Communication Companies, Consultants, and Independent Contractors

Introduction

This page presents the preliminary results of a 2007 survey of companies, consultants, and independent contractors who offer technical communication services, such as writing, editing, and designing technical documents. The survey questionnaire asked about their business Web sites. This page briefly describes the survey methods and then presents quantitative results, along with some commentary on those results.

Methods

Through various methods, I collected a sample of English-language business Web sites of about 1000 companies, consultants, and independent contractors that offer technical communication services. Because some sites were obviously abandoned (a couple not updated since 1995!), I culled the sample to focus just on those sites that showed evidence of recent activity:
  • updated in the previous 8 months or so in the case of the numerous U.S.-based businesses,
  • and updated in the previous 16 months or so in the case of the less numerous international businesses (i.e., based outside the U.S.).
A Web-based survey was pilot tested twice, with changes made primarily to make it both more informative and more concise. Then solicitations were e-mailed . . .
  • first to about 360 prospective U.S.-based participants
  • and then to about 250 prospective international participants.
For the international participants, a few further changes were made in the survey.

Overall response rates, after accounting for undeliverable e-mails and responses that could not be matched with the sample pool, were approximately 40%:

  • 150 respondents to the U.S. survey
  • and 90 respondents to the international survey, comprising . . .
    • 34 from Canada
    • 23 from the U.K.
    • 9 from Australia
    • 1 - 4 each from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Israel, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.

Results

Listed below are the quantitative questions and responses, as well as some commentary synthesizing some of the main themes emerging from previous research and from the qualitative data.

Note that percentages may not add up to 100 because of rounding or blank responses.



1. What percentage of your technical communication clientele has originated primarily because of your business Web site?
 

U.S.

%

INTERNATIONAL

%
0% 23 16
1 - 4% 26 12
5 - 9% 11 12
10 - 19% 19 18
20 - 49% 17 28
50 - 100% 9
Don't know 4 6

Comments

In a 2001 survey of American small business owners, the National Federation of Independent Business found that the most widespread benefit of Web sites for businesses with 1-9 employees is the contact they bring in from additional customers and different types of customers, a finding echoed by Pflugheoft et al. (2003, p.493) for slightly larger small businesses. A 2003 Society for Technical Communication (STC) survey of American and Canadian independent contractors and temp agency employees asked about their marketing methods but did not even include Web sites among the eight response options, not a promising sign. By contrast, a 2005 survey by the STC's Consulting and Independent Contracting SIG found that publishing a Web site was among the more valuable marketing methods, ranking behind referrals and networking but nevertheless rated as "very valuable" or "extremely valuable" by a slight majority of respondents.

Accepting the well-acknowledged marketing preeminence of referrals and networking even as I was preparing this study of business Web sites, I was pleasantly surprised by the proportion reporting that their sites were a primary source for 20% or more of their clientele. Indeed, after the modest showing that small-business Web sites received in the above-mentioned studies and in my first pilot test, I actually shifted the response options downward for the American survey (with the broad 20% - 100% range represented by just one response option, as shown in the table above), only to subsequently shift them upward for the international survey. Some of those responding in the 20%-plus categories appear to advertise on other Web sites or to concentrate their businesses in niches such as editing, where communication services are arguably more quantifiable (e.g., priced per word) and hence more easily sold over the Web.

Your Comments?

Please e-mail me at John.Killoran AT liu.edu.

References

National Federation of Independent Business. (2001). The use and value of Web sites. National Small Business Poll, 1(2). Retrieved June 9, 2006, from http://www.nfib.com/object/2937298.html.

Pflughoeft, K. A., Ramamurthy, K., Soofi, E. S., Yasai-Ardekani, M., & Zahedi, F. (2003). Multiple conceptualizations of small business use and benefit. Decision Sciences, 34(3), 467-512.

Society for Technical Communication. (2004, March). Independent Contractor/Temp Agency Employee Survey. Intercom, pp.14-22. Retrieved Sept. 29, 2005, from http://www.stc.org/members_only/PDF/2003_ContractorSurvey.pdf.

STC Consulting and Independent Contracting SIG. (2005, Nov.). Survey Results. Retrieved Nov. 25, 2006, from http://www.stcsig.org/cic/pdfs/CICSIGSurveyReport11-05.pdf.
2. For technical communication clientele who have not originated primarily because of your Web site (but primarily because of referrals, reputation, networking, etc.), how much has your Web site helped you get such clientele?
 

U.S.

%

INTERNATIONAL

%
0 - Not at all 7 8
1 - A little 24 39
2 - Moderately 33 30
3 - A lot 28 20
? - Don't know 7 0
Average (0 - 3) 1.88 1.64

Comments

Most research on business Web sites has focused on e-commerce sites that sell products, and it's not clear how such research would apply to small-business sites that promote services. Unlike e-commerce sites selling products, small-business Web sites promoting services are not necessarily intended to operate in isolation but rather to complement business-client communication transacted through off-Web channels. As can be seen in these results and as is suggested in some of the other results, many technical communication companies, consultants, and independent contractors may be using their sites primarily to back up their other communication with prospective clients. Indeed, for technical communication services, a business Web site may more commonly be conceived of as a complementary rather than a primary marketing method.

Your Comments?

Please e-mail me at John.Killoran AT liu.edu.
3. How much have the following promotional methods helped in leading people to your business Web site?
The response scale ranged from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("a lot").
  U.S. INTERNATIONAL
  Average
(0 - 3)		 Don't
know
%		 N/A
% 		Average
(0 - 3)		 Don't
know
%		 N/A
%
WEB: Search engines 1.90 7 1 2.01 11 3
WEB: Links from other Web sites, not including search engines 1.31 9 6 1.64 9 14
INTERNET: Web address included with your Internet-based communication
(examples: e-mail and attachments, listserv postings, submissions to job boards)
 1.87 5 1 1.74 12 3
PRINT: Web address imprinted on your public promotional materials
(examples: business card, brochure, advertisements)
 1.53 5 4 1.54 14 9
PRINT: Web address included in your private print correspondence
(examples: prospecting letters, resume, tenders)
 1.37 7 5 1.26 13 9
PRINT: Web address in print documents of other organizations
(examples: business directories, associates' or clients' documents, professional journals, newsletters)
 0.96 10 11 0.84 20 23
SPEECH: Web site mentioned in your speech communication
(examples: phone and face-to-face networking, professional presentations)
 1.29 5 5 1.28 10 13
REFERRALS: Web site mentioned by people outside your business 1.46 14 2 1.30 21 8

Comments

As discussed in the comments accompanying question #1, the main promotional methods for attracting new technical communication clients are generally understood to be referrals and networking. These correspond most closely to the last two promotional methods listed above ("referrals" and "speech"), which, interestingly, appear to play a relatively minor role in leading people to business Web sites. By contrast, the main promotional methods for leading people to business Web sites appear to operate through the Web itself and the Internet. Some of these differences among promotional methods may indicate complementary practices (e.g., after a prospect has been referred or "networked," the Web site is mentioned only in a follow-up e-mail). But some of these differences among promotional methods may indicate mutually exclusive practices, in which digital communication and more "personal" communication do not mix.

Your Comments?

Please e-mail me at John.Killoran AT liu.edu.
4. When constructing and revising your business Web site, how much did you consult the Web sites of similar companies, consultants, and independent contractors?
 

U.S.

%

INTERNATIONAL

%
0 - Not at all 10 16
1 - A little 29 36
2 - Moderately 35 30
3 - A lot 23 18
? - Don't know 1 0
Average (0 - 3) 1.73 1.51

Comments

Given the diversity of the technical communication profession, in which practitioners come from various backgrounds, develop expertise in various subspecialties for various industries, and mix their tech comm work with various other work, we might expect a similar diversity of business Web sites. Yet while examining about a thousand Web sites of technical communication companies, consultants, and independent contractors, I began to recognize a loose genre--or, more accurately, a few genres--of the technical communication business site. Most technical communication companies, consultants, and independent contractors appear to have consulted, at least a little, other examples of the genre they were themselves constructing, the marketing work of their professional colleagues and competitors. This question also helps us understand where some of the common features listed in question #5 below may originate.

Your Comments?

Please e-mail me at John.Killoran AT liu.edu.
5. Listed below are some kinds of features on the business sites of many technical communication companies, consultants, and independent contractors. For those kinds of features on your site, how much have such features helped you market your technical communication services? (For features not on your site, answer "N/A")
The response scale ranged from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("a lot").
  U.S. INTERNATIONAL
  Average
(0 - 3)		 Don't
know
%		 N/A
% 		Average
(0 - 3)		 Don't
know
%		 N/A
%
Information about your business organization
(examples: business name, organizational history)
 1.79 9 5 1.77 13 2
Information about you and other partners or employees 1.82 7 10 1.78 10 9
Description of your services 2.29 4 0 2.36 10 0
Description of client benefits - - - - - - - - - 1.99 10 9
Portfolio or samples of your work 2.21 5 15 1.81 9 26
List of your clients 1.68 11 19 1.74 11 23
Testimonials from your clients 1.47 8 32 1.58 10 33
Information about your business policies and work processes 1.36 11 23 1.33 13 26
General information about technical communication
(examples: articles, external links)
 1.29 8 28 - - - - - - - - -
Periodic information
(examples: newsletter, events, blog)
 1.24 3 39 1.07 6 47
Your Web site's design
(examples: usability, aesthetic appeal, technical sophistication)
 - - - - - - - - - 1.74 14 0
Your Web site's address / URL
(example: a recognizable or memorable URL)
 - - - - - - - - - 1.54 14 3

Comments

In my operational definition, all technical communication business sites had to include a description of technical communication services, so the "Description of your services" response option listed above can serve as a useful benchmark by which to compare other site features. Respondents rated it the most useful site feature for marketing their technical communication services. Among the other more useful features appears to be the "Portfolio or samples of your work," especially among American respondents. Indeed, in follow-up comments, some respondents suggested that they used their site primarily as a repository for samples of their work, to which they would direct prospective clients.

Note that after running the American survey, I added a few new response options to the International survey; the "- - -" data entries indicate response options that were not included in one of the two surveys.

Two caveats:

  • Some respondents appeared to choose the "0 - not at all" option rather than the "N/A" option for features not on their business site. This had the effect of reducing the average usefulness rating for those site features that are not very common. For instance, periodic information (e.g., newsletter, events, blog) may be more useful than the averages above would suggest, useful in attracting return visits, links, and higher search engine rankings.
  • The high proportions of "don't know" responses both here and in question #3 should caution us about the reliability of these results. Nevertheless, it's interesting that several business people persevere in maintaining their sites without knowing the ROI of their efforts. By contrast, some respondents tracked site visits with such tools as Google Analytics and were sometimes able to match site visits with outcomes, and some received feedback directly from clients about their sites.

Your Comments?

Please e-mail me at John.Killoran AT liu.edu.
6. Overall, how useful has your Web site been to your business?
 

U.S.

%

INTERNATIONAL

%
0 - Not at all useful 5 3
1 - Slightly useful 18 22
2 - Moderately useful 33 36
3 - Very useful 43 39
Average (0 - 3) 2.15 2.10

Comments

This is the only topical survey question that did not include a "don't know" response option. Interestingly, in comparison with questions #2 and #5, which asked about specific features of a site's usefulness, this question about a site's overall usefulness seemed to elicit higher ratings, with about 40% of respondents rating their site as "very useful." A 2001 survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (cited in the comments to question #1 above) found that 58% of U.S. small businesses with 1-9 employees maintained a Web site, but these small-business Web sites, in the majority of cases, drew in less that 10% of total business revenues. Of course, as one of my respondents suggested, helping to win even one important client makes a site very useful.

Among of the interesting themes that emerged in follow-up comments were several that pointed to a Web site's usefulness in building credibility for a small business.

Your Comments?

Please e-mail me at John.Killoran AT liu.edu.



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