This IDC study examines spending on marketing and promotion in U.S. SMBs and investigates the marketing and promotional tools that are used by both company size and vertical industry.

"There will be a shift in the promotion mix in the future, with online vehicles gaining at the expense of print," says Merle Sandler, senior research analyst in the SMB and Home Office Programs at IDC. "This increased use of the Internet for promotional purposes will be directly related to both growing Internet penetration and the increasing popularity of high-speed Internet access."