NEW YORK, April 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Citibank's survey of more than 550 small business executives found that 37% have never used a Website for marketing and 62% do not use email.

Another 63% of respondents said word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective way to market their business and is the source for most new customers.

Nearly half of those surveyed said that social media is also not of value to their businesses, with 81% saying that they have not used social media themselves in the last year.

Raj Seshadri, head of Citibank's small business lending division, observed, "Many small businesses today have yet to fully harness the marketing and communication power that online channels provide. Given the need to drive sales in today's environment and the importance of word of mouth marketing, our survey reveals an enormous opportunity for small businesses to generate positive word of mouth via online in order to grow – using both relatively newer tools such as social media or search optimization and basic ones such as web sites and eCommerce."

Source: Citibank