The findings were released in a new report, State of the Nation – 2019, Small Business Digital
Engagement in Australia, which looks at how small businesses are performing in the digital economy. It is of our concern that the major proportion (86%) of Australian small businesses in this study are not digitally engaged. The consequences for the state and national economies of this issue are significant, as small and medium businesses play a vital role in creating employment.
Digital disruption is rife in every industry and business, which is why all businesses should be taking
effective measures if they want to survive and grow in today’s increasingly digital world. Yet, according to the report only 14% of Australian small businesses are digitally engaged in 2019, with Victoria at 17%, followed by NSW (16%), Queensland (14%) and Western Australia (14%).
It’s a priority for small businesses to grow and succeed online through the aid of best and credible
practices for digital marketing. However, according to the investigation, it appears that most small
businesses are not fully utilising digital marketing strategies to leverage their growth potential. A serious problem highlighted by the report is the lack of knowledge faced by many of these businesses on how to run a business in this digitally driven world. For example, nearly 80% of them are unaware of the importance of a digital strategy and aligning it them with business goals – this is a fundamental key to the success of any business in this digital world. The majority were unaware of simple principles of digital marketing and of any defined process that would deliver them with desired results.
Today’s consumers are much more sophisticated when researching a brand online. It’s estimated that the average online consumer takes between 2 to 4 seconds to decide whether they trust a website enough to make a purchase, yet 84% failed to meet the minimum requirements of successful website functionality and engagement. In addition, 42% of small businesses failed to clearly display their services to web visitors. . To further compound this, up to 60% of websites did not pass the speed test, while a further 87% do not have sufficient content to engage with customers.
A business that doesn’t instantly invoke a sense of trust and capability with their web visitors’ risks
losing out on potential customers. The importance of trust and credibility is fundamental in today’s
online world and successful brands today use social proof in the form of reviews and brand association to establish this. 85% of small businesses failed to use any form of reviews or testimonials on their websites. . Furthermore, 73% did not use any form of brand association to display authority or expertise. Also, according to the report, only 58% of small businesses had clear service offerings listed on their homepage.
While many business owners understood the importance of social media, 75% of small businesses are not proactively engaging with consumers on social media despite Australia ranking high on the social media user index, with nearly 17 million checking social media daily; and 87% of them don’t have a content strategy in place to engage with prospective and existing customers.
We also found that 90% of Australian businesses aren’t including email marketing in their promotional strategy to reach and engage with prospective customers. Although social media is an effective tool to reach customers, email marketing is still considered equally or more valuable among professional digital marketers. It’s worth noting that people still spend more time looking at their email than they do on their social media of choice on a daily basis. Email marketing has been proven to be the more effective channel on any given day, which is why big brands still invest heavily on it The statistics are made even more astonishing by the fact that only 45% of businesses were found to have mobile optimised websites, this is a significant issue in this era of sophisticated consumers continually connected to their smart devices.
It is evident through this research that businesses have been investing valuable time and money in
various digital marketing activity, yet with little focus on business goals and a strategy to help them get there. This emphasises the importance of a clear digital strategy focused on achievement of their business goals. A digital strategy at its outset needs to be built with an absolute understanding of who their ideal customers are, be clear about its brand essence and its unique value proposition in the market place.
Dinesh De Silva, the CEO and founder of NetStripes believes small businesses can change their status quo and innovate and grow their businesses using digital strategies to create transformation and success for themselves. He goes on to say when small business owners are empowered with the right knowledge, strategies and tools of innovation they start operating at a different level, with an increased sense of confidence and create highly successful businesses Mr. De Silva stated, “With over 2.3 million small businesses in Australia, making just 15-16% of these businesses achieve digital engagement has the potential to generate billions of dollars in economic growth and significantly reduce unemployment in the country.”
Netstripes has been at the forefront of helping hundreds of small businesses across Australia achieve transformational growth through their innovative Digital & Marketing System that helps entrepreneurs achieve their business goals.
The research sampled some 780 small businesses around Australia categorized by state and industry, including fields such as medical, legal, professional services, trades, and hospitality. The report defined 17 parameters* for full digital engagement, in which two analytical modules were used, namely Digital Index (overall digital presence and engagement) and Web Index (whether the website was functional and competitive).
*Paramaters for full digital engagement: DIGITAL INDEX: 1) Functioning Website, 2) Mobile-Optimized Website, Active Social Media Engagement: 3) Facebook, 4) LinkedIn, 5) Blogs, 6) Email,
Marketing/Newsletters, 7) Regular and consistent updates (15 per month on average), 8) Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) for 1st page ranking on Google. WEB INDEX: 1) Mobile-Optimized Website, 2) Functioning Homepage (not busy, user-friendly & simple to operate), 3) Homepage Caption that conveys brand essence, 4) Design Quality (strong, integrated visuals, well-written content, consistent use of logo & branding elements…etc.), 5) Trust Signals (awards, accreditations…etc.), 6) Website Speed (fast & easy to load), 7) Clear List of Service Offerings,
8) About Us with photos, 9. Testimonials.
