Business-to-business ad network Bizo has reported its first profitable month (December, 2009) and a record-hitting revenue run-rate of $5 million. This is good news for small and large businesses, the Internet advertising market, and web publishers, as it acts as encouraging news for the industry.
With a recent round of funding for $6 million, Bizo has been financially validated and enabled to create a database of targeted demographics. This database is what power’s Bizo’s ability to connect businesses, giving them an environment for networking as well as marketing.
As the Internet allows for more web-based businesses, lower overhead has made it easier to generate revenue from more niche services. Now more businesses can operate at lower costs by outsourcing or partnering with another business in order to support their own.
This had led to a necessity for business-to-business networking and marketing, further supporting the niche business economy. Bizo’s success represents an ongoing adoption of online marketing and networking, returning faith to the online advertising industry as well as the small business industry.
That’s not to say that large corporations don’t use Bizo. Much of the company’s success could be attributed to the large brands that utilize Bizo’s service, with some of its top advertisers being JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Liberty Mutual and Verizon. These businesses are both advertisers and customers on Bizo’s network, using its targeted demographics to reach other and smaller businesses.
This could be particularly important, for small and large businesses, as Bizo also grants access to an international market. Through a couple partnerships of its own–U.K.-based The Digital Partnership and interCLICK–Bizo is able to expand the networking and marketing potential beyond the U.S.
This is an important distinction for Bizo, as the fallen economy has led many to believe that the success of a business was more likely to be hindered. Bizo’s very presence encourages those daunted by our economic state, as its milestone marks the success of businesses themselves.
Even with business-to-business advertising, privacy is still an issue. For many ad networks, especially those associated with high levels of demographic data and relationships with large search engines, the matter of anonymity regarding the use of that data is a major concern. Bizo is diligent in making clients and potential clients aware of its dedication to maintaining their privacy.
As businesses also turn towards online environments for advertising and networking purposes, their ability to contribute more demographic data will be heightened, as it is with individual consumers. Bizo will be able to offer a unique perspective on this matter of business marketing behavior, which could aid in the future standards around privacy settings.
Bizo is represented by Atomic PR.