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Growing Your Online Business
Ron Daly, President, DigitalMailer
February 21, 2006

Yes! The number of online users across the nation is growing every day. According to an October5, 2005 report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project (www.pewinternet.org), 68 percent (some 137 million people) regularly access the Internet today, compared with 63 percent at the end of 2004. Further, 53 percent of those online users have high-speed access, up from 21 percent just three years ago. With broadband’s convenience, that number will only go up.

What are online users doing? Over the past several years, they’ve used the Internet to retrieve e-mail, obtain the news, access government information, register for college, check out health and fitness information, do price comparisons and pursue numerous interests. Clearly, the majority of Americans are finding their online comfort zone.

Importantly for credit unions, many of these online users have become serious about managing their personal business online. A brand-new report from the Pew Project (December 28, 2005) shows that, while more men than women currently perform transactions via the Internet, both sexes are equally as likely to use it to buy products and handle their finances. And both have come to appreciate its best feature: efficiency.

The research also shows that the largest population of Internet adopters is between 18 and 49, a prime market for credit unions. And a whopping 87 percent of teens between 12 and 17 have online access – credit unions’ future market. Both of these markets (especially teens) are at home with the Web, viewing the convenience of online financial services as a given.

All of this provides the perfect opportunity to make sure your credit union has the online tools in place to meet members’ tech-savvy needs. For more information on how to put your online tools in place, see the article “Putting Your Virtual Toolbox to Use” on the DigitalMailer website at http://www.digitalmailer.com/articles/virtualtoolboxtouse.html.

Ron Daly is president of DigitalMailer. Contact him at rdaly@digitalmailer.com.