SMEs and Britain's Digital Opportunity

A recent report Britain’s Digital Opportunity commissioned by Lloyds Banking Group reveals some significant new figures on the challenges and attitudes of SMEs harnessing the benefits that come from online connectivity.

“Whilst many younger businesses are quick to realise online capability can mean attracting more customers, reaching a wider demographic market, increasing customer interaction and reducing costs as well as increasing sales,??? said Director of SME and Corporate Communications Stephen Pegge “a staggering 36% of SMEs in the UK have no website.???

Furthermore, the report shows that one in 5 (20%) of SMEs are ‘deliberately disconnected’ from the Internet – and these SMEs tend to be longer-running companies run by people who are less convinced of the additional value that comes with digital development. The following summary of digital maturity segments provides a useful overview of the report’s findings:

Whilst the deliberately disconnected SMEs are cause for concern, we should also celebrate the progress made by the ‘shooting stars’ segment: over four in ten of these businesses experienced growth in the last two years, and they are often located in the service and retail sectors.

The report identifies a strong link between digital capability and turnover – with increasing turnover approximately twice as high amongst those utilising online technology compared with those who are not. Two thirds of SMEs do not take orders and payments online, and over 70% have no social media presence.

We are undertaking further work on SMEs and exploitation of broadband – do get in touch with me on [email protected] if you’d like to get involved.