Computer applications for marketing have surged in recent years. Whereas computer applications for other business needs have been a part of the picture for a decade or two now, the widespread use of computers to shape a company's marketing strategies and campaigns is a relatively new development. "Firms …are gathering tremendous amounts of information about customers, markets, and industries by using an array of relatively inexpensive software and computerized databases," wrote Tim Mc-Collum in Nation's Business. "These resources can help entrepreneurs increase their effectiveness in targeting markets, cultivating leads, and closing sales.…Whether it's called database marketing, smart marketing, or target selling, it boils down to using technology to delivery information that can boost sales."

Many consultants and business experts contend that it is particularly important for small business enterprises to make maximum use of this still-developing computer technology. Small business entities typically have fewer clients than do larger firms, which makes the search for new customers an essential component of future success. As analyst Martha Rogers noted in Nation's Business, information technologies like business and customer databases and sales force automation systems can be effective tools for small business owners looking to develop profitable and lasting relationships with customers. Indeed, smaller firms often need good customer information simply to keep pace with larger competitors.

Of course, reliable customer information is a major key to any effective marketing campaign. Consequently, database service providers such as Dun & Bradstreet Information Services (DBIS) and American Business Information Inc. (ABI) have become enormously popular with businesses of varying shapes and sizes. "These businesses," wrote McCollum, "have accumulated vast amounts of data on companies throughout the United States and Canada. Customers can buy the records on firms in specific locations or industries or of certain sizes or sales volumes. The databases make it easy to generate lists of potential customers for direct mail or telemarketing campaigns." In addition, DBIS, ABI, and other companies that provide similar services have made their information available via CD-ROMs (with regular updates). Another favorite site for finding business leads is the expanding group of CD-ROM products that provide business and residential telephone listings for various geographic regions of the United States.

Ultimately, however, Nation's Business magazine noted that although computers can be a valuable marketing resource for small firms, "technology itself won't boost sales…. For sales to climb, information must be carefully integrated into a total marketing strategy." The magazine thus made the following recommendations to companies looking to apply computer resources to marketing efforts:

    * Build a database of customers and prospective customers, and update it regularly.
    * Decide what marketing information is needed, and establish a plan to obtain it.
    * Use demographic and geographic data to put together a profile of current customer base, which can then be used to identify potential new markets.
    * Use data to identify long-term interests and buying habits of clients.
    * Involve sales force (if any) in introduction of new technologies; "If salespeople don't think the automated system will benefit them, they won't use it."
    * Share information throughout the company.
    * Use computer resources to personalize and coordinate direct mailings and other campaigns.
    * Arrange so that pertinent customer information is available to those who need it.

Small businesses are increasingly using computers to track all aspects of their inventory, including warehousing, ordering, receiving, and distribution. In addition, many computer systems maintain programs that integrate inventory control needs with other aspects of the business's operations, which helps the company perform in a cohesive and intelligent manner as it negotiates the various obstacles of the business world.

In recent years, technological advances have triggered fundamental changes in many CAD/CAM systems. Whereas CAD/CAM applications used to be limited to older mainframe and workstation-based systems, advances in personal computers and software programs have spurred a dramatic upsurge in their use among small business owners, who are now better able to afford the technology. The greater viability of personal computers for CAD/CAM applications results from their ever-increasing processing power. An important trend is toward the standardization of software, so that different packages can readily share data. Standards have been in place for some time regarding data exchange and graphics; user interfaces are rapidly going the same route. In the realm of electronic design automation software, a similar trend toward standardization has also been underway. Other improvements in software include greater sophistication of visual representation and greater integration of modeling and testing applications.

In recent years, technological advances have triggered fundamental changes in many CAD/CAM systems. Whereas CAD/CAM applications used to be limited to older mainframe and workstation-based systems, advances in personal computers and software programs have spurred a dramatic upsurge in their use among small business owners, who are now better able to afford the technology. The greater viability of personal computers for CAD/CAM applications results from their ever-increasing processing power. An important trend is toward the standardization of software, so that different packages can readily share data. Standards have been in place for some time regarding data exchange and graphics; user interfaces are rapidly going the same route. In the realm of electronic design automation software, a similar trend toward standardization has also been underway. Other improvements in software include greater sophistication of visual representation and greater integration of modeling and testing applications.

Product design is one of the most popular computer applications in the business world today. Computer-aided design (CAD) involves creating computer models of products that are ultimately transformed into reality. CAD systems enable designers to view objects under a wide variety of representations and to test these objects by simulating real-world conditions.

The introduction of computer faxes and especially electronic mail systems has revolutionized the way that businesses communicate with one another. Moreover, e-mail has significantly altered how employees within the same company interact with one another. The savings, both in time and money, that have been realized through the use of this computer technology have been considerable. E-mail, for instance, not only enables users to save significant sums of money that would otherwise go to long-distance telephone and delivery charges, but also speeds up the process of information delivery. Computer faxes, meanwhile, also enable businesses to "save, labor, office supplies, and long-distance phone charges" that are associated with regular fax machines, noted Sandi Smith in the Journal of Accountancy. "The savings: You don't have to make a paper copy, go to the fax machine, wait to be sure the pages don't jam—and if they do, resend. The cost of sending a fax via computer is a fraction of the cost of sending a machine fax."

Computer systems are heavily utilized for a variety of accounting functions, including employee payroll; cash flow analysis; job costing; tracking of vendor and customer payments and debts; federal, state, and local taxes; and other expenses and revenues that impact on the business's fiscal health. Small business owners use computers for bookkeeping more than for any other purpose, and software programs designed to help even inexperienced business owners with their bookkeeping have proliferated on the marketplace in recent years as a result.