The Familiarity, Usage and Adoption

of Social Media within Creative

Micro-Enterprise†.
by Russell A.Kowalewski*

Abstract - The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of social media familiarity, usage
and adoption upon the growth of micro-enterprise in the creative industries. “Growth” was defined as a
rise in gross-profit over a twelve-month period; businesses with fewer than 3 employees were considered
“Micro”. “Negative Growth” businesses were selected randomly and matched with “Positive Growth”
operations on the basis of age, size, industry and location. The sampling frame was businesses located
within a three-mile radius of New Street Station, Birmingham, UK. A paired t-test was used to investigate
differences between the “Positive Growth” micro-enterprises (PGMEs) and “Negative Growth” micro-
enterprises (NGMEs). The main conclusion was that of all the respondents surveyed, social media was
at the forefront of their activities. However, NGMEs were less likely to consistently rejuvenate their
business model to suit the medium than PGMEs, whom largely sought objectives based on creating new
ways of delivering and capturing value.

INTRODUCTION only in its measure of consumer perceptions and

The emergence of social media has
redefined the way business is conducted and profits
are realised. Gone are the days where the internet
was a platform exclusively for the 'Early Adopters'
(Rogers, 1962) and 'Generation Y' the shift in online
consumption that generations 'Baby Boomer' and
'Jones' (Strauss & Howe, 1991), have undergone is
a product of the realisation that value (in it's many
forms) is readily available through the internet, often
at a speed, depth and breadth unavailable from
traditional media sources (Continuum Crew, 2009).
The challenge that the Micro-Enterprise Owner
(MEO) now faces, is how; in a world where
traditional industry boundaries are disappearing, do
they compete in sectors increasingly characterised
by competing business models that are intrinsically
social media centric?
Chadwick Martin Bailey found that 67% of
consumers who follow brands on Twitter are more
likely to buy those brands after becoming a follower,
and 51% of Facebook fans are more likely to buy
after becoming a fan. Such a conclusion has merit
Silent Solutions (UK)
realised sales of major brands. The relativism that
pervades the MEO is how to effectively resource the
utilisation of Social Media in a such a way that their
efforts are rewarded with meaningful sales.
The MEO's dilemma is most apparent in the
Arts & Design sectors, if only because the era of
'on-demand' has accelerated a new paradigm for
creative industry business models becoming the
artist as 'content broker'. Indeed, Vaknin stated that;
“The very definition of artist will grow as creative
people seek to brand themselves directly to end
users and consumers.” (Vaknin, 2004) However, in
a marketplace ever defined by 'likes' and 'shares'
the irony resides in the artists ability to effectively
market them self in an online environment becoming
increasingly corporate (Kerrigan, Fraser, Ozbilgin,
2009).
The argument this paper presents is that the
relative success of a social media centric business
model within creative enterprise is defined by its
objectives for utilisation.
†The author would like to thank the respondents of the surveys and three
anonymous reviewers for their comments which enhanced the quality of this
report.
Page 1 of 15
* Russell Kowalewski is owner & founder of Silent Solutions (UK) in
Birmingham, United Kingdom. His research focuses on Small Business, Social
– Enterprise,
Copyright 2010Planning, Marketing and Decision Support Systems.
Strategic

METHODOLOGY
Sample
The research design for this study featured
paired samples of 'growth' and 'non-growth' MEs in
the Birmingham locality of the United Kingdom. The
sampling frame was more than eight-hundred
enterprises trading from 2-5 years, made available
from Michrome Limited, a marketing list company in
Guildford, UK. A micro-enterprise was defined as
one with fewer than 3 employees irrespective of
formation structure and a turnover and/or balance
less than £100k per annum. (This is an extension of
the definition used by the European Commission for
Enterprise and Industry1.) A growth enterprise was
defined as a rise in gross-profit over a twelve-month
period. The data collection procedure was to select
randomly from the marketing list and send individual
emails to 800 recipients using a standard mass
email describing the study and asking the recipient
(the owner or managing director) to anonymously
complete an online questionnaire (using
surveygizmo.com© cloud software) which was
linked and referred to within the email concerned.
This approach was successful in soliciting
responses from 301 of the MEs targeted. The data
was then sorted into two groups; growth and non-
growth, and then further segmented by mining the
data to only present respondent ME's within the
Standard Industrial Classification codes (SIC)
concerning 'Creative' industry2. PGMEs were then
matched with NGMEs that were similar in age, SIC
code, size (turnover and number of employees) and
location (Postcode derived from longitude & latitude
data provided by surveygizmo.com© analytics).
Statistics from the survey showed that there were
fewer than thirty “abandoned” responses (followed
the link to survey and closed page without
submitting any entries) against 301 completed
surveys, derived from a mailing list of 800;
therefore, non-response bias is not an issue in this
study, although there could be differences in the
MEs that could be contacted and those that could
not be contacted. The survey took place over five
working days from October 25th to October 29th 2010
and yielded 53 matched pair-cases.
Summary statistics describing the sample
are presented in Table 1 and extended within
1
Definition of Micro-Enterprise by the European Commission for
Enterprise and Industry: Headcount >10, Turnover/Balance Sheet
>2million Euros.
2
SIC classification codes that were deemed 'Creative' are listed as
Appendix I within this document.
Silent Solutions (UK) – Copyright 2010
Appendix II. Understandably, as is the nature of the
industry concered in this report, none of the
enterprises were franchises, and the dominant
source of start-up capital was personal funds (74%).
The average years of relevant industry experience
of the respondent was about five and a half years,
and the average years of formal education of the
respondents was slightly above 5 years (4 being
equal to sixth-form/AS-level).
Table 1
Characteristics of Paired Sample of
Both, Positive-Growth (PG) and Non-Growth Enterprises (NG)
Average age (in years) 2.98
Maximum number of employees (median) 2(PG) / 3(NG)
Average Annual Sales £22,449.00
Initial Investment, mode (74 percent) £3,116.00
Predominant Legal Form, mode (56 percent)b Sole Trader
Gender of Enterprise owner (i.e. respondent) –
1.0 : 2.0
(male/female ratio)
b The choices were: Sole-trader, Partnership, Limited Company and Other –
(LLP etc)
Questionnaire
The survey was developed after several
discussions with five 'creative' ME owners, who
designated their opinion upon which SIC
classifications to include. The entire questionnaire
was then presented by the emailing of a ‘call to
respond’ message to 800 ME's in the Birmingham
locality with 301 respondents who completed the
survey in full. The resulting scheme featured 22
simple questions designed over six sections.
Respondents were also asked in every case
whether, (in their own opinion) their social media
activities were part of a business planning
document, the implication being that to qualify as
sufficiently formal and substantive, the activity
needed to be part of their business model. Finally,
the 11 questions from section 4 onwards were
arranged in an order which presumed an increasing
intensity and sophistication of use. The usage-of-
social-media questions are available within
Appendix III.
RESULTS
Table 2 presents the results, which clearly
imply that social media is at the forefront of most
Birmingham based creative ME business models.
The first significant observation which emerges from
this data is that means of extent-of-use are quite low
in both cases. The frequency charts for this data are
also revealing. While both groups failed (PGME &
Page 2 of 15
NGME) had a small number of “0” responses
meaning no use, the NG group distinguished itself
from the PG group in that there was a tendency to
do a moderately utilise the platform it; that is, to
move upward toward a score of “11”. Therefore, the
second significant observation is that the social
media activities that comprised the extent-of-use
index appear to constitute a logical set of
component parts, such that if one of the activities it
is engaged in, it is increasingly likely that the others
will be undertaken as well. In other words, it may be
that micro-enterprise owners/managers tend to be
using social-media as an advanced marketing
platform to engage the market or use the platform
as an advertising board, listing their services with no
social interaction. If they are 'advanced marketers',
they tend to engage in multiple platform activities
such as the ones merated from the questions in this
study. The final observation is that the difference in
means was statistically significant, suggesting that
the extent-of-social-media-use is related to micro-
enterprise growth3. While the explanatory power of
this one variable taken in isolation is weak,4 there
are nevertheless strong indications here that social-
media can make a difference and if used to
effectively engage its desired audience, can negate
the probability of enterprise failure.
Ninety-four percent of the respondents to our
study are using social media to promote their
businesses, with 22% posting daily or weekly
updates to sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and
Twitter. Of those whom post daily, 35% were from
the PGME segment. Although only 17% of the total
population used incentives to attract online
followers, friends and fans, 92% credited social
media with positively impacting their businesses. In
addition, 96% said their brand awareness has
increased and 86% attracted new business as a
result of their social media efforts.
3 investigated the use of online platforms within the
The a priori hypothesis was that growth enterprises would
average a higher extent-of-use score compared to non-growth
MEs. Therefore, a one-tailed test was applicable. The resulting
value for “p” was 0.04 which indicates that the likelihood of
these results occurring in a sample of this size taken from a
population in which there is no relationship between extent-of-
usage and non-growth was approximately 4 chances in 100.
The author acknowledges that a statistical tool designed
primarily for use with ratio/interval dependent variables has
been put to unconventional use in the analysis of an ordinal
variable in the name of exploratory research and with the intent
of pointing the way to more definitive and rigorous research in
the future when such means suffice.
4
Pearson’s r was equal to 0.18 – approx. 1 percent of the total
variation was explained.
Silent Solutions (UK) – Copyright 2010
Interestingly, the three main distinctions that
study draws upon is the difference in social-media
platform between PGMEs and NGMEs. LinkedIn is
the most popular site for PGMEs, with 73% of
respondents using the professional network.
Facebook was the second most-used site, visited by
64%, followed by Twitter, used by 63% of PGME
respondents. Conversely, NGMEs were found to
predominantly use Facebook (82%) followed by
Twitter (60%) and 30% using LinkedIn. The second
observation was that, 71% of PGMEs had a
personal blog site that they used at least once a
week, compared with NGMEs that scored 43%. The
final key-point was that 45% of the total population
engaged in interactions with other blogs and related
forums, 92% of those being PGMEs.
Table 2
Characteristics of Paired Sample of
Both, Positive-Growth (PG) and Non-Growth Enterprises (NG)
(PGME) (NGME)
(n = 52) (n=52)
Mean 9.04 6.14
Standard Dev./Std. Error 1.28 1.14
Number of “0” Scores 9 11
Number of “11” Scores 18 12
The majority of those surveyed – 68%, use social
media for networking, 63% utilise these sites with
intention of attracting new customers and 61%
leverage social media to increase brand awareness.
In addition, 14% use social media merely because
others are doing so, while 12% only use the sites
“for the sake of gathering followers”. Results found
that, 35% of those not using social media blamed
lack of time, 31% claimed their customers do not
use these sites and 24% said they do not
understand the technology.
The Australia Council for Arts (2009)
'arts consumer' demographic finding that almost a
third of arts consumers in Australia use the internet
to research a show or event, buy tickets, view art,
listen to music or write blogs and share thoughts on
social media. A poll by Nielsen (2009),
(commissioned by the Council) ascertained there
was a correlation of use between that of artist and
consumer; finding 90% of those surveyed used an
online platform to some degree. However, the
Nielsen poll did not measure the business turnover
or usage frame, and their sample had a median
number of employees of sixteen. If the focus of this
Page 3 of 15
study is narrowed to the 12 NGMEs and 18 PGMEs
that scored an “11” on the extent of planning
questions, the median for maximum employment
rises from 7.59 to 10.11. This suggests that there is
likely to be a minimum employment level (perhaps
in the range of 2 to 3) below which consideration of
planning has a marginal value (Kowalewski, 2010).
Nevertheless communication of any marketing
message, socially engaging or otherwise, would still
need to be written as failure rates of MEs with no
social media presence is increased by a ratio of
18:1 against those with an active engagement in the
platform (McKinsey, 2010).
DISCUSSION
Using the European Union definition of
micro-enterprise as one with fewer than 10
employees, 87 percent of the 1.6 million entities
filing a VAT return in the UK are micro-enterprises5.
Consistent with the findings within this study,
approximately 80% of the MEs have fewer than five
employees and 56% are sole traders.
By means of the median difference in growth
between 2008/09 and 2009/10 for NGMEs the value
of growth equates to an annual loss of £745 (-4.5%)
per respondent. Factored into the West Midlands
statistics of total MEs this figure would equate to a
substantial figure. In comparison, the PGME gains
against NGME losses do produce a regional
economy gain in excess of £5million. However,
consideration of even a modest reduction in NGME
losses would yield some benefits to the region, and
arguably the ‘Creative Sector’ as a whole.
Nevertheless, with a clearer understanding of the
reliance upon social media marketing, some
commercially unsound propositions will not be
initiated and some ailing ‘creative’ MEs can be
rescued.
Positive Growth versus Objectives of Social
Media Utilisation
Whilst this study found a statistically
significant difference between the ME’s objectives
for utilising social media and annual growth, the
explanatory power of the relationship was relatively
weak. A possible explanation for the lack of strength
lies in the well considered thought that many in
arts/creative trades under their own name, and
therefore may inherently blur the lines of market
interaction and personal social interaction. This is
5
Silent Solutions (UK) – Copyright 2010
supported by the survey results illustrating a
significant difference in questions 5.1 & 5.2 between
PG and NG segments. Indeed, previous studies
(Marketing-Sherpa, 2010 & Arthur, 2010) have
suggested that “effective marketing must be an
interactive, organic process between brand &
consumer” (Marketing-Sherpa, 2010) and Levinson
stated “Blogs suit an effective interactive marketing
model well” (Levinson, 2010). With this
consideration in account, interaction upon external
blogs and/or forums is an obvious extension of
such. An examination of the data surrounding 5.1 &
5.2 supports this notion when considering the top
25% of PGMEs within this report. Therefore, future
research in the form of specific case-studies
focussed on PGMEs and NGMEs with a more
significant variance in growth rate may prove data of
more significance.
LIMITATIONS
The construct used to measure
objectives-of-use was certainly not as rigorous as it
could have been given consideration to the
complexities of measurement in an activity (and
sector) so broad. In addition, like most previous
efforts in this field, this study relies on self-reported
data which is always subject to respondent biases
such as the desire to create a favourable image of
oneself – even subconsciously, given the survey
was anonymous (Summers, 1969). The main
threats to validity with this research design were
instrumentation and reactivity. Instrumentation was
a threat in that changes in the scorers (that is, the
various ME owners/leaders responding to the online
survey) could produce changes in the
measurements obtained. Reactivity could be a
problem to the extent that the process of measuring
could change that which is being measured—that is,
the act of responding to the survey could cause
respondents to alter their responses in ways which
diverge from the true facts. Second source
verification of selected data was performed on a
subset of the sample to estimate the extent to which
instrumentation and reactivity were problems in the
data collected, and the data were found to be
consistent. In addition, tests of inter-rater and inter-
coder reliability were performed with satisfactory
results.
Similar future studies would arguably benefit
from adopting an approach led by the use of
surveying a sample via a measurement program or
Page 4 of 15
‘bot-style’ key tracker over a more prolonged period, Marketing-Sherpa – (2010)
similar to that of a key-stroke virus (with intent of Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report
course) in its design. EXCERPT

GENERALISATIONS William Strauss & Neil Howe - (1991)

Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584
Unlike previous similar studies that have to 2069
been drawn randomly from a population that covers
the entire United Kingdom, the study results do not McKinsey & Company - (2010)
permit national, or international generalisation. McKinsey Quarterly: Measuring the Business
Practically speaking, the study results should be Effects of Web 2.0
safely generalisable to Birmingham based ‘creative’
enterprise which engages in Social Media activities. Russell Kowalewski – (2010)
Finally, this study endeavoured to discover Perceptions of Planning & Analysis within Micro-
statistically significant relationships and associations Enterprise
of more than a trivial magnitude. It did not attempt to
rule out spuriousness, or to postulate theories or Shmuel Vaknin – (2004)
intervening mechanisms. Therefore, the study stops The Disintermediation of Content
short of inferring causation and leaves that task to
future research. However, one practitioner-oriented
recommendation flows logically from the findings
and conclusions: If your business model utilises
social media, engaging with your market as well as
‘talking to’ your market (in the marketing sense) akin
to the ‘Social Media Mix’ touched upon within 5.3.
Because doing so may enhance your chances of
sales growth.

REFERENCES

Andrew Arthur – (2010) Silent Solutions (UK) is a proactive, forward-

Marketing Mix Modelling & media Inputs thinking accountancy and research practice,
serving creative & social enterprises throughout
Continuum Crew - (2009) the West Midlands.
CNBC Economic Impact Study
Specialists in Bid Writing, Strategic Planning,
Chadwick Martin Bailey - (2010) Feasibility Studies and Decision making systems,
Why Social Matters to Your Business SSUK offers a broad range of professional
services to ensure sustainable growth.
Everitt M. Rogers – (1962)
Diffusions of Innovations If you would like more information about our
services, please contact Russell using the
F.Kerrigan, P.Fraser, M.Ozbilgin – (2009) information below.
The Theory and Practice of Visual Arts Marketing
silent.solutions.uk@gmail.com
Gene F. Summers – (1969) www.silent.solutionsuk.blogspot.com
Toward a Paradigm for Respondent Bias in Survey
Research

Jay Conrad Levinson – (2010)

Guerrilla Social Media Marketing

Page 5 of 15

Silent Solutions (UK) – Copyright 2010

 APPENDIX I
Standard Industry Classification Codes (SIC) segmented into ‘Arts’ defined sub-groups

SIC 2007 SIC 2003 Activity Study Clas'

90010 92311 Actors C
73110 74402 Advertising campaign creation and realisation B
74202 74813 Aerial photography (other than for cartographic and spatial activity purposes) B
74909 74879 Agents and agencies in placement of artworks with publishers D
59111 92111 Animated film production B
59112 92111 Animated video production B
47781 52486 Art (retail) A
94990 91330 Art clubs D
90030 92319 Art expert D
91020 92521 Art gallery (not dealer) D
85520 80429 Art instruction D
15120 19200 Art leather work (manufacture) B
25990 28750 Art metal work (manufacture) D
91020 92521 Art museums B
13923 17403 Art needlework (manufacture) B
23410 26210 Art pottery (manufacture) B
58190 22150 Art publishing D
91011 92510 Art work lending and storage D
85320 80220 Arts and crafts school D
90030 92319 Author B
90010 92311 Band (musical) C
74909 74879 Band agency D
58110 22110 Book publishing D
47610 52470 Books (retail) A
59111 92111 Cartoon film production B
59112 92111 Cartoon video production B
90030 92319 Cartoonists B
59120 92119 Cinematographic film colouring, developing, printing or repairing B
90010 92349 Circus C
14190 18249 Clothing accessories (manufacture) B
14200 18300 Clothing made of sheepskin (manufacture) B
14190 18249 Clothing pad (manufacture) B
73110 74402 Commercial artist B
18129 22220 Commercial printed matter printing (manufacture) B
74100 74872 Costume designing B
32130 36610 Costume jewellery (manufacture) B
32130 36610 Costume or imitation jewellery (manufacture) B
14132 18222 Costumes for women and girls (manufacture) B
47789 52489 Craftwork (retail) A
85520 92341 Dancing school D
85520 92341 Dancing schools and dance instructor activities D
90030 92319 Designing (artistic) B
14132 18222 Dress and jacket knitted ensemble (manufacture) B
14190 18249 Dress belts (not made of leather or leather substitute) (manufacture) B
13990 17542 Dress binding (manufacture) B
13200 17210 Dress fabric (woven (not wool)) (manufacture) B
14190 18249 Dress gloves made of fabric (manufacture) B
13200 17220 Dress goods woollen weaving (manufacture) B
13200 17230 Dress goods worsted weaving (manufacture) B
14132 18222 Dresses for women and girls (manufacture) B

Page 6 of 15

Silent Solutions (UK) – Copyright 2010

32120 36220 Engraving (personalised) on precious metal (manufacture) B
18130 22240 Engraving for printing (manufacture) B
32120 36220 Engraving of personal non-precious metal products (manufacture) B
23190 26150 Fancy articles and goods made of glass (manufacture) B
14310 17710 Fancy hosiery (manufacture) B
15120 19200 Fancy leather goods (manufacture) B
14132 18222 Fashion (manufacture) B
82990 74879 Fashion agent D
82990 74879 Fashion artist B
74100 74872 Fashion designing B
32130 36610 Fashion jewellery (manufacture) B
74209 74819 Fashion photography B
18129 22220 Fashion printing (manufacture) B
59120 92119 Film editing D
59120 92119 Film sound track dubbing and synchronisation D
59111 92111 Film studios D
90030 92319 Fine art expert D
85520 80429 Fine arts schools (except academic) D
16290 20510 Frames for artists canvases (manufacture) B
90030 92400 Freelance journalist D
74100 74872 Furniture designing D
23190 26150 Glassware used in imitation jewellery (manufacture) B
74100 74872 Graphic designer B
90030 92319 Lithographic artist (own account) B
90030 92319 Music composer D
90010 92311 Musicians C
90030 92319 Painters (artistic) B
96090 93059 Pavement artist B
74201 74812 Photographic studio A
74209 74819 Photographing of live events such as weddings, graduations, conventions, fashion shows, etc. B
74209 74819 Photography for commercials, publishers or tourism purposes B
85520 80429 Photography schools (except commercial) D
74201 74812 Portrait photographer B
74201 74812 Portrait photography B
90030 92319 Scenic artist B
90010 92311 Street musician or singer C
90030 92319 Wood engraver (artistic) B

Group A Predominantly Retail / Artist Sale Functions

Group B Creation or manufacture of tangible product
Group C Performance based artist
Group D Creative Consultant / Creation or production of intangible product

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Silent Solutions (UK) – Copyright 2010

 APPENDIX II
Extended Summary of Sample Population

Partial Responses 52 10.40%

Abandoned Responses 26 5.20%
No Response Rate 197 39.40%

Total Non-Counted Invalid Non-Counted Valid Non-Counted

Total Full Responses 225 45.00% 119 52.89% 78 41
Entries Entries Entries
Total Counted Re-
106 47.11%
sponses

Population Sample 500 100.00%

PGME NGME Total % of Counted Responses

SIC Group A 18 18 36 33.96%
SIC Group B 17 17 34 32.08%
SIC Group C 12 12 24 22.64%
SIC Group D 6 6 12 11.32%
Total Samples Paired 106
 APPENDIX III
Survey Outline

Section 1
Owner Details

1.1 Age
Manual Numerical Value
1.2 Gender
Male / Female
1.3 Education Level
None / GCSE / A-Level / Degree / Post-Grad'
1.4 Relevant Years of Industry Experience
Manual Numerical Value

Section 2
Business Details

2.1 Business Activity

Manual Text Value
2.2 Years Trading
Manual Numerical Value
2.3 Employee Headcount
Manual Numerical Value
2.4 Legal Form
Sole-trader / Partnership / Limited Company / Other – (LLP etc)

Section 3
Start-up & Turnover

3.1 Investment Source

None / Own Funds / Bank / Venture Capital / Grant
3.2 Investment Amount
Manual Numerical Value
3.3 Gross-Profit 2008/9
Manual Numerical Value
3.4 Gross-Profit 2009/10
Manual Numerical Value

Section 4
Social Media Use I

4.1 Is the use of Social Media part of your Business Plan / Business Model?
Yes / No
4.2 How often do you use the following Social Media Platforms?
(rated question of radio buttons)
Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Myspace / Flickr / YouTube
Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Occasionally / Never
4.3 What is your PRIMARY motivation for using social media?
to gain new customers
networking
 brand awareness
because others do
gathering followers, friends, likes
4.4 Do you use incentives (free or otherwise) to attract 'likes', 'friends', 'followers'?
Yes / No

Section 5
Social Media Use II

5.1 How often do you post upon forums of related blogs or websites?
Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Occasionally / Never
5.2 Do you have a blog site or website for your business?
Yes / No
5.3 If 'yes' to the above, what is your PRIMARY reason for having such?
online portfolio of work
to look professional
because others do
to gain new customers
to interact with customers / other businesses

Section 6
Social Media Results

6.1 Do you feel that the use of social media provided any of the following results?
(rated question of radio buttons)
Increase in Sales / Improved Brand Awareness / New Professional Contacts
Yes / No
6.2 Overall, has the use of social media benefited your business?
Yes / No
6.3 How much approximately do you spend on upon social media per year?
Manual Numerical Value
 APPENDIX IV
Scoring Outline
NOTE: Questions are listed below with scoring values beneath each. Manual numerical entries were taken as entered, manual text for 2.1 was classified manually and segmented into appropriate SIC sub-group.

1.1 Manual Numerical Value

N/A
1.2 Male Female
1 2
1.3 None GCSE A-Level Degree Post-Grad
0 years 2 years 4 years 8 years 10 years
1.4 Manual Numerical Value
N/A
2.1 Manual Text Value
N/A
2.2 Manual Numerical Value
N/A
2.3 Manual Numerical Value
N/A
2.4 Sole Trader Partnership Limited Company Other
1 2 3 4
3.1 None Own Funds Bank Venture Capital Grant
1 2 3 4 5
3.2 Manual Numerical Value
N/A
3.3 Manual Numerical Value
N/A
3.4 Manual Numerical Value
N/A
4.1 Yes No
1 2
4.2 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Myspace Flickr / Youtube or other
A B C D E
Daily Weekly Monthly Occasionally Never
1 2 3 4 5
4.3 to gain new customers networking brand awareness because others do gathering followers, friends, likes
1 2 3 4 5
4.4 Yes No
1 2
5.1 Daily Weekly Monthly Occasionally Never
1 2 3 4 5
5.2 Yes No
1 2
5.3 online portfolio of work to look professional because others do to gain new customers to interact with customers / other businesses
1 2 3 4 5
6.1 Increase Sales Improve Brand Awareness New Professional Contacts
1 2 3
Yes No
A B
6.2 Yes No
1 2
6.3 Manual Numerical Value
N/A
 APPENDIX V
Survey Results

SIC Group A SIC Group B SIC Group C SIC Group D All Groups Median
PGME NGME PGME NGME PGME NGME PGME NGME PGME NGME Population
1.1 35.00 32.50 29.50 29.00 30.00 28.50 35.00 34.50 32.38 31.13 31.75
1.2 1.45 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.4 1.39 1.43 1.41
1.3 4.20 4.40 6.50 5.00 3.00 3.20 8.50 6.20 5.55 4.70 5.13
1.4 6.10 6.00 5.80 5.50 4.20 4.20 6.00 6.10 5.53 5.45 5.49
2.2 3.50 2.00 3.20 2.50 2.00 3.50 3.60 3.50 3.08 2.88 2.98
2.3 2.50 3.00 1.50 1.20 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.50 1.50 1.68 1.59
2.4 2.50 2.25 1.20 1.50 1.00 1.00 2.60 3.00 1.83 1.94 1.88
3.1 1.56 2.50 1.55 1.89 1.00 1.00 2.75 2.80 1.72 2.05 1.88
3.2 £6,250 £8,200 £2,750 £1,600 £1,125 £1,500 £1,250 £2,250 £2,844 £3,388 £3,116
3.3 £26,500 £22,000 £18,500 £19,500 £11,650 £11,360 £32,660 £31,240 £22,328 £21,025 £21,676
3.4 £29,410 £21,000 £22,985 £19,110 £11,766 £10,790 £40,495 £30,220 £26,164 £20,280 £23,222
4.1 1.24 1.62 1.44 1.54 1.64 1.80 1.18 1.46 1.38 1.61 1.49
4.2 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509
4.3 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509
4.4 1.40 1.25 1.68 1.80 1.42 1.75 1.70 1.90 1.55 1.68 1.61
5.1 0.45 1.24 0.68 1.10 0.82 0.95 1.20 1.60 0.79 1.22 1.01
5.2 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.50 1.00 1.13 1.00 1.06
5.3 2.20 1.80 1.80 1.50 2.50 1.80 3.50 3.25 2.50 2.09 2.29
6.1 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509 Err:509
6.2 1.10 1.12 1.50 1.40 1.00 1.10 1.40 1.60 1.25 1.31 1.28
6.3 225.00 405.00 101.00 118.00 92.00 106.00 205.00 325.00 155.75 238.50 197.13
# Respondents
18 18 17 17 12 12 6 6 13.25 13.25 13.25

NOTE: Question 2.1 excluded as this was used prior to manually segment responses into relevant SIC groups.
Questions 4.2, 4.3 & 6.1 explored upon separate sheet
Question 4.2

Group A
1 2 3 4 5
PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG

A 36% 33% 24% 27% 21% 20% 12% 13% 7% 7%

B 34% 33% 26% 27% 22% 20% 14% 13% 4% 7%

C 21% 20% 34% 33% 28% 27% 13% 13% 4% 7%

D 5% 7% 11% 13% 19% 20% 25% 27% 40% 33%

E 4% 7% 9% 13% 22% 20% 42% 33% 23% 27%

Group B
1 2 3 4 5
PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG

A 34% 32% 28% 27% 18% 21% 16% 13% 4% 7%

B 32% 33% 26% 27% 22% 20% 12% 13% 8% 7%

C 36% 20% 21% 33% 22% 27% 19% 13% 2% 7%

D 1% 7% 1% 13% 1% 2% 42% 27% 55% 33%

E 6% 7% 9% 13% 1% 2% 78% 33% 6% 27%

Group C
1 2 3 4 5
PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG

A 29% 33% 26% 27% 18% 20% 16% 13% 11% 7%

B 33% 33% 29% 29% 17% 20% 12% 11% 9% 7%

C 22% 20% 28% 33% 20% 22% 21% 18% 9% 7%

D 1% 7% 8% 8% 16% 13% 36% 39% 39% 33%

E 36% 33% 26% 19% 20% 28% 10% 13% 8% 7%

Group D
1 2 3 4 5
PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG

A 30% 27% 39% 37% 21% 20% 9% 13% 1% 3%

B 31% 41% 35% 33% 18% 16% 10% 4% 6% 6%

C 42% 33% 29% 31% 18% 19% 6% 14% 5% 3%

D 4% 7% 11% 13% 11% 20% 52% 47% 22% 13%

E 9% 7% 18% 13% 19% 21% 42% 48% 12% 11%

Question 4.3

Group A Group B Group C Group D Median

PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG P
1 42% 45% 25% 27% 10% 9% 27% 28% 26% 27% 27%

2 17% 6% 42% 33% 19% 18% 46% 35% 31% 23% 27%

3 33% 36% 33% 36% 14% 16% 18% 26% 25% 29% 27%

4 0% 8% 0% 2% 29% 26% 9% 8% 10% 11% 10%

5 8% 5% 0% 2% 28% 31% 0% 3% 9% 10% 10%

Question 6.1

Group A Group B
PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG

A B A B
1 98% 92% 2% 8% 1 98% 92% 2% 8%

2 92% 98% 8% 2% 2 92% 98% 8% 2%

3 98% 98% 2% 2% 3 98% 92% 2% 8%

Group C Group D
PG NG PG NG PG NG PG NG

A B A B
1 96% 98% 4% 2% 1 98% 92% 2% 8%

2 92% 98% 8% 2% 2 96% 98% 4% 2%

3 96% 98% 4% 2% 3 98% 97% 2% 3%

Population Median
PG NG PG NG

A B
1 97.50% 93.50% 2.50% 6.50%

2 93.00% 98.00% 7.00% 2.00%

3 97.50% 96.25% 2.50% 3.75%