PC hardware and software vendors gunning for small office- home office (SOHO) users are casting their marketing nets too wide, according to a survey of about 12,000 PC users by market researcher Computer Intelligence InfoCorp (CII). It showed buying habits vary widely between small businesses, home business users and consumers; for example, self- employed people are now more likely to buy a new PC, than home consumers. It says self- employed users buy six types of software, one third more than small business users. One-third of the self-employed with PCs are connected to at least one online service – two and a half times more than small business users. Terms like SOHO get bandied about so much but if you’re approaching it as a single market, you’re likely to lose out at both ends, said CII’s Dave Tremblay, senior industry analyst. CII will release a survey this month revealing whether Apple has held its spot as the PC vendor with the most consumer loyalty, as well as an Internet use study.
