Apologies for those waiting for the novices guide to getting online, choosing / buying, creating a web site. I will start this next week.
However, last weekend I saw an article in the Mail on Sunday (published 3rd July 2011) that I felt it was very important to write a blog post. The article was headed “Online Riches ignored” if you wish to look the article up.
The article discussed how many smaller (micro) businesses were missing out on online profits by either not investing, not focusing or not even having an online presence. Here are some of the statistics from the article that are a wake up call for small business owners in the UK (and beyond):
- Micros (small) businesses with less than 10 staff only make on average £1,000 sales a year via the internet, equivalent to only 0.6% of their total revenue.
- However, businesses with 11 – 49 staff, earn on average £175,000 in online sales, or 4.6% of revenue.
- Bigger firms with 50 – 249 staff earn on average £2.5 million or 13.1% of sales online.
Data courtesy of research by Centre for Economics and Business Research and printed in the Mail on Sunday, 3rd July 2011
This I found very revealing. What it tells me is that there is a huge opportunity for small (micro) businesses to increase revenue by effective use of an online presence. Unfortunately many do not realise that it does not matter how small their business is, it is important to invest in an online presence.
I recognise that many small businesses don’t have the time or capital to invest. Therefore, it is important to choose the right web design partner who can provide a service, at the right prices to deliver the best possible results.
Please take some time to look back at one of my earlier posts, 6. Does it save money when a business owner builds and maintains their own web site? While it may appear to be more cost effective to build and manage your own web site, there is a lot of benefit (time, results, etc) in using a trusted web design partner.
I hope this article has provided food for thought of the terrific opportunity for small businesses to make more money by making the best use of an online presence.
If you would like any information on how Digital Ark can help, please contact me simon@digitalark.co.uk.
