NYT: The Search for the Perfect Gift Grows at Small Online Stores

This New York Times article validates the premise that any business has the ability to reap huge rewards by intelligent use of online marketing. All small business people need to wake up to the fact that they have the potential to become world-class marketers. With the proper, and not necessarily expensive, use of search and other online marketing tools, techniques and channels, almost any business, from tiny mom & pop stores on the corner of Main Street, to small and medium sized manufacturers, distributors and retailers can see significant increases in their business - and worldwide extension of their prospect base.

Even if, as the article predicts, the Wal-Marts of the world largely take over online sales, as they have retail sales, the "leftovers" will be more than enough for smart businesses to prosper and grow. Remember, in the one day after Thanksgiving, Wal-Mart did about $1.5 billion dollars in sales. One tenth of one percent of that is still $1,500,000. Not a bad day's work for most small businesses.