The MerchantCircle Blog

Introducing Social Networking to Business Owners

As part of our ongoing studies into our merchant base that represents local business owners in all 50 states and almost every county in the U.S., we recently conducted a study, in conjuction with Rapleaf, about our merchant demographics and their activity, or lack thereof, on the web. Our study on small business concerns during the Presidential Election was cited in a recent edition of The New York Times. We've also surveyed our 650,000 merchant base on their advertising spending habits and preferences. It's because of many of these MerchantCircle studies, we've been able to form a comprehensive view on merchants everywhere, and sometimes, become an advocate for local business owners as well. We're humbled and grateful to be a voice to the largest social network of local business owners in the nation and we'll continue to innovate with your business suggestions. Below is the study conducted by Rapleaf, that shows we've introduced 'social networking' to over 400,000 business owner across the nation. The majority of the business owners we've brought onto the web are over 26 years old at a clip of 86%. 54% are older than 36. Sincerely, Kevin Community Relations

Labels: Business Owners, Merchant Circle, MerchantCircle, MerchantCircle.com, Rapleaf, Social Network, The New York Times

posted by MerchantCircle Staff at 11/19/2008 12:02:00 AM , 0 comments,

Refocusing on Main Street: MerchantCircle in The New York Times

For politicians and the media, talking up Main Street is a much tougher pitch than talking up Wall Street. On Wall Street, you can see the valuations of companies rise and fall by millions in a day. On Main Street, it's much harder to gauge a new business opening or a store closing in, say, Pocatello, Idaho. As the economy dramatically began to shift downwards during the Presidential Election, the politicians finally began throwing around "Main Street" in their campaign speeches. It's a good thing too, since Main Street creates two-thirds of all new American jobs. Well, the media started to come around as well, once Joe the Plumber became Mr. Main Street. Today, one of MerchantCircle's small business surveys on the financial crisis was featured in The New York Times:

"In a survey in September of 4,200 small-business owners by MerchantCircle, a social networking Web site for small companies, four of five respondents said either that the federal bailout of financial institutions would not help them or that they were unsure whether it would. At the same time, the election intensified scrutiny of Mr. Obama's tax plans. He has pledged to raise taxes on households earning more than $250,000. He has also pledged to create a $5 billion Small Business Rescue Plan, similar to the Treasury bailout, to be run through the Small Business Administration, as well as to scrap capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses and provide them with a small tax credit on their health care costs."

Labels: Main Street, Merchant Circle, MerchantCircle, MerchantCircle.com, Pocatello Idaho, The New York Times, Wall Street

posted by MerchantCircle Staff at 11/13/2008 12:30:00 PM , 0 comments,