Angling to catch more companies in the web

Oct 1 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

Despite the obvious advantages of e-commerce, uncertainty and fear has caused many North East firms to miss out on the infinite possibilities of the internet. Andrew Mernin meets an eclectic group of experts determined to challenge misconceptions and get more of the region's firms online.

Justin Souter, who runs social media business Souter Consultancy, agrees that the upheaval that small business leaders face in boosting their online presence can ultimately dissuade them from doing so.

“There’s definitely a mindset that trading online is too expensive, but it’s also an emotional issue. It’s too hard and difficult and people don’t have the time to do it so they just don’t,” he says.

But tapping into the seemingly unlimited opportunities of the internet doesn’t necessarily mean entrepreneurs have to invest in a flashy website or mass marketing strategy, as Ms Waterston highlights.

“I have two butchers I use in my home town and I like to buy a nice piece of rump steak on a Friday. However, I can only email one of them and ask them to keep some back for me, and I can’t do that with the other one, so he is going to lose business.”

The fact remains that some businesses will continue to refuse the internet and all the riches it offers, while others want to embrace it but don’t know how.

Ms Waterston says: “I think it’s a lack of knowledge, which then equals into relinquishing control. People are going to be scared of losing control of their company, and when they go online, they don’t have any control over it.”

Meanwhile, David Reynolds, CEO of The International Association of Accountants Innovation & Technology Consultants (IAAITC), believes a reluctance to go online could stem from the emergence of forums and review websites.

According to his extensive research into online trends, 64% of consumers are not happy with the buyer experience on the web.

And, as these disgruntled customers look for ways of venting their anger, they turn to forums and social networking sites.

He says: “One of the reasons that some people don’t want to go online is that, if one of their customers has a bad experience, then that gets proliferated round and round the web.”

“What we are starting to see is that, if 10 people in your social network slag a product off for whatever reason, that’s more powerful than a positive advert on the internet or TV because people trust their peers more than they trust an advert.”

For marketing expert Jason Hopper, a lack of organisations in the region who can actually quantify to a small business how much return on investment they will get from spending on upscaling their web presence could also be holding the North East back.

The new business manager at Wearside marketing and design agency Surreal Creative, said: “I think the biggest barrier is return on investment.

“I think there’s a distinct lack of firms around here who can say to clients with any sort of conviction, you spend this amount of money on a website and it will deliver this for you, it will get you a standard return on investment.”

As the clock ticks on towards the end of the session, RMT’s Stephen Slater attempts to summarise what has been an informative, if inconclusive, analysis of what the barriers are to the North East’s online ambitions.

“I think if people had more knowledge there would be less fear, and I also think trust is a huge point – in terms of trust in the suppliers and the people that you are doing business with.”

As the meeting closes, the attendees, who include representatives of Royal Bank of Scotland, Business Link and digital marketing firm Silverbean, concede that a concrete resolution will take longer than a couple of hours to find.

But, there remains a real sense in the room that this is just the start of something bigger.

A show of solidarity among the group of heavyweight digital, business and legal players sees the agreement that more meetings will follow and an official plan of action to get more firms online will be drawn up.

Jon Bradford (pictured), design and creative fund manager at North East Finance, does plant the seeds of a plan going forward.

“What we need to do is stimulate demand so people want to go online, rather than forcing it down their throat.

“In that process, what the North East really needs is poster children – case studies – and we need to take a business that is completely offline, spend a bit of time with it, take it online, and show how it can be done and what can be achieved by that.”

:: The Journal could play a major role in publicising these case studies, which could in turn inspire others to follow in their footsteps towards online success. Email your good and bad experiences of doing business online to andrew.mernin@ncjmedia.co.uk