When Joe Hurst founded Little Rock-based Tipton & Hurst Flower Shops in 1886, the telegraph was the most advanced method of communication.
Nearly 130 years later, Howard Hurst, his grandson , owns the same business, but relies on Google to run it more efficiently.
"We're only as good as our last delivery. We have to be relevant and up to date right now," he said. "We're not going to survive if we don't keep up to date."
Hurst uses Google products to advertise, monitor website traffic and store documents. He gives his employees Apple iPhones (though some have Google's Android devices) to check email and search Google Maps on the go. He is currently using Microsoft's Exchange email service, but says he's switching to Google's Gmail soon.
"We empower our people to make it real easy for people to know it's going to be taken care of," Hurst said. "If your mom's not there, then we leave her a message and we call her on the cellphone. They work it out."
Despite Google's ubiquity, the company's estimate of its economic impact in Arkansas decreased from $266 million in 2009 to $201 million in 2013, down 24 percent, according to the company's annual economic impact reports.
In the U.S., Google estimates its impact increased from $54 billion in 2009 to $111 billion in 2013, up 106 percent.
Google arrived at the numbers by multiplying by eight the total amount companies spend on Google's advertising service and adding the amount it pays to companies that feature Google ads on their websites. The company includes the amount of free advertising it gives to nonprofits, about $535,000 in Arkansas' case.
When Google's estimate of economic impact goes up, the company's core advertising business is doing well. When it goes down, something is amiss.
Emma Ogiemwanye , a Google spokesman, declined to comment on the report, but said only 40 percent of Arkansas small businesses have a website.
"I'm shocked," Hurst said of the number of Arkansas small businesses without a website.
Timothy Lee, a training specialist with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, said small businesses often struggle with technology.
"If you don't have a website nowadays, it's because of a barrier," he said. "You don't have the the know-how, or you don't have the money to get someone with the know-how."
The center offers seminars where business owners create a website in a day using Weebly, an online website creation tool.
Lee didn't have an explanation for Google's estimated decrease in economic impact in Arkansas, but said the company's larger footprint is outside the scope of the report.
He said Google Analytics is probably the most important tool the company offers, which allows businesses to monitor the flow of visitors on websites. Google's mapping, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and online storage software can also increase efficiency, he said.
Martin Thoma, a principal at Little Rock-based Thoma Thoma, which created Tipton & Hurst's website and branding plan, said the companies with websites and social media accounts sometimes struggle to develop a cohesive message across platforms.
"Getting online and being active with your website, with social media, with all these tools that are free or cheap, it's like pouring a cup of water in the ocean," he said. "Well, what happens is that disappears. But what if you put a bottle of food coloring in that cup and did that every day and every week? That's really what a smart digital strategy involves."
Thoma said small businesses need an online presence that engages a group of core fans to translate likes into sales.
"Winning at social media is not a matter quantity, but a matter of quality," he said. "We help our clients live their brand. We help them inject that uniqueness into everything they do."
Business on 07/28/2014