Is your business online? If not, these survey results may make you think twice.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey has drawn criticism for twittering during question time.

However, on both occasions that I am privy to, he was giving a great example to small business owners. And by the way, he is actually showing the sector technology leadership in being a tweeter.

When the internet first made a big public splash I loved the prophetic warning: “Don’t get left at the bus stop on the information super highway.”

The history of some of the great modern day business success stories have come from people who didn’t even wait for the bus but invested in catching a cab to get further down the highway to many valuable markets.

If you need reminding, well just think Seek, realestate.com.au, Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo and you can never forget Google.

These people saw where the internet was going and boy did they cash in. If you need more convincing then use the internet to read the 2009 e-Business Report from Sensis.
The bottom line was blunt — if you only use the internet for email and contact details, you are a new age dinosaur.

The report’s author Christena Singh concluded that we are online, on mobiles, into video and besotted by social networking.

In a treasure trove of revelations that all small business owners need to see to position their business for the future a number of biggies stood out.

First, close to a third of Australians belong to an online community and this has increased by 7 per cent in a year.

Second, 78 per cent of us look for information on products or services on the net.

Third, 62 per cent pay for purchases or bills online.

Fourth, 61 per cent order goods or services online. And finally, 60 per cent of us make bookings and bank the new age way.

The lesson you can’t ignore is that three-quarters of Australians look to the internet for products and services marketing information. Also, more than half of us conduct many business transactions online.

The conclusion for most businesses has to be if you are not online, you are off the planet.

I was knocked over when the New South Wales Business Chamber said it was using Facebook to canvas community reaction to business-related issues and it worked big time.

Twitter expands your customer reach, connects you with thousands of people instantly and builds your brand.

When Mr Hockey was Small Business Minister, he held a national seminar series where he told the audiences he used question time to read their evaluations of the seminars to see what they wanted from Government policy.

A politician listening to small business went over well and it’s the kind of thing that could get some in Canberra into real pterodactyl flap.

Tips

• Review your website. Is it easy to navigate and can potential customers/clients find what they need with a minimum of fuss?
• Ascertain whether social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook would be beneficial to your business. Research how businesses can use these social networking sites to its advantage.
• Make sure your website is on your marketing materials and even your business card.

By Peter Switzer

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