Speed of digital innovation continues to separate successful businesses from those falling behind. Earlier this year we conducted a survey in conjunction with Insider Media, with a view to understanding where Yorkshire businesses are on their digital journey, how much of a priority digital innovation is, and intentions and key priorities over the coming year. From the results, we were able to pull out some interesting findings, including the differences in digital focus between smaller and larger companies. Read the full survey.
Of the responses received, there was a diverse mix of experiences, ranging from business owners overseeing companies with a turnover between £1m and £5m, and senior decision makers at enterprise companies turning over more than £100m. Those from larger companies were much further along on their digital journey than smaller companies, with an above average score of 57. Pretty unsurprising, but is there anything smaller companies can learn from their larger counterparts to help supercharge their online growth?
Firstly, the larger businesses surveyed, see digital innovation as a key priority, setting aside more than 25% of their marketing budget for digital. Social media remains the biggest channel for driving website traffic, which may explain this, and the fact there is a clear correlation between digital spend and website traffic, with the majority of larger businesses rating website traffic as good or excellent. They understand the value in online investment, listing key priorities as improving online experience for customers and increasing website traffic, while a high percentage of the smaller businesses rated their website poor at meeting customer needs.
Larger businesses do of course have their own challenges, citing complex infrastructure as a key blocker to growth. This often requires significant investment in back office systems and a robust eCommerce platform. For smaller businesses, the road to digital success should be a lot smoother. If they can overcome resource constraints and lack of digital expertise by outsourcing their marketing, and understand likely return on their investment, our results show that they can increase sales.
Finally, where are larger businesses focusing their resources for the coming year?
Video 55%
Reporting & Insights 41%
Podcasts 23%
Augmented/Virtual reality 23%
Chatbots 18%
Subscription model 14%
Drop shipping 9%
The common theme here is that all of these things are designed to personalise and improve the online experience, something both large and small businesses must do to maintain their market share and remain relevant.
9xb is an eCommerce specialist that exists to challenge the way online experiences are delivered, offering technical, practical and creative solutions that overcome barriers to growth. We design award winning eCommerce stores and marketing campaigns for some fantastic clients, including bathstore, EuroCarParts, Hi-Tec, Pizza Express, The Post Office, and many more.
