Going ‘digital’ with your business

If you have arrived at this website there is a good chance that you are one of thousands of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across Australia and the world which are positioning themselves for a different style of doing business. Welcome, we hope you’ll find the information on these pages useful because there are many different ways your business can benefit. Why shouldn’t your business also experience the benefits of going digital?

You might be aware that, in Australia, now more than three quarters of the population (aged 14 years and over) have access to the internet at home, and an increasing number of these households are opting for broadband. Meanwhile, at least 30 per cent of mobile phone handsets are internet-enabled. While the number of people now accessing the internet is interesting, what you might find even more relevant is that that two-thirds of Australian internet users recently bought at least one good or service online in the last six months (These facts are cited from the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s Australia in the Digital Economy report of 2010). And of those Australians who shop online, a recent industry report indicates that more than one third of those live in rural areas.

What’s really interesting is that this same industry report found over a third of Australian consumers believe that it is “safer to buy from Australia” in preference to overseas online retailers. This means that Australian businesses have a real opportunity to tap into consumers’ preference for local choice by presenting their products and services to Aussie shoppers online.

So what does digital mean in terms of new opportunities for Australian SMEs?

• A digital shopfront—potentially opens up new markets—your customer base is now potentially global. You can reach a wide but targeted audience.
• Engagement—social media tools now give you the capacity to track the sentiment of your customers or clients easily, to respond and to encourage them to interact with your business.
• Tracking your success—there are tools that enable you to measure the effectiveness of your online presence and your online marketing campaigns.
• Efficiency gains—from streamlining your distribution chain to improving your conversion of contacts into a sale made—there are potential efficiency gains to be realised.

The pages on this site provide you with some information to assist you in getting started and potentially improving your online presence. We explain how to get an online presence or to enhance your existing one. We also explain how to use the digital tools and services that can improve the productivity of your business.

As you may have noticed, we have openly welcomed feedback on the site; the ‘beta’ tag is our acknowledgment that there might be better ways to organize the information, for example, or topics we’ve missed, points that confuse you etc. We welcome you, as one of our online clients, to engage with the content and give us your feedback if you feel so inclined. Click on the ‘send us your feedback’ button to let us know how we can improve this site. You can also participate in the conversation on Twitter by using the #digibiz hashtag.

If you do find sections of this site have useful information, feel free to use the social media buttons to share relevant sections to the social platform of your choice. You can also promote the site using the banner ads available on this page.

To learn more about the bigger picture and context that surrounds getting your business online, check out this ‘what is digital business’ page.

If you have time to grab that coffee, feel free to dive in…and don’t forget to check out our case studies.

by Nina, DBCDE