Small businesses are the bedrock of the modern UK economy. They made up an astonishing 99.3% of all businesses in the UK in 2014, and had a combined turnover of more than £3,500 billion. But here’s an even more staggering statistic – 2.5 million of those businesses currently have no digital presence. No website, no Twitter handle… probably not even a Facebook page.

The record-breaking ‘Cyber Christmas’ spending was evidence that consumers increasingly want the convenience of eCommerce, and many now expect even the smallest business to have a website. Yet, when they go online to find goods and services, these businesses are nowhere to be seen. They have effectively rendered themselves invisible.

Technology now has an integral role in fostering business growth and enabling them to reach larger audiences, especially on an international scale. Britain’s 228,000 online retail businesses export more than the rest of Europe’s e-retailers put together. Many smaller businesses have unearthed lucrative new markets because of a chance inquiry from an international buyer, simply because of their web presence. What’s more, the 2012 Internet Matters report by McKinsey showed that companies using the internet with a high-intensity grow twice as a fast as those with low-web-intensity. All of this underlines how valuable it is for small businesses to be online in the first place.

But it also begs the question: why do so many still lack a digital presence?

In many cases, small business owners perceive themselves as not having the expertise or marketing background to create an effective website. They’re also often short on time - if you’ve started or plan to start and run your own business, then it’s likely you spend a lot of your time running, or thinking about, your business. The combination of these factors puts many people off from taking the first step.

Creating a digital identity for your business doesn’t need to be complicated, though.

Registering a domain name is the first step, and is actually a lot cheaper and easier than many imagine. Last year hundreds of new domain extensions became available for the first time, including everything from .LONDON to .PHOTOGRAPHY, making it easier than ever before to create a unique online identity.

Micro-businesses have speed, passion and urgency. They spot opportunities, move quickly and explore new ideas in ways larger businesses can’t. If anyone is going to capitalise on the next big thing, it’s them. They are the trailblazers and innovators of modern business and often offer niche products simply not available anywhere else, so it’s vital we can find them on the Internet.

They are too important to be allowed to fail, especially over something as straightforward as lacking a website. I believe the first step in unlocking their potential is letting the world know where to find them, with a strong presence online.

 

By Stefano Maruzzi, VP of EMEA at GoDaddy. 

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