Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are able to target far wider audiences because of the internet.

A good website, along with search engine optimisation, can "bring the potential of a mass market", said Robert Dirskovski of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

In fact, the DMA believes that around a third of companies say that their return on investment from email marketing is five times their campaign budget.

"No matter what your product or service, to have a dedicated website is actually very low cost but still very effective," said Mr Dirskovski.

"Setting up a website can cost less than a couple of thousand pounds. This brings the potential of a mass market to a lot of SMEs who would not have been able to afford it before, and allows them to compete with large brands almost on equal footing."

While the internet and IT becomes increasingly important to smaller UK firms, business managers must ensure that they have adequate IT support in place.

According to recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent)