Is your business Online Savvy or Online Cautious?
It seems that Australian businesses are not embracing the internet and new technologies. A recent report through the 2013 MYOB Business Monitor indicates that only 38% of the SME's (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) researched owned a website, with this figure remaining unchanged even 9 months after.
Being Online Savvy is more than just having a website. Being Online Savvy is embracing new technologies to be able to reduce your operating costs and increase your profitability.
Many people seem to think that having a website is simply about being found on the internet, but that there can be a lot more to it. You can use the internet and a website to save you and your staff time and to make your business more efficient. I have discussed this in more details on a previous article, Internet Savvy showing ways that you can use your website to decrease operating costs and increase profitability.
Over the next few articles I will be looking at different ways you can use your website to do just that. These will include the addition of online document systems, automatic billing systems, affiliate programs for your resellers and clients, to name a few. But the most basic way of using your website and being found online is through the giving of information about your business.
This could include:
- Opening hours
- Business address
- Postal Address
- Services offered
- A representation of your professionalism
- Online catalogues
- Special offers
- Product range
- Event details
A website is a relatively inexpensive way to give your prospective client the information they need about you, without you being tied up in giving it to them. Your receptionist doesn't need to be tied up on the telephone giving your customers your opening hours, for example, or letting a customer know what colour the specific product comes in.
Are you Online Cautious. It seems you are in the majorioty - the 62% of SME business in Australia that don't have a website. But unfortunately it seems that increased revenue is tied to the how Internet Savvy your business is.
At the ICT Shak we are there for you in the journey from being Online Cautious to Online Savvy. Want to know more, why not give us a call to see how we can get you on the web!
