Data is a valuable by-product of the assessments , providing Navii ’ s and Tourism Tribe ’ s partners including Government organisations or industry associations , with insights on the gaps and opportunities for their industry cohorts . The data from assessments conducted over 2022 has been analysed and reveals for different industry sectors where the opportunities are for SMEs to enhance their digital capabilities and improve their future growth prospects , leading to more sustainable businesses .
Through a more competitive online presence , better use of digital strategies and technologies , and greater customer centricity throughout the purchase cycle , SMEs can grow and scale for a stronger future , developing a digital transformation pathway .
RESULTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
About the data
• 602 Navii assessments on SMEs from various sectors conducted November 2021 to November 2022 .
• 2,265 Tourism Tribe assessments on SMEs from various business types in the tourism sector conducted August 2021 to March 2023 .
• All scores shown on the charts below are out of a possible 100 %, with 100 % being representative of best practice .
Overall Scores The averaged overall score for SMEs ( refer Figure 1 ) is 32.3 , which is 9 points lower than Tourism SMEs at 41.6 . Whilst neither overall result is close to industry potential , the stronger result for tourism may be reflective of the following :
• The tourism industry , compared to other sectors where SMEs make up the vast majority of businesses , is well supported with funded education and support programs and this includes Tourism Tribe having been engaged to deliver digital capability building programs to tourism SMEs since 2015 .
• Its structure as a business ecosystem is co-ordinated and supportive in that dedicated resources are available to business through local government , regional trade associations , and State and Federal governments .
• The tourism industry has longstanding digital infrastructure to facilitate marketing and distribution including the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse and online travel agencies , which by their nature have been a catalyst for tourism operators to engage with digital technologies for the promotion of their business .
KEY INDICATORS AND OPPORTUNITIES In analysing the data Navii identified a small selection of representative indicators of the businesses ’ adoption of digital best practice and meeting customer requirements . These indicators , selected from the comprehensive 57-point indicator dataset , also provide immediate opportunities to better meet the needs of the businesses ’ customers .
Website Functionality - Selected Indicators
• 87 % of businesses assessed do not have Live Chat on their website , thereby compromising the customer journey and rejecting opportunities to directly engage with a potential customer .
• Only 15 % of businesses have implemented a blog on their website foregoing the opportunity to use customer centric content as means to establish trust and credibility with their target audience and to leverage their position in online searches .
• 92 % of businesses have not placed customer testimonials ( named and dated ) on their websites , which is a recommended tactic to support the customer purchase decision making process and encourage sales conversion .
• Only 32 % of the websites assessed had a clickable phone number ( Click to Call ) to enable easy contact whilst the customer is visiting their website on a mobile device , and with Statista . com reporting in February 2023 that smartphones account for approximately 74 percent of retail site traffic worldwide and generate 63 percent of online shopping orders , this is a fundamental gap for small business that can be readily addressed .
• Online short-form video has grown exponentially in its use by consumers for entertainment , education , shopping and communications . Video must be incorporated into a business ’ s marketing and operations if they want to connect with customers and be competitive , yet only 22 % of the websites assessed included video . It is essential today that businesses gain the skills and resources to create , edit and publish video and optimise it for their most relevant customer channels and across the customer purchase journey .
Figure 1 : Average scores of SMEs ’ assessments
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 16 NO 1 2023 17