MYOB have released a report into ecommerce in New Zealand that shows businesses with a website earned significantly more than companies that are not represented online.
The study included over one thousand businesses and showed that Northland companies had the lowest internet presence in the country at just 21%. The highest was the Tasman/West Coast region with 43%, ahead of Auckland at 42%.
Little more than a quarter of local New Zealand businesses had a website and under 10% sell products or services online. Perhaps most surprising was that of the businesses surveyed who did not have a website, 70% of them said that they had no plans to get one.
MYOB General Manager, Julian Smith says that while there has been a 2% increase in businesses with a website in the year to April 2011, the low overall internet presence of NZ businesses means we are “missing a real opportunity to transform the economy”.
While business owners said that they were using the internet more and more in their normal daily business, they seemed to lack the drive to get their own businesses online. With three quarters of businesses using internet banking and nearly half buying products and services online, the slow uptake is mystifying!
The manufacturing, retail and hospitality industries lead the way with over 50% having an internet prescence but only 6% of the primary sector was online.
In my work designing websites for businesses, I’m regularly confronted with web site design as being a low priority, bottom of the pile, too-hard-basket kind of job. However, it doesn’t have to be a traumatic experience if the client is prepared to let their web designer guide them through the process.
Having said that, ecommerce websites are not a “switch on and walk away” kind of deal. They should be regarded as a business in their own right that requires regular care and attention. Maintenance is important as the security of your customer’s information is crucial.
Internet marketing and search engine optimisation can make the difference between being lost in the crowd and receiving regular enquiries or online sales.
If you’re still in the “planning stages” of getting your business online, please contact us for a free quote!