Are you keeping up?

Post date: July 6th, 2009

According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), small businesses are falling behind big businesses in getting online. Last year, 96% of big businesses have a web presence. This compares to just 27% for small businesses.  Is this affecting small businesses? Very much so!

Today 9 out of 10 people start their buying decisions at a search engine.  Often small businesses don’t appreciate the full value of a web presence, citing the age old “All our business comes from referrals”.  Think about it – how many times have you been asked “What’s your website?”. Rightly or wrongly, a website gives you credibility.  It doesn’t matter what business you’re in.  Today, for most customers, no website means you’re not serious about your business.

Having said that, even if you have a website, you could be missing potential customers if you fail to have it created properly. A website should be optimised to enable search engines to find your information.  The latest ABS information also confirmed that although orders received over the internet was unchanged at 24%, income generated from internet orders rose by 20% to $81 billion. Wouldn’t you like to have some of that? Our consulting business Webbiz Professionals was set up to work with small businesses to get their business online.

This year, the Rudd Government in Australia has decided to lend its support to small businesses to get a piece of the online pie by allocating $10m over 2 years in its Federal Budget for a Small Business Online program. The program is aimed to help equip small businesses get online and engage in e-business. However, as with all government announcements in the Budget, we are still waiting for the details of the program … So watch this space for future announcements!

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