Introduction

Big4.com faces the same challenges as most small businesses on the web. There is always more works than people to do it. Growth often takes a back seat to rote operation, and every small business is worried about cost. Most small businesses can succeed on the web if they are able to make big challenges manageable and tackle them one at a time. By taking a look at Big4.com’s approach to writing more content for its website, you can learn fro their pain – and apply their success to your own business.

Content, on the web, is king. If you do not give your visitors something to read, watch, or do, they will have no reason to return to your site. Give them a reason to stay! Big4.com explored this exact problem and found that focusing simply on creating more content – more material for visitors to enjoy – kept visitors on their site longer, attracted more new readers, and syndicated their content.

You can use this case study to understand how beefing up the amount of content on your website can attract and retain visitors, yield viral marketing, and ultimately help your business generate more revenue.

Case Background

To understand the importance of content in growing your online business, let’s take a look at Big4.com. Big4.com is an online publication – deriving most of its revenue through web advertisements and online fee-based services. Like any online business, Big4.com relies on visitors for revenue. Growth, therefore, would come from increasing traffic to its site, as well as getting visitors to view more pages.

Big4.com focuses on the current employees and alumni of the Big Four accounting firms and their related consulting firms. The Big Four are Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PriewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG. Consulting firms related to the Big Four – through mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, or group hires – include BearingPoint, Cap Gemini, and Accenture. The Big Four excel at alumni management; online and personal networks – both formal and informal – thrive among former Big Four employees.

Few companies leave such a pronounced impression on their employees, even years after they have moved to new firms. Having worked for one of the Big Four is like being initiated into a business fraternity. Former employees keep in touch with each other – cultivating relationships that lead to new jobs and future business deals.

The market for current and former Big Four employees is substantial. The Big Four have a total of approximately 100,000 current employees during any given year. With an annual turnover of about 30%, 30,000 new alumni are created every year in the United States – and 30,000 new Big Four employees replace them. “Big Four Alumni” is a demographic that grows rapidly, consistently, and predictably, making it a great venue for an online community. Big Four alumni and employees tend to have professional positions, almost universally some form of higher education, and starting salaries that exceed US$50,000.

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