According to the latest MYOB Australian Small Business Survey 65% of small business owners surveyed don’t have a business website and more than half (51%) of these small business owners have not considered setting one up for their business.
“While the use of the internet is high among Australians and, importantly, among consumers, small business owners have been slow in using the web to promote their business,” explains Tim Reed, CEO of MYOB Australia .
Mr Reed said, “The web presents numerous sales, marketing and promotional opportunities for small businesses, including the chance to create a whole new online ‘face’ for their business,” explains Mr Reed. “A website can have a range of functions and benefits for a small business, the very basic being a method to increase traffic to the actual location of a business, through to more advanced online sales and customer interaction.” “Today the web has become a critical information and communication platform and there remains a great opportunity to help the majority of small business owners to establish their web presence and at MYOB we are looking forward to doing just that.
We currently provide domain registration and website hosting services to an estimated 40,000 Australian small businesses and are looking to expand both the range of services and number of businesses we serve significantly over the next 12 months.”
Half (52%) of the small business owners surveyed are aware of online communities or networks. However it would seem that the phenomenon of online communities has not been embraced by small business owners, with the majority of this group not currently using online communities or networks to help with the operation of their business.
“Online communities offer small business owners a range of benefits, many of which may assist with starting, managing or growing their business, such as peer support, advice, tips, tools, templates and links,” said Mr Reed.
While many small business owners may not have a website yet, that does not necessarily mean that they do not use the internet. We saw the opportunity to provide a “one-stop-shop” to assist small business owners when they do go online to look for business information, tools, checklists and advice,” said Mr Reed.