Hi all,
The latest MYOB Business Monitor reports were released in Australia and New Zealand this week. Over 1000 small and medium business owners and managers are surveyed in each country for the national surveys, providing a unique insight into the performance and attitudes of local businesses.
The latest reports found large numbers of Australian and New Zealand-based small to medium businesses are reducing their performance potential by overlooking the significant opportunities offered by the digital economy.
Only 38 per cent of Australian small to medium businesses have a website. The New Zealand figure is even lower at just 24 per cent. Over 50 per cent of small to medium businesses in both Australia and New Zealand don’t have any online presence at all.
However, businesses are starting to utilise the power of social media more. For example, the proportion of small to medium businesses in Australia using social media rose to 33 per cent from 21 per cent in February.
Tellingly, business operators who utilise online technologies were more likely to see a revenue rise in the 12 months to August this year. Australian businesses with both a business website and a social media site were at least 63 per cent more likely to see revenue rise than those who didn’t have one of these sites. This leading edge was followed by SMEs using cloud computing, who were 59 per cent more likely to see an annual revenue rise than non-cloud users.
MYOB General Manager Business Division, James Scollay, says the difference between online businesses and those that don’t have a web presence is marked across a range of performance measures.
“What’s clear to us from our years of conducting research into SMEs’ use of digital technologies is that businesses with an online presence reach more people and become more engaged with their customers,” James says. “They also earn more, have more work in the pipeline, and are more likely to be hiring staff.”
“It’s evident that there’s a digital divide emerging. We strongly believe it’s time for more local business owners and operators to take a closer look at what online tools could do for them.”
James Scollay says there is tremendous scope for business operators to boost their financial performance, strengthen customer acquisition and retention, enjoy work environment flexibility and improve business productivity by using online technologies.
You can read more about the MYOB Business Monitor reports on our Australian and New Zealand websites.
It was another busy week on the forum, with 210 new members joining the community and 500 posts, including 160 from MYOB staff.
Our top contributors this week were The_Doc, TonyLane and ronatbas. Special mention also to simpsonstyres and Helen-Webley who got the most votes with their suggestions on the AccountRight Idea Exchange.
Our stars of the week were again The_Doc and TonyLane who had multiple posts marked as Accepted Solutions.
Thank you to all community members who generously shared their experience and expertise on the forum this week.
Love your work,
Jason Hill
Community Manager
