The folks at MYOB love themselves a bit of statistic-y goodness. Their latest number crunching shows online SMEs are fairing much better than their not so digital counterparts.
According to MYOB, 64% of SMEs don’t have their own website – to their financial and operational disadvantage.
The March 2012 MYOB Business Monitor report found that businesses rocking their own website typically enjoy higher revenue, better sales conversions, and more customer service leads. Webbed up businesses are also more optimistic about the economy.
Despite the power of the internet, the proportion of website owners actually experienced a small dip of 2% to 36% since the October 2011 report. MYOB speculated this was due to the rise in social media adoption, from 22% in March 2011 to 25% in March 2012.
MYOB CEO Tim Reed said colour him surprised that website and social media adoption had not been more aggressive among SMEs.
“All business owners should consider creating their own website and improve their chances of success in an increasingly digital economy. Our research shows that in doing so they‘re more likely to improve their business performance across customer acquisition, revenue and more.”
“Being an effective online player is not about having a complicated website; it’s about enabling your business to be found. With around two thirds of consumers searching the internet before making a purchase decision, if a business has no online presence it’s denying itself some serious firepower.”
“Getting online is a key strategy for attracting new customers, building customer loyalty, creating new revenue streams and increasing your visibility, credibility and competitive edge. The results are clear. Building an online presence is a business move that should be a strategic imperative for most operators.”
Victorian business owner Betrina Hill runs Tangle-Teezer.com.au. She credits her website with adding a new dimension to her business.
“Not having a website was holding me back. It was my biggest problem in business and I was missing the sales opportunities.”
“The very first day my website went live, at midnight my phone rang and I had my first sale. There hasn’t been a day since where I haven’t had a sale.”
Want more numbers? No problemo
The March 2012 report also found SMEs with a website were more likely to:
- See their revenue increase in the past 12 months; to the tune of 27% versus 17% of those without
- Have more sales than usual in their 3-month pipeline; 37% versus 27%
- Expect their revenue to rise in the next year; 42% versus 24%
- Intend to increase staff numbers this year; 25% versus 9%
- Intend to expand the number of overseas markets they work in; 16% versus 5%
- Expect the economy to improve within 12 months; 26% versus 16%
- Be satisfied with Federal Government support; 15% versus 10%
