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| A third of small firms expect to be reliant on online revenue | ||||||
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| Release date: 07 Mar 2010 | ||||||
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| A third of small firms expect the majority of their revenue to come from online sales over the next five years, research from PayPoint has revealed.
The Powering Small Business Britain survey of 800 small firms found that 35 per cent expect to rely on online trading to generate most of their revenue. However, independent e-commerce consultant, James Gurd, said that not all businesses should focus their efforts on online sales. "The Internet is becoming increasingly important because more people are researching and purchasing online, but whether the buying will happen on there or whether it is just a vehicle to get leads is another thing," he said. "Not every product is instantly sellable online and in some industries firms need to get leads online and then sell offline ¯ for example, in financial services. "If firms decide to focus on online sales, they should have a clear strategy, no matter what size their business is," added Gurd. "They need to make sure their message is consistent and evaluate how effective their online strategy is." However, the research also found that small firms still face problems with trading online. For example, 57 per cent of small firms were concerned that customers would be unable to find their website. "Firms need to look at search marketing, and make sure they have an optimised website with the right search terms so people can find them easily," said Gurd. "They must look at what people are searching for, find keywords and phrases that are relevant to the business, optimise their site to drive visibility for those terms, and make their landing pages relevant to visitors." The report also highlighted that a third of small firms were worried about online fraud. "Whether you are likely to be defrauded depends on the value of your product," said Gurd. "If you're selling £5 products, the chances are low, but if you are selling products at £1,000 the chances are higher and you should have robust security measures in place." Get Safe Online spokesman, Tony Neate, said that there were some simple steps firms should follow to ensure they protected themselves against fraud. "If they are selling products on their website, firms should use a third-party payment tool, and secure their computers with anti-spyware," said Neate. "If they've got a wireless network they need to ensure that is secure, and they need to train their staff on how to deal with any phishing emails that come through." To access the report, visit the Powering Small Business Britain website www.poweringsmallbusinessbritain.co.uk/ |
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