State

of the

Nation

Small Business Digital

Engagement in Australia

DISCLAIMER

www.netstripes.com

2019

The information, text, technical and research content contained in this document is for

general information purposes only and should not be mistaken for a business consultation.

We make no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied about the suitability of the

information contained to your business.

Only 14% of Australian small businesses are fully

digital engaged

1 in 4 small businesses are proactively engaged

on social media

16% of websites pass minimum requirements

for successful web functionality and engagement

1 in 10 small businesses use email marketing to

reach and connect with existing and

prospective customers

Only 13% have a content strategy

31% uses Search Engine Optimisation strategies

This research provides a statistical overview of Australia’s small businesses,

with emphasis on digital engagement and performance. Unless otherwise

stated, small businesses are defined as those who are actively trading and

employ less than 20 people.

Preface

The State of the Nation 2019 is designed to outline not only the

parameters needed to establish a strong digital presence but also

the contributing factors of having a successful digital engagement

with customers and prospects that helps businesses succeed.

Highlights

A Message From the CEO: Our Digital Initiative

Overview of Digital Engagement in Australian Business

The Measures of Engagement

Key Quantitative Research Findings

Digital Engagement By State

Key Ethnographic Research Findings

Overall Digital Engagement

Implications

Benefits of Being Digitally Engaged

Conclusion

CONTENT

Small businesses are facing

insurmountable challenges in coping with

digital disruption and achieving digital

engagement in their business. Businesses

that close down each year are in the

hundreds of thousands, yet the opportunities

available to businesses of all sizes in this

digital era are unprecedented. Innovative

enterprises of all sizes around the world have

created major economic value as they have

successfully ridden the wave of the internet

and smartphone revolution.

With technology drivers such as Artificial

intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IOT),

Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality

(AR), have begun to impact our businesses

even further. As a nation we need more

than lip service from Federal and State

governments. We need a commitment for

concerted action, if we are to survive the

increasing disruption we are seeing in every

industry. Yet more so, to acknowledge

the advantages of the vast opportunities

presented by these technology drivers for

innovative and digitally-focused enterprises

that can deliver more jobs, and economic

growth nationally.

Considering that although Australia ranks

18th on the Ease of Starting a Business

Index 2017

[1]

and 14th on the Information

and Communication Technologies Index

2017

[2]

, it is an economic failure that Australia

HIGHLIGHTS

We are pleased to present the State of the

Nation Digital Engagement Research for

small businesses in Australia.

ranks 20th on the Global Innovation Index

[3]

behind nations that were once behind

Australia just a few years ago. Our rank has

consistently slipped in this index in the last

few years. Australia has also slipped to 38th

in Knowledge and Technology Output Index

[4]

These gures is of great concern to our

economy as the nation has great potential for

economic progress, however is challenged

by the evolving digital landscape and have

failed to achieve optimal output from available

technological resources.

This report offers updated insights for policy

makers and small businesses to acknowledge

the much needed initiatives towards improving

digital engagement in the country. We believe

that the ndings provide the rst steps to

helping businesses become leaders within

their industry and communities. From here,

targeted action within the parameters can

advance what we believe to be a promising

future for business owners.

By understanding both the challenges and

solutions available, this will help business

owners stay well ahead of their competitors,

as well as empower policy makers to create

the necessary incentives and ecosystem

to spur the growth of digitally focused

businesses throughout Australia.

CEO of Netstripes

Dinesh De Silva

As the CEO of NetStripes, It gives me great pleasure to present

the State of the Nation, Small Business Digital Engagement in

Australia.

With NetStripes, appointed as the Digital Specialist by the

NSW Government under the Business Connect program in

2016, through this, and other NetStripes programs, we have

helped over 7000 small businesses. Together with our research

on small businesses since 2014, we have developed deep

and unparalleled insights into the needs and pains of small

businesses in Australia.

I have no doubt that the secret to Australian innovation lies

among 2.3

[5]

million small businesses around the country. I say

this with great conviction as having met thousands of business

owners, I know that they understand their industries intimately

- they know what works and what doesn’t. I have personally

seen unfulfilled potential within these businesses and the

business owners, and in there lies the motivation to create real

success using innovation. When small business owners are

provided with the knowledge and right innovative tools, that’s

where the magic happens.

A Message

from the CEO

It is essential for business owners to keep a focus on continued

innovation within their businesses and industries, while continuing to

progress in their digital engagement capability. This is extremely crucial

as we head into a new decade in 2020 with key technology drivers such

as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

“It is an imperative for small business owners to understand that digital

engagement is not a luxury, but an absolute necessity for their success

and long term survival.”

Our research and that of others, also stresses the need for non-digitally

engaged small businesses to take immediate action, considering that

almost 90% of Australians have access to the Internet. Evident in this

study, small business owners will struggle if they do not utilise the

Internet to reach their customers, so we encourage them to take action

to address this need with a sense of urgency.

In closing, we urge you to join us at Bizruption, where we bring together

a community of like-minded small business owners, technologists and

key influencers.

We are and will continue to establish new grounds to further promote

success and economic growth in Australia through innovation and

strategic digital engagement of small businesses.

OUR DIGITAL

INITIATIVE

Overview

Digital Engagement has become the most important

ingredient for small business success. It is defined

to be the essential marketingstrategies required for

successful digital leverage.

This State of the Nation 2019 research analyses the

current digital engagement state of small businesses

in Australia, covering 780 different small businesses,

categorized by state and industry.

“It is an imperative for small business

owners to understand that digital

engagement is not a luxury,

but an absolute necessity for their

success and long term survival.”

The Web and Digital Indexes are measured with primary focus on:

• Website with strong online branding and strategy (Web Index)

• Social Media Engagement (Digital Index)

• Email marketing (Digital Index)

• Search Engine Optimisation (Digital Index)

These are to help small business owners and policy makers distinguish the gaps that small

businesses of Australia must improve on.

To achieve optimal digital engagement, businesses must meet two core principles of Digital

Marketing:

1. To drive qualified traffic to a website through digital means

2. To convert the qualified traffic.

Through the Digital Index parameters, businesses are analysed by the quality standards of

Digital Presence which examines the effectiveness of traffic being driven to the website.

Through the Web Index parameters, businesses are then analysed by the quality standards of

their Website strategy and online branding.

When small businesses effectively apply the quality standards of the Web and Digital Index,

small businesses will achieve both business and national excellence in Digital Engagement

and innovation.

The Measures

of Engagement

To measure the Digital Engagement of each small business, NetStripes’ examined the

17 parameters of two analytical modules; Web Index (the website’s functionality and

competitiveness) and Digital Index (overall digital presence and engagement of

the business).

• Online Website

• Mobile Optimised Website

• Active Social Media presence

(LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram)

• Content Strategy

• Contact forms

• Email Marketing

• Search Engine Optimisation

Digital Index

• Functioning website

• Homepage Caption

(that convey brand essence)

• Design Quality

(Strong Integrated Visuals,

well written content, consistent

use of logo and branding)

• Trust signals

(Awards, accreditations etc.)

• Website Speed

(Fast and easy to load)

• Clear list of service offers

• About us with photos

• Testimonials

Web Index

In regards to Australia’s digital engagement

figure, our research has verified a very strong

correlation between website index and digital

engagement score. For all states, businesses

were found to have a stronger website index

rank than digital engagement. This suggests

that website factors contributes significantly

to businesses’ digital engagement. Notably,

84% of websites do not successfully convert

their traffic to leads as a result of many

failures in the web index.

On average, 58% of Australian small

businesses clearly display their service

offerings on their website, while only 15%

provide testimonials and 27% display any

brand association using trust signals on

their website. By displaying clear general

information of service offerings on the

website, potential customers are able to

make a buying decision without missing any

significant product information. It is also

important to provide testimonials, especially

Key Quantitative

Research Findings

Through the analysis of 780 small

businesses in Australia in this study,

our results have shown that in

2019, only 14% of Australian small

businesses are fully digitally engaged,

with Victoria leading the charts at 17%,

followed by NSW (16%), Queensland

(14%) and Western Australia (14%).

These figures confirms that 86% of

small businesses in Australia are

struggling to understand how digital

marketing works, assuming that

digital presence is equivalent to

digital engagement.

AUS

14%

86%

DE - ENGAGED

NDE - NOT ENGAGED

in this highly review focused society, and

trust signals deliver credibility and proof

of expertise when building trusted

relationships online.

Only 40% of websites passed the speed

test, with Western Australia in the lead (60%).

This figure shows that 60% of Australian

small business websites take longer than 5

seconds to load. It is imperative for small

businesses to acknowledge that users of

today have short attention spans and if

websites, especially mobile-optimised, must

load longer than 5 seconds, customers will

abort. A risk that’s not worth taking, small

business owners should review and audit the

architecture of their website and examine the

quality of their web hosting service.

Only 31% of Australian small businesses

use Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

efficiently, with NSW leading (41%),

followed by Tasmania (39%) and Western

Australia (38%). This is found to be an

issue, as data from the research suggests

that 69% of Australian small businesses

are missing out on a major opportunity to

reach potential customers. With the use of

critical and relevant keywords, SEO assist

small businesses in attracting prospective

customers who search for products and

services on a search engine platforms such

as Google and Bing. As consumers of today

continue to become more dependent on

search engines for answers and solutions, it

is therefore crucial for small businesses to

implement an SEO strategy that will assist

them with brand reach and website traffic. In

past years, search engines frequently change

their algorithm, making it difficult for small

businesses to succeed with SEO. Hence it is

also vital to educate small businesses on the

algorithm of search engines before executing

any SEO marketing strategy.

25% of Australian small businesses are

proactively engaged on social media

platforms, with Victoria in the lead (41%),

followed by Queensland (34%).

Considering that Australia is one of the

most highly-penetrated countries in the

world (72% social media penetration rate),

it is disappointing to see that 75% of small

business owners are not proactively engaged

on social media. By interacting consistently

on social media, small businesses will benefit

from high brand exposure platforms like

Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Also from this research, it is known that small

businesses struggle to run effective social

media campaigns as, a majority copy other

businesses or listen to the opinions of peers

rather than following a consistent approach

that is based on social media marketing

fundamentals, strategy and algorithm. It

is therefore important to educate small

businesses on their unique social media

strategy and algorithm before expensing

on more advanced tools such as social

media advertising.

Only 10% of small businesses have

implemented an email marketing strategy

to reach and engage with existing and

prospective customers.

While Email is a highly effective strategy

used by all industry leaders in the online

world for example eBay, Amazon, Alibaba,

Expedia, ASOS, The Iconic, small businesses

are still oblivious to the benefits and

effectiveness of email marketing strategy.

Only 13% of small businesses use a content

strategy to engage with their prospective

and existing customers.

This figure shows that 87% small businesses

are underestimating the power of valuable

content for prospective customers. Content is

a powerful customer acquisition, engagement

and retention tool as it’s used to inform,

educate and engage audiences throughout

the customer buying cycle. All businesses

must understand their customers, their

customers’ needs and their customers’

buying behaviour; how they buy their

products and services.

Note to policy makers: It is a priority for small

businesses to grow and succeed online,

through the aid of best and credible

practices for digital marketing.

Through analysing the parameters of both

the Web and Digital Index, it had come to

an understanding that Australian small

businesses are not fully digitally engaged

as they have not utilised strong digital

marketing strategies to leverage their

growth potential on their website.

86% of small businesses in Australia

are not digitally engaged;

75% are not proactively engaged on

social media platforms;

84% fail to meet minimum

requirements of successful website

functionality and engagement;

90% are not using an email marketing

strategy to reach and engage with

existing and prospective customers;

87% do not have a content strategy

on their website to engage with

prospective and existing customers;

60% of websites did not pass the

speed test;

69% are not using SEO efficiently;

42% do not clearly display their

service offerings on their website;

85% fail to provide testimonials;

73% fail to display authority in their

expertise using trust signals on

their website.

“It is a priority for small businesses

to grow and succeed online, through

the aid of best and credible practices

for digital marketing”

Note to

policy makers

Digital Engagement National Index

QLD

NSW

VIC

ACT

TASMANIA

DE - ENGAGED

NDE - NOT ENGAGED

14%

86%

NSW

16%

84%

13%

87%

TAS

13%

87%

VIC

17%

83%

NT: DE (11%) NDE (89%)

WA: DE (14%) NDE (86%)

SA: DE (13%) NDE (87%)

TAS: DE (13%) NDE (87%)

QLD: DE (14%) NDE (86%)

NSW: DE (16%) NDE (84%)

VIC: DE(17%) NDE (83%)

ACT: DE (13%) NDE (87%)

ACT

13%

87%

11%

89%

QLD

14%

86%

NSW

Web index 18%

Social media engagement 32%

Email marketing 16%

Search Engine Optimisation 41%

QLD

Web index 16%

Social media engagement 34%

Email marketing 9%

Search Engine Optimisation 29%

Web index 17%

Social media engagement 31%

Email marketing 13%

Search Engine Optimisation 38%

VIC

Web index 18%

Social media engagement 41%

Email marketing 13%

Search Engine Optimisation 21%

Web index 16%

Social media engagement 23%

Email marketing 10%

Search Engine Optimisation 36%

Web index 14%

Social media engagement 14%

Email marketing 7%

Search Engine Optimisation 16%

Digital

Engagement

by State

ACT

Web index 15%

Social media engagement 15%

Email marketing 6%

Search Engine Optimisation 27%

TAS

Web index 14%

Social media engagement 15%

Email marketing 5%

Search Engine Optimisation 39%

We have also conducted an ethnographic

research to investigate the reasons behind

our quantitative findings. We interviewed

small business owners to better understand

their knowledge and processes of digital

engagement and reasons behind their digital

marketing decisions. This gave us a clear

perspective on why some businesses are

digitally engaged (DE) and why the majority

aren’t (NDE).

From this research, we have found that

small businesses who have poor digital

engagement, were struggling to grow and

succeed online due to the lack of clear digital

strategy and defined marketing process

Our research shows that NDE businesses

typically did not have the right knowledge

as they followed opinions of others and

were constantly changing their strategies.

When NDE businesses do not see immediate

results, instead of learning, reviewing the

data and making the required changes, they

would either stop digital marketing activities

or make ad-hoc changes that were not

aligned with their strategy. This reduces their

chances of learning and improving from the

data to achieve results. NDE Businesses must

acknowledge that each business strategy

must be unique and for results to be evident,

there must be consistency.

On the other hand, digitally engaged (DE)

businesses look at digital marketing as an

important function of their business and

acknowledges it to be a leads and customers

generating tool. They have a clearly defined

strategy and process, and their activity and

investments are in line with their strategy.

They are not in search of the next silver bullet

and understand that success comes with

consistency, reviewing results, learning from

the data and continually improving.

After appealing this digital engagement

issue to the Australian government, the State

and Federal Government have taken action.

In 2016, the NSW Government launched

a program called Business Connect; a

dedicated and personalised NSW government

program that provides trusted advice to help

start or grow small businesses digitally.

Additionally through NetStripes’ other

initiative, Bizruption brings small business

owners together to collaborate and connect.

We encourage all NDE businesses to

participate and gain benefit from these

initiatives. By attending, they will become

aware of the importance of technology and

innovation in this digital world, and learn

how they can leverage this technology to

their potential.

Key Ethnographic

Research Findings

70% of small business owners in our

qualitative survey were unaware of the

importance of SEO, while the remaining

30% knew the importance but had little

understanding on how SEO works to

generate results for their business.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a

strategy that increases website traffic

through high ranking placements in search

results. This is important for small

businesses as it ensures the visibility of

their website when their potential customers

search for them.

80% of small businesses are unaware of the

importance of having a digital marketing

strategy alongside a website. They

assume that they don’t need a website in

their business model as word of mouth is

sufficient to generate leads.

Many small businesses assume that making

investments into building a website is a

waste of time and money. They believe that

they should have a simple web presence,

with a primary focus on social media and

traditional marketing tools. However building

an online brand presence strategically is

vital to win customers online in today’s

competitive digital market.

NDE businesses may have a digital

presence however without proactive digital

engagement, they fail to convert their website

traffic into leads. Programs like Business

Connect can assist small businesses by

educating them on the importance of

strategy and lead optimization through

their website.

Website Search Engine

Optimization

80% of businesses in the qualitative

survey have a social media profile

however they rarely post online and lack

digital engagement. We found that small

businesses lacked consistency in engaging

on social media platforms due to lack of

time and strategy. 100% of small businesses

surveyed had no understanding of the

social media algorithms and how to use it to

optimise their results.

Many small businesses acknowledge the

influential impacts of using social media for

their businesses. However they don’t have

the time or the systems to consistently post

and engage with their target audience.

It is essential for businesses to maintain

a relationship with their audience through

social media. Understanding the importance

of social media is one thing, using it

consistently is another. Small businesses

should also consider engaging on a personal

level to build an emotional relationship with

their audience.

90% of small businesses aren’t getting

the results they are looking for due to

inconsistencies in their email

marketing strategy.

The business owners we interviewed either

don’t have the time or skills to implement

an e-mail marketing strategy, whilst also

believing that their emails would most likely

end up in junk or spam folder. Many are

lost in terms of how frequently they should

send emails and what content they should

create. On a global scale, email marketing

is still considered to be the most effective

lead-generating channel available and is

used by all the major brands as an important

part of their strategy. This is because most

people check their emails multiple times a

day. Hence we cannot stress enough how

important an email marketing strategy is for

small businesses to achieve optimal results.

However, businesses must understand that

the content being delivered to customers

via email must be valuable as opposed to

constantly spamming them with

sales propositions.

Social Media Email Marketing

According to the Australian Bureau Statistic

Report in 2016, small businesses account for

97% of Australian businesses and over a

million businesses close down every 5 years.

Small businesses will continue to struggle

economically if they do not commit to an

appropriate digital marketing strategy.

There is a prevalent lack of knowledge

and understanding on how each digital

engagement channel (Website, Social

Media, SEO and Email Marketing) works in a

complimentary manner. Digital marketing

will constantly be evolving, as innovation and

technology advances rapidly. To keep up,

business owners should educate themselves

consistently, understand where their industry

is heading and be ready to adapt to

changing circumstances.

By making this vital decision to commit to a

clearly defined process, digital strategies and

tools, small businesses in Australia will grow

and thrive in the everchanging

digital paradigm.

Overall Digital

Engagement

No participants in the qualitative survey had a digital marketing strategy in achieving overall

digital engagement. Participants were running their digital marketing on the basis of opinions

of their colleagues, friends & families and tactics used by competitors, which explains their

frustration and failure in achieving results.

It is of great concern that the major

proportion (86%) of Australian small

businesses in this study are NOT digitally

engaged. The consequences for the state

and national economies of this issue are

significant, as small and medium businesses

play a vital role in creating over 44% of

employment their contribution to the

GDP of over 55% is crucial for economic

sustainability and growth of this nation.

Poor digital engagement among the high

percentage of small businesses poses

serious risks as the economy continues to

compete strongly in the world. The digital

marketing environment is dynamic which

explains why the strategy that businesses

execute today may no longer be relevant

tomorrow. Small business must take full

advantage of digital tools, and with the right

attitude to learn and grow innovatively, they

must be assisted with the right advice in

order to survive in today’s highly competitive

global market. Those who engage strongly in

the digital economy will be able to take on

much larger businesses and win in the

global market.

While today’s digital era continues to evolve

and innovate, small businesses will find

it harder to keep pace with the constant

changes of the digital world. For small

businesses to succeed, they will need to

adapt to these changes. However this must

not be confused with making complete

changes in the strategical process.

Needless to say, it is not easy to launch a

small business, and it is even harder to

sustain it. While many of the small business

owners that were involved in this research

were passionate and optimistic in their

attitudes to grow their business, many were

faced with the same issues; business owners

did not have the right advice, guidance and

strategy for digital engagement. The biggest

dangers for small businesses is following the

continuing flood of opinions from peers and

Implications

Digital disruption is rife in every industry and businesses; large and small, and they must take

effective measures if to survive and grow in today’s increasingly digital world.

Digital Marketing is not a business product.

It’s a business lifestyle

Dinesh De Silva

“

unqualified experts who attempt to deliver the

next silver bullet of success. It is important

that small businesses to not lose foresight of

their clearly defined strategy. By consistently

executing these digital marketing efforts

in alignment with strategy, and continuing

to learn and improve their knowledge and

skillset, only will then small businesses be

able to succeed.

According to the Global Innovation Index

2018, Australia ranks 20th on a global scale.

Although it ranks 4th on the Information and

Communication Technologies Index, it has

slipped to 38th in Knowledge and Technology

Output. This shows evidence that Australia

has failed to achieve the optimum output

from available infrastructure.

The Global Innovation Index clearly

correlates with the resultant gap in Australia’s

digital engagement capabilities. In 2017,

Australia was ranked 18th on the Ease of

Starting a Business Index, indicating that

Australia has the potential for economic

progress, however is challenged by the

evolving digital landscape.

Small businesses must also be aware of the

technological trends that their businesses

and industries can ride upon such as Artificial

Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IOT),

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality

(AR), blockchains, cognitive and digital reality,

smart speakers, live videos, retargeting and

Google Ad Placements.

Small Business Success Stems from Online

Branding Strategy

Building an online brand is beyond creating an appealing website and multiple social media

accounts. It is about understanding the brand’s consumer, product, brand position and

implementing a strong digital marketing strategy with proactive digital engagement before

diving head first into web design and development.

From our research, we have found that many

small businesses who focus primarily on

either web development or social media and

neglect the importance of a digital marketing

strategy, consequently will only achieve

a technical solution, and not a business

solution. This is a costly mistake that all small

businesses should avoid.

The key element to building a successful

online brand is to gain brand credibility and

trust. This is why strategy is so crucial for a

small business’s success. With three

primary parts:

1. First is to create a client-centric strategy;

to understand the brand’s ideal customer to

ensure that the products and services are

catered towards their needs, wants and pains.

This way their products and services creates

its own demand.

2. Next is to get the brand positioning right.

This is about elevating from the competition

using their unique value proposition. Whether

they have small or large competitors,

businesses must position themselves clearly

apart from them.

3. Last is to focus on building a strong online

brand. Working with a branding specialist,

businesses will be able to embody their brand

essence, digital strategy and unique value

proposition within the design of the website

and other digital mediums, for example social

media and email marketing. The design will

incorporate a modern user experience to

enhance customer experiences throughout the

different buying stages of their consumer.

Benets of Being

Digitally Engaged

According to research done in Deloitte Access Economics 2016

[6]

, small businesses are able to

enjoy great benefits of being digitally engaged.

BASIC

Business has no

website; only a

business email

address.

Marketing activity

focused on traditional

methods (i.e.newspapers)

No business website or

social media presence

HIGH

Business has an

advanced website that

is mobile optimized and

covers 70% of the

Web Index

Greater use of online

marketing tools (i.e. paid

social media advertising)

Engaged through

multiple social media

platforms

INTERMEDIATE

Business has a simple

website; achieves less

than 50% of the

Web Index

Utilises basic

marketing tools (i.e.

email marketing)

Limited social media

presence

ADVANCE

Business uses data

analytics from its website

to track customer trends

and inform business

decisions. Covers over

70% of the web index.

Have a mobile app

for deeper digital

engagement

Uses sophisticated

online marketing tools

such as video advertising

and search engine

optimisation.

WEBSITE

DIGITAL

TOOLS

SOCIAL

MEDIA

Revenue

Small Australian businesses can experience almost 20% more revenue growth for each level

up the digital engagement.

Compared to companies with basic digital engagement, companies with:

• Advanced levels of engagement are 59% more likely to experience revenue growth, benefiting

up to 58 percentage points of growth

• High levels of engagement are 34% more likely to experience revenue growth, benefiting up

to 27 percentage points of growth

• Intermediate levels of engagement are 24% more likely to experience revenue growth,

benefiting up to 18 percentage points of growth.

Basic

Intermediate

High

Advanced

24%

34%

59%

Jobs

Small Australian businesses can create 10% more jobs for each level up the digital engagement

Compared to companies with basic digital engagement, companies with:

• Advanced level of engagement are 38% more likely to create jobs, employing up to 12

people every year.

• High level of engagement are 28% more likely to create jobs, employing up too 3 people

every year

• Intermediate level of engagement are 15% more likely to create jobs, employing up to 1

person every year

Basic

Intermediate

High

Advanced

15%

28%

38%

Innovation

Small Australian businesses are 20% more likely to innovate for each level up the digital

engagement.

Compared to companies with basic digital engagement, companies with:

• Advanced levels of engagement are 77% more likely to have innovated

• High levels of engagement are 48% more likely to have innovated

• Intermediate levels of engagement are 18% more likely to have innovated

Basic

Intermediate

High

Advanced

18%

48%

77%

(Source: Deloitte Access Economics, Stancombe Research and Planning (2016))

these investments several fold as small

businesses when provided with the support,

attention and guidance will fuel significant

economic growth and create hundreds of

thousands of jobs each year in driving the

nation to the future.

We encourage all policy makers, industry

bodies, and small business owners to

combine efforts in improving Australia’s

national digital engagement rate. Our

commitment to advance and innovate small

Australian businesses is demonstrated

through all our initiatives at NetStripes and

we look forward to seeing you at our small

business innovation event Bizruption, as

together we create a movement that will

inspire a better tomorrow.

CONCLUSION

By helping 16% more businesses in the next 5 years, small businesses can create more than

700,000 jobs in a conservative manner.

Since our initial research in 2016, while we

see encouraging investments from both state

and federal governments towards innovation

and digital engagement of small businesses,

the current investments are minute compared

to the billions of dollars of economic value &

benefits that can be derived from the digital

engagement of small businesses in this

country. By helping 16% more businesses in

the next 5 years, small businesses can create

more than 700,000 jobs in a

conservative manner.

However over a 5 year period, if the

right investments are made, we believe that

well over 16% of small businesses will be

engaged digitally. We encourage both state

and federal governments to reconsider their

current investments and look at multiplying

We encourage all policy makers,

industry bodies, and small business

owners to combine efforts in

improving Australia’s national

digital engagement rate.

As NetStripes’ grand vision for this country,

if Australia can increase digital engagement

by another 16% of the 2.2 million small

businesses, it will have the potential to

create over 700,000 jobs in Australia and

fuel economic growth by generating billions

of dollars in the Australian economy. Since

2015, NetStripes have been evangelizing this

vision with Federal, State, Local government

policy makers, industry bodies, the media

and small businesses alike that can change

the course of small businesses. Since 2015,

our collaboration with the Minister of Small

Business, as well as our first published “State

Of The Nation 2016 - Small Business Digital

Engagement Research” have spearheaded

this cause widely in all forms of media.

We are thankful that the Australian Federal

Government has since initiated a committed

program; The Australian Small Business

Advisory Services (ASBAS) by which they

have invested $18 million to help provide

digital solutions to small businesses located

in metropolitan and regional Australia. Today

the NSW Government runs the Business

Connect Program with a focus on Innovation

and Digital Specialist services. Similarly, there

are multiple initiatives on innovation in every

Australian state for entrepreneurs to innovate

and grow ideas into sustainable businesses.

While the above initiatives are encouraging,

they are yet still very small in comparison to

what is required to create true change and

spur the type of innovation that can make

profound impact nationally. As the digital

world continues to create huge opportunities

for small businesses, we hope that this

document will further highlight the need

for policy makers to help pave the way for

better innovation-focused policies for small

businesses, and help this sector recognise

the grand potential for economic growth

in Australia.

A Grand Vision

for Small Business

in Australia

References

[1] The World Bank (2018), Rankings & Ease of Doing Business Score. Available at:

http://www.doingbusiness.org/en/rankings.

[2] ITU (2017), Measuring the Information Society Report 2017 Volume 1.

Available at: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU D/Statistics/Documents/publications/

misr2017/MISR2017_Volume1.pdf.

[3] Soumitra Dutta, Bruno Lanvin, and Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (2018), Global

Innovation Index 2018. Available at: https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/gii-2018-

report#

[4] Soumitra Dutta, Bruno Lanvin, and Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (2018), Global

Innovation Index 2018. Available at: https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/gii-2018-

report#

[5] ABS (2019), Australian business counts increase for the fifth

consecutive year. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/

latestProducts/8165.0Media%20Release1June%202014%20to%20June%202018

[6] Deloitte Access Economics (2016), Connected Small Businesses 2016.

Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/

Economics/deloitte-au-economics-connected-small-businesses-google-051016.pdf

[7] Parliament of Australia (2018), Small business sector contribution to the

Australian economy. Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/

Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1819/

SmallBusinessSector

TAKE ACTION

Digital engagement drives small business success which in

returns drives economic growth and increased employment,

and we see the following stakeholders have an important and

influential role to play.

NetStripes are in the process of publishing “A Grand Vision for

Creating 700,000 jobs in Australia” this document will spell

out strategies for each of the key stakeholders that can create

significant impact.

Federal Government

State Government

Local governments

Media

Business Chambers

Industry Associations

Educational Institutions

Learn More

CONTRIBUTORS

Bhawani Singh

Senior Digital Strategist

Edson Portilho

Senior Creative Specialist

Christina Lu

Digital Marketing Associate

Lake Argent

Content Specialist

NetStripes is the authorised digital specialists

for Small Businesses in NSW.

NetStripes’ trusted and verified digital and marketing

system has helped hundreds of small businesses achieve

transformational business growth.

A comprehensive system that includes skills training,

strategy, advisory and innovative web technology to guide

entrepreneurs in achieving their dreams and goals.

www.netstripes.com

STATE OF

THE NATION

P. 1300 10 8880 | E. info@netstripes.com

55 Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009 Australia