Sensis research shows Victorian small and medium sized businesses more digitally savvy

SMBs in metropolitan areas (62 per cent) had increased their understanding of digital advertising more than those in regional areas (55 per cent) and female SMB operators were more likely to report an increase than males (65 per cent compared to 58 per cent).

Sensis’ Group Manager of Emerging Business and Innovation, Simon Betschel, said while it was a positive sign, it was important to keep in mind that 41 per cent of SMBs had not increased their understanding of digital advertising in the past year.

Says Betschel:  “With new marketing solutions being introduced into the Australian market all the time, it’s hard for small businesses to know where they should be investing their money and importantly – how they can measure what’s working. The research found just over one third of small businesses (38 per cent) measure the return on their advertising, which raises concerns.”

Of the businesses that reported not measuring the return on their advertising, 31 per cent said it was too hard, 24 per cent said it was too time consuming and 13 per cent weren’t sure how to do it.

Betschel cobtinued: “It’s really important that business owners can understand what they’re trying to achieve and measure how effective their digital marketing initiatives are.

The main reason SMBs invest in digital advertising is to drive sales leads (52 per cent), so it’s imperative they have a way of measuring whether their current digital marketing mix is meeting their objectives or if they’re wasting their money.

It doesn’t need to be complicated – it could be as simple as keeping track of how much traffic comes to their website and where it’s coming from, or simply asking new customers where they heard about their business.”

The team at Yellow Pages found small businesses wanted to know how to measure the return on their marketing investment, but weren’t sure how to do so. To help meet this need, the Yellow Pages introduced Advertiser Performance Reports which make it easier for small businesses to keep a track of their Yellow Pages advertising and how it’s performing.

The Advertiser Performance Reports enables advertisers to measure the return on their investment and estimate how many leads are required to regain their investment and also provides a breakdown by ad, area and heading, helping businesses to localise their advertising.

SMBs understanding of digital advertising by state:

VIC       65%

ACT      63%

NSW     62%

WA       55%

QLD     54%

NT        51%

SA        46%

TAS      40%

Top five reasons small and medium businesses invest in digital advertising:

Driving sales leads – 52%

Building brand awareness – 27%

Maintaining relationships with existing customers – 17%

Educating customers – 13%

Maintain or broaden visibility – 12%

Industries most likely to report an increase in understanding of digital advertising:

Accommodation, cafes and restaurant – 68%

Communications, property and business services – 65%

Finance and insurance – 63%

Health and community services – 62%

Building and construction – 60%

Cultural, recreational and personal services – 59%

Retail trade – 58%

Manufacturing  – 54%

Wholesale trade – 48%

Transport and storage – 43%