Web marketing for SMEs

Small businesses in Australia are greatly underutilising the internet, according to an article in BRW (November 26 to December 2, 2009, p47) as below:

[Although more than 80% of small businesses in Australia use the internet, and almost 43% go online to place orders or buy products and services, fewer than 25% of these businesses actually extend such a service to their own customers, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports.

Having grown accustomed to static $500 websites, many smaller companies balk at the cost of creating a more dynamic and effective web presence, and as a result are losing potential customers.

"It's hard when you're a small business - especially in the trades - we know that spending $20,000 on machinery or tools will increase your productivity, but you don't really understand how investing that money in your website will boost your business," business manager for the Melbourne headquartered construction company 4Walls, Kelly Savvides, says.

Nonetheless, by integrating search engine optimisation technology into the company's website, 4Walls was able to respond in a more targeted way to web-based searches. And as a result, it could win more work.

"There's no point in having an aesthetically pleasing website that no one can find," Savvides says. "We only need to win one contract as a result of being easy to find on the web and we cover the extra cost of making it more functional."

With 80 staff scattered across Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, removalists King & Wilson decided to make a substantial investment in technology underpinning its company website in 2004, to offer customers the opportunity to get quotes and customer service over the internet. Using additional web-based technology, the company paid off the extra cost within a month due to increased sales.

"Investing in Internet totally change the way we advertised. We pulled out of the Yellow Pages in Sydney and Melbourne because the internet was generating enough work," managing director Andrew Wilson says. "At first we thought about the Internet in terms of look and branding, but we found out more about how people look for information on the web and now we just keep tweaking the site and get more business as a result."]

My own businesses over the years have certainly profited greatly from internet-based technology and marketing initiatives. Using a product called WebPartner makes this both achievable and affordable for SMEs.

What’s been your experience of the web in relation to marketing, sales, productivity and profitability?